The Joy Luck Club Case Study 1

The Joy Luck Club

Brittiny Tyson

The University of Mississippi

The Joy Luck Club 2

Short Summary of The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club is an American movie created in 1993, it is a movie that describes

relationships between Chinese mothers who are immigrants in America. The setting and

characters in this movie are based on four older Chinese mothers who reside in San Francisco,

California. These four mothers formed a friendship 30 years ago, these mothers would form

parties and gatherings together. They would play games, eat and tell stories about themselves and

their families. However, each of these women has a Chinese-American daughter who lived

differently lives than their mothers. This movie reveals hidden stories about their mother's and

daughter's past and how their lives collide with Chinese and American society. This movie also

displays how mother-daughter relationships try to come together to understand one another.

June’s Summary

June is a middle-aged American-Chinese woman, who resides in San Francisco,

California. Junes’ family immigrated to America before she was born, June’s family is originally

from China. June is surrounded by friends and family, June is family and friends also immigrated

to America. Until four months ago Junes’ mother passed away and that is when June started to

have issues in her life.

June’s Problem

June feels that her problem is worrying about her mothers' acceptance.

Cultural Humility (three facets)

Cultural humility is a process of committing and being consistent in a relationship. For

example, it can be family, patients, communities, and even colleagues, all these examples can be

ongoing relationships. There are three elements to it, the three are self-reflection/lifelong
The Joy Luck Club 3

learning, recognizing and challenging power imbalance, and maintaining a respectful and

dynamic partnership (Fisher-Borne, et al., 2015). Cultural humility offers a very immeasurable

foundation, it begins by cutting out inequity compared to other culture-specific models.

Self-reflection/ lifelong learning

I realized that there are some things that will affect social worker and patient

relationships, and bias and beliefs can play a major part in the relationship (Fisher-Borne, et al.,

2015) . For instance, I believe that my bias is believing that people from different countries speak

one language, which is the language of their country. So for me, I believe that the language

barrier would have some effect on our relationship. Even though June is an American, I think

with both of us being from different backgrounds and cultures I think a lot of assumptions will

be made.

Recognizing and challenging power imbalances

I believe that there would be no power imbalances between June and me. I feel that June

and I are equals because we both are minorities (Fisher-Borne, et al., 2015). We both are women

and we both are discriminated against because of our genders, and ethnicities.

Maintaining a respectful and dynamic relationship

Having a respectful and dynamic relationship can help people listen and understand each

other. As a social worker I would respect June and the session so that June and I can have a

healthy and strong connection. I should respect , listen and understand the relationship between

June and I, in order to have a successful relationship and growth.

Anti-Oppressive practice
The Joy Luck Club 4

Some anti-oppressive practice that are relevant is individual social identity. Individual

social identity is referring to certain characteristics and features that help identify a person. Some

characteristics are either embraced, or hiding, some maybe inherited. For example, June has

individual social identity issues in the anti-oppressive practice. June exspressed that she feels that

socially she can not conversate with family (mother), in a comfortable way. June feels

unexspressed and hidden under her individual social identities (Morgain) .

Ethical considerations

I did not think that there was any ethical considerations for June and I ,but I did consider

importance of human relationships. Understanding the relationship between June and I would be

difficult because of our different backgrounds. However, after choosing the solution-focused

breif therapy (SFBT), as my framework model, I learned that importance of human relationship

is similar to SFBT. This ethical skill emphazies on strenghting and restoring relationships with

other people.

Theoretical Model/framework

The theory I have chosen is the Solution-focused brief theory (SFBT). SFBT is a fairly

new theory that provides a very short therapy term. It is very popular and useful in a variety of

social work settings. For instance, it can be used in schools, hospitals, and even child welfare

(Langer & Lietz, 2014). This theory focuses on solutions, not the problems, so that is why it is so

popular and effective (Langer & Lietz, 2014).

However, I have collected evidence on why SFBT is appropriate for middle-aged women.

The first piece of evidence is conducted on a study that focuses on the effectiveness of SFBT on

reducing depression in the single parents home of women, who are under the protection of the
The Joy Luck Club 5

State Welfare Organization of Iran (Habibil, et al., 2015). During the first session with the

women, the therapist began the sessions with self-introduction. The therapist tried to establish a

rapport with the clients (participants), the therapist also explained the principles of the sessions.

