Intervention Processes and Techniques Flashcards

Question

What are short term interventions + examples

Answer 1

- Vary greatly in duration - Research suggests that SW & client's views on time of treatment is more important than duration of treatment itself - Ex: ○ Crisis intervention ○ Cognitive behavioural model Psychoanalysis started out short term - can be short or long

Answer 2

- Want to create doubt that everything is okay and help client's recognize consequences of current behaviours of conditions that contribute to dissatisfaction - Sometimes clients are incapacitated by conditions that need to be addressed first (depression for ex.) - Role is to create an atmosphere that is conducive to change and to increase client's intrinsic motivation so that change arises from within instead of being imposed externally

Answer 3

``` ○ Clearly identifying the problem or risk area ○ Explaining why change is important ○ Advocating for specific change ○ Identifying barriers and working to remove them ○ Finding the best course of action ○ Setting goals ○ Taking steps toward change ○ Preventing relapse - Empathy ```

Answer 4

- Ex. Families in child protection system, those in CJS - May want no contact or only participate because they feel like they have no choice - Often requires SW to have peer support or supervision to process struggles & reassert themselves because clients may test or direct anger at SW

Answer 5

○ Acknowledging clients’ circumstances and understanding how they came about given clients’ histories ○ Listening to clients’ experiences in order to try to understand how they feel about intervention ○ Engaging in clear communication because involuntary clients struggle to understand what is happening to them ○ Making clear what the purpose of the intervention is, what clients have control over and what they do not, what is going to happen next, and what the likely consequences will be if they do not participate ○ Assisting at an appropriate pace as progress may be slow ○ Building trust, even on the smallest scale, by consistently being honest and up-front about the situation and why a social worker is involved ○ Giving clients practical assistance when needed to help them fight for their rights ○ Paying attention to what is positive in clients’ behavior and celebrating achievements - Showing empathy and viewing clients as more than the problems that brought them into services

Answer 6

1. Feedback may be verbal or nonverbal so SW must try to see what clients are trying to convey verbally or via their behaviour and nonverbal cues in order to see whether interventions should be altered 2. When SW involve consultants or others in the feedback process related to client care, clients should provide consent 3. SW should ask for feedback in difficult circumstances - not just in neutral/positive ones. Difficult feedback should be talked through with supervision as well 4. Feedback is especially critical at key decision points (when transferring/closing cases) 5. Important to guard against influencing people to respond in a particular way - can be unintentional due to power/influence of SW over client 6. Confidentiality should be respected when informant wants it 7. Always be clear about why feedback is needed and what will be done with the information 8. Documentation of feedback is essential 9. Be aware that feedback may be very different depending upon when it is solicited - critical to realize how recent events may influence information - multiple different times may be helpful 10. SW must make sure that the communication method is appropriate - online for younger, face to face for older, jargon free and language, culture, disability may affect the ways in which people both understand and react to requests for feedback

Answer 7

- Can be achieved by showing interest in client's words - communication will be more open - Speaking using mirroring techniques to paraphrase and reflect back to clients what has been said - In macro intervention - with key policy influences, community members etc. - As an observer - SW can take many roles - complete participant (living experience), participant as observer (removed from activity)

Answer 8

- Active Listening - Silence - Questioning - Reflecting/validating - Paraphrasing/Clarifying - Reframing - Empathy

Answer 9

body language, sitting straight, leaning in, relaxed and open (not crossed legs/arms), commenting on statements, asking open ended questions, making statements

Answer 10

by social workers, can show acceptance of clients’ feelings and promotes introspection or time to think about what has been learned (very effective when used with a client who is displaying a high degree of emotion).

Answer 11

using open- and closed-ended formats to get relevant information in a non-judgmental manner.

Answer 12

to show empathetic understanding of clients’ problems. These techniques can also assist clients in understanding negative thought patterns.

Answer 13

social workers rephrase what clients are saying in order to join together information. Clarification uses questioning, paraphrasing, and restating to ensure full understanding of clients’ ideas and thoughts.

Answer 14

social workers show clients that there are different perspectives and ideas that can help to change negative thinking patterns and promote change.

Answer 15

denotes understanding the ideas expressed as well as the feelings of a client ○ Differs from sympathy in that sympathy denotes pity or feeling bad for a client ○ To be empathetic, a SW must accurately perceive a client's situation, perspective and feelings as well as communicate this understanding in a helpful way Establishing boundaries to create a safe environment for change

Answer 16

Genuineness: needed in order to establish a therapeutic relationship - involves listening and communicating without distorting messages, being clear and concrete Unconditional Positive Regard: ability to view a client as being worthy of caring about and as someone who has strengths and achievement potential. Built on respect and usually communicated nonverbally. Listening, Attending, Suspending Value Judgements, and Helping

Answer 17

- Facilitative as clients DO NOT feel safe or accepted in a completely permissive environment - Compassion is important but so is maintaining the relationship, understanding and maintaining boundaries is essential

Answer 18

