Category: Human Services

Introduction
Class position intensifies or alleviates the impact of crisis situations on families at each family life cycle. It influences whether family members receive higher education or life-saving surgery. It affects whether the family turns to paid helpers or unpaid relatives during times of need. It determines whether families immigrate together or separately. One member’s serious illness can also cause job loss and even homelessness if working-class relatives lose work time to care for their ill family member. In this assignment, you will explore how the family life cycle is impacted by social class position and will then develop a Fact Sheet for your assigned population. You will be assigned to research either the elderly or adolescent/teen population based on the 1st letter of your last name. (See Content Expectations for the assigned topic.)
Assignment Overview: What is a Fact Sheet?
Fact sheets are short reports that present information in a readable and interesting format. They enable scientists and researchers to concisely summarize the results of research, so it is shareable with the public or other professionals. A useful Fact Sheet has a clear organization and structure. It names the issue at hand, discusses relevance, gives data (usually numerical or statistical), describes interventions and makes recommendations. Because Fact Sheets summarize data in a report format, they must provide accurate citations and references for the sources. An example of a Fact Sheet is provided by the National Partnership for Women and Families: Healthy Families Fact Sheet Links to an external site..
General Format and Audience
Most fact sheets are two pages in length. They should have a good balance of text (in a readable font), white space, and images or charts and graphs. An effective fact sheet is informative and visually interesting. Many use a two-column format, as well as color fonts, headers and photographs. It is important to keep your audience in mind, as you write the text for your Fact Sheet. Use headings throughout the Fact Sheet to guide your reader through the Fact Sheet. For the purposes of this assignment, assume you are working with an agency and are developing this Fact Sheet for distribution among the general public to share information regarding the impact that social class has on the family life cycle.
Content Expectations
Produce a two-page Fact Sheet on the topic of Social Class and the Family Life Cycle (see the specific topic assignments below based on the first letter of your last name). You will use your assigned textbook readings and two additional resources found on your own to complete your Fact Sheet.
Last name is Garns
If the first letter of your last name is A–I you will develop a Fact Sheet on Social Class and Families with Young Children.
If the first letter of your last name is J–R you will develop a Fact Sheet on Social Class and Families with Late Adolescents/Young Adults.
If the first letter of your last name is S–Z you will develop a Fact Sheet on Social Class and Families with Adults in Mid- and Later Life.
Your fact sheet should:
Describe the concept of social class
Explain the types of families that are included in each social class position described in your textbook: professional-managerial class, working class, and underclass.
Analyze the impact that social class has on your assigned family generation (For example: a premature baby being able to receive the medical treatment needed).
List the possible challenges that face your assigned family generation as a result of social class position.
Use 2 additional scholarly references (this is in addition to your required textbook). Scholarly references can include peer-reviewed articles, journals, government websites, and any course supplemental resources.
Format Expectations
Your Fact Sheet Must:
Cite all information from the required resources/textbook plus the additional scholarly references you use in the Fact Sheet. Use APA style.
Have two pages of content.
Have a balance of readable text, images, and white space.
Use headings to guide the reader.
Use color in headings, charts, and graphs. Use Word to create a pie chart or a histogram to represent data on assigned social class age population.
Avoid cut and paste text or tables from your sources.
Be well-organized and free of spelling and grammatical errors.
Use two additional scholarly sources besides the textbook.
Not copy from any existing fact sheet or handout.

[WLO: 3] [CLOs: 1, 5]
For this week’s discussion, you will look at cultural competencies when working with the LGBTQA+ population and people with disabilities. You will also examine your own knowledge and where you might want to learn more.
Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum,
Read Working With Clients With Disabilities: Implications for PsychotherapistsLinks to an external site..
Read Cultural Competence in the Care of LGBTQ PatientsLinks to an external site..
In your initial discussion forum post,
Identify at least two important cultural competencies or implications to keep in mind when working with the LGBTQIA+ population in the human services field and why they are important.
Identify at least two important cultural competencies or implications to keep in mind when working with persons with disabilities in the human services field and why they are important.
Discuss one area with the LGBTQIA+ population and one area with persons with disabilities you would like to gain more information in.
