Deborah “Deb” Barnes is a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor employed at Valley Hope (VH), a private residential treatment facility located in Cushing, Oklahoma that specializes in the treatment of substance use and codependency disorders. When I walked through the door at the end of the Lecture Hall I paused, unsure of whether I was in an office or a playroom. Deb explained that her office is used as the unofficial storage room for behavioral therapy props because she enjoys having the stuffed animals and other toys around her. She invited me to take a seat next to a Teddy bear, and for the next hour I interviewed her about aspects of group therapy that is conducted in the facility. Deb taught me much about how her group members are assembled,…
Texas: For over a 100 years Texas was a one-party state of Democrats (Munisteri). Republicans did not have a chance until Abraham Lincoln who was against slavery and defended the Union during the Civil War. During this time before Republicans took over Texas was free-willed and won majority of seats in the race and had all seats in Legislature. One of the best ways to describe this era was best stated by Author Steven, “developed a free spirit, a pride in self-reliance and a work ethic that is still unmatched today “Early Texans lived, loved and died entirely by their own efforts without relying on government to fulfill their needs. Just like modern Texans, early settlers believed in families, churches and neighbors, not in bureaucracy” (Munisteri).…
I wanted to bring to your attention some issues that I had about a professor in the school of social work, J. Breezer Rickey. I had her for SOWK 370 this fall. As a social worker, I feel that her sense of empathy for her students is not present in her daily interactions with students. She has made several rude comments to me (which I have attached as a PDF to this email), and those comments have made my self-esteem go down a considerable amount. A social worker should life people up, not bring them down, as is the situation here.…
Corey, M., & Corey, G. (2006). Groups: Process and practice (7thed.). Belmont, CA:Thomson Learning, Inc.…
This essay will identify a case I have been involved in and have continuously had to assess whilst on placement. It will refer to a child who will be identified as A. A is a young carer and has only recently returned home after being removed from his mothers care due to her having a substance abuse problem and mental health concerns. I will link the legal framework that was relevant to this case study and describe actions taken. Additionally these actions will demonstrate the application of social work methods and theories that were contributive elements in his intervention, offering explanations as to why these particular methods were used. Before closing, the essay will review any issues of discrimination with a reflection of the overall process of working with this child throughout the duration of my placement and end with a conclusion.…
Question 1 REBT methodology includes all of the following procedures except: confrontation. logical analysis. analysis of transference. counter-propaganda. behavioral methods.…
Our group communication scenario was based in a youth centre. I was a new youth worker and had to encourage members of the group to join in a game and make them enthusiastic about playing. How effective my communication skills were based on the group environment, my voice, my body language and effective listening skills. I managed to do all of these effectively and appropriately.…
Frank Bertollini at the age of 58 would be classified as an older amputee. Prior to his amputation he was playing golf during the summer months and racquetball once a week during the…
Yalom's approach to group therapy has been very influential not only in the USA but across the world, through his classic text "The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy". Moreno developed a specific and highly structured form of group therapy known as Psychodrama. Another recent development is the theory and method of group psychotherapy based on an integration of systems thinking is Yvonne Agazarian's "systems-Centered" approach (SCT), which sees groups functioning within the principles of system dynamics. Her method of "functional subgrouping" introduces a method of organizing group communication so it is less likely to react counterproductively to differences. SCT also emphasizes the need to recognize the phases of group development and the defenses related to each phase in order to best make sense and influence group dynamics.…
The group therapy tools is one of the means to ensure that there is alcoholic abstinence, where the first step is to focus on the behavior that trigger the alcoholism, and how consuming alcohols have affected one’s life. The group members are all allowed to share the story as they desire, and identify the desired change in behavior. It is easier to make progress when there is no resistance to change, and the group members list down their fears, and how their beliefs influence their actions. The self-help groups are most relevant to participants who lack social support system or where the support system does not facilitate moderation and assistance.…
Unless otherwise cited, the career information presented in this paper was obtained from O8Net on-line (National Center for O*Net Development, 20??). Through the O*Net assessments I received a 28 in the category of social. The social category was the highest number compared to the next high of 14 in investigative. After looking through careers in the social category I felt the need to further research mental health and substance abuse social workers. I currently work in the field of mental health and substance abuse as a crisis counselor. I had seriously thought about going back to school to get my masters in social work after talking to making social work co-workers. However there were many aspects of the job that I disliked, but I wanted…
Occupational therapist use interventions to have the client work on occupations and participate on getting better (2014 pg. S43). One way practitioners implement intervention is by using occupation and activities. Occupations include daily life activities that are client-directed toward his or her goals (pg. S29). Being able to dress himself or herself independently would be an occupation intervention. Activities are parts of an occupation that develops the client’s performance skills and patterns (pg.…
I believe group sessions provide for positive peer interaction. The stages of a group, as indicated by Corey & Corey, seem to mirror that of which friendship formation evolves. The initial stage is a time of orientation and exploration. Norms are established, personal and group goals are set, and members are becoming acquainted. The transition stage consists of that of a testing ground where feelings of anxiety, defensiveness, and resistance are displayed. Like in friendships, one assesses that of the others' limits and capabilities. Finally, the working stage is where an environment of safety and trust has been established and work. I think participating in the group depicted in the “Evolution of a Group” video was difficult for some of its members, and there were some issues with trust amongst the participants. Some group members seemed to have stronger personalities and thus controlled the focus of the group. The group’s leaders recognized this factor and tried to facilitate more balance by encouraging less vocal members to discuss their feelings about comments made by the stronger personality types in the group. However, I don’t believe they were very effective in accomplishing balance, as evidenced by the reactions of some group members when a black woman from the group discussed her feelings about some of her experiences with the white women in the group. The response from one of the white women in the group was that now she could not trust this woman because she felt like she was being judged. I think this would have been a good opportunity for the group’s leaders to explain how it was ordinary for certain alliances to form within the group based on certain familiarities. I believe its important when running groups to always be aware of the my own feelings and to encourage group members to do the…
The difficult part was the service users that I worked with had their own diverse values and that is where I experienced some tensions and dilemmas as to what was the right thing to be doing came up. Different people had different views on what creates risk. In my position as a Social Worker it needs the ability to identify and balance values of benefits and harms, taking into consideration where one’s own value base impacts on the decision making and where we can support people to achieve the best outcomes, using professional rather than personal values. However we are guided by the purpose of the organisation we are employed in, as well as the legal and policy parameters of our society. Additionally, it would appear that the focus of social…
Skill The use of group intervention by occupational therapists under a cognitive behavioural framework. Group intervention Group therapy started in the early 20th century and was further developed during the 1950’s due to increased demand on therapists after the war (Weiten, 2007). The purpose of group therapy is to provide therapeutic services to several clients at a time while also using the benefits of group therapy as seen in Yalom’s therapeutic factors to provide further therapeutic value (Weiten, 2007; Yalom & Leszcz, 2005).…