- Teaching strategy that can happen between supervisor and supervisee or SW & client - Usually raises interest in a topic as clients are not passive recipients - Teaches empathy and understanding of different perspectives as clients take on the role of another, learning and acting as that individual would in the specified setting - Helps embed concepts, gives clarity - Emphasizes personal concerns, problems, behaviour and active participation - Improves interpersonal communication skills

Answer 19

Assertiveness

Answer 20

- Emphasizes importance of learning from observing and imitating and has been used successfully in helping clients acquire new skills - Works well when combined with role play & reinforcement

Answer 21

○ live modeling: watching a real person perform the desired behaviour ○ symbolic modeling: filmed or videotaped models demonstrating the desired behaviour. Self-modeling is another form in which clients are videotaped performing the target behaviour ○ Participant modeling: individual models anxiety-evoking behaviours for a client and then prompts client to engage in the behaviour - Covert modeling: clients are asked to use their imagination, visualizing a particular behaviour as another describes the imaginary situation in detail

Answer 22

- Can be presented as coping or mastery models ○ Coping model is shown as initially fearful or incompetent and then gradually becomes comfortable/competent - Mastery model shows no fear and is competent from the beginning of the demonstration

Answer 23

- Start with open ended, nonthreatening questions to gather background and get a client used to talking about their situation before disclosing sensitive material - Gives client time to "test the waters" w/ SW & gauge their reaction - Trust often needed before complete honesty - Be aware of verbal & non-verbal cues - may avoid eye contact, fail to answer a question, look down when speaking, laugh nervously when anxious - SW may want to repeat question/probe further into this area to see if something undisclosed is causing this behaviour - Client engaged in couple/family/group treatment may worry about the confidentiality of revealing sensitive information as well as reactions of others to such disclosure - explore individual treatment - SW may want to review the professional mandate for confidentiality & what info will be stored in the file - Client may be reluctant to reveal sensitive info if they think there could be negative repercussions or lack of security - Much more likely to disclose if SW reacts to disclosures with acceptance and a neutral stance rather than judgement, and not interrupting

Answer 24

any program, policy, intervention that seeks to reduce or minimize the adverse health & social consequences associated with an illness, condition, and/or behaviour such as substance use without requiring a client to practice abstinence, discontinue use or completely extinguish the behaviour

Answer 25

- Complements prevention because it is based on the acceptance that despite best efforts clients will engage in behaviours and are unwilling to stop on command - Clients may prefer non-clinical methods to reduce consumption/risks - Harm Reduction is practical, feasible, effective, safe, and cost-effective - HR acknowledges the significance of ANY positive change that a client makes in their lives - Recognizes that intervention can be seen as a continuum

Answer 26

- Recognizing how their histories have shaped them - Needs associated with medical/behavioural health conditions - Developmental issues related to various phases across the lifespan - Workings of systems in which they operate - Ways of coping in various situations ** Can collaborate/inform clients of colleagues that can assist with more formal teaching such as learning to read, obtaining a drivers license etc.

Answer 27

- Clients may keep thought or emotion logs that include 3 components 1. Disturbing emotional states 2. Exact behaviours engaged in at the time of emotional states 3. Thoughts that occurred when the emotions emerged In CBT homework is often done between sessions to record these encounters, client self monitoring is central to this approach

Answer 28

- Need to address distress, impairment, and instability by operating in a logical & orderly process - Comprehensive plans allow for responses that are active & directive but do not take problem ownership away from clients Should meet clients where they are at, assessing their levels of risk, mobilizing client resources, and moving strategically to stabilize crisis and improve functioning

Answer 29

1. Plan and conduct a thorough biopsychosocial and lethality/imminent danger assessment 2. Make psychological contact and rapidly establish the collaborative relationship 3. Identify the major problems, including crisis precipitants 4. Encourage an exploration of feelings and emotions 5. Generate and explore alternatives and new coping strategies 6. Restore functioning through implementation of an action plan 7. Plan follow-up and “booster” sessions.

Answer 30

1. Recognition of an existing or potential conflict 2. An assessment of the conflict situation 3. The selection of an appropriate strategy 4. Intervention

Answer 31

- When previous attempts have only escalated conflicts, a useful technique is to structure interactions between parties: 1. Decreasing the amount of contact between the parties in the early stages of conflict resolution 2. Decreasing the amount of time between problem-solving sessions 3. Decreasing the formality of problem-solving sessions 4. Limiting the scope of the issues that can be discussed 5. Using a third-party mediator

Answer 32

- Crisis is time limited - most last 4-6 weeks - Directive & requires high levels of activity and involvement from SW - Sets specific goals to increase a client's sense of mastery & control - Brief intervention during crisis usually provides maximum therapeutic effect - Process of actively influencing the psychosocial functioning of clients during a period of disequilibrium or crisis Does NOT need to be precipitated by a major life event

Answer 33

○ Relieve the impact of stress with emotional & social resources ○ Return a client to a previous level of functioning (equilibrium) ○ Help strengthen coping mechanisms during crisis period ○ Develop adaptive coping strategies >>> Focus is on the here and now

Answer 34

heart disease, stress related illness, insomnia, digestive issues, headaches

Answer 35

