Importance of the Social Workers Relationship and Humanity - Literature review Example

Analyzing “We Don’t See Her as a Social Worker: A Service User Case Study of the Importance of the Social Worker’s Relationship and Humanity” The study conducted by Beresford, et al. (2008) sought to determine the view of service users regarding the “specialist palliative care social work.” In addition, it is driven to assess what the service users wanted from this particular practice. The “specialist palliative care social work” offers support and services for those individuals who are facing bereavement, and those who have life-limiting illnesses. It also concentrates on family and children, child protection, and some works with adults. It emphasizes on applying a holistic approach to address personal, social, spiritual, and psychological issues of individuals. Beresford, et al. (2008) utilised a diverse sample of service users. These researchers employed a qualitative method to explore the views of those who are suffering life-limiting condition and those individuals experiencing bereavement. The study has a total of 111 respondents. Researchers collected data through interviews and group discussions. They presented service users with the option of being interviewed individually or be part of group discussion. Most service users opted to be interviewed individually. User involvement research is the research approach adopted by this study. Comparative approach and initial analysis indicated that service users highly value the kind of relationship they had with their social workers and the skills and qualities that their social workers possess. Service users consider friendship as an essential element of the relationship they had with their social workers. Flexible professional relationships and reciprocity are the two characteristics that they associate with friendship. In addition, service users value the approach and skills of social workers, which include being available and accessible, listening, being non-judgemental, and the like. The findings also suggest that social workers employ a suitable approach to the different needs of the client. Bereford, et al. (2008) raise a crucial question of whether professional boundaries is being compromised by the service user’s emphasis on friendship as a centrality to their relationship with the social workers. These researchers contend that service user’s view of social workers as a friend may diminish the social status of social workers. There is a likelihood that social workers may be perceived as unprofessional. In addition, it may negatively affect how “specialist palliative social work” establishes itself as a profession. Perhaps, it should also be beneficial to define the goals of this particular practice. The goal of addressing the concerns and needs of the service users and eliciting favorable result will justify relationship with social workers, which is regarded as “friendship” by social users. However, Bereford, et al. (2008) are correct to state that the practice may suffer from the difficulty of distinguishing the professional service workers from those who are unprofessional. Thus, it is highly essential that the social workers approach and manner of interacting with the service user are solely driven to address their needs. In addition, the outcome of such practice must rely on friendship and social worker’s involvement and respect. The study of Bereford, et al. (2008) presents a dialogue between evidences and ideas. Ideas helped the researchers understand the evidences. These researchers consequently utilise the evidences to explain or test ideas. The article failed to explicitly state the theoretical and paradigmatic affiliations of the researchers. However, it can be inferred that these researchers adhere to the ecosystem perspective. This perspective highlights the interplay between the individual and his/her environmental context. These researchers stress how social user’s relationship with the social worker influences the outcome of the “specialist palliative care social work.” This is aligned with the assumption proposed by the ecosystem perspective that the environment-including the social worker-has an impact on the social user’s actions, beliefs, choices, and recovery. Employing user involvement research has generated valuable information regarding the views of service workers as well as what they wanted from “specialist palliative care social work.” Gerris and Lacey (2010, p.38) stressed that it ensures that the research measures the outcomes that service users deemed as essential. It also concentrates on those individuals who are marginalised. User involvement research allows service users to express different views regarding the subject matter. However, this research method is not immune to sampling bias (Gerrish & Lacey, 2010, p.38). According to Burt, et al. (2009, p.255) sampling bias arises when the procedures employed to select a sample tend to include individuals in a population with particular population characteristics. However, the researchers eliminated this bias through obtaining a sample from metropolitan, suburban, urban, and costal areas of the country. The study of Beresford, et al. (2008) is susceptible to measurement bias. Measurement bias refers to the error committed in collecting the relevant data. Interviews and group discussion may compromise the validity of the study if it did not employ standardised interview