AT LEAST 200 WORDS PER RESPONSE, MUST HAVE 2 PEER REVIEWED PER RESPONSE, WRITE AS IF YOU ARE TALKING TO THE STUDENT
POST 1:
In working with the Campbell family, the social work role that I would is the Enabler role. The Enabler is the first line of contact for the clients and this is where the social worker is able to identify the needs of the clients, frame solutions and help the client’s work towards constructive and sustainable long lasting changes (Dubois, Miley, & O’Meila, 2017). I feel that this role is appropriate to start with the Campbell family because it is a good way to assess the needs of the family in a non-confrontational or threatening way. As a social worker, it is more of an introduction to the family and their needs. I am able to assess the family using both active listening and looking for the nonverbal interactions of the family to help better develop a treatment plan that will expand and evolve my role as their social worker.
As the enabler I will on the Micro level of social work, I am working closely with the family and helping them figure out their roles in their immediate family and what family roles were assigned to the parents as children, where the communication breakdown happened and what do they want from their family during the sessions. At the Marco level, I will have conversations with both Kali and Jacob’s school counselors to see about grades, behaviors and social habits at school. I would also review attendance records and if the parents are actively involved with conferences or responding to any requested meetings. Also at the Mezzo level, I would speak with Juvenile Probation officer to get more information about the pending charges against Jacob and offer my assistance if needed for any upcoming court hearings. At this level, I would also refer the family to groups meeting and Jacob to SA meetings. At the Macro level, I would advocate for more social service to the community to help with teen substance abuse, teen work programs to help keep them occupied doing more constructive activities.
A resource I identified that can help the Campbell family is a website and hotline that can assist families with teenagers that use drugs understand that the family’s immediate focus is generally on getting help for the teen, but parents are often in great need of help themselves. The Partnerships for Drug-Free Kids (Vimont, 2011). This resource will help the family understand that teen substance abuse is not just an individual issues, but effects the whole family and can be overcame as a family. This resource will address the micro and mezzo levels of social work.
References:
Dubois, B. L., Miley, K. K., & O’Meila, M. W. (2017). Generalist social work practice: An empowering approach. Boston: Pearson.
Vimont, C. (2011, July 29). Resources For Teen Substance Abuse. Retrieved from Partnership for Drug-Free Kids: https://drugfree.org/learn/drug-and-alcohol-news/n…
POST 2:
The Campbell family has many dynamics that need to be addressed. The best thing to do for this family is take things one step at a time. I believe the social work role that I would apply to assist the Campbell family in this situation is the role of the enabler. According to Miley, O’Melia, and DuBois (2017) “in the enabler role, social workers engage individuals, families, and small groups in counseling processes. An enabler encourages action by engaging in a helping relationship, framing solutions, and working toward constructive and sustainable change”. This role is appropriate because the Campbell family needs the encouragement to make changes. Once they have begun the process of change, it is not only my duty to encourage them, but to also track their progress. Again, taking things one step at a time is crucial for this family to promote positive change and to ensure that they will continue the process. An example of how I would apply this process is by assisting Karen in possible rehab for her drinking. I would help her in seeing the benefits of attending rehab and what it could do for her and her family as well. I am a firm believer that if one person changes, then everyone around them will work towards change. Mothers are the backbone of the family and if Karen is willing to be the first one to work towards changing her life, it will motivate her children. As the enabler, I would be consistent and follow-up with Karen and the rehabilitation process.
The micro system that I would use would be to work individually with each family member addressing their individual needs. For example, for Kali, I would assist in getting to the root of why she utilizes marijuana and lack of desire for school. If it is indeed because of bullying, then I would try to find ways to help her in obtain her GED and find some resources for her marijuana addiction. If she is suffering from anxiety, we could possibly set her up an appointment with the doctor for another alternative. The mezzo level, I would definitely facility the family group. Communication seems to be what lacks in this family. I would guide the conversations and ensure that they stay on subject, but ultimately, they would be learning from each other and drawing from each other. This is important because they would need a breakthrough in their communication. With the micro level, I would find community resources that would help the Campbell family. Karen and Joe need more education and awareness with raising teens. They may benefit from being apart of family support groups and parenting classes that are available. Kali and Jacob could benefit from afterschool activity groups. It appears hat Jacob and Kali express the challenges in their lives in a different manner and may need an outlet other than breaking the law. Living at home with an absent parent (Joe) and an alcoholic mother (Karen) can weigh a lot on a child and children do not always know how to express their frustrations other than difficult behavior or acting out.
The community resource that I would use to provide service to the family is Triple P Parenting. This would be responding to macro system. It is very clear that Karen and Joe do not understand or relate to their children. Karen appears to be really affected by her disconnect with her children. I believe this program would be an excellent start for them and motivating for them to begin their journey of healing their family and putting the pieces back together, as Joe has described his family as “falling apart”.