Be sure to use at least two scholarly or credible sources to support your responses. For help with this, review the Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible SourcesLinks to an external site. guide.

Choose ONE to explore
This is the link to access Discussion Board: For your initial post, choose only ONE Topic to explore from the following topics: (Please be sure to identify which question you are answering as points will be taken off if it is not there! When writing always assume that the reader knows nothing.)
Topic One: Week One you were asked to read Chapter 13 – why do you think that chapter 13 was assigned first? (Example of ideas to address – but not limited to these: What part of the chapter do you think is most important? What speaks to you in this chapter? How does it relate to studying the problems and policies in the child welfare field?) What role, if any, would you hope to explore for yourself in regards to Leadership in the Child Welfare field? (Please be thorough in answering this question. Ex. of areas you can address in this question: If you feel you are not a leader but hope more to follow you can write about that. If you have special areas of interest in the child welfare field you can identify and elaborate. You are encouraged to be creative and honest when exploring what you want.) You can answer these questions from either an Experiential, Personal and/or Professional perspective or any or all. Please use references from the book to support your view.
Topic Two: Explore your cultural competency and self-awareness as suggested by Samantrai’s steps and needs-to-be on page 77 of your text. You might include also knowledge you might have about cultures different from your own.
Topic Three: Pick one bold heading of Chapter One and present it thoroughly to your classmates. You will put the concepts in your own words and elaborate or comment on what you know and how you might feel about the topic. For instance bold headings are: Introduction, Early Influences and Event, Foster Care, Early child Protection, Child Labor Laws, and so on. You can take a broad perspective and write an overview (ex. How Major Legislations relate to each other or how they have changed over time or the Evolution of Core Child Welfare Programs or any of the Multiple Issues in Child Welfare Services.) The last category you could report on would be Child Welfare Agencies, how they are organized, who works for them, etc. Because this is such a large chapter of information you will be choosing this topic will be helping each other distill the information and get a more in depth view without having to read and study each section in detail.
As an accelerated class you have a lot of reading. As you prepare to address this discussion board choose your topic wisely, personally (so that you reflect on what you are learning, your views, experiences and feelings about the subject). As you see the topics that are presented by your fellow students, choose something different to explore. Comment about what you learned from them, how you might see it differently than they or add information on the subject they are reporting on to at least four of your classmate’s posts.
Discussion Board Guidelines (All must be present for maximum points – Total 50 possible): Initial post due Monday, 7/17, Responses due by 11:59 PM 7/19 350 words for initial post. Respond to at least four student’s post with one substantial response (close to 350 words and a citation) . You can respond to more than four to maximize your participation. Please use academic writing, research and citation.
Grading guidelines or Rubric: identifying the topic you are exploring and clarity of writing – please proof read and use formal language (up to 5 points), the content of your exploration of the topic (up to 20 points), the use of examples or personal experiences to help clarify and fortify your submission (up to 5 points), the use of academic writing and referencing (up to 10 points) and at least 350 words and the number of responses you make to your classmates (up to 10 points).
https://canvas.mc3.edu/courses/6131/modules/items/535398
https://canvas.mc3.edu/courses/6131/files/975641/preview

Coping with Organizational Change: Program Budget Cuts
All human service organizations are confronted with change and managers need to assume an adaptive style to their work in order to implement the changes needed to grow the organization and sustain its current level of service. The following case study is illustrative of the way in which program managers cope with changes to their economic environment, in this case, unexpected budget cuts that force program-related decisions relative to every dimension of the organization, e.g., its internal and external dimensions, how it exerts control and values flexibility. Please read the following case study below and respond to the questions that follow.
Adapting to Budget Cuts:
The Women’s Agency of Schaefer City offered a full range of services to women, including counseling, educational interventions, and career development programs. Services were offered by a combination of professionals, paraprofessionals, and volunteers, with self-help and peer counseling as important components of most programs.
The one agency program that depended solely on professional service deliverers was the health center, located in a separate building but overseen by the same board of directors and administration. The health center dealt with a variety of women’s health needs and offered family planning and first-trimester abortions. Although medical service was provided by physicians and nurse practitioners, all counseling was provided by women with degrees in psychology, counseling, or social work.
