Category: Human Services

Need to respond to the two students posts below:
#1 Asked by Shelly Odaol (profile)
Student at Florida State College at Jacksonville
Inspired to work in a creative team with flexible hours, innovative mindsets, and collaborative ideas?
The book mentions, “one of the best ways to fuel
creativity is to seek ideas from other sources, such as another organization,
because they might have newer and more innovative practices that can be adopted
and used in the community.” Involving the community by sponsoring events or
game nights could potentially build rapport with the citizens over time and
establish networks essential to our organizational goals. We can accomplish
this by following the creative steps to prepare, concentrate, incubate, illuminate,
verify, evaluate, and implement the necessary changes to the solutions through
sincere teamwork (Denhardt, Denhardt, Aristigueta, & Rawlings, p. 90,
2024).
In terms of teams, I would opt to use self-directed teams
and virtual teams. I choose self-directed teams because I want to empower them
to use their unique set of skills to achieve our team’s goals, allowing them
the space to create amazing work that will help build the team’s confidence and
trust. I also will need the virtual team because I would need outside sources
and ideas to share and implement. Moreover, my self-directed team will be able
to collaborate with them as well with their ideas and questions (Denhardt,
Denhardt, Aristigueta, & Rawlings, p. 320, 2024).
Source: Denhardt, R. B., Denhardt, J. V., Aristigueta, M. P., & Rawlings, K. C. (2024). Managing Human Behavior in Public and Nonprofit Organizations. Cengage Inc.
#2 Asked by Jessica Crews (profile)
Student at Florida State College at Jacksonville
Productivity and employee satisfaction can rise when companies know how to foster creativity in the workplace. How can innovation and critical thinking be fostered by creativity?
As mentioned In the text are many ways to be innovative and how to encourage creativity in any organization such as, encouraging staff creativity by encouraging them to generate new ideas, seek feedback, take on new challenges, and consider alternative options. Keep a creativity journal, seek inspiration, allocate time for imaginative thought, eliminate pessimistic mindset, seek novel experiences, develop skills, and take breaks.
By becoming knowledgeable about and using creative exercises and techniques, you can increase your creativity. Leadership has been argued to be vital in fostering team-derived inclusion (Randel et al., 2018). Methods for fostering creative thinking and related abilities, like idea generation, open-mindedness, and problem-solving, are known as creativity techniques. You can use these strategies for both independent and collaborative tasks at work. Encourage staff members to contribute by putting good ideas into practice and appreciating the thought that went into some others. Inform the worker directly that you intend to put their suggestion into practice. After you see results, formally inform the team that brought about the change. Talking about and praising a good idea in public encourages idea sharing and higher levels of creativity. Members of the team are more motivated to voice their ideas and opinions.
Environments focused on teams or groups are often conducive to creativity. To foster teamwork, permit colleagues to combine their efforts on specific assignments. When they collaborate, they are more likely to use one another as inspiration to generate original ideas. Encourage the use of video chatting so that employees who work from home or in different offices feel like they are a part of the team.
Make sure your organization’s purpose and vision are clear, and communicate them often. Make sure that every employee understands your approach and try to keep it as open and honest as possible. Information sharing strengthens the relationship and fosters more trust between an employer and its staff. Make the company’s long-term objectives and direction clear. Provide information or figures that demonstrate how the efforts of each team impact the company’s course. Having an open environment demonstrates to staff members their worth to the business and motivates them to assist in achieving both short- and long-term objectives.
Denhardt, R. B., Denhardt, J. V., Aristigueta, M. P., & Rawlings, K. C. (n.d.). Managing Human Behavior in Public and Nonprofit Organizations. Fifth Edition. Retrieved from https://platform.virdocs.com/read/533996/23/#/4/2[s9781506382685.i1613]/4,/1:0,/1:0
Source: Leroy, H., Buengeler, C., Veestraeten, M., Shemla, M., & Hoever, I. J. (2022). Fostering Team Creativity Through Team-Focused Inclusion: The Role of Leader Harvesting the Benefits of Diversity and Cultivating Value-In-Diversity Beliefs. Group & Organization Management, 47(4), 798-839. https://doi.org/10.1177/10596011211009683