``` Relaxation Exercises ○ Deep breathing ○ Meditation/repeating calming words/phrases ○ Guided imagery ○ Yoga ○ Stretching/physical exercise ``` Cognitive Techniques ○ Replacing destructive thoughts with healthy ones ○ Focusing on goals as a way of finding solutions to problems ○ Using logic to get a more balanced perspective ○ Not using an all or nothing approach ○ Putting situations into perspective Communication Skills ○ Slowing down speech to avoid saying something not meant or regrettab;e ○ Listening to what others are saying ○ Thinking about what you say before speaking ○ Avoiding defensiveness ○ Using humour to lighten the situation Environmental Change ○ Walking away or leaving situation ○ Avoiding people/situations in the future that evoke anger Not starting conversations/situations that may cause anger when tired or rushed

Answer 36

- Stress is a psychological/physical reaction to life events - most people experience it regularly 1. Monitor stress levels & identify stress triggers - Can be major life events but also associated with day to day life: job, relationship, finances - Positive events: getting a job promotion, married, children can also be stressful 2. Assist clients in identifying what aspects of a situation they can control As well as using stress-reduction techniques - deep breathing, exercise, massage, tai chi, yoga, etc.

Answer 37

- CBT is a hands on, practical approach to problem solving - Goal is to change patterns of thinking/behaviour that are responsible for client's difficulties and change the way they feel - Works by changing attitudes and behaviour by focusing on thoughts, images, beliefs and attitudes that are held (cognitive processes) and how this relates to behaviour as a way of dealing with emotional problems Combo of psychotherapy and behavioural therapy - Approach is active, collaborative, structured, time limited, goal oriented and problem focused Brief treatment, well delineated techniques, goal & problem oriented, empirically supported evidence of effectiveness

Answer 38

emphasizes the importance of the personal meaning & how thinking patterns begin in childhood

Answer 39

therapy pays attention to relationship between problems, behaviours and thoughts

Answer 40

1. Accepting that their self-statements, assumptions, and beliefs determine or govern their emotional reaction to life’s events 2. Identifying dysfunctional beliefs and patterns of thoughts that underlie their problems 3. Identifying situations that evoke dysfunctional cognitions 4. Substituting functional self-statements in place of self-defeating thoughts 5. Rewarding themselves for successful coping efforts *** Self-Monitoring is foundational

Answer 41

○ Establish a relationship aimed at meeting a client’s needs and wishes such as access to social services and benefits or to other sources of information ○ Educate a client to improve his or her skills, thereby increasing the ability for self-help ○ Help a client to secure resources, such as those from other organizations or agencies, as well as natural support networks, to meet needs - Unite a client with others who are experiencing the same issues when needed to enable social and political action

Answer 42

Modify systems: The decision to help a client on a one-to-one basis or in the context of a larger system must take into consideration a client’s preferences and previous experiences, as well as the degree to which a client’s problem is a response to forces within the larger system and whether change can be readily attained by a change in the larger system. Modify individual thoughts: A social worker may teach how to problem solve, alter his or her self-concepts by modifying self-defeating statements, and/or make interpretations to increase a client’s understanding about the relationship between events in his or her life. Modify individual actions: A social worker may use behavior modification techniques such as reinforcement, punishment, modeling, role playing, and/or task assignments. Modeling and role modeling are very effective methods for teaching. They should be used whenever possible.