For the abortion clinic, this approach worked very well. Each woman who came in for the abortion procedure talked first with a counselor, who took a medical history, answered any questions about the procedure, and explored the woman’s readiness for taking this step. The process of exploration often led women to reconsider their options; certainly, the decision-making process was enhanced.
This program was placed in jeopardy when severe cutbacks in funding for the total agency took place. There was no consideration of eliminating the abortion clinic itself; the cutbacks; however, were to affect the counseling aspect of the program. By cutting the number of professional counselors from nine to three, enough money could be saved that the number of women served could remain constant. The agency’s administrator chose to limit the intake counseling interviews to 20 minutes each. In that time, medical information could be obtained and information about the procedure given.
The staff’s reaction to this cutback was immediate and strong. All of the professionals associated with the abortion clinic recognized that the suggested change in staffing patterns would be devastating, not just for the women losing their jobs but for the program itself.
From the patient’s viewpoint, the problem involved the fact that they would be deprived of the opportunity to consider their decisions with assistance from skilled helpers. Although they would have factual information, many of them would regret their decisions, which could have lasting effects.
The change also seemed serious in terms of the well-being of the professionals still offering services. No longer would they have the opportunity to provide empathy and help to people in crisis. Instead, they would be spending their time with person after person, giving and getting information in an assembly-line approach. They would not be able to stay with patients through the medical procedure or provide emotional support later. Instead, they would stay in their offices, maintain business as usual, and quickly burn out.
Given the fact that the agency had to survive with fewer resources, how could financial cutbacks have been implemented more effectively?
What are some of the ethical concerns you might have when considering the possible program alternatives?
What leadership behaviors may be appropriate at a time like this?
What strategies might the director have used to exploit the situation to achieve better service outcomes and have a more positive impact on staff?
In which dimension of the organization should the manager here focus their attention? What should they be focused on in each program dimension?
References:
National Organization for Human Services. (2015). Ethical Standards for Human Services Professionals. http://https://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals
Lewis, J. A., Packard, T. R., & Lewis, M. D. (2011). Management of Human Service Programs (5th ed.). Cengage Limited.

Watch the video below then complete the following questions.
(https://www.ted.com/talks/bryan_stevenson_we_need_to_talk_about_an_injustice?language=lo)
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1. What are some ethical and social problems highlighted in the Ted Talk?
2. How do these problems affect individuals and families?
3. How might some of these issues be tied to ethical decision-making as a human services professional?
Think of other social problems in society that elicit the need for ethical decision-making, advocacy, and social justice. Discuss one social problem that interests you and explain how it relates to ethical considerations in the human services field.
As you describe the social problem, address some of the cultural ideologies, diversity issues, and ethical dilemmas underlying this problem.
1. How would you adapt your helping strategies and identity as a human services professional to meet the needs of diverse individuals?
2. What are some of your personal limitations (e.g., bias, reaction patterns, interpersonal style, lack of knowledge, and the like)?
Evaluate any legal issues in human services that might be considered when working with diverse populations.
1. What steps would you take to advocate for eliminating inequality?
Finally, create a discussion question and place it at the end of your initial post. This discussion question can be general (e.g., a basic question about a topic in the video that stood out to you).
(Please try to provide 2 paragraphs per question)

Consider the different types of crises that have been shared in the course so far and choose one that is of interest to you. Based on previous discussions and readings on the crisis you selected, there are likely ethical or legal challenges of which you may already be aware.
Part One:
Review additional sources to determine if there are other ethical or legal challenges related to the crisis type chosen to be included within your paper.
The National Organization for Human Services includes Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals on their website and is required reading for this week. Review standards 4, 12, and 26 to determine how they may apply to ethics in crisis intervention.
Part Two:
Write an essay including the following components:
Descriiption of the crisis type you chose and include a snapshot of the impacted group or community
Summary of your research on legal and ethical challenges relevant to the crisis type
What you would do to address these challenges
How the NOHS standards apply to the crisis type
What steps you will take to ensure you are an effective and ethical crisis intervention professional
Your paper should be 4-5 pages in length and conform to APA guidelines in the CSU Global Writing Center. Include at least three credible sources in addition to the required material. The CSU Global Library is a good place to find these references.