In this last discussion, carefully reflect upon the chapter readings, content guides, discussions, quizzes, videos, the assignment, and intervention models. Write and submit a short essay post of about 250 to 400 words and address all of the following steps:
Describe your personal major learning points (aka “learning take-aways”) from this course. Include all significant concepts, learning points, insights and realizations about families, family dynamics, systems theory, family development cycles, intervention models, how working with families differs from individual methods, etc.
Which concepts, models and theories about family intervention did you find especially of value?
Are there mistaken beliefs and misconceptions you once held about families and family interventions that have changed as a result of this course? Please describe what you originally thought and what has changed for you?
How might you continue to apply what you have learned in future courses?
Specifically, how might you apply your new knowledge in your work and/or personal life?
An interesting fact is that family therapy evolved out of research in which family interactions were observed, especially families with members who had a serious mental disorder or substance use disorder. Family interaction research was conducted at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, California in the late 1950s led by anthropologist Gregory Bateson, with clinical practitioners Virginia Satir, John Weakland, Don Jackson, Jay Haley, and Paul Watzlawick. Peter Steinglass and his associates (1987) conducted studies observing families who had an alcohol dependent member while at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Murray Bowen at Georgetown University observed families within an inpatient setting who had a member who had schizophrenia. Others, including Wynne (1988), Boszormenyi-Nagy and Framo (1985) and Lidz and Lidz (1949) were psychiatrists or psychologists who initially began doing research with families with members affected by schizophrenia. Only later did the above researchers therapeutic methods.
The focus of these many family researchers ultimately shifted to developing family therapy models and family interventions, but left behind the importance of researching the methods. This led to diverse ideas and theoretical concepts, at the expense of scientific research that did not rigorously test these theories and strategies that could explain family processes and facilitate therapeutic change. Such research testing was essential for verifying the efficacy and safety of various family interventions, yet was overlooked for some years.
As the marital and family therapy field has evolved, research and research coursework has been integrated as a requirement of graduate social work, mental health and family therapy programs. Research about family therapy and theory now continues to expand due to the scholarly work of faculty teaching in graduate programs. Research using the scientific method is now a foundation of all family therapy theory and the practices that are developed. A “good theory” is important as it can explain family dynamics, it can make useful and specific predictions, it can support which methods work best for certain populations, the theory can be tested scientifically, and its utility will be supported by ongoing research by independent researchers. Over time, a good theory will evolve as new information is gained from research and practice. However, too often the importance of research has gotten lost and many practitioners dismiss its significance and relevance to their own practice, thinking they know best what to do.
Family interventions and counseling in any form (individual, group, family) should never be practiced based on conjecture, speculation, one’s own personal experience, or based on clinical intuition- “it felt like the right thing to do”. Sound clinical practice must be based on well-grounded theory that has been scientifically validated or at least has evolving scientific support from quality clinical research. Practitioners also need to be able to articulate any theoretical model with which they are using and be able to explain what they are doing and why they are doing it. They also must know the limits of a model, draw on clinical expertise, client feedback, and recognize when their chosen methods are not effective.
Presently, Evidence-Based Treatment (EBT) models are prioritized in therapy. These are models that have been validated and popularized by randomly-controlled trials (RCTs). RCTs are studies in which individuals receive an experimental treatment are compared with a control group- those receiving no treatment or who receive some commonly used “standard treatment”. The experimental treatment follows a specific protocol which is usually manual-ized (uses step-by-step instructions for implementation) so interventions are delivered consistently across populations, settings, and practitioners. When the experimental group shows a statistically significant response to the treatment as compared to the control group, the treatment is considered to be “evidence-based.”
Another research approach is the use of Case Studies that provide an in-depth examination of one or a few family intervention cases where a specific theory and method was used. While this can be a useful starting point to explore a given intervention method, it has many limitations due to the lack of control for variables that affect each case. Without controlling for these variables, it isn’t possible to identify a direct cause-effect relationship between the intervention and outcomes.
Cohort studies use a select group of families with similar characteristics to explore whether the approach consistently shows effectiveness in family participation, retention, and change, compared to another group where these methods are not used.
Correlation studies are often used to identify whether a systematic and strong relationship exists between two or more variables that improve therapeutic outcome of families. Two examples of a correlation study are:
-better outcomes for families who attend psycho-educational groups along with family intervention sessions compared to for those who do not.
-increased abstinence rates for clients who are engaged in individual and family sessions vs those only attending individual and group therapy.
For those who plan a career in human services, it is important to gain understanding of basic statistics and basics of doing social science research, so that one can at least read and develop some basic analysis of family intervention research. Gathering feedback from families and clients as to what was helpful and what was not helpful should also not be under-estimated as to its importance to assess your own effectiveness. This will help you learn to self evaluate your own practice.
References:
Boszormenyi-Nagy, I., & Framo, J. (Eds.) (1985). Intensive family therapy: Theoretical and practical aspects. 2nd Edition Brunner/Mazel
Lidz, R.W. & Lidz, T. (1949). “The family environment of schizophrenic patients”, American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 106, 1949, pp. 332–345.
Mental Research Institute. ( n.d.) About MRI. https://mri.org/about
Steinglass, P., Bennett, L.A., Wolin, S.J. & Reiss, D. (1987). The Alcoholic Family. Basic Books
Wynne L.C., Ryckoff L.M., Day J. & Hirsch, S. I. (1958): Pseudomutuality in the family relations
of schizophrenics. Psychiatry, 21:205-220
Wynne, L. (Ed.) (1988). The State of the Art in Family Therapy Research : Controversies and Recommendations. Family Process Press.