Answer 43

Thoughts can be modified by feedback from others and behaviors can be modified through the actions of others in a system (by altering reinforcements).

Answer 44

- A social worker can also advocate for a client and seek to secure a change in a system on his or her behalf. - A social worker can be a mediator by helping a client and another individual or system to negotiate with each other so that each may attain their respective goals.

Answer 45

Partialization: assist a client to break down problems/goals into less overwhelming and more manageable components -- breaking complex issues into simpler ones - Useful because it may assist a SW & client to identify goals that are easier to achieve first - enabling client to see change more quickly and gain success in making harder changes - Can help individuals to order problems/goals that need more immediate help (prioritizing) - Can use Maslow's Hierarchy to assist in making decisions about more pressing needs - Additionally, a client should be asked to prioritize their concerns or goals

Answer 46

- When procedures are used to teach clients how to express their positive & negative feelings and to stand up for their rights in ways that will not alienate others ○ Typically begins with clients thinking about areas in life where they have difficulty asserting themselves ○ Then moves to role plays designed to help clients practice clearer and more direct forms of communicating with others - feedback is provided to improve responses - Promotes the use of I statements to help clients express feelings ○ Tells others how their actions may cause clients to be upset but less blaming/aggressive than you statements - Techniques like self-observation skills, awareness of personal preferences and assuming personal responsibility are more important components

Answer 47

- Aims to quickly engage clients in problem-solving and maximize their responsibility for treatment outcomes - Duration of treatment usually limited due to setting constraints, limitations imposed by 3rd party payers, etc. - Expectation is that interventions from learning theory and behaviour modification will be used to promote completion of a well-defined task to produce measurable outcomes - Often preferred by clients as they see immediate results - Problem partialized into clearly delineated tasks to be addressed consecutively - Client must be able to identify a precise psychosocial problem and a solution confined to a specific change in behaviour/circumstances - Client must also be willing to work on problem - SW style must be highly active, empathic and sometimes directive - Termination begins almost immediately upon onset of treatment

Answer 48

- Ex. Acknowledging, supporting, normalizing - Providing information necessary to make informed decisions that will allow them to reach their respective goals - Also provides support and coping skills development - Provided to those who are experiencing some sort of issue/problem with the rationale that with a clear understanding of the problem, self-knowledge or strengths, community resources, and coping skills, clients are better equipped to deal with problems & contribute to their emotional well being - CORE principle is that education has a role in emotional & behavioural change With an improved understanding of the causes and effects of problems, psychoeducation broadens client's perceptions & interpretations of them -- feel less helpless & more in control

Answer 49

Group Work: working with 2+ people for personal growth, enhancement of social functioning, for the achievement or socially desirable goals - Individuals remain the focus of concern and the group is the vehicle of growth and change - When individual problems arise they are directed to the group for possible solutions SW must remind group members that confidentiality cannot be guaranteed though it should try to be

Answer 50

client in crisis, suicidal, compulsively needy for attention, actively psychotic/paranoid

Answer 51

Open: New members can join at any time or Closed: All members begin the group at the same time Short term or long term

Answer 52

Beginning: SW identifies purpose of the group and their role - Time to convene, organize, set a plan - Members likely distant, removed until they have had time to develop relationships Middle: Almost all group work occurs during this stage - Relationships strengthened as a group so tasks can be worked on - Group leaders less involved End: Group reviews accomplishments, feelings associated with termination addressed

Answer 53

- Not just treating an individual but all those in the family unit - focus of assessment & intervention is directed at the interaction of family members - Treats family as a unified whole - system of interacting parts in which any change affects the functioning of the overall system - Social roles & interpersonal interaction are the focus of treatment - Behaviours and communication that affect current life situations are addressed Goal is to interrupt circular pattern of pathological communication and behaviours and replace it with a new pattern

Answer 54

1. Understand the development of, as well as the historical, conceptual, and contextual issues influencing, family functioning 2. Have awareness of the impact of diversity in working with families, particularly race, class, culture, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, aging, and disabilities 3. Understand the impact of a social worker’s family of origin, current family structure, and its influence on a social worker’s interventions with families 4. Be aware of the needs of families experiencing unique family problems (domestic violence, blended families, trauma and loss, adoptive families, etc.)