References:
Barrett, S. (2019). Ethical standards for HS professionals. National Organization for Human Services. https://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals

The course readings for Module 2 discuss the effects of the Industrial Revolution, and how this event led to the recognition of the three subgroups: Northern and Western, Protestant Europeans, and Norway.
In an ever-going society of progression and acceptance of all, we strive to create inclusivity, opportunity, and an equal justice system void of bias. Some of the most common practices of institutional discrimination can be seen in harsher sentencing of crimes based on race and ethnicity, predatory lending practices from financial institutions, educational opportunities, and access to resources. Some historic landmark cases that presented as race discrimination are:
Korematsu v. United States (1944)
Brown v. Board of Education (1955)
Jones v. Mayer Co. (1968)
University of California Regents v. Bakke (1986)
Shuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (2014)
Assignment
Write a research paper that includes the following:
Describe the lived experiences modern institutional discrimination for one of the three identified subgroups or any minority group.
Explain how the above-mentioned experiences differ from “traditional” institutional discrimination of non-minority groups.
Explain the role of affirmative action in combating both modern and traditional institutional discrimination.
Finally, provide an example of what positive changes society is making post-industrial revolution to assist immigrants with institutional discrimination.
Format
Your paper must be 1200–1600 words
Do not forget to include a thesis statement (statement of purpose/intent) and indicate the topics to be covered
Use only professional, objective language
Use APA style
You must have two scholarly articles referenced that provide support for the material that is addressed

Every student will be engaging in a helping session with a classmate (if and when possible; if not, a friend or family member) and will be practicing and incorporating the concepts learned from chapters 1-6 (Midterm) and Chapters 7-12 (Final) from the “Learning the Art of Helping” book. The expectation for both assignments is that you demonstrate that you can apply the concepts from chapters 1- 6 & 7-12, in an actual helping session that you will be conducting. The helping session can be conducted with a family member, friend, classmate, etc. This session should take place for about 60 minutes, and your “client” should be presenting an issue that they are experiencing, in which this person would benefit greatly from a helping session.
As you are conducting this helping session, you should be applying the skills presented within the respective chapters. Please note that you should be intentional about presenting skills learned from every chapter. It is hard to assign a specific number of skills to highlight per chapter, so it is up to you to demonstrate the acquisition of knowledge from these chapters. After you complete your session, you will write a paper that highlights all the skills used from the respective chapters. In this paper, you will use a series of examples, highlighting from your helping session, that demonstrate the application of theories and concepts learned throughout the chapters.
Regarding the actual the format for the paper, I would like you all to start with an introduction with some demographics, as well as the presenting issue, about the person you are helping. The next section will focus on the highlights of your session, with examples, regarding the skills you applied from each chapter. Feel free to include subheadings for each chapter, if you find this most useful, to breakdown the paper in a way that demonstrates your application of skills from each chapter. The final section should be a conclusion, which highlights the strengths, weaknesses, and overall reflections of this assignment. I will share an exemplary paper via canvas, this way you get a sense of my expectations.
In preparation for each major assignment, I will email and/or share a sample paper in course announcements (also shared below), demonstrating what the expectations are for the final product. From my experience, the average length of this paper is at about 3-4 pages in length. The assignments will be submitted via a link established in the respective week on canvas, as an attachment. I will NOT accept any email attachments of the assignment, outside of canvas.
Chapter 1 is on how you are going to help the client
Chapter 2 on what relationship enhancing you use
Chapter 3 nonverbal communication between helper and client
Chapter 4 is on paraphrasing
Chapter 5 is on reflecting skills
Chapter 6 getting the client to go deeper
Chapter 7 is how to give feedback
A example of the paper HMS 227- Helping Session #1(Midterm)
Introduction
The person that I will be helping today is a seventy-four-year-old Caucasian woman. Mary M. as we will call her, has come in at the request of her daughter and is suffering from acute depression. Her husband died six months ago from Alzheimer’s. She was the caregiver of her husband in their own apartment home. Along with the toll of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s she has depleted all her savings. She has some health issues of her own and as a result has had to move in with her daughter and give up her apartment. She has been sleeping a lot and has been unmotivated to socialize or get out of the house. She often has periods of crying and melancholy. She is currently taking anti-depressives that her doctor prescribed her but claims they are not working. She feels like her life is over and has nothing to live for.
