Interviews in Social Work

Interviews in Social Work Simulated interviews reflection and approach work Part 1 The purpose of the interview was to explore the service users situation and investigate his needs and problems. When reflecting on the interview techniques I asked both open and closed questions, for example Do you want to tell me whats happened recently? I probed into his responses several times for example would you like to talk in more depth about that? These questions can promote client involvement, inviting the service user to talk in more depth. Using this technique shows that I listened by asking questions about points he had discussed. The service user mentioned that he felt I listened well to what he was saying because I asked him to talk about what hed discussed in more detail. I tried to use the non verbal attending SOLER techniques (Egan, 2007) these included facing the client squarely, having an open posture, leaning towards the service user and keeping good eye contact during the interview which when looking back at the interview I believe I did constantly. I did try one technique called scaling, upon reflection I concluded that it was not the correct time to use it. I think I was too eager to try too many techniques at once. Understanding this will help establish the correct skills to use in different situations. During the interview the service user was fidgeting, this may be a response to how he dealt with their anxieties and depression. However upon reflection I understand that anyone having an interview with a social worker could be nervous and fidget. Its unfair to conclude that it was his anxieties that caused him to fidget. Upon reflection I found that his answers were closed at first until I tried to make him comfortable, probing his responses until he felt more relaxed and happy that I was listening. He then became more confident at answering the questions and gave more in depth responses. However this may not have been because of the techniques I used. The service user has had dealing with mental health teams in the past. Having had experience of interviews he would find it easier to talk to a social worker and give answers out of habit. Mental health services have a habit to affect service users. Helping them in certain situations in the past, the service user will be used to worki ng with them in this setting and want them to help again so willingly involve themselves interviews. I tried to empathise with the service user when it was possible for example I can see things have been really difficult for you. I showed support when it was needed for example he knew what he did not want but not what he wanted in regards to having help. I explained that it was a good situation to be in and we can move on further from this. I believe I showed understanding and empathy towards his situation by using non verbal skills like smiling and nodding when he explained something Within the interview I was nervous and did not appreciate that this service user had previous experience of mental health services and already had strategies that enabled him to live with his mental distress. I focused solely on his mental health and this impeded my techniques and how I acted as the interviewer. I should have focused on the situation and asked him what his current situation was and why he was currently using mental health services. I did find out the main part of his situation, that he is about to be made homeless but I didnt explore it in depth after hed mentioned it. I just carried on with using techniques I had learnt and ignored the severity of his situation. I think my understanding of the purpose of the interview and the actual purpose had affected the way I acted and asked questions. Ignoring the whole reason why the service user was in crisis may have been due to my own personal experience of mental health. Understanding that my previous experience may impede my practice is something that reflection has uncovered. My age and gender may have affected the interview process. Being a young woman whos a social worker when my client is an older male with mental health problems understandably there are boundaries these may have affected how I asked questions and what I wanted to cover and how he answered questions. This man was not much younger than my father I may have ignored his most pressing problem because I associated him to a close figure that never has problems and always deals with things independently. Unconsciously I may have associated this and that may be why I ignored the severity of his imminent homelessness. I used a notebook throughout the interview. Upon reflection I believe I unconsciously used this as a barrier because of my own nerves and understanding of individuals using mental health services. I am rather disappointed in myself even if it was an unconscious action an individual using the mental health team needs a social worker who will not put up barriers that may suggest they want to distance themselves from the service user. Being aware of this will help me in the future when working within the mental health services. Biestek (1961) produced a set of values that social work is based on including individualisation and acceptance (Adams, Dominelli and Payne, 2009). I showed anti discriminatory practice by understanding that individuals should be treated as unique. You may already have previous experience of similar cases and already know what might work. However its important not to direct the service user but let them make their own decisions. Within the interview I believe I used this approach asking the service user What would you like us to do to help you? ensuring the service user makes the decisions. The social worker can safeguard the service user against making decisions for him by using reflection as a technique. Reflecting individually and being able to use your team to reflect upon what you as the social workers have done and why you have done. Colleagues may identify an important aspect which the social worker had not previously considered. During the interview I tried to keep my emotions controlled to make sure the service user was not affected. However whilst reflecting I feel emotional about the situation. I think its important to be able to feel emotions regarding the situation otherwise I may be more affected by the situation later on. Part 2 The service users situation is such that he will be imminently evicted and become homeless. As such the approach to take requires an intervention that will help and be