Precious Film Review

Review 

Precious is a film revolving around a 16-year-old girl named “Precious”. She is from New York, where she lives with her mother. Precious’ mother has continuously subjected her to verbal, sexual and physical abuse. The 16-year-old has also undergone sexual abuse from his father, who is not present in her life anymore ( Ramos, 2017) . Precious’ family has long been dependent on welfare and lived in section 8 tenement. Her initial child, Mongo has Down syndrome, and guarded by Precious’ grandma. Mary on the other hand insists on having the family state she is residing with Mongo in order to receive extra welfare funds. Precious is relieved off of her current school when her second pregnancy is discovered by the school principal. 

Precious gets an inspiration from teacher Blu Rain in the new school that she learns to read and write. She also meets a Ms. Weiss, a social worker during her new life escapades, who discovers the Precious’ previous experiences with rape. During her second pregnancy, she develops interest in John McFadden, a nurse at the hospital. Precious later discovers her father’s from HIV via Mary. She later discovers about her HIV positive status – a situation that dejected her that she had to pick her case file. New discoveries are made at Ms. Weiss’s office when she discovered the true intentions of Mary. She had occasionally subjected her under sexual abuse that left her demoralized and cognitively corrupted throughout her growth and development period. 

Treatment Plan 

Historical considerations determine Precious’s past life as one comprised of various problems. She had been constantly subjected under physical, mental and psychological abuse. Precious also got pregnant through the maltreatment she constantly experienced during her growth and development years. She had initially never been subjected under any treatment plan in regards to her mother and Mary’s demands. They wanted to receive extra welfare money that will aid in funding for the family’s basic needs. 

Precious’ past experiences and current treatments forced her to seek treatment. The transfer from her previous school due to the discovery of her new pregnancy by the school principal made her discover a new journey. She found a new social worker, Ms. Weiss who tremendously helps her psychologically. The treatment contract involves subjecting Precious under Ms. Weiss, who aids in boosting her morale and well-being. The patient’s strength were often her ability to learn how to read and write easily, regaining confidence and developing new interests that built her cognitive stability over time. 

Establishing Consent 

Arizonian laws often take into consideration various laws in regards to the consent required on a minor ( Berkowitz, 1983) . They are often based on the ability of a minor to access psychiatric inpatient care. Minors that volunteer for treatment are often taken into consideration by their preferred care center without the approval of their parents. Despite Precious’ mother preventing her from stating her previous experiences with other individuals; she decided to reveal the information to her social worker, Ms. Weiss. This led to the withdrawal of the welfare funds received by her family. Arizona State also permits the commitment of minors by parents in various mental health centers. 

Arizona allows adolescents to sign up for admissions voluntary, but also revoke the admission whenever they want. However, most of the individuals that voluntarily present themselves for mental health treatment often find it difficult returning to their original living conditions ( Hartmann, 1950) . Precious preferred submitting herself for a treatment process when she discovered her mental and living conditions was getting worse. She was subjected under a new social worker, Ms. Weiss, who tremendously boosted her mental health in a positive way. Arizonian laws on minor consent also state that the minor is obliged to terminate or continue the treatment on their own will. Precious preferred to neglect going back with both Mary and her mother after she discovered the reason behind her childhood treatment. She decided to live in the care center with both her children, Mongo and Abdul. 

Intervention 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) 

The best intervention used for Precious is a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This form of treatment is designed to extensively boost the behavioral and psychological state of an individual positively. Its main purpose is to alter the perceptions or behaviors that lead to the difficulties experienced by most people therefore changing their feelings. CBT is used in the treatment of chronic life conditions bound to affect individuals exponentially. Depression, anxiety and abuse are among the entities treated by cognitive behavioral therapy. Precious should be subjected under this mode of treatment for a period of approximately 5-10 months in order to fully utilize the facility’s provision. Under this therapy, Precious is expected to closely work with the therapists in order to determine the problems and their possible origins. 

CBT is a combination of behavioral and psychological therapy. The behavioral component ensures an individual’s behaviors; thoughts and problems are extensively analyzed. Psychotherapy on the other hand bases its study on the significance of meaning that we personally place on things, and also how our thinking patterns are highly affected by childhood experiences ( Hoffman, 1994) . Precious’ behavior and psychological conditions have continuously changed since her childhood. This is often due to the experiences she was subjected under by her parents during her growth and development years. She was a depressed individual who kept on thinking about all the physical, mental and psychological abuse she had experienced in her life. Precious was constantly raped that she got pregnant with two children, Abdul and Mongo. 

CBT bases its study on how thought patterns can highly affect our perceptions of life. Humans often derive meaning from past experiences; therefore, an individual may fail to recognize the positive developments present in his or her life. The program gets to the depth of a particular issue by determining the possible causes of certain acts in an individual. This determination will later be used in developing concrete strategies that will effectively aid in developing new behaviors and beliefs to an individual. Precious will get treatment that will effectively boost her cognitive beliefs positively. She will be able to understand that her previous experiences in life are not directly related to her current life experiences. Her ability to learn reading and writing is an important achievement, as it relates to the alteration of the perceptions previously ingrained on her. Through mental abuse, she was made to believe learning is a tough process made for individuals with better living conditions. 

Psychoanalytic Approach 

Psychoanalysis involves the search for Precious’ personality, unconscious acts and the treatment method to be subjected ( Jamal, 2015) . This will ensure the patient’s current mental, physical and social conditions are taken into consideration. Precious needs constant checkups that will aid in developing her cognitive state exponentially. Her current physical conditions are a result of her previous experiences, which were so tough on her. Personality is often built through situations an individual has been subjected under in the past. 