questionnaires. There is a likelihood that the researchers’ subjective beliefs will influence the analysis of the data collected from questionnaires and group discussions. In addition, there’s a tendency for the subjects to succumb to grateful patient syndrome whereby they become overly positive about the assistance they received from the social workers. Findings of this particular study have provided insights into what service users consider as relevant in the “specialist palliative care social work.” Thus, it is essential to concentrate on the relationship of the social workers with their social users and to the application of social worker’s qualities and skills in the practice. Personally, the findings of the study have made me want to apply my skills and qualities to foster friendship in the relationship. It showed the importance of taking the service user’s opinions into account in establishing goals. I also want to continually foster equality, reciprocity, and affection in the relationship. In addition, the findings have made me want to be firmed and straightforward to the service users. Thus, I need to be honest when I think they are wrong. This study has also highlighted the importance of applying different approaches to the varying needs of the clients. Thus, I must be able to apply CBT or Psychoanalysis whenever necessary. This entails possessing an in-depth knowledge of the different approaches in addressing the needs of the clients. It is essential that these approaches address the client’s personal needs and socio-cultural context. However, I should be wary of becoming too unprofessional in dealing with service users. Thus, my approach and manner of interacting with the service user must be directed towards addressing their concerns. It must be driven towards promoting the well-being of the service users. The study of Beresford, et al. (2008) has showed that service users benefit from a relationship that is characterised by reciprocity and equality. Service-users felt empowered when service workers allow them to be part of the process. The service workers let the service users define the goals of the intervention. They successfully established rapport with the service users. Service workers highly put value on the service workers approachable and ordinary manner of dealing with them. In fact, they regard this as one of the means that facilitate successful intervention. In difficult times, service users want to be with someone they can consider as a friend. They don’t want someone who will just treat them as clients. Service users express the desire to have a continuous relationship with their service workers. “Specialist palliative care social work” as a practice will benefit from capitalising on the relationship of social workers with service users and looking for service workers who possess qualities deemed by service users as essential. Several service users reiterated that the personal characteristics of the social workers highly determine the success of the intervention. It is essential to stress the importance of responsive, participative, and sensitive model of the social work practice. The practice should continually foster a relationship which is characterised by reciprocity, equality, and affection. In addition, the findings of the study suggest that service users prefer user-defined outcomes instead of manegerialist-based ones. They want to be treated as individuals instead of be regarded merely as a client. It is beneficial for the practice to continually address the psychological and personal needs of individuals as well as the influence of their socio-culture environment. In addition, it is highly necessary for service workers to define the boundaries of their services. Service worker’s manner of interacting with service users should be geared towards addressing the concerns and needs of the latter. “Specialist palliative care social work” as a practice will flourish if it focuses on the needs of the clients. Issues on how service user’s view social worker’s “ordinary” manner of interacting with them as a strength compromise the perceived status of the social workers may still arise. However, this manner of dealing with service users seems an effective means of fostering their well-being. Thus, it is essential for the practice to determine if it sought to employ effective means of addressing the client’s concerns or if it wants to be favorably viewed by others as a profession. It should be noted that this kind of practice entails the need to go beyond the established manners of dealing with the service users. This type of practice needs the commitment of service workers to invest their time and expertise for the well-being of the client. Perhaps, it would be beneficial for the practice to emphasise on what service users consider as essential. References Beresford, P., Croft, S., & Adshead, L., 2008. We don’t see her as a social worker: a server user case study of the importance of the Social Worker’s Relationship and Humanity. The British Journal of Social Work, 38, pp.1388-1407. Burt, J. E., Barber, G. M., & Rigby, D. L., 2009. Elementary statistics for geographers. USA: Guilford Press. Gerrish, K. & Lacey, A., 2010.The research process in nursing. USA: John Wiley and Sons. Analysis of “An Experiment in Helping Foster-Carers Manage Challenging Behavior” The study of Macdonald and Turner (2005) has sought to assess the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral approach