effective in the short term. A crisis intervention and task centred approach helps people faced with sudden problems (Adams et al, 2009). When in crisis individuals find that they have no solutions, because of this may be more susceptive to outside help, in this case from mental health social workers (Roberts, 2000). These approaches would be the most effective in this situation as the service user is facing sudden problems. Crisis intervention uses elements of the psychodynamic approach and cognitive approach focusing on emotional responses to events and how to control them realistically. The task centred approach focuses on major continuing problems in life. Both improve the individuals ability to deal with their problems (Payne, 2005). There are different phases of crisis intervention, the beginning phase focuses on the situation but should look into his emotional state and well being. Using Roberts, 2000 seven stage crisis intervention model helps understand what this approach involves. The first stage is conducting the assessment. This leads to establishing rapport with the service user. Major problems are then identified and the causes of crisis are investigated to ensure these do not continue to affect the service user. The social worker helps the service user deal with emotions regarding the situation. The next stage involves the social worker and service user identifying different routes to take to ensure the service user is involved with decision making with regard to his plan (Roberts, 2000). I believe that this model is the most useful when understanding crisis intervention as during the fifth stage when they are looking at different routes to take they can look at the service users previous responses at c oping with difficult situations and how they had dealt with them then therefore focusing on strengths. During this stage the social worker could help the service user reduce the crisis into smaller manageable amounts this may decrease the service users level of anxiety. Helping involve him in coping mechanisms and decision making to develop and implement a plan. Firstly the social worker and service user must identify the crisis, assess the situation, explore strengths and the resources the service user may have and then implement a plan (Payne, 2005). Crisis intervention identifies practical tasks that the individuals need to readjust when crisis has occurred (Payne, 2005). This service users crisis has already been identified as his imminent homelessness. During the interview the situation was explored to find out other problems he is facing, he currently has depression and levels of anxiety and has had previous gambling problems. The strengths that the service user has are his commitment to want to work in the future and knowing he needs help but does not know what kind of help he needs. A major strength the service user has is his ability to form strategies to cope with his mental illness to enable him to live within society without difficulty until crisis had happened. From this initial interview further work would need to be done with the service user this would involve looking holistically, investigating his environment, familial relationships and other situations and find out any other needs which the service user may wish us to meet. Task centred intervention would be incorporated within this time whilst crisis intervention was ongoing. This is a practical approach and would be effective as it looks at his problems and why he might be facing crisis to try and prevent him facing crisis again. This is a short term problem solving approach using partnership and empowerment, building on peoples strengths. This approach focuses on the service users problems. Payne, 2005 explains that task centred looks at problems that the service user acknowledges and what they want to change. Task centred is effective when solving problems involving social relationships and decision making problems, both of which the service user has. The client identifies problems the tasks are then planned, these may involve small actions or involve different actions, for example in this case help with familial relationships and take part in gambling help. The tasks can be physical actions for example the service user is this case could call a gam bling anonymous helpline and ask for further help. These tasks are then evaluated to see if they have been achieved (Doel and Marsh, 2005). The purpose of task centred is to help resolve problems and give them capacity to deal with them in the future. Criticisms of both crisis intervention and task centred are that neither is effective when the service user is constantly facing crisis and some individuals may find it difficult to face their problems head on like in task centred. If timing was not a problem another approach which may have been useful would be Cognitive Behavioural Approach. This approach involves the application of the social learning theory and would help me as a social worker and the service user to understand how emotional and behavioural problems can arise and how they can then be maintained or changed. This theory was chosen as its one of the most effective treatments for conditions where depression is the main problem. It looks at triggers which might affect how the service user functions within society for example his gambling problems may have caused a difficult financial situation leading to his imminent homelessness (Westbrook, Kennerley and Kirk, 2007). Cognitive behavioural therapy focuses on client self determination, empowering the service user to make their own decisions and also boosts the service users confidence when making these decisions and avoids having a dependent service user. It encourages service users to reinforce desirable behaviours rather than punish those that are undesirable (Adams et al, 2009) (Westbrook, Kennerley and Kirk, 2007). Cognitive behavioural therapy is not a short process which is why it wouldnt be useful in this case. If further on when the crisis has resolved and the service user and social worker have built rapport it may be a useful approach to use when dealing with his other problems. The service user already had an idea of what cognitive behavioural therapy was as his psychiatrist has already referred him for short term cognitive behavioural work. Working with the therapist allocated to this service user may enhance his progress, if all professionals are working towards the same goal using the same approach it may be beneficial to the service user in the long run.