Answer 55

- Establishing a contract with the family - Examining alliances within the family - Identifying where power resides - Determining the relationship of each family member to the problem - Seeing how the family relates to the outside world - Assessing influence of family history on current family interactions - Ascertaining communication patterns - Identifying family rules that regulate patterns of interaction - Determining meaning of presenting symptom in maintaining family homeostasis - Examining flexibility of structure and accessibility of alternative action patterns - Finding out about sources of external stress and support

Answer 56

1. Strategic Family Therapy 2. Structural Family Therapy 3. Bowenian Family Therapy

Answer 57

- SW initiates what happens during therapy, designs a specific approach for each person's presenting problem, and takes responsibility for directly influencing people - Roots in structural family therapy and built on communication theory - Active, brief, directive & task-centered - More interested in behaviour change than change in understanding - Based on the assumption that families are flexible enough to modify solutions that don't work and adjust - Assumes all problems have multiple origins - Presenting problem is viewed as a symptom of and response to current dysfunction in family interactions - Therapy focuses on problem resolution by altering the feedback cycle that maintains symptomatic behaviour SW task is to formulate the problem in solvable, behavioural terms and to design and intervention plan to change the dysfunctional family pattern

Answer 58

○ Pretend technique—encourage family members to “pretend” and encourage voluntary control of behavior ○ First-order changes—superficial behavioral changes within a system that do not change the structure of the system ○ Second-order changes—changes to the systematic interaction pattern so the system is reorganized and functions more effectively ○ Family homeostasis—families tend to preserve familiar organization and communication patterns; resistant to change ○ Relabeling—changing the label attached to a person or problem from negative to positive so the situation can be perceived differently; it is hoped that new responses will evolve Paradoxical directive or instruction—prescribe the symptomatic behavior so a client realizes he or she can control it; uses the strength of the resistance to change in order to move a client toward goals

Answer 59

- Stresses the importance of family organization for the functioning of the group and the well-being of its members - SW "joins" (engages) the family in an effort to restructure it - Family structure is defined as the invisible set of functional demands organization interaction among family members

Answer 60

- Boundaries & rules determining who does what, where and when are crucial in 3 ways: 1. Interpersonal boundaries define individual family members and promote their differentiation and autonomous yet interdependent functioning - Dysfunctional families tend to be characterized by either a pattern of rigid enmeshment or disengagement 2. Boundaries with the outside world define the family unit, but boundaries must be permeable enough to maintain a well-functioning open system, allowing contact and reciprocal exchanges with the social world 3. Hierarchical organization in families of all cultures is maintained by generational boundaries - Rules differentiating parents & child roles, rights and obligations Restructuring is based on observing & manipulating interactions within therapy sessions, often by enactments of situations as a way to understand and diagnose the structure & provide opportunity for restructuring

Answer 61

- Unlike other models, goal is not symptom reduction but rather improving the intergenerational transmission process - Consistent whether working with an individual, couple, or entire family Assumed that improvement in overall functioning will ultimately reduce a family members symptomatology

Answer 62

Differentiation: CORE CONCEPT! The more differentiated, the more a client can be an individual while in emotional with the family Emotional Fusion: counterpart of differentiation, refers to the tendency for family members to share an emotional response. - Result of poor interpersonal boundaries between family members, in a fused family there is little room for emotional autonomy Multigenerational Transmission: stresses the connection of current generation to past generations as a natural process - Gives historical context that can focus the SW on the differentiation in the system and on the transmission process Emotional Triangle: Network of relationships among 3 people. - Bowen's theory states that a relationship can remain stable until anxiety is introduced - Almost impossible for 2 people to interact without triangulation Nuclear Family: Most basic unit in society - concern over degree to which emotional fusion can occur Family Projection Process: Primary way that parents transmit their emotional problems to children - Projection process can impair child functioning and increase vulnerability to clinical symptoms Sibling Position: factor in determining personality. Where a client is in birth order has an influence on how they relate to their parents & siblings. Determines the triangles that clients grow up in Societal Regression: in contrast to progression, is manifested by problems such as the depletion of natural resources. Can be used to explain social anxieties and social problems because Bowen viewed society as a family -- an emotional system with its own multi-generational transmission, chronic anxiety, emotional triangles, cutoffs, projection processes and fusion/differentiation struggles