While the therapist conducted the sessions he or she reminded the clients of the importance of

their presence during the sessions at specified times. The therapist also gave the participants

homework which was to write a goal about participating during the sessions and then they have

to bring the assignment to the next session. Therefore, when the next session came the therapist

asked for their assignments, and then she began to ask some scaling questions about their

problems with the assignments. Furthermore, as time went by the results from the data collected

proved that SFBT is effective in reducing depression in women in Iran (Habibil, et al., 2015).

Through SFBT women in Iran that were in the study were encouraged to explore the exceptions

to their depression (Habibil, et al., 2015). The therapist’s questions in SFBT helped the women to

reevaluate their thoughts and beliefs about their problems (Habibil, et al., 2015).

Another study I found was about a Chinese college female student named Ling. Ling was

a 21-year-old female college junior at the time of the study. Ling lived at home with her mom

and dad, dad abused unknown substances when she was a little girl (Kok-Mun, et al., 2012).

Ling explained that she and her mother were both physically abused in the home by her father.

Later on, Lings’ father was removed from the home for drugs and domestic violence. After

Ling’s father was removed from the home her mother was thrown out of the home because of

some domestic dispute, which left Ling to live on her own in the home to fend for herself. Ling

was traumatized by that event resulting in a sense of fear, loneliness, and abandonment. After

being left alone in the home Ling learned how to take care of herself, and then as time went on
The Joy Luck Club 6

her parents returned home. When her parents returned home, Ling learned how to provide for

herself alone, so she learned to adjust to her circumstances when she was little. To help her

adjust to her circumstances Ling attended counseling at the university in China to receive help

(Kok-Mun, et al., 2012). The counselor Ling went to construct SFBT because Ling was

determined to find solutions for her problems. However, this study helped Ling based on social

constructionism, the counselor that facilitated the SFBT is most closely aligned with Ling's early

childhood experience of family discord, domestic violence, physical abuse, and a traumatic event

of involuntary removal of both her caregivers. So SFBT is a positive self-perception process that

helps her to resolve her problems and provides strength to successfully handle life’s difficulties

and challenges (Kok-Mun, et al., 2012). She also learned how to succeed in an extremely

competitive academic environment in China, and not be dependent on her family for acceptance

and support, even though reliance and support are characteristic of China's society (Kok-Mun, et

al., 2012).

Strategies used in SFBT

The list of strategies for SFBT consist of assessment, planning, and intervention

strategies. The assessment strategy for SFBT is when the social worker is alert and can identify

the exceptions of the client's present problems or situations (Langer & Lietz, 2014). The social

worker must assist the client in identifying the client's own strengths used in the solution for the

problem. One main goal is to help the client find resources within themselves so that the client

can feel a sense of empowerment about themselves (Langer & Lietz, 2014). The next strategy is

the planning phase, this is the strategy where the client plans their goals and plans for the future.

The goals are made by the client with the social worker's support, and the goals must be
The Joy Luck Club 7

measurable and obtainable for the client (Langer & Lietz, 2014). Setting goals and plans help the

client think of a brighter, better future. The last strategy is intervention strategy, the intervention

in the SFBT consists of actions implemented for the plans to reach the solution that the client has

requested. A way to help the client during the intervention stage is by identifying

Assessment of June (Sheafor & Horejsi, 2012)

Client name: Jing-mei (June) Woo Case Record: 3259

D.O.B: 01/24/1952 (age:28) Social Worker: Brittany Tyson
Address: 1808 Jackson. East, San Francisco, California Report Prepared: Nov. 20, 2021
Phone: 510- 202-7640

Reason for Report:

This report was prepared by Brittiny Tyson, the client was worried about her psychological
well-being. The client wanted to receive help and assistance with her mental problems.

Reason for Social Work Involvement:

June was referred to Miss. Tyson, by her friend from college. June was experiencing a mental
breakdown during an outing with her friends and her friends realized June needed help. June
accepted the social worker's help and wanted to attend the therapy session with Miss. Tyson.

Source of Data:
This report was taken in Miss. Tyson's office with the client on Nov. 20, 2021.

Family Background and Situation:

June is an only child and her story started when her mother moved to America 30 years ago, her
mother and three other women created The Joy Luck Club. When Junes’ mother moved to
America she remarried and had her daughter, June. June is a Chinese-American citizen who was
raised in San Francisco, California. Junes’ mother and father have been married for 35 years.
June says her parents were hard-working people and very strict, her family is middle class. June
feels like she is not worthy enough for her mother, Junes’ mother wanted her to be perfect in
The Joy Luck Club 8

every sense of the word. June stated, “all she wants is for her mother to accept her through her
faults”.

