PYC4808
Assignment 3 PORTFOLIO 2026
Unique number:
Due date: 30 September 2026
SECTION A
Question 1: Ecosystemic conceptualisation
1.1 Presenting problem
The Naidoo family was referred because Maya, a sixteen-year-old Grade 10 learner,
has recently become more withdrawn, started missing school, shown a drop in her
academic performance, stayed out later than the family allows, started vaping and
stopped attending some family gatherings. These behaviours are important, but they
do not happen in isolation because the family is also dealing with long-standing
emotional distance between the parents, regular arguments, unclear adult authority
and repeated situations where the children become involved in adult conflict.
From an ecosystemic point of view, Maya's behaviour is therefore understood as
, SECTION A
Question 1: Ecosystemic conceptualisation
1.1 Presenting problem
The Naidoo family was referred because Maya, a sixteen-year-old Grade 10 learner,
has recently become more withdrawn, started missing school, shown a drop in her
academic performance, stayed out later than the family allows, started vaping and
stopped attending some family gatherings. These behaviours are important, but they
do not happen in isolation because the family is also dealing with long-standing
emotional distance between the parents, regular arguments, unclear adult authority
and repeated situations where the children become involved in adult conflict.
From an ecosystemic point of view, Maya's behaviour is therefore understood as part
of the wider family relationship system rather than as a problem that belongs only to
her. Family systems approaches emphasise that symptoms may be connected to the
way people interact with one another, while more recent evidence also supports
systemic interventions for child and adolescent difficulties where relationships form
part of the treatment context (Carr, 2025).
1.2 Identified patient
Maya can be described as the identified patient because the referral, the concerns
raised by the parents and most of the family's problem descriptions are centred on
her withdrawal, behaviour and declining school performance. However, identifying
her in this way does not mean that she caused the family's problems because a
systemic understanding looks at how her behaviour is linked with the family's
communication, alliances, conflict patterns and emotional responses.
1.3 Relational understanding of the family's difficulties
The family's difficulties make more sense when they are viewed as connected
patterns rather than as separate problems caused by one person. Raj's emotional
distance and frequent absence leave Priya carrying most of the daily parenting
responsibility, Priya becomes more controlling and involved, Maya reacts against the
pressure, the parents then argue about Maya and Maya withdraws even more from a
Assignment 3 PORTFOLIO 2026
Unique number:
Due date: 30 September 2026
SECTION A
Question 1: Ecosystemic conceptualisation
1.1 Presenting problem
The Naidoo family was referred because Maya, a sixteen-year-old Grade 10 learner,
has recently become more withdrawn, started missing school, shown a drop in her
academic performance, stayed out later than the family allows, started vaping and
stopped attending some family gatherings. These behaviours are important, but they
do not happen in isolation because the family is also dealing with long-standing
emotional distance between the parents, regular arguments, unclear adult authority
and repeated situations where the children become involved in adult conflict.
From an ecosystemic point of view, Maya's behaviour is therefore understood as
, SECTION A
Question 1: Ecosystemic conceptualisation
1.1 Presenting problem
The Naidoo family was referred because Maya, a sixteen-year-old Grade 10 learner,
has recently become more withdrawn, started missing school, shown a drop in her
academic performance, stayed out later than the family allows, started vaping and
stopped attending some family gatherings. These behaviours are important, but they
do not happen in isolation because the family is also dealing with long-standing
emotional distance between the parents, regular arguments, unclear adult authority
and repeated situations where the children become involved in adult conflict.
From an ecosystemic point of view, Maya's behaviour is therefore understood as part
of the wider family relationship system rather than as a problem that belongs only to
her. Family systems approaches emphasise that symptoms may be connected to the
way people interact with one another, while more recent evidence also supports
systemic interventions for child and adolescent difficulties where relationships form
part of the treatment context (Carr, 2025).
1.2 Identified patient
Maya can be described as the identified patient because the referral, the concerns
raised by the parents and most of the family's problem descriptions are centred on
her withdrawal, behaviour and declining school performance. However, identifying
her in this way does not mean that she caused the family's problems because a
systemic understanding looks at how her behaviour is linked with the family's
communication, alliances, conflict patterns and emotional responses.
1.3 Relational understanding of the family's difficulties
The family's difficulties make more sense when they are viewed as connected
patterns rather than as separate problems caused by one person. Raj's emotional
distance and frequent absence leave Priya carrying most of the daily parenting
responsibility, Priya becomes more controlling and involved, Maya reacts against the
pressure, the parents then argue about Maya and Maya withdraws even more from a
