Category: Social Work

The purpose of this assignment will be for students to reflect on the theories covered in class this week related to adulthood and what this phase in the life span entails as they reflect on their own lived experience. Doing so will deepen their understanding of the theoretical material as well as continue building on their skills of applying theory. Instructions Broadly, students will be exploring what it means to be a “millennial” in America today. In order to answer this question students will have to demonstrate understanding of this generational label by integrating examples from popular culture, evidence from their text, and any additional materials that are useful in supporting your arguments. Initial Post Prompt: For your initial post please reflect on the generational label “millennial” and: Define what this label is and who would fall into this generational cohort. Identify the defining characteristics of this generational cohort and support this using scholarly sources as well as those gathered from popular media. Discuss how this label either does or does not apply to you by reflecting on your own lived experiences and characteristics and scholarly evidence.

As we have been learning, when considering action research interventions, many forms of research may be used. For the study you are considering, under what circumstances might you use the following:

• Quantitative measures.
• Qualitative measures.
• Mixed methods.

Give examples for each and justify why you feel that method would be the best in that circumstance.

THIS IS WHAT I WILL BE USING

RESEARCH TOPIC: What strategies do social workers use to support African American men living in urban areas with access to mental health services?

OCCUPATION: Social Work Mental Health Therapist

THEORETICAL PRACTICE: Critical Race Theory

METHODOLOGY: Qualitative

Competency

Recognize challenges faced by Human Services Professionals and how to manage them.

Scenario

Throughout this course, weve covered a lot of information about the Human Services field its roles and responsibilities, history and changing services, ethics, diversity, special populations, and preventing burnout. As you wrap up the course, you will now reflect on what youve learned and/or how youve grown.

Instructions

Write a 1-2 page reflection paper that addresses the following

• Describe three challenges faced by Human Services Professionals and how you would manage them.
• Describe how your perception of the work done by Human Services Professionals has changed.
• Explain what you consider the most valuable thing you learned about the work done by Human Services Professionals.
• Reflect on your reason for pursuing a career in the Human Services field.

Competency

Explain the range of diverse populations and needs served by Human Services Professionals.

Scenario

Human Services Professionals serve many populations (e.g., children, elderly, those experiencing mental illness) served by Human Services Professionals and continuously work to improve the services they provide to these populations.

As a newly hired Human Services Professional, working with a population you are inspired to help, your team is charged with seeking additional funding to continue serving this population. Part of this process includes creating an educational handout for community members to better understand the population, current gaps in service, and interventions that help. Your goal is for community members to see this handout and understand the importance of bridging these gaps.

Instructions

Review the populations described in Section 03 of our book. Select a vulnerable population you are inspired to help that matches the Human Services role you identified in your Module 02 assessment.

Create an educational handout about your selected population to be distributed to community members. Your handout should be 1-2 pages and include the following:

• A description of the selected population
• Challenges routinely faced by the population
• Examples of intervention strategies.

What is Human Services

Reflect on a complex ethical dilemma or professional challenge you encountered during your advanced practicum. Analyze your decision-making process using the NASW Code of Ethics and relevant ethical theories. Discuss how you integrated supervision and professional development to enhance your ethical practice.

Submission: 2-page reflective paper or case analysis. (2 page minimum double spaced)

• The assignment is to create a pre-recorded presentation using a visual tool (e.g. powerpoint, prezi, google slides, ect) on your assigned chapter.
• Chapter presentations should include 20 slides.
• All presentations must include at least one additional creative learning tool (i.e., a video clip, poem, song, outside resource, case study, activity for students to do independently, piece of art to view and discuss, etc.). I am open to your creative suggestions, please check with me if uncertain!
• Ideas/Concepts reflect content from the assigned chapter
• Minimal text on slides, include notes for students to review in notes section of slides
• Include art, images, short video clips and/or case studies as a means of presenting the information in an interesting and engaging manner.
• Dont copy directly from the text- we can already read that.
• Highlight key concepts that interest you
• Identify contemporary issues worthy of note
• Application to Clinical (SWK, OT, PT, etc.) this is imperative! Why does this matter?
• Consistency with Social Work Values and Ethics and or other disciplines standards of practice -we can really learn inter-professionally here!

Be creative! If you have questions, please reach out for assistance.

Macro practice paper, 10%

The purpose of this assignment is to display critical thinking skills, professional writing skills, and to characterize one or more aspects of macro social work practice.

Learning Objective: To differentiate macro-social work practice from direct service, including a beginning understanding of community and organization theories and operations; to apply macro-practice skills to advance human rights and social justice (2022 EPAS Competency 2)

Instructions: This 3-4 page paper should be written in 7th edition APA format. The student will select a topic of interest related to macro-practice social work (e.g. history of settlement houses, social workers in policy and advocacy practice, nonprofit administration, community organizing, social workers engaging in environmental justice work, etc.). The student will research this topic using a minimum of three academic journal articles. The student will write an introduction that includes a thesis statement, a well-researched body that logically supports the thesis, and a conclusion that summarizes the paper. This paper should be well-organized and well-written. The paper should include a student title page, accurate in-text citations, and a reference page. The paper should not exceed 4 pages (excluding the title page, reference page, and appendices).