Equine Protozoal Myeloencepalitis :: essays papers

Equine Protozoal Myeloencepalitis Equine Protozoal Myeloencepalitis is a serious neurological disease in horses caused by a parasite protozoa thought to be sarcosystis neurona. The disease was first identified in the 1960’s when lesions and inflammation were seen in the brain and spinal cords of horses that had died of severe neurologic disease. Protozoa were discovered on the lesions in 1974, however the vector was unknown and the disease considered rare. Recently the opossum has been isolated as the probable vector and the likely parasite organism identified as Sarcosystis falcatula. (Fenger, 1996) The Sarcosystis protozoan parasites have a complicated life cycle. They exist in two distinct forms. One in the definitive host (a carnivore like the opossum) and one in a secondary or intermediate host (wild birds that the opossum feeds on). It reproduces in the digestive tract of the definitive host and passes infective sporocysts in the feces, which are then taken in by the secondary host. There the sporocysts migrate to the muscles and can persist for years until the secondary host is eaten by the definitive host. The protozoa are usually very host specific (requiring a specific carnivore to reproduce), and most likely neither host show any clinical signs of disease. (U. Missouri†¦ 1999) The horse is an unfortunate casualty in this cycle; it is infected when feces of the opossum are ingested with their food material. The horse is a dead-end host, meaning it is not required in the parasite’s life cycle and therefore the disease cannot be transmitted from horse to horse. Several interesting facts put forth by the University of Missouri: EPM is seen only in parts of the world that are inhabited by opossum specifically the Americas. It has been estimated that seroprevalence (indicating exposure) in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky is as high as 50%, however only a small percentage (2-3%) of those exposed will become ill with symptoms. Native wild birds infected are not likely to show any symptoms, however non-native birds become acutely ill and die from S. falcatula exposure. (U. Missouri†¦ 1999) Primary clinical signs of EPM occur from swelling and nerve death in the central nervous system as a result of the replicating protozoa. Neurologic signs can be directly referable to the site or sites of infection. The spinal cord is most often affected resulting in the â€Å"three A† symptoms of asymmetric ataxia and focal muscle atrophy. (Fenger, 1996) Ataxia affects the horse’s sense of position in space.

Jim Goodnight Essay

Goodnight is driven by creating a culture that is full of employee engagement and motivation. On the SAS website, Jim Goodnight is quoted as saying, â€Å"Treat employees like they make a difference and they will†. In a publication from Harvard Business Review that Goodnight co-wrote with author Richard Florida he states, â€Å"companies prosper when they harness the creative capital of their employees, as those are the individuals that are creative thinkers and generate valuable products and services. † Mr. Goodnight understands that his product is a â€Å"product of the mind,† and therefore recognizes that maintaining an environment that retains employees and keeps them engaged is a requirement to be successfully. Jim Goodnight has entrenched motivator factors into his business, while minimizing and eliminating hygiene factors for his employees. SAS uses a vertical loading management style that allows employees to be more engaged and empowered in their work. Employees draw responsibility and challenge from this management platform. SAS employees are often only two or three levels down from the CEO, Jim Goodnight, and work alongside their management writing code and setting deadlines. These factors motivate employees and displays to them that managers can be technical in nature and work alongside them â€Å"in the trenches. † Also, SAS has a strong focus on employee satisfaction and uses all possible means to minimize and eliminate hygiene factors that could cause dissatisfaction. Mr. Goodnight pays his employees a competitive salary, however, he shows his commitment through other means such as; benefits, company programs, and employee facilities. SAS understands that work life balance is a conflict that most professionals have to deal with and overcome. SAS maintains flexibility by offering services that ease this burden such as; lunch programs, unlimited sick leave, and in house childcare. The fact that SAS has never had a layoff speaks volumes to its employees about the dedication that leadership has to its employees on job security and proper staffing levels. These factors have far reaching effects on employees and families, as they recognize and appreciate these benefits. My current employer offers a package similar to the one SAS provides its employees, and I experience similar results. For example, teams are more motivated and engaged in their work with minimal turnover and low dissatisfaction with their jobs, and teams are more likely to accept additional assignments with minimal pushback. Jim Goodnight is clearly motivated by offering his employees the highest quality of work life balance possible. He believes the culture is based on â€Å"trust between our employees and the company.