Answer 63

Permanency Planning: an approach to child welfare that is based on the belief that children need permanence to thrive - CPS should focus on getting children into and maintaining permanent homes Legislation in the US promotes permanency planning & creates mandates related to child placements

Answer 64

- First goal is to get children back into their original homes ○ Can be achieved with a thorough investigation into child protection situations to determine if homes are safe and if needed, exploring ideas for making them safer or more enriching for children ○ Supports can include: caregiver services, education If they can't return to their original homes, steps need to be made so that they can get into permanent living situations as quickly as possible with adults with whom they have continuous and reciprocal relationships, including those made available through adoption

Answer 65

Mental Health Services. - Significant number of people seek services expecting providers to be aware and knowledgeable about alternatives and complements to Western medical approaches for symptom relief and healing Increasing # seeking Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) or integrated health care (IHC)

Answer 66

Mindfulness: practice of paying close attention to what is being experienced in the present both inside the body and mind and in the external world - conscious effort to be with whatever is going on at the moment - Being awake, aware and accepting of ourselves - Integral to efforts to reduce stress and increase capacity to cope Can stand alone as treatment or be incorporated with other treatments

Answer 67

- Based on the belief that clients often need assistance in accessing services in today's complex systems as well as the need to monitor duplication and gaps in services - Clients may have a specific need met in one program & many related needs ignored because of lack of coordination - Systems are highly complex, fragmented, duplicative, and uncoordinated Primary goal of case management is to optimize client functioning and well-being by providing & coordinating high-quality services in the most effective manner possible to those with multiple complex needs

Answer 68

5 Activities (APLMA) - Assessment - Planning - Linking - Monitoring - Advocacy

Answer 69

- Follow up meeting often important to ensure change maintenance - many clients continue to progress after termination and this is a chance to acknowledge and encourage continuation - Can mitigate unanticipated difficulties - Allow for longitudinal evaluation of practice effectiveness - Must not be intrusive or send the message that clients cannot function on their own - Clients who have difficulty terminating may use follow-up meetings as ways to prolong SW-client relationship beyond what is needed - Have to be clear boundaries & goals for follow up - Any NEW problems should be seen for assessment

Answer 70

When a SW communicates with others in order to ensure comprehensive and complete care for clients

Answer 71

- Used in professional development & learning to provide input into options for treatment & ensure services are being delivered effectively & efficiently - No universal format but some standard elements: ○ Identifying data - demographics, cultural considerations ○ History of presenting problem (family history) ○ Significant medical/psych history (diagnoses) ○ Significant personal/social history (legal issues, academic/work problems, crisis/safety concerns) ○ Presenting problem (assessment, mental status, diagnosis) ○ Impressions & Summary (interview findings) ○ Recommendations (treatment plan/intervention strategies, goals, theoretical models) Content can be added/eliminated based on reason for pres.

Answer 72

- To meet needs, SW must have work environments that support ethical practice & are committed to standards & quality services - A + working environment is created where values & principles of SW are reinforced in agency policies & procedures - Employers must understand SW practice, provide supervision, workload management, and continuing PD with best practices - SW should never be required to do something that would put their ability to uphold ethical standards at risk (confidentiality, consent, safety/risk management) - policies should be clear - The public should be clear on policy & procedures & know how to make complaints/raise concerns - Must be policies that do not tolerate dangerous, discriminatory, and or exploitative behaviour - Policies on workload & caseload management contribute to provision of quality services - Continuing PD and further training lets SW strengthen & develop skills, orientation and other training when hired is essential - Regular, quality supervision is necessary Rates of pay need to be comparable with similar professionals, skills & qualifications must be recognized

