Developing self-awareness starts with taking time to reflect on your own strengths and weaknesses, what distresses you, and what you find most comfortable in social work practice with your clients and colleagues. You have read about many theories and models at this point. There may have been theories and models that you were more inclined to use. Or there may have been theories and models you were not comfortable using. The Theoretical Evaluation Self-Test (TEST) was developed by Daniel Colem...

According to Garland (2013), there is skepticism about mindfulness as an effective intervention. Often, because of its philosophical roots in Buddhism, practitioners and scholars equate mindfulness with “New Age” beliefs. As a result, some may wonder how effective mindfulness interventions are. Recall from Week 1 that it is important to answer the question about the effectiveness of interventions by using empirical evidence rather than experiences or intuition. You may not have experienced or...

Upon hearing the stories of sometimes horrific atrocities clients or client families have experienced, you as a social worker may find yourself confronting existential questions such as Why? For example, Why do horrible events happen to good people? Why do people abuse their children? Trying to make sense of such trauma is not easy, and you may seek answers to these existential questions your whole life. And yet, there are opportunities for growth despite trauma for both clients and social wo...

The problem-solving model was first laid out by Helen Perlman. Her seminal 1957 book, Social Casework: A Problem-Solving Process, described the problem-solving model and the 4Ps. Since then, other scholars and practitioners have expanded the problem-solving model and problem-solving therapy. At the heart of problem-solving model and problem-solving therapy is helping clients identify the problem and the goal, generating options, evaluating the options, and then implementing the plan. Because ...

Social workers who utilize the solution-focused model are mindful of how their conversations with their clients, families, groups, or even community members facilitate their thinking about solutions. The client is always the “expert,” and therefore social workers ask questions to explore how the client perceives the problem and situation. Social workers may use solution-focused questions such as the miracle question. For example, “Suppose you woke up one morning and by some miracle everything y...

Piedra and Engstrom (2009) noted how the life model “remains general and unspecific regarding factors that affect immigrant families” (p. 272). Recall that there will never be one theory or a model that can fully explain a phenomenon or lay out all the steps and procedures when working with complex issues that clients present to social workers. Recognizing this, Piedra and Engstrom selected another theory in the immigration literature—segmented assimilation theory. They identified concepts from ...

Every profession has a code of ethics that guides professional behavior. In social work, the NASW Code of Ethics guides the behavior and decision-making practices of social workers. It is important that the theories social workers select in working with clients align, or are consistent, with the values and ethical principles identified in the NASW Code of Ethics. In this Discussion, you align ethics and theory in relation to practice. To prepare: Review the National Association of Social W...

This week, your theoretical orientation is cognitive behavior theory. You will use the same case study that you chose in Week 2 and have been analyzing in this course. Use the "Dissecting a Theory and Its Application to a Case Study” worksheet to help you dissect the theory. You do not need to submit this handout. It is a tool for you to use to dissect the theory and then you can employ the information in the table to complete your assignment. In this Assignment, you prepare a 5-minute video ...

Imagine that some of your colleagues mention using cognitive behavior therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and reality therapy. Your colleagues continue to say that based on their experiences, they really like these therapies and that they appear to work. Your instincts also tell you that perhaps they might be helpful for your client in your case study. However, from Week 1, you recall that experiences and instincts as sources of knowledge are quite limited...

It is common for social workers to be presented with a crisis situation brought forth by clients, families, communities, and/or organizations. The ultimate goal is to restore the client to equilibrium. The five stages of the crisis are (1) the hazardous event, (2) the vulnerable stage, (3) the precipitating factor, (4) the state of active crisis, and (5) the reintegration or crisis resolution phase. There are times when a social worker will use more than one theory to assist in conceptualizin...