As Precious’ social worker, I would start by studying her personality. This is essential as it will help determine the proper mode of treatment for her. People often vary in personality, and it is essential for their traits to be well known before the commencement of treatments. Unconscious acts are also essential for depiction. Individuals often behave based on their past experiences. In this case, Precious is highly affected by the traumas inflicted on her from her previous experiences with physical, mental and emotional abuse in her past. She is raised to believe in being defensive and reactive depending on situations. This is often embraced in order to shield herself from perceived molestations. 

The treatment method is also essential. Precious needs an environment with friendly individuals that understand both her present and past circumstances. This will ensure she has all the support she needs towards recovering from her past traumas. As her social worker, I will ensure her behaviors and unconscious acts and the reason behind them are made known to her. This will help her discover the possibility of changing her life for the better despite having experienced harshness during her growth and development periods. 

Developmental Stages and Theories 

Developmental psychology focuses on the growth and development of individuals. It is often based on the changes experienced by most people when growing ( Jorm, 2012) . As Precious’ social worker, I will extensively focus on the mental, emotional and socio-economic developments associated with her. I will aid her to effectively deal with language acquisition, emotional development, self-awareness, cognitive development from her current age and beyond, and personality growth. Moral reasoning and challenges in development are also some of the aspects to be taken into consideration. 

Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment 

The application of this theory on Precious will tremendously boost my perception of her. As her social worker, I will be able to understand her relationship with her caretakers. This will further lead to determining the major influencers of her behaviors. Understanding Precious at a deeper level will be essential, as it will tremendously boost my interaction with her during the treatment process. 

Erikson’s Theory 

The theory of psychological development will aid in depicting Precious’ social conditions and effectively determine the major influencers of her development. She has previously experienced chronic conditions that highly affected her mentally and physically. Being her social worker, I am obliged to learning all the necessary strategies needed to be implemented in order to extensively boost her mental stability. Continued development in her current status requires an extensive analysis of the behavioral changes associated with her during her growth and development. 

Early Childhood 

Precious needs an extensive analysis of her previous experiences during her childhood years. This is essential due to the growth and changes experienced during this phase. As her social worker, I will extensively study the cognitive, emotional and physical changes that often took place within Precious during her childhood years. The analysis will extensively boost my understanding of her and the possible reasons that affect her current behaviors ( Seligman, 2012) . 

Middle Childhood 

The maturation stage of Precious will be well understood by inquiring about her living conditions during this period. Here, I will be able to effectively blend with her life preferences since this is the time I will be able to understand the reason behind her recent acts both physically and mentally. 

Adolescent 

Precious has just moved past her adolescent period. By inquiring from her, I will be able to effectively comprehend her abuse during her puberty stage. Being a social worker, I will implement strategies that will help elaborate on the significance of sharing important information with her. 

Early Adulthood 

Precious is in her early adulthood period, where she needs to plan for a better future than that which she is used to. As a social worker, I will ensure she is able to comprehend the significance of forming new associations and behaviors that will extensively boost her mental and emotional well-being. 

Self-Critique 

Studying the life of Precious has been essential towards determining the circumstances that build an individual physically, emotionally and psychologically. The social worker role I played in the entire process helped build my understanding of the psychological compositions of individuals and how they affect their normality. Individuals are highly affected by past experiences, which often lead to the development of unconscious traits that may affect their living conditions ( Mace, 2007) . Being a social worker requires an acute understanding of the strategies needed to be implemented in order for an individual to improve both mentally and emotionally. Working as a social individual is important for a given patient since they will be able to change their current psychological composition based on the need for great future. 

Being a social worker in this study is accompanied by both positives and negatives. The disadvantageous side of this role is the ability to extract valuable information from an individual. People are often receptive when it comes to matters involving their previous relationships, especially when growing up. Assisting an individual is also another significant entity associated with being a social worker. Seeing Precious emerge as a positively changed individual is a great feeling since she will be able to leave a positive life moving forward. Despite being a social worker having advantages, shortcomings often emerge. The process of making an individual accept their past and also the strategies that will tremendously affect their future positively is an extremely tough process. Humans are always bound to embrace their normal ways of living without altering their current living standards. It is therefore a difficult process trying to convince them otherwise, especially due to the presence of subconscious acts. 

References  

Berkowitz, M. W., & Gibbs, J. C. (1983). Measuring the developmental features of moral discussion.  Merrill-Palmer Quarterly (1982-) , 399-410. 

Hartmann, H. (1950). Psychoanalysis and developmental psychology.  The psychoanalytic study of the child ,  5 (1), 7-17. 

Hoffman, L., Paris, S. G., Hall, E., & Schell, R. (1994).  Developmental psychology today . New York: McGraw-Hill. 

Jamal, F., Fletcher, A., Shackleton, N., Elbourne, D., Viner, R., & Bonell, C. (2015). The three stages of building and testing mid-level theories in a realist RCT: a theoretical and methodological case-example.  Trials ,  16 (1), 466. 

Jorm, A. F. (2012). Mental health literacy: Empowering the community to take action for better mental health.  American Psychologist ,  67 (3), 231. 

Mace, C. (2007).  Mindfulness and mental health: Therapy, theory and science . Routledge. 

Ramos, L. D., Guimarães, F. S., Ventriglio, A., de Andrade, A. G., Bhugra, D., Lotufo-Neto, F., & Castaldelli-Maia, J. M. (2017). DSM-5 post-traumatic stress disorder criteria in “Precious”(2009): media content analysis for educational purposes.  Academic Psychiatry ,  41 (3), 396-404. 

Seligman, M. E. (2002). Positive psychology, positive prevention, and positive therapy.  Handbook of positive psychology ,  2 (2002), 3-12.