Answer 73

Policy Analysis: a systematic approach to solving problems through policies - Identifying problem, developing alternatives, assessing impacts of alternatives (cost/benefit), selecting desired option, designing & implementing policy & evaluating outcomes - Critical is the identification of alternative policy options & evaluation of these options ○ Includes identifying who benefits & who doesn't Often many stakeholders - government, community leaders, clients -- all of which have their own values

Answer 74

- Advocacy one of SW most important tasks - have an ethical mandate to make systematic changes to address the problems experience by vulnerable people - Can occur at all levels - Fundamental is advocating to change the factors that create & contribute to problems - May engage in getting legislative support or using media attention - SW should be working with clients to have their voices heard, NOT speaking for them - Must inform clients of appeal processes Goal of SW advocacy is to assist clients to strengthen their own skills in this area - can assist by locating sources of power that can be shared with clients to make changes

Answer 75

Community Organizing: focused on harnessing the collective power of communities to tackle issues of shared concern - Challenges government, corporations, and other power-holding institutions in an effort to tip power balance more in favour of communities - Essential to understand sources of power to access them for betterment of the community - Organizing members to focus these sources of power on problems & mobilizing resources to assist is critical ○ Coercive: power from control of punishment ○ Reward: power from control of rewards ○ Expert: power from superior ability or knowledge ○ Referent: power from having charisma or identification with others who have power ○ Legitimate: power from having legitimate authority ○ Informational: power from having information - Enhances participatory skills of citizens - develops leadership with emphasis on ability to conceptualize and act on problems Strengthens communities to better deal with future problems - develop capacity

Answer 76

Social Planning: the process by which a group/community decides its goals & strategies relating to societal issues - Not limited to gov, but includes activities of private sector, social movements, professions etc - Models of social planning in SW are based on community participation rather than planning "for" communities - engage "with" SW can help facilitate process of planning at all stages: organizing community members, data gathering related to the issue (economic, political, social causes), problem identification, weighing alternatives, implementation, evaluation

Answer 77

- Community participation informs others about needed changes that must occur - Policies, programs, & services that were effective or appropriate previously may have become ineffective or inappropriate - Creates relationships & partnerships among diverse groups Puts decision making partly/wholly with the community - ensuring involvement

Answer 78

1. Orientation Stage: community members meet and start to get to know each other 2. Conflict Stage: Disputes, little fights, arguments, eventually worked out 3. Emergence Stage: members begin to see & agree on a course of action 4. Reinforcement stage: members make a decision and justify why it was correct

Answer 79

- For clients/systems in intervention, treatment &/or service plans - May be benchmarks that must be learned to reach the ultimate goal - Objectives break down goals into discrete components or subparts Criteria: What behaviour must be exhibited, how often, over what period of time & under what conditions to demonstrate achievement of goal? Method for evaluation: How will progress be measured? Schedule for evaluation: When, how often, and on what dates or intervals of time will progress be measured

Answer 80

- Can be simple or complex - Can rely on quantitative (data in behaviour reduction, health improvement, symptom decrease) or qualitative - Should gather all needed info & identify factors that helped or hindered the progress - SW should assist clients in understanding the progress they made to clearly understand and celebrate their accomplishments & identify areas that need attention Should understand WHY progress happened & what needs to happen to ensure growth continues

Answer 81

Primary Prevention: goal is to protect people from developing a disease, experience injury, engage in behaviour in the first place - Typically considered most cost-effective Ex: ○ Immunizations ○ Education on seatbelts & helmets ○ Screenings to identify illness risk factors ○ Controlling hazards in workplace & at home ○ Regular exercise & good nutrition Counselling about dangers of subtances

Answer 82

Secondary Prevention: occurs after disease, injury, illness. Aims to slow progression or limit long-term impacts. Often implemented when asymptomatic but risk factors are present. May also focus on preventing reinjury Ex. ○ Telling those with heart conditions to take daily, low-dose aspirin ○ Screening for those with risk factors for illness Modifying work assignments for injured workers

Answer 83

Tertiary Prevention: focuses on managing complicated, long-term disease, injury, illness. Goal is to prevent further deterioration and maximize QOL because disease is now established and primary prevention unsuccessful. - Early detection through secondary intervention may have minimized impact of disease Ex: ○ Pain management groups ○ Rehab programs Support Groups'