Physician Assisted Suicide and American Federalism essays

Physician Assisted Suicide and American Federalism essays According to Brian Bix, law is most often considered with deciding who gets to decide cases. In Americas political system, this question is often distinguished. Much controversy and debate is focused on federalism. At what level should decisions be made, (individual, municipal, state or federal) and which sort of government should decide? This question of who decides is called federalism. The United States is a federal community with powers separated between the federal government and other governments below the federal government, in example, the states. Americas federalist system has valid, yet controversial policies for the way issues are considered in the country. Physician-assisted suicide is just one of them (1). According to Kathryn Tucker, attorney for the respondents in the Washington vs. Glucksberg case, this case presents the question, whether the 14th Amendments guarantee of liberty protects the decision of mentally competent terminally ill adults to bring about impending death in a certain, humane, and dignified matter? (2) It also asks the question, whether a state denies equal protection when it permits terminally ill patients equal protection when it permits terminally ill patients who are on life support to a humane death with medical assistance but prohibits terminally ill patients who are not on life support to exercising the same right by self-administering medication prescribed for that purpose? (Tucker 2) Does the Supreme Court have the powers delegated to them in the United States Constitution to agree or disagree with this issue or is this a case where it is left up to the state to decide? No, they do not. The Court uses the Commerce Clause to show that this case is a federalist issue, but it does not withhold the issues to which the decision is based on. Washington vs. Glucksberg is a judicial case where the court considered the constitutionality of Washington&ap...

Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre "Jane Eyre" was published in 1847 under the androgynous pseudonym of "Currer Bell." The publication was followed by widespread success. Utilizing two literary traditions, the Bildungsroman and the Gothic novel, "Jane Eyre" is a powerful narrative with profound themes concerning genders, family, passion, and identity. It is unambiguously one of the most celebrated novels in British literature.Born in 1816, Charlotte Bronte was the third daughter of Patrick Bronte, an ambitious and intelligent clergyman. According to Newsman, all the Bronte children were unusually precocious and almost ferociously intelligent, and their informal and unorthodox educations under their father's tutelage nurtured these traits. Patrick Bronte shared his interests in literature with his children, toward whom he behaved as though they were his intellectual equals. The Bronte children read voraciously. Charlotte's imagination was especially fired by the poetry of Byron, whose brooding heroes served as the prot otypes for characters in the Bronte's juvenile writings as well as for such figures as Mr.English: North Lees Hall and out buildings Otherwi...Rochester in Jane Eyre (2). Bronte's formal education was limited and sporadic - ten months at the age of 8 at Cowan Bridge Clergy Daughters' School (the model for Lowood Institution in Jane Eyre), eighteen months from the age of 14 at Roe Head School of Miss Margaret Wooler (the model for Ms. Temple) (Nestor 3-4). According to Newman, Bronte then worked as a teacher at Roe Head for three years before going to work as a governess. Seeking an alternative way of earning money, Charlotte Bronte went to Brussels in 1842 to study French and German at the Pensionnat Heger, preparing herself to open a school at the parsonage. She seems to have fallen in love with her charismatic teacher, Constantin Heger. The experience seems on a probable source for a recurrent feature in Bronte's fiction: "relationships in...

