Final Essay Social Work 1010



Final Essay Social Work 1010Allison L. GloverSalt Lake Community College3638556906260Dr. James Bone LCSWSpring Semester 2012Final EssayThis semester has opened my eyes to many different topics and discussions as I have read and explored the field of social work. I will try to show my growth as I discuss the many different areas that were covered during our semester of Introducton to Social Work 1010. For the first area I will talk about the area of social welfare. I will show the information of its past, present and future. I will demonstrate aspects learned from the text, class lectures, and group projects.The aspect of social welfare is a program to help enhance the lives of many types of people. Social welfare is a means to provide the basic needs or support for every age and social class. In its history social welfare was an important way of life for groups to continue functioning and thriving when their own resources had failed them. Our society has changed over the years but we do not need social welfare any less. There have been new issues for society to deal with and the social welfare program is set in place to help those that are struggling. During the 19th century social services were needed greatly during the Great Depression Era. In 1935 the Social Security Act was set in place. This program helped to provide assistance to the poor communities, aiding the disabled, and those that were aging and unable to work. Without some sort of social service the country would have had a more impoverished and deprived society. Later in the century our country dealt with all types of social welfare issues. And new important programs became a priority for our country. In 1964 under the presidency of Lyndon Johnson, programs such as Head Start, Medicare and Medicaid were set in place. These programs have helped lives of people that would otherwise been lost. In 1996 TANF, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families was created. With this program families with little or no income can receive help from the government for the basic necessities to survive. During the conservative years the programs remained constant such as when President Reagan was in office. The domestic economy was struggling and unemployment rates were high. The need for social welfare was a priority. In 1988 George Bush was able to cut taxes and government spending. By the time President Barack Obama was elected the United States was in a great need for change. These topics were only a small portion of topics about social welfare discussed in our class. In our text, Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare, by Charles Zastrow, CITATION Cha1 \l 1033 (Zastrow)there are a broad amount of social needs focused on in our society. Some of these are the Aids crisis epidemic, drug abuse, homelessness, mentally ill, racial discrimination, abortion, poverty, child abuse, suicide, depression and many other issues. In one class discussion we spent the whole class period discussing the multidimensional, multi-professional skills that a social worker needs to have when dealing with the vast topics of social problems. I will discuss that in the section that follows. To be a social worker a person needs to have and be experienced in many different fields of study. In our class we had a discussion that showed the many categories that a social worker should be educated in. These areas are sociology, psychology, economics, political science, religion, education, law, business, and others. The role of a social worker needs to be able to function in many different aspects. He or she should have a wide knowledge base to help better meet the client’s needs. The social worker should be able to look at a person’s environment and assess the needs to help the client get through their personal scenario or crisis. A term our professor shared with us often during the semester in regards to a social worker is that he or she needs to have “accurate empathy, and unconditional positive regard.” The social worker should be able to put themselves in their client’s shoes or situation, and imagine all that they have gone through. Hold the client in a positive regard, assess their needs and direct them to the proper channels. Always remembering to keep the client safe while advocating for their proper care.It is an important part of the social worker’s job to use problem solving, identify with care, and analyze each situation critically. Using the education, tools and skills that they each hold. By doing so they will be able to assess correctly so that they might help with the variety of conditions that a client might be dealing with. An example that our professor shared and was also provided in the text was to know who we are ourselves. CITATION Cha1 \l 1033 (Zastrow)This is an important part of being a social worker. Another example shared during class was to take diversity classes to help understand and empathize with people from different cultures or religions other than their own. We should also research and understand the different cultures, so that we will not only learn but be educated with others values and beliefs. I will further discuss this topic in the next section about the ethical and other responsibilities of a person in the social work field. For this part I will discuss the ethical and other responsibilities that a social worker should have, including how important it is to be culturally competent. We live in a society that needs to work on being more culturally competent. Being raised in Utah this topic means a lot to my own situation. I have always felt empathy towards the struggles that people of other races or ethnicities have had to overcome. And living with white privilege all my life, I was ignorant to those around me that did not have the same privileges that I grew up with. When our professor spoke of “white privilege” I didn't realize he was speaking about my own situation. After I reviewed it in our text I was critically thinking of how I can use my own situation and better educate myself in other cultures and religions. In chapter 12 of our text, CITATION Cha1 \l 1033 (Zastrow) we discussed oppression and the stereotypes that are placed on people. With oppression we are placing restrictions on groups of people that might not seem