In Chapter #6, pages 157 to 168 you looked at seven Basic Skills that you need to be using and honing during your internship. These skills are:
Values and attitudes
Active listening
Client interviewing
Exploration skills
Action skills
Content and direction of communication
Perspective
For each of these skills, you are to define the skill as stated in your text and give them a rating from 1 to 10 as how you see your proficiency level with that skill is now. You must then explain each rating giving an example to support your rating.
This assignment must be three full pages, Times New Roman, 12 font, 1 inch margins, the only header should be your name. No cover page is needed. You must upload a Microsoft Word or PDF attachment. Be sure you answer the question completely and to carefully proofread and edit your assignment before submission.

In Chapter #6, pages 157 to 168 you looked at seven Basic Skills that you need to be using and honing during your internship. These skills are:
Values and attitudes
Active listening
Client interviewing
Exploration skills
Action skills
Content and direction of communication
Perspective
For each of these skills, you are to define the skill as stated in your text and give them a rating from 1 to 10 as how you see your proficiency level with that skill is now. You must then explain each rating giving an example to support your rating.
This assignment must be three full pages, Times New Roman, 12 font, 1 inch margins, the only header should be your name. No cover page is needed. You must upload a Microsoft Word or PDF attachment. Be sure you answer the question completely and to carefully proofread and edit your assignment before submission.

Please refer to order # 407387901 if you’re not sure how to right this. You’re basically righting a question and answering it.
Hi Class,
We’ve all worked in places where we’ve said, “if I was in charge I would do this” or “she/he is an awful supervisor” or “they never ask up for our input” or worst, “they have favorites” or “my supervisor pits us against each other”, “never acknowledges the work that I do”, etc etc
Because of leaders who have some of the above-mentioned approaches to leadership, the concept of teams is looked upon with dread. YUK! But teams can be the most valuable and effective way to address issues, increase productivity, smooth transition, etc.
My most valuable and wonderful experience was when I served at the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCOE), which was a “purple team”. In the military, a purple team is composed of members of various military branches. At DCOE, there were officers from all 7 branches of the uniform services (Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, and NOAA) and the VA. The color purple represented a neutral environment, in which everyone shared equally and with respect and honor, eliminating rank issues/egos, etc. (More details in future announcements)
In this module, the Packback board is a wonderful opportunity to example your leadership style and determine the type of leader you want to be (and by reflecting on past current employment, the type of leader/supervisor you don’t want to be).
Remember, in your Packback question, integrate your personal experiences with the textbook information.
The Packback curiosity score for Module 3 is 60.

View the following two videos and choose one to discuss in your main post. Submit your initial post to the Discussion questions in week 12 then read other classmates’ main posts and add replies in week 13. Be sure to reply to the main posts of at least 2 classmates and to at least one classmate who chose the alternate model.
Solution-Oriented Family Therapy (2 hours in length, psychotherapy.net, interactive transcriiption) Narrative Family Therapy (2 hours in length, psychotherapy.net, interactive transcriiption)
In your original POST add in the SUBJECT LINE the name of the specific model you selected. As you write your main post and replies connect to the respective text chapters. Be sure to address all these steps in your main post:
In your chosen model, what are the theoretical assertions, beliefs, and assumptions about what a healthy family should be like? According to the theoretical view of this model – what causes or explains family problems?
Based on your chapter reading and the video, according to this model, what is causing this specific family’s problems? Do think the therapist missed anything that was important about this specific family? If so explain.
What are your impressions of and reactions to the therapist(s)? What did you think about the therapist’s style of interacting with the family members?
What questions did the therapist ask and/or observations did they make, that you thought were interesting or helpful? Explain your thinking.
Expectations

How might the history of psychology in the treatment of Jewish people impact the utilization of counseling in the 21st-century among some Jewish people?

Before you can help another person, you need to be able to listen to the other person, a practice that requires active engagement, eye contact, and other signifiers to demonstrate to the speaker that you are following them. Another practice is to rephrase what you heard from the speaker in your own words so that the speaker knows whether or not you understood.

Navigate to the University Library and watch the “5 Ways to Listen Better” TEDTalk by Julian Treasure.

Pick one of the 5 ways Julian Treasure suggests for listening better and practice it for a few days.

Write a 175- to 350-word reflection on the results of your listening practice.
What impact did the process have on your listening?
How can you incorporate these 5 steps into your life?
What difference could they make both personally and professionally?

LINK TO THE VIDEO:

Please fill out the letter of intent template if you have any questions please message
I have provided the worksheet for the letter of intent along with the template that needs to be filled out.

Using one or two of these questions write a response about autistic adults and communication. Be sure to follow the guidelines provided in module 1 for submissions.
1. What are the primary communication challenges faced by adults with severe autism, and how do these challenges impact their daily lives and interactions with others?
2. How do individuals with severe autism typically communicate non-verbally, and what strategies can be employed to better understand and respond to their non-verbal cues and expressions?
3. What role do alternative communication methods, such as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices or sign language, play in supporting communication for adults with severe autism, and what are the barriers to accessing and utilizing these resources effectively?
4. How do sensory sensitivities and processing differences influence the communication abilities of adults with severe autism, and how can environmental modifications be implemented to support their communication needs?
5. What approaches and interventions are effective in improving communication skills and promoting social interaction for adults with severe autism, and how can these strategies be tailored to meet individual needs and preferences?