My life An Engineer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My life An Engineer - Essay Example Your university will provide me with the international approach to engineering challenges. It will also expose me to the state-of-the-art facilities in engineering and a great learning environment where I can gain both practical and theoretical knowledge in Engineering. Part of my long term objective after completion of my course is to come back to Nigeria and establish a World-Class engineering organization that will provide both knowledge, experience and employment opportunities to young Nigerians with a passion in the Engineering field. My passion in engineering can be traced back to the years when I was still a young lad, even before I started going to school. Back then, I was very creative constructing toys out of plastics and papers. I could for instance fold and join papers of different colors and make a beautiful kite out of it. With time I gained interest in electricity and I could join a series of dry cells with copper wires and light a bulb. I also enjoyed making toy cars out of aluminum tins that I collected from my neighborhood. Back then, I did not realize that all I was doing was actually different elements of engineering. My craftiness continued to develop as I grew older. I could help my father fix his Toyota car, tightening screws and bolts in the house and repairing electric sockets. I was actually practicing engineering subconsciously through my intuitive acts. When I joined high school, science became my favorite subject and I scored higher grades in scientific course than any other. I took my assignments seriously and I could also help my classmates out with areas that I was knowledgeable in. These interactions helped develop my communication skills, which has become an integral part of my profession to date. I was always chosen to represent my school in interschool debates where I excelled on most occasions and managed to create a great image for my high school. My teachers could see a bright future for me in engineering. My Guidance and Counseling teacher for instance advised me to strive to be an engineer after reviewing my grade score sheet. After my high school, I volunteered to teach mathematics and Primary at a community school as I also prepared to sit for entrance exams at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology in Nigeria. In 2005, I was admitted in to the university’s Mechanical Engineering Department. Part of my undergraduate degree included coursed in Engineering Drawing; Tribology; fluid Mechanics; Strength of Materials and Dynamics; Thermodynamics; Automatic Controls; Mechanical Vibration and Principle of Engineering Design amongst others. As part of my undergraduate course, I engaged in two internships that gave me great opportunities to put my knowledge in practice. The first internship was at an Auto-Mechanical workshop while the other was in a Marine company. My final year research was on the erratic electric power supply in Ogbomoso and its effect on crop processing methods by the rural fa rmers in a community near my university campus. The challenge in this study was to come up with alternative methods and technologies that farmers could use to dry their crops. I identified biomass and solar energy as the best methods. I designed and fabricated a Solar – Biomass Integrated Dryer under the guidance of Engr. O.S Olaoye. After my undergraduate degree, I have continued to update myself with emerging trends in Engineering, especially with regard to emerging technology. I have read a lot about

Cultural discussion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cultural discussion - Research Paper Example Furthermore, the nurse must consider that Mrs. Nasser’s daughter already has high fever and needs immediate attention. She should accentuate to Mrs. Nasser that she cannot prescribe medicine without understanding the cause of her daughter’s symptoms. In addition, since her daughter is a minor, we cannot force Mrs. Nasser to authorize tests and procedures that she does not want for her daughter. The recommendations for the nurse are: 1) She should inform Mrs. Nasser that her daughter needs immediate clinical attention for her fever and discomfort and that she will try to get a Muslim female physician/gynecologist for her to appease her cultural reservations. If no Muslim female doctor is available, she will tell her that she will try to get a female doctor. If no female doctor is available, then they will find a male doctor and ensure that all examinations will be done with her mother present (Lo, 2009, p.335). The nurse can also remind Mrs. Nasser that ‘necessity overrides the prohibition,’ which is a rule of Islamic Sariah. 2) The nurse can suggest other kinds of examinations to rule out possible causes of diseases, such as physical examination, where if a male physician does it, he will do it with gloves on and in the presence of Mrs. Nasser. Other options are taking rectum samples and doing an ultrasound. 3) The nurse must be sincere and responsive to the cultural and religious beliefs of Mrs. Nasser. She must discuss these various laboratory testing options to her, so that she feels that she has the autonomy to make decisions for her daughter. This will build trust too, which is essential, noting that Mrs. Nasser is scared for her daughter, but wants to remain true to her cultural/religious beliefs. Reference Lo, B. (2009). Resolving ethical dilemmas: A guide for clinicians (4th ed.). Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams, & Wilkins. Cuban Discussion Food is considered part of people’s culture, which is why it is not surprisin g that Mrs. Demetilla Hernandez wants to continue cooking traditional Cuban dishes to her family. Cuban food affirms her Cuban identity. Cubans strongly value family needs too, which is why Mrs. Hernandez prefers to cook traditional Cuban dishes, though they might not be good for her, after being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. She might think that the happiness and satisfaction of her family is more important than her health. Furthermore, as a traditional Cuban woman, Mrs. Hernandez might have more faith in herbs than medicine. It is possible that she is used to drinking herbs to manage her former illnesses. In addition, there must be some language barriers too. She might not understand the lifestyle changes required to keep her blood sugar level close to normal. She needs to absorb the complications of unmanaged Type 2 Diabetes, such as heart and blood vessel disease, nerve damage (neuropathy), and foot damage, among others. Language barriers, cultural beliefs, and diet concerns m ust be addressed. The recommendations for the nurse are: 1) If she knows Spanish, she should speak in Spanish with Mrs. Hernandez and explain to her what Type 2 Diabetes is and what the possible complications are. If not, she should get a Spanish nurse to help her or refer her to a Spanish doctor who can help explain the lifestyle changes needed to manage her blood sugar l