Miley, K. K., O’Melia, M. W., & DuBois, B. L. (2017). Generalist social work practice: An empowering approach (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
https://www.triplep.net/glo-en/home/
POST 3:
I had some contact with each one of these Technologies recently. the technology I find the most intriguing would be our having the ability to counsel clients online. When I first heard about this I thought it was the most bizarre thing I’ve ever heard of and would never work. Then I started working with the Suicide Hotline where you not only are not in the same room with the person but you can’t see the person. Much to my surprise, you can make that connection. It may take a little bit more work, it may take more questions but, in the end I believe you can make the same connections online with your clients that you can in person. The difference being that reaching clients online enables a lot more clients to see you in the comfort of their own environment while not having to go through the stress of traveling to your office. I believe this would make a lot more clients receptive to therapy and could possibly be even more discreet, which would be another plus for a lot of our clients.
The ability to use gaming as a therapy enhancement should be something that will improve our practice. The school systems have used the same kinds of programs to help students learn with greater ease and more pleasure which I believe helps students to learn more. This leads me to believe that treatments in game form will be much more alluring to our clients and more readily used by our clients.
I cannot wait to see how data mining will change our ability to do research. It sounds like it will be more exact, more effective and have a faster outcome. Although I can see issues with HIPAA already.
As I described before I have done some work as a suicide counselor which gives me more insight into the technology of using our smartphones to work with our clients.
I think I would like to learn more about online counseling I am really intrigued. And think that it could be an option in the future for me in my practice.
POST 4:
From the four technologies that is predicted to disrupt social work practice that I’m most familiar with is mobile technologies, the reason being is that I use this type of technology on a daily bases. I work for a company that does home visiting and I send out reminders text messages letting the participant know that we have a visit on whatever day and time. I also use massager to communicate with participants because some clients don’t have use for their phones but only through WFI to send out the reminder that way also and sometimes social media.
The one technology that I would be most interested in learning more about would be Gamification. Only because half of the clients that we as social workers may serve play some form of a game if not on their phones on a gaming system. And if I’m able to communicate with them in a way that they can understand and have fun all in the same time of learning new ways of coping or developing a new skill I’m open to learn more because it may benefit the client.
POST 5:
Technology is always advancing so it is important to improve and update the social work standards for technology. Technology has practically become the way of life as well as a means to provide services. There is practically an “app” for everything. Due to the constant evolution, it is imperative that the standards for technology reflect the way of the world without altering its ethical ideals as they can become lost within the translation of the way the world is constantly evolving especially along the lines of technology.
At my current place of employment we are currently using paper applications to obtain consents to provide services but because of the technological convenience, we will be transitioning over to digital copies. My concerns are remaining HIPPA compliant. “When issues are important, but not yet addressed by state or federal policies, practices and organizations may choose to address such issues in their Code of Ethics” (Lopez, 2014). In order to be current with new technology, I would suggest that the NASW review their standards for technology on a quarterly basis and update them annually if needed. I state as needed due to the quarterly reviews. The information would not become outdated as well as social workers will be within regulations while providing efficient and quality services.
References
Lopez, A. (2014). Social work, technology, and ethical practices: A review and evaluation of the National Association of Social Workers’ technology standards. Social Work in Health Care, 53(9), 815–833.
POST 6:
I agree with Mr. Lopez, there is a need for frequent updates to the NASWA technology standards and a need for social workers to update regularly in their knowledge of Technology.
I would suggest that just as we need to have frequent updates in our knowledge in order to keep our licensure in social work, the same should be required of us when it comes to technology. I believe that this will at some point be mandatory for all agencies and social workers since we are becoming a culture that constantly uses technology.
As for needing to frequently update our knowledge, we have only to look at the last five decades or so when it comes to technology. Social workers in the seventies did not need the ability to use a computer or cell phone, since they did not exist for the use of everyday people. In the last fifty years technology has grown in such leaps and bounds that the need for social workers to be able to serve their clients with knowledge and up-to-date techniques is a must. For a social worker not to understand what she’s working with when it comes to technology could be fatal to their practice.
The actions that I would suggest would be that our agency has mandatory technology training at least twice a year. Also,we are expected as social workers to keep abreast with updates from NASWA concerning technology standards and ethics.
My agency is just starting to take baby steps in technology such as Skyping. I believe that having our whole agency better trained in these technologies would be a lifesaver when it comes to traveling back and forth from different counties and homes and agencies. We could just communicate online. We would also need to be very informed on the HIPAA and NASWA privacy standards.
Reference
Lopez, A. (2014). Social work, technology, and ethical practices: A review and evaluation of the National Association of Social Workers’ Technology Standards. Social Work in Health Care, 53(9), 815-833. DOI: 10.1080/00981389.2014.943454.