Physical Functioning and Health:

June is 5’6 and weighs 120 pounds. June says that she is in good health, has a balanced diet,
exercises, and reports no medical problems or history of medical problems.
Intellectual Functioning:
June graduated high school and completed college at her University in San Francisco, California.
June stated she struggled in school with her grades but managed to graduate with a high GPA.

Emotional Functioning:
June describes herself as stressed, she struggles with it from time to time she says. However, she
said she often feels angry, because at times she does not know what to do or say when she is
around her mother. June says she would often stare into space and remember how her childhood
was and begin to feel sad. June said no matter how hard she wants to cry, she holds her
composure and bottles her emotions so that she can hide them from her mother.

Interpersonal and Social Relationships

June has a lot of friends and family on her mother's side, but her father's family lives in China so
it makes it hard for her to communicate with them. June has her own business writing slogans
and phrases for different companies. In college, June made a few friends and remained friends
with them throughout her life as an adult. June says she likes to have small informal gatherings at
her home but only with her friends from college. June says she doesn't like to gather with her
family that much because it makes her feel like she has to be perfect all the time. With her
friends from college, she feels liberated and free from all her problems.

Religion and Spirituality

June was raised in a Catholic church, with her family. June describes herself as a spiritual person
and prays often. June said through the church and her parents is where she established morals
and values.

Strengths and Problem-Solving Capacity

Even though June minimizes her strengths, social workers think June is very intelligent and able
to make and maintain friendships in her life. June is able to tell the difference between right and
wrong, she is able to express herself in a clear and understandable way. June stated she has a
tendency to shut down in front of her mother because of how her mother makes her feel
emotionally and mentally.

Impressions and Assessment:

June is a 28-year-old woman who has mental anxiety due to how she states her mother treats her.
June is a very impressive and educated person, however, the social worker feels that at times she
gets stressed and worries when she speaks of her mother.
The Joy Luck Club 9

Goals for Work with Client

In order for June to move forward and decrease her concerns and worry about her mothers’
acceptance, she needs to embrace and realize how many strengths she has. June will need
emotional and mental support to overcome her worries.

Goals and objectives of June

The goal that June has made for herself is to decrease her worry about being accepted by

her mother. So the objective that the client and I have established is that June will keep a journal

of each time she worries about being accepted by her mother.

Intervention for June

The intervention will be based on the SFBT, which has a lot of options for the

intervention stage. I have chosen to use the exception questions for the intervention. Exception

questions will be based on allowing the client to identify times when things have been different.

This is when the client is realizing times when their specific problem was not a problem. So the

type of exception question I will ask June will be, “tell me a time when you did not worry about

acceptance.” Once June answered that question I could ask a question like “ well what about that

day made you not worry about it”. The process would continue from there.

Evaluation

The evaluation stage is the stage where I keep following up with how the client is feeling

at the moment. So my evaluation will be using scaling questions from SFBT to monitor Junes'

worries. The scaling questions will be formatted like, “ On a scale of 1 to 10 how worried and

stressed are you today, with 1 being very worried about it today, and 10 being not worried about
The Joy Luck Club 10

it today?” The answers will be based on numbers and the numbers represent the different levels

of how the client feels for that day.

The Joy Luck Club 11

References

Fisher-Borne, M., Montana, J., Martin C, S. (2015). Social Work Education: From Mastery to

Accountability: Cultural Humility as an Alternative to Cultural Competence, Vol. 34, No.

2, 165-181.

Miyagawa, L,. (2020). “EthnoMed”. Practicing Cultural Humility when Serving Immigrant and

Refugee Communities,

https://ethnomed.org/resource/practicing-cultural-humility-when-serving-immigrant-and-

refugee-communities/

Langer. C,. Cynthia L., (2014). Applying Theory to Generalist Social Work Practice:

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Pages. 210-230

Habibil, M,. Ghaderi, K,. Abedini, S,.Jamshidnejad, N. (2016). “International Journal of

Educational & Psychological Researches”, The effectiveness of solution-focused brief

therapy on reducing depression in women, Vol. 2 , Issue. 4, 244-249. DOI:

10.4103/2395-2296.189671

Kok-Mun, N,. Parikh,S,. Guo, L. (2012). “International Journal Adv Counselling”, Integrative

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy with a Chinese Female College Student Dealing with

Relationship Loss, Vol. 34, 211–230. DOI 10.1007/s10447-012-9152-x

Morgain, K. “Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice”, Putting theory into practice, Vol. 1, 15-27

Sheafor, B,. Horejsi, C. (2012). Techniques and Guidelines for Social Work Practice, The Social

Assessment Report, 9th Edition, 180-182