in addressing children’s behavior problems. Previous studies indicated that children’s behavior problems are related to placement breakdown. The U.K. government has currently expressed its goal of providing effective and safe care for children who were not cared for by their family of origin. Thus, this entails reducing the numbers of placement breakdowns experienced by the children. Placement breakdown is defined as the unintended or unplanned ending of placement. Constant placement breakdown makes it hard for children to entrench intimate relationship with others--especially their carers. In addition, there is a likelihood that children will develop defensive manners of managing the unpredictable world. Thus, the ability of the foster carers to address and manage children’s behavior problems assumes considerable significance. Researchers have paid increasing attention to careful preparation and selection of foster-carers in recent years. Macdonald and Turner (2005) are driven to determine if training foster-carers in strategies or ways of helping individuals manage challenging behavior will benefit foster carers and children who are looked after. The study of these researchers aims to increase the knowledge of carers to children’s behavior problems as well as the ways of managing them. In addition, it sought to increase the skills of carers in managing behavior problems and decrease the behavior problems of children who are looked after. Lastly, it is driven to increase the confidence of carers in their ability to manage children who exhibit behavioral problems. The study of Macdonald and Turner (2005) employed a randomized controlled trial in assigning foster carers into either training or control group. Sixty-seven foster-carers were assigned to the training group while fifty for the control group-for a total of 117 subjects. These subjects were white and 32 to 65 years of age. They were randomly selected in six local authorities. Researchers employed “Knowledge of Behavioral Principle as Applied to Children (KBPAC),” the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and the Foster Carer Satisfaction questionnaire as outcome measures of the study. KBPAC is employed to assess the foster carer’s knowledge of the social learning principles. It consists of multiple-choice questions, which tackled on practical problem situations (Sigel & Brody, 1990, p.15). Meanwhile, CBCL is a measure utilised to assess the problem behaviors of children. Findings of the study indicated that foster carers who were in the training group have higher knowledge pertaining to behavioral principles applied to children who were looked after compared to those who are in the control group. It showed that the training and control group differed from their use of grounding, tokens, and ABC analysis. Thirty-seven percent of subjects in the control group utilised response costs as compared to 18% of subjects in the training group. The findings indicated no significant difference in the skills of foster carers in the training and control group in managing behavior problems. However, carers who were assigned to the training group felt more confident to manage difficult behavior as compared to those who were assigned to the control group. The study unexpectedly found a slight decrease of the unplanned terminations of placement to control groups. The paradigmatic and theoretical affiliations of the researchers were not mentioned in the article. However, it can be assumed that the researchers espouse the ecosystem perspective based on the nature of their study. These researchers were mainly concerned with the potential benefits of cognitive-behavioral approach to foster carers and children who were looked after. This highlights the influence of the environment to the individual’s well-being. Ecosystem perspective mainly stresses the interplay between individuals and their environmental context. Problems that may arise from employing a randomised control trial include participant dropout, non-compliance, and the generalisability of the results (National Research Council, 2004). Katz (2010) stresses that randomisation produces unbiased group. However, the study of Macdonald and Turner (2005) only focused on white subjects. Thus, there is a probability that the results of this study may not be applicable to other populations such as Hispanic, Black, and the like. The study was also highly susceptible to expectation bias. Expectation bias occurs when researchers interpret data according to the expected outcome. There is also an issue pertaining to those foster-carers who drop out upon being assigned to the control group. Researchers have also mentioned the potential benefits of the cognitive behavioral approach beforehand. Thus, there is a possibility that subjects would respond according to the desired outcome. Another issue was the absence of consistent number of foster children among subjects during the course of study. Some foster carers have one-child while others have none. Some foster children have been with their foster carers for a week while others were with them for months or years. Macdonald and Turner (2005) addressed these issues through conducting an analysis of the correlation between the unplanned termination and the period children in two groups have been with their foster carers. However, the researchers failed to address the selection and expectation bias in the study. Macdonald and Turner (2005) utilised valid