Foundations of Social Work - Coursework Example

Foundations of Social Work MICRO PHASE In this particular session the student interacted with the interviewer at the Hempstead H.S. and the main reason as to why this particular interaction was selected was because the student was to be assessed biologically as well as psychologically (Radey 2008). The student, an 18 year old female was observed to be experiencing some challenges with her academic courses which resulted in depression and was admitted in hospital for a few days. The interviewer observed that American citizens especially parents tend to have an attitude which forces their children to work hard and are also strict with them as they want to ensure that they achieve the American dream. As she was apparently overwhelmed by her situation, the student came to the Team Center to ask for assistance from the volunteers. The interviewer cites that this particular case surprised her as the 18 year old student appeared in need of immediate assistance. The interviewer also cites that she was already thinking of ways to help the student for instance by encouraging the policies of the school to allow students who have free lunch to automatically be eligible for tutoring (Cooper 1995). In this way, the student’s fear of failing the regents would be allayed and she would be assisted. At the beginning of their interaction, the interviewer introduced herself as an intern at the Team Center where she formulated the confidentiality policy of the school. Once they were acquainted with the 18 year old student they walked into a room where they begun their session. The student was asked a couple of questions where she allayed her fears and her problem with depression. The intern cites that she ensured that her body language was welcoming to the student as this was intended to give her a sense of security as well as self control while making the student feel at ease (Radey 2008). It was easy to observe that the student was quite overwhelmed by her current problem where the intern had to pause in the middle of the session to give the student some time to weep and collect herself. Commenting on the overall impression of the interview the intern at the Team Center said that she made an effort of trying to reach out to the 18 year old student by comforting her and assuring her that she was not alone in that situation. The intern also recommended some ways of solving the student’s problem. The intern believes that the student understood the former’s intentions as it was made clear of what was to take place in the course of their session which empowered the student in the process (Freedberg 2007). The intern cites that there was some challenges with regards to time and the fact that she found herself doing most of the talking. It is at this point that the intern realized that she needed to take it slower and rephrase her questions for the student to be in a position of telling her if she agreed with whatever was being discussed. It was also a bit frustrating for the intern as she observed that she was not able to allay all the student’s worries for her which was her main intention to start with. On being asked whether she understood the client system’s situation and behavior, the intern is recorded to have said that she observed the fact that the student was struggling with her major academic courses and this led to her experiencing stress because the student believed that she needed to pass these courses for her to be able to graduate from high school (Cooper 1995). The intern’s role in the transaction between her and the 18 year old student was to alleviate her anxiety by helping the student establish positive solutions that would lead to her achieving her objectives. There were also some intervention skills that were considered useful during the session for instance the fact that the intern was able to communicate empathy which helped the student feel at ease and respond to the intern better. The student also got the impression that the intern’s intentions were honest and this gave the intern the chance to explore the situation for possible intervention (Radey 2008). After the session, the intern cites that she was able to achieve her purpose and set small objectives with the student for instance she was able to help the student apply for tutoring which would assist her in passing her examinations thus easing her stress and reducing the depression she experienced. Interactions such as the one recorded can at times tend to affect both the interviewer and the interviewee. The intern was moved by the student’s situation and was able to help her apply for tuition. She also recommended that the student see the psychologist for further evaluation (Chui 2006). However, the intern said that she desires to improve on the manner in which she deals with issues especially where limited time is allocated for a session where she can be able to cover all the issues at a time limit. The intern and the 18 year old student closed the session by making a decision to work on the student’s organization skills for her to be able to cope with any given situation and in the process overcome stress. The intern cited that she would set small objectives with the student where she would work and supervise the student while monitoring her progress. MEZZO PHASE As is with the above session, this session took place at the Team Center in Hempstead H.S. where the interaction was selected because the students were coming in for counseling after one of their friends got hit by a van (Cooper 1995). The students are 9th grader Latinos who approached the counseling team at Team Centre to find someone he could confide to about their sorrow. Volunteers at the Centre were placed to assess the students and prepare for an intervention where necessary. The main purpose of this session was to bring assistance and comfort to the 9th grade Latino students. In the course of the interaction, the counselor introduced herself while assessing and offering tissues and water to the mourning students. She also informed them of confidentiality clause which would be implemented in the session. While the students narrated what had happened to their friend, the volunteer used empathy to share in their sorrow and comforted them (Freedberg 2007). The counselor was exploring both psychological and biological aspects of the situation while doing a lot of listening and ensuring that all the students were comfortable and at ease. In the recording, she cites that she was moved and felt like shedding tears herself. The 9th graders found it easier to get together and express their feelings with regards to the tragic situation with each other. On the whole the counselor would ask the students to speak of the good times they shared with the student who got hit by a van where one of the students would take charge to revive the moment and speak for the rest of the group (Radey 