Grading will reflect

• An accurate depiction of macro social work practice;
• An ability to synthesize information from different sources into a coherent topic;
• An ability to use standard grammar and syntax;
• An ability to use APA style and formatting, including in-text citations, references, and page formatting

Description of process recording A Process Recording is the interns verbatim recollection of the interaction. Preparation for process recording requires that interns concentrate on the client(s) verbal and nonverbal behavior throughout the encounter. Documentation leads the intern to review the sequence of events and reassess the transaction. Interns also assess their practice behaviors, skills, attitudes, and values through process recordings. Process recordings are used to develop skills in engagement, assessment, intervention, self-awareness, and use of self in the client transaction. Process recordings, like any other forms of recording, serve as a basis for discussion in supervision and in the classroom.

Purpose of recordings

• A method for field instructor and faculty liaison to provide corrective feedback
• A mechanism for evaluating interns practice behavior/skill level
• A mechanism for evaluating interns professional development
• A method for teaching intern to assess the client-situation and their own performance
• A method for the student to become aware of their emotional and cognitive responses during client interactions
• A method used in combination with other learning approaches such as audio and video recordings of client transactions
• A method for integrating theory with practice

Policies concerning confidentiality and ownership of recordings All intern educational recordings are to be treated confidentially. Client names and identifying information should be disguised, preferably by assigning pseudonyms. The intern, field instructor, faculty liaison, and School of Social Work Assessment Panel are persons privy to intern recordings. Process recordings are to be completed in the students on-line portfolio in SONIA, and may be deleted after the assessment process and/or at the end of the academic year with the approval of the Field Instructor and Faculty Liaison.

Outline for process recording

1. Goal and /or purpose of interview/client contact (5 points).The purposes of the client(s) contacts will be concise, clear, specific to the client and the interview, and, preferably, measurable. The purpose of the contact shows the relatedness between this interview and previous interviews, when applicable. The purpose can also be personal.
2. Professional: What are you interviewing for? Remember, an interview is a conversation with a purpose. Are you assessing, evaluation, updating, linking, negotiating, confronting, responding, etc. and for what?
3. Personal: Why did you choose this particular interview for a process recording? Was this something you did well? Something you got stuck on? Something you wanted to practice? What do you want feedback on from your supervisor? For example, This was a routine visit for…and I want to assess how well I did on…
4. Content Dialogue (10 points). Record (write down/type) verbatim the content of the interview or interaction. At a minimum, the content section should include the following:
5. Description of how the interview began (introductions, clarification of purposes of interaction, planning task implementation, etc.)
6. Pertinent factual information and responses of both client and intern
7. Identification of specific social work practice behaviors/skills used – list in column headed practice behavior/skill used
8. Description of the apparent emotional content of the interview – identify interns emotional responses in the column your emotional reaction
9. Description of thoughts that led to the verbal response and/or assessment of that response/intervention – describe under the column your assessment
10. Observations/Skills Used (15 points). Record observations of the clients appearance, demeanor, nonverbal communications, thought process, discrepancies between verbal statements, affect, etc. Record general impressions of the physical and emotional climate of the transaction. AS EVIDENCED BY!!! Use your five senses and get behavioral about the client and the environment. Note any Social Work skills that you used during the interaction.
11. Summary of Student Impressions (5 points). The post-interview assessment includes intern impressions based on the interactions and content of the interview. Was rapport established? Were the purposes attained? Why or why not? Was the focus maintained in the transaction? What are the barriers to change, if any? Were the clients motivations and capacities a help or hindrance to the process? Are additional resources needed? How did the client respond to you, your intervention? Themes present in the interview?
12. Future Plans (5 points). Summarize plans and goals for the next transaction, if another will occur. Ties in with the assessment. What will you and the client do nextwhat, when, where, why? If you do not plan to see this client again, what would you plan if you were to see them again?
13. Identification of Questions for Supervision (5 points). The intern should carefully reflect on the interaction with the client(s), and come up with questions to discuss in supervision that will enhance the students learning.
14. Social work practice behaviors, skills, and competencies (5 points). Practice behaviors under each competency are listed in your learning contract, with more in-depth descriptions of the knowledge, values, and skills that make up each competency being located in the final evaluation measure. As you list practice behaviors demonstrated, you may also specify the skill components of the competency. For example, if, in a sample process recording, you listed practice behavior 10.1, use of empathy and other interpersonal skills, you could also list use of self, as a skill for this particular practice behavior. The intern assesses the various roles (advocate, problem solver, resource broker, case manager, etc.), interview and engagement, assessment intervention skills, self-awareness, and use of self in the transaction. If the intern could do the interview over again, what would she/he do differently? What did you notice about your thoughts/feelings and how they impacted the interview?

Write this process recording as a social work intern at a hospice company who is speaking with a bereaved loved one. Use the template provided. Make the conversation realistic and thoughtful.