and reliable outcome measures. The KBPAC has a 0.93 split-half reliability and high content validity. Thus, this measure adequately assesses the foster carer’s understanding of the behavioral management principles that can be applied to their foster children (Rork, 2007). Meanwhile, CBCL has inter-rater test reliability of 0.93 and acceptable criterion validity (Slosky, 2008, p.68). The researchers also utilised Foster Carer Satisfaction questionnaire and interviews. The study of Macdonald and Turner (2005) failed to present evidences that support the premise that cognitive-behavioral approach benefits foster carers and children. However, researchers stress that this failure may be due to selection and expectation bias. In addition, these researchers recognise the influence of the training program in the outcome. The training program heavily stresses the ABC analysis compared to other techniques of CBT. Thus, subjects in the controlled group applied more varied techniques compared to those who are in the training group. There is a possibility that the training program is flawed, or it was not properly conducted. In addition, it may be necessary for foster carers to learn cognitive-behavioral techniques in the long period of time. The study failed to come up with the desired outcome due to the short amount of time allocated to the training program. Foster carers may find it hard to properly apply cognitive behavioral techniques in managing children’s problem behavior. They may need more time and practice in applying these techniques to children with problem behaviors. Nevertheless, foster carers in the training group gained more confidence compared to those in the control group. In addition, they have learned more principles in managing children’s problem behaviors compared to those in the control group. It is beneficial for my practice to continually conduct further studies pertaining to this subject matter. Cognitive-behavioral approach is a widely known and used approach of dealing with the problem behaviors of children. It outlines different strategies geared towards addressing varying needs of the clients. Previous studies also showed the potential of cognitive behavioral approach to helping foster-carers manage children’s difficult behaviors. Future studies should train foster carers for a longer period of time. In addition, these studies should allocate equal time for different strategies of cognitive behavioral approach. Future studies should also address the limitations or weaknesses of the study conducted by MacDonald and Turner (2005). It is essential for the practice to minimise selection and expectation bias. The needs of foster children will be addressed through studies that concentrate on the potential benefit of cognitive behavioral approach. The maladaptive behaviors of these children may be understood through ABC analysis. Thus, foster carers may properly respond to temper tantrums of foster children. Generally, foster carers may respond properly to problem behaviors of children though cognitive behavioral techniques. In turn, children may feel accepted and understood. They will feel that their foster carers are concerned about their well-being. This will consequently lessen the rate of placement breakdown. Thus, children with problem behaviors may have a greater chance of establishing intimate relationship with others and coping with demands in the external environment. Findings of the study suggest the need for a thorough training for foster carers. Thus, foster carers should undergo a training program for a longer period of time. They may erroneously think that cognitive behavioral strategies can be easily applied without thorough prior practice. Applying such strategies may be difficult with a lack of thorough understanding and practice. In addition, it is essential for foster carers to utilise various cognitive behavioral technique instead of stick to merely one technique. The findings of the study conducted by Macdonald and Turner (2005) suggest that foster carers in the control group tend to employ varied means or strategies of addressing children’s problem behavior. Thus, a training program should stress the importance of applying varied cognitive-behavioral strategies. In addition, it must allocate sufficient time for each cognitive-behavioral strategy. Foster carers should analyse the maladaptive behaviors of children before reacting negatively. Children become well-adjusted when they feel that they are understood and when they are given unconditional regard by their foster carers. Foster carers promote a healthy relationship with their children through understanding and empathy. References Katz, M., 2010. Evaluating clinical and public health interventions: a practical guide to study design and statistics. USA: Cambridge University Press. Macdonald, G. & Turner, W., 2005. An experiment in helping foster-carers manage challenging behavior. British Journal of Social Work, 35, pp.1265-1282. National Research Council, 2004. Indicators for waterborne pathogens. USA: National Academies Press. Rork, K. E., 2007. An examination of parenting strategies, attitudes, and stress in foster and biological parents of young children. USA: Proquest. Sigel, I. E. & Brody, G., 1990. Methods of family research: biographies of research projects, Volume 2. USA: Routledge. Slosky, L. H., 2008. The use of rituals and routines in military families experiencing deployment. USA: Proquest. Read More