2008). The main purpose for this exercise was to help ease the students’ pain and assist them to cope with their current situation. The counselor’s role in the transaction would be assessment of the numerous aspects of the problem as a way of making an appropriate decision about the situation presented. She would also try observing some of the students’ strengths for instance what they enjoyed doing together as well as what aspect of their friendship they considered most important (Chui 2006). Fortunately some of the intervention skills were considered useful in the course of the session such as the intervention of the coping mechanism which was successful together with the sharing of ideas for helping the parents of the students’ friend. However when the counselor tried to make the students confide in her the students found it difficult to do so and this made the counselor feel as if she was pressuring them into talking things out. This particular intervention skill did not work as expected and the counselor was forced to withhold the intervention skill for a later period. The counselor however cites that she was able to achieve her purpose because she was able to intervene through installation of some skills into these 9th grade Latino students (Cooper 1995). Tuning in to the Change Environment – Setting, Problems and People Served An organization can be defined as a group of individuals who come together for the dispensation of tasks for an objective they all want to achieve in addition to having a social agreement (Chui 2006). An agency on the other hand can be defined as a fiduciary relationship existing between two individuals where one of them known as the agent is obligated to the other known as the principal (Freedberg 2007). Under agency the agent is usually granted permission by the principal to perform specified acts for and on behalf of the latter. An agency or an organization is created solely for the purpose of serving the general community and empowering those who are not in a position to make their voices heard as it were. An organization’s physical environment needs to be one that is conducive for employees to be able to work comfortably with the maximum effort being put into the organization’s mission. In this day and age where diverse populations are on the rise, an organization or agency should be in a position of catering to all the needs of its staff regardless of their cultural or racial background. Discrimination should be at a minimal and this means that agencies and organizations should also consider hiring those considered disabled as they can still be useful within an organization (Radey 2008). It is also important for organizations to develop critical thinking among its staff. Critical thinking can be defined as the intellectual disciplined process of skillfully as well as actively conceptualizing, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluation and applying information collected from or generated by observation, communication or experience (Cooper 1995). Individuals should therefore be encouraged to ask questions, examine evidence, analyze assumptions as well as biases and define problems while avoiding over simplification. Generic Elements in the Beginning Phase of Social Work Practice at the Micro, Mezzo, and Macro levels Every social worker needs to know the manner in which to contract and engage a client in advance as a way of preparing the client for what is to follow. It is quite natural for client to express panic or anxiety before any interview with a social worker and therefore it is important for the social workers to assure the clients that not only are they carrying out the sessions for the good of the client but also intend on ensuring confidentiality as to what is shared between them. Communication is important in such sessions and it is important to identify verbal and non-verbal communication. Nonverbal communication in this case incorporates body language and facial expressions such as the ones exhibited by the counselors in the aforementioned recordings. Every social worker is aware of the fact that they need to be sensitive to cultural differences and be in a position to overcome barriers to communication by training in advance on foreign languages especially where English language is the only language they are fluent with. In this way, the social workers will be able to build relationships with the clients that will establish linkages for the future. Beginnings with individuals A client is any individual seeking to be assisted by a person of authority or one who is in a position to cater to the individual’s needs (Freedberg 2007). A client is usually referred to a counselor by friends or former clients who have enjoyed the services of the counselor or counseling centre. A counseling center such as the one on the records is advertised by word of mouth by other clients and this is actually the main mode of referral for majority of clients. Once a client has been referred to a center it is important for counselors to identify the client’s concerns, ambivalence which includes cultural and class factors as well as the client’s feelings such as has been observed in the aforementioned sessions. The client should then be empowered and encouraged to find solutions to their different issues as per the client’s cultural background. Beginnings with Families It is crucial that family be involved and engaged in the healing process of any client referred to a counseling centre. A family is considered to be a social system that is obligated to give care to those suffering amidst it. Families are important in passing along values and cultures to the young generations and they are important in the development and growth of the young. Families are said to be of different categories for instance nuclear, surrogate, extended, single parent as is with majority of cases in the 21st Century, blended or biological (Chui 2006). It is evident that today’s culture is also embracing and accepting gays and lesbians who can also adopt and start their own families. All these categories are important in the healing process of any client referred to a counseling centre and who is a part of such. REFERENCES Chui, W. H. (2006). Social Work and Human Services Best Practice. Leichardt, N.S.W.: Federation Press. Cooper, J. L. (1995). Cooperative Learning and Critical Thinking. Teaching of Psychology, 22(1). Pp. 7 – 8. Freedberg, S. (2007). Re-Examining Empathy: A Relational-feminist Point of View. Social Work, 52(3). Pp. 251 – 259. Miley, K. K., O’Melia, M. W., & DuBois, B.L. (2007). Generalist Social Work Practice: An Empowering Approach. 5th Edition. Boston: Ally & Bacon. Radey, M. (2008). Frontline Welfare Work: Understanding Social Work’s Role. Families in Society, 89(2). Pp. 184 – 192. Ribner, D. S., & Knei-Paz, C. (2002). Client’s View of a Successful Helping Relationship. Social Work, 47(4). Pp. 379 – 387. Read More