as good or able to function as well as other groups. And with stereotyping, we have already had the thoughts that a group will not be as well off in situations because of superficial traits or racial ethnicity differences. In our text we read about racism, stereotypical situations and institutional racism. CITATION Cha1 \l 1033 (Zastrow) I was surprised by the examples of businesses or agencies that use forms of institutional racism. It seems that we should have gotten over this issue 50 years ago. But even in today’s society we are struggling with topics of racism, especially lately with the immigration debates. In our class we watched the movie American History X. CITATION Ton98 \l 1033 (Kaye, 1998)This movie was very eye opening for me. I learned a lot about groups and my own feelings towards prejudice and acceptance. The assignment to discuss the different characters in the movie was probably the most interesting assignment of my college experience. I really felt the message I received after viewing the movie is how social workers should respond to the people of all cultures. We should be open and accepting of all cultures. We should acknowledge and embrace our differences in a positive light. See people for their character rather than judging by physical differences or preconceived notions. This fourth section I will address will be on the topic of alcohol, drug abuse and addiction. Our professor was very knowledgeable in the discussions and chapter 8 of our text was very informational about drug use and treatment. In today’s society the use of drugs and alcohol are a major problem. Many people have dangerous dependency habits. And many others in society use drugs socially. Others are using privately. One of the biggest problems with abuse is the issue of mixing alcohol with illegal or prescription drugs. We see in the news daily of overdoses and domestic disputes that are intensified with drug use and addiction. During one of our classroom presentations we showed the statistics of teenage drug abuse. The statistics are very high among teenagers who abuse marijuana, alcohol and prescription medication. In class we discussed the biological factors that can cause teens to abuse drugs and alcohol. Alcoholics are raising alcoholics and other issues such as crime and violence are resulting because of the high drug and alcohol rate. Another group in our class shared information about a non-profit organization called Project Reality. This program can help people not be dependent on the strong drugs they are abusing. Project Reality uses a harm reduction technique involving low doses of methadone. This process can help to keep the client safe until they are able to get off drugs completely.Some of the reasons for addiction are having a tolerance for the drugs, genetics, self-medicating for pain relief, and depression. There are many treatment programs for people in society. These programs offer therapy, self-help, and half way living houses. I believe that with more education for teenagers and early intervention we can help to curb the high statistics of drug abuse. For this last section I will focus on the target populations in society that the role of the social worker can treat. What types of problems these people are having? And how can social workers assess, intervene, and treat clients? Social workers help people in many different stages in life, and in all types of situations. If a person is not coping well or struggling with a situation then a social worker has the skills and knowledge to help. One example of a situation I will discuss is personal to my life. My father was diagnosed with a rare terminal illness, Body Inclusion Myositis, in 1989. In the beginning our family and my father was surprised and saddened. We all needed professional help to cope with his diagnosis. Social workers were able to help him to come to terms with his prognosis so that he and our family could cope with the future. The social workers were able to point him in the direction for therapy, physical as well as mental. They were able to show him the different avenues that living with a disability would need to be addressed and followed. My father was able to live for 20 years with the aid of many social workers assessing his mental and physical challenges. He had many bouts of depression and the social workers could help him through the hard times such as the thoughts of suicide. Other situations or target populations that social workers help are those that are grieving the loss of a loved one, coping with trauma, those dealing with addiction, relationship problems, or stress. Social workers can help find resources for those dealing with poverty, homelessness or mental illness. Social workers can help in different work place environments, such as schools, clinics, and private practices. Another example I will share is that of my stepmother. She is currently a clinical social worker in California. She has helped families work through tragedies, couples with marital problems and most currently veterans of war that suffer from PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The many roles of a social worker are to show empowerment, help enable, help with mental health well being, show pathways for treatments and help find other resources. The social worker can also be the person in between the client and other agencies. They will advocate and fight for the client’s rights. Social workers counsel families and groups, meet individually, and coordinate all the resources needed to provide the best care for the many scenarios. This assignment has been an important part of the semester. I was able to assess what I have learned and use the information to help better understand my thoughts about social work. I was able to consider the class discussions and information read in the text to consider my options again regarding my future. Social work is and has been an important part of my life. And it will continue to be a large part of my life as I develop my own knowledge base towards a career in the social work field.Bibliography BIBLIOGRAPHY Kaye, T. (Director). (1998). American History X [Motion Picture].Zastrow, C. Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare Empowering People. 10th edition ................
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