In Licensed to Learn You Read About Jason Dean and His Partner, Sam

Open Ends

In Licensed to Learn you read about Jason Dean and his partner, Sam:

Jason and Sam are partners. Jason has just completed a drug rehabilitation programme and is currently unemployed but volunteers at a local drop-in centre for the homeless. Sam is on long-term disability benefits as he is in the early stages of Parkinson’s Disease. He relies on Jason for much of his care and suffers from bouts of depression.

Jason calls you requesting a visit. Not long after you arrive you smell alcohol on his breathe and, when you ask him about this, he says:

I just want to talk to someone…..I had my first drink when I was about 14 and one thing led to another and I was soon into drugs in a big way and it was out of control. My dad died, I think in an accident, and my mother wasn’t taking it too well….I was a sickly child, no brothers or sisters and it was all too much for her. Dad was depressed before he died and I don’t think they were happy together. I’ve been in trouble with the law, but I didn’t get sent away. I’ve been in rehab for a while and it’s good….but I’ve been finding it really hard these past few weeks. Sam and me have been arguing and I know I’d feel better if…..the dealers are back in town and it’s be so easy, but I’ve got it under control…..We’re getting a lot of abuse from people calling us queers and Sam’s going into one of his depressions and not going out much…I’m OK but Sam worries and I just don’t know how we going to get through this.

Consider the lines of enquiry that you could follow and think about the types of questions you could ask.

From the 20 questions below choose the 2 which fit the most closely with your line of enquiry:

How old were you when your father died?
How can you connect your first drink at 14 with your drug problem now?
What health problems did you have as a child?
How do you feel about your parents’ unhappy marriage?
Why did you get into trouble with the law?
What kind of help did you receive from the drug rehab programme?
How long did your addiction last?
Where are you most likely to come across the dealers?
Who did you do drugs with?
What do you think the future holds if you go back to the drugs?
What do you think is making Sam depressed?
When do you and Sam argue most?
Why do you feel responsible for Sam?
Why don’t you see a couples’ counsellor?
What feelings do you have for Sam?
How does Sam get out and about when he’s depressed?
Who’s being calling you queer?
What have you done about the abuse you have been receiving?
What would you most like to change about your situation?
Where do you see things going from here?

Now choose 2 questions that you would ask that fir with your line of enquiry and 2 that you would avoid. Are some of the questions better than others? Why? Think about closed/open ended questions and why some might be better than others.

The questions I chose are:

My reasons for choosing these:

The questions I would most avoid are:

My reasons for avoiding these:

Adapted from Doel, M & Shardlow, S. 2005. Modern Social Work Practice. Aldershot: Ashgate.