Answer 84

1. Appointing a committee or task force of concerned and informed staff and colleagues 2. Gathering information from agency documents, interviews with staff and clients, accreditation reports, and other sources to assess risks associated with client rights; confidentiality and privacy; informed consent; service delivery; boundary issues; conflicts of interest; documentation; client records; supervision; staff development and training; consultation; client referral; fraud; termination of services; professional impairment; misconduct, or incompetence; and so on 3. Reviewing all collected information 4. Determining whether there is no risk, minimal risk, moderate risk, or high risk in each area 5. Preparing action plans to address each risk, paying particular attention to policies that need to be created to prevent risk in the future and steps needed to mitigate existing risk 6. Monitoring policy implementation and progress made toward reducing existing risk, as well as ensuring that procedures adhere to SW's core ethical principles

Answer 85

- Common thread in all abusive relationships is the abuser's need for power & control over their partner - DV occurs across all demographics - Signs are varied: ○ Suspicious injury ○ Somatic complaints without a specific diagnosis (chronic pain) ○ Behavioural presentation (crying, minimizing, no emotional expression, anxious/angry, defensive, fearful eye contact) ○ Controlling/Coercive behaviour of partner (hovering, overly concerned, wont leave client unattended, client defers to partner, fear of speaking in front of partner/disagreeing - Often learn abusive behaviour from family of origin, peers, media, personal experience - View victims as possessions and treat them like objects - very self centered and feel entitled to have their needs met no matter what - Have control over their impulses but give themselves permission to be abusive - Victims dehumanized to justify battering Leaving is a process, over time client realizes abuser wont change, each time they try to leave they gather more info

Answer 86

Social Exchange Theory: based on idea of totalling potential benefits & losses to determine behaviour

Answer 87

1. Tension Building 2. Battering incident - shortest period 3. "Loving-contrition" - absence of tension "honeymoon", batterer offers profuse apologies, assures attacks will never happen again, declares love

Answer 88

- Hope that the abuser will change. If the batterer is in a treatment program, the client hopes the behavior will change; leaving represents a loss of the committed relationship - Isolation and lack of support systems - Fears that no one will believe the seriousness of abuse experienced - Abuser puts up barricades so client won’t leave the relationship (escalates threats of violence, threatens to kill, withholds support, threatens to seek custody of children, threatens suicide, etc.) - Dangers of leaving may pose a greater danger than remaining with the batterer Client may not have the economic resources to survive on his or her own

Answer 89

Ø Guidelines for Interventions - Traditional marital/couples therapy is not appropriate in addressing abuse in the family. Puts victims in greater danger of further abuse - Medical needs & safety are priority - consider hierarchy of needs Trust is a major issue in establishing therapeutic alliance

Answer 90

- When meetings become uneventful and tone more cordial than challenging - No new ground discovered for several sessions In termination: ○ Evaluate degree to which goals have been attained ○ Acknowledge and address issues related to end of relationship Plan for subsequent steps a client may take relevant to the problem that don't involve SW -- seeking out new service

Answer 91

examine the process of delivering services - Ongoing, allow for feedback to be implemented during service delivery - Allow changes as needed to achieve goals Ex. Needs assessments

Answer 92

examine outcomes, occur at end of services & provide overall description of effectiveness - Determins if objectives were met - Enable decisions to be made about future services Ex. Impact eval, cost-benefit analysis

Answer 93

- Combines research knowledge, professional/clinical expertise, SW values & client preferences - Dynamic and fluid, evaluate best current practices to make decisions - Places well being of clients at forefront - providing best service possible - Requires SW only use services & techniques found effective by rigorous, scientific, empirical studies - outcome research Programs with proven track records - CBT - takes a long time to become evidence based

Answer 94

- How will the recommended modality assist with the achievement of the treatment goal and will it help get the outcomes desired? - How does the recommended treatment modality promote client strengths, capabilities, and interests? - What are the risks and benefits associated with the recommended modality? - Is there research or evidence to support the use of this modality for this target problem? - Is this modality appropriate and tested on those with the same or similar cultural background as the client? - What training and experience does a social worker have with the recommended modality? - Is the recommended modality evidence-based or consistent with available research? If not, why? - Was the recommended modality discussed with and selected by a client? - Will the use of the recommended modality be assessed periodically? When? How? - Is the recommended treatment modality covered by insurance? What is the cost? How does it compare to the use of other options?