Below is a brief description of a service user that I have provided support to in order to describe a psychological theory and explain their developmental needs. The following service users name has been changed to maintain confidentiality following the Data Protection Act 1998.

Mr A was referred to the housing support service as he had accrued a large amount of rent arrears. For years Mr A shared a council flat with his younger brother. Their tenancy was well looked after. Mr A and his brother were very structured with their routine. If there were changes to this Mr A would become very anxious. Mr A was not aware of the rent arrears and did not understand how these occurred because he was unable to read any letters that he received.
He currently has a part time job within a local hotel assisting in the kitchen.
Mr A was brought up by parents who suffered with alcohol addiction, due to this they did not provide the basic needs required by children. This resulted in Mr A and his brother being removed from the family home and put into care. Mr A recalled that the house had very little material possessions inside and was unclean and unkempt; he remembers that they were often very hungry and cold. Due to lack of space within children homes Mr A and his younger brother were put into an institutional facility which was for children with severe physical disabilities, while they lost contact with their other siblings.
Throughout our life we follow a process of development. The main stages as explained within Bingham et al HNC Social Care in Scotland are:

Infancy (Birth – 2yrs), Time when we grow the most, Achieving expected milestones, develop attachment relationships, start of language.
Childhood (2-12yrs) can begin to model, copy others. Developing sense of self. Language develops
Adolescence (12-21yrs), Puberty, Importance of Peers, Conflict, Independence.
Adulthood (21-65yrs), Relationships, Child Bearing, Role Changes
Older Adult (65 yrs up), Deterioration in physical, Grief, Social Changes, Role Changes.

To explain development at each of these stages refer to appendix 1.

Mr A’s current stage of development is Adulthood: at this stage it’s expected that he has a few roles. He has a part time job in a hotel. He provides a source of income to the family home to enable them to buy food etc He does not socialise anywhere other than in his work environment. Mr A at this stage would be expected to have some form of relationship other than his brother. It would be expected that he would be applying knowledge that he had learned to his current life.

Physical Development
As Mr A is 57 years old so he is within the Adulthood stage in life, he is still physically fit and in relatively good health, although his physical appearance is starting to show age.

Cognitive Development
Mr A should have developed the skills that he requires to read and write confidently. Unfortunately due to his upbringing he did not have these needs met in previous life-stages. As Mr A is older now this will make it more difficult for him to learn a new skill such as this.

Emotional Development
Mr A has very low self esteem, he never received praise as a child and he does not have faith in his own abilities. Mr A panics if he receives a letter and cannot read it; he becomes very agitated and unsettled. He is worried that he is going to loose his home.

Social Development
Mr A has never developed relationships with anyone other than his brother. He does not have any family of his own and has never been married or had a girlfriend.
Mr A and his brother do the shopping and errands together. But neither of them socialise outwit their home. Mr A is happy with this situation.

Cultural Processes
Mr A is content with his life. They are happy to have material possessions that they have saved up to buy and he is proud of his home and contents within it. Mr A at the childhood stage in life didn’t have security and the feeling of being safe within the family