Chapter 1; Helping as a Personal Journey
I originally asked Mary if she would like to meet in a neutral setting, however since she has severe arthritis, she preferred that we talk at her daughter’s house. I explained to Mary that I was a reflective practitioner (pg. 3) and that being a reflective practitioner means that I am constantly aware of myself, my clients, and their personal view of the world. I may differ from them in many ways but through working together with a true commitment to self-disclosure we can find many useful goals to help alleviate her depression. That as a reflective practitioner I am constantly tweaking my skills, whether it is through journaling, supervision by experienced personnel, and educational workshops to become the best that I can be for my clients. As part of my introduction, I gave her a brief biography of my education and what I plan on doing after I graduate from Reynolds. I then explained to her some ethical guidelines (pg.16) that all helpers agree to follow. I explained to her that everything said in this session was confidential and would not be repeated to anyone. She was concerned that her daughter would worry more if any information got back to her. I also explained to her that I would not impose any of my professional or personal values on her. That I will avoid giving advice and feedback since I am an inexperienced helper. That my primary source of help will be to be a good listener, and pose some questions of reflection and meaning, and that possibly both of us could put our heads together and get a game plan (goals) to help alleviate the symptoms of her depression. I did have to let her know that if a client does talk about suicide or hurting someone else, I would have to let my instructor or supervisor know. As we talked, I let her know that I am sincere (congruence), have positive regard for all my clients and that since I love to help people, I am an empathetic helper.
Chapter 2: Nuts and Bolts of Helping
As Mary and I continued to talk I realized what a nice person she was. She reminded me a little of my own Mother. She was a very soft-spoken woman, and I was glad that we were getting along and thus building our therapeutic relationship. I found out that she had five children one girl and four sons. Her sons live in different parts of the country and were worried about her also. She talked about her husband who was a chemical engineer and how they met at a train station back in the forties. Her husband and children were her life, she never worked, and her only true friends were her sisters who were all gone now. As we talked, I explained to her that I would be interviewing her and that I would need some family history and medical history. She was in good health for her age, she had high blood pressure, arthritis, high cholesterol, and a sluggish thyroid. All of which she was being treated with medication. She did not know of anyone in her family, who suffered from depression. She did tell me that she did not like the word depression, she exclaimed “only crazy people get depressed! “.I explained to Mary the Helping process and its levels-relationship building, assessment stage, goal setting stage, intervention and action stage and evaluation and reflection stage. And with these we would be using the six therapeutic factors to help her. We will build a strong helper/client relationship, increase motivation and expectations for help, enable the client to become more self-efficient, provide new learning opportunities; work on emotional expression and arousal, and practice new ideas and behaviors.
Chapter 3: The Therapeutic Relationship
The therapeutic relationship is also known as the heart of helping. and some argue the most important factor. I was very aware not to push myself upon this older woman. Many women have a harder time even relating to others never mind a middle aged man. So I made sure to be aware of my relationship enhancers. Empathy is the number one relationship enhancer. To me empathy is much more than being sympathetic. Being sympathetic is merely feeling sorry for someone, were as empathy is a step above were you not only feel what the person is going through but have a sincere interest to help that person. Another relationship enhancer is the use of self-disclosure. Self-disclosure will help a client to understand that you are real and that there may be a common bond of understanding. A helper must use self-disclosure very carefully and limit its use. We are to remember the helping session is not about us it is about our clients. With Mary I did self-disclose a little went I explained a depressive period I went through after the loss of a job. I think it comforted her to know that maybe it was ok and that others have had this issue. I also made sure not to come across as the expert on Depression, but a credible source , and explained some of the signs of depression, its intensity and duration and the fact that it is common in today’s world. And I did not press any issues that Mary may have not wanted to talk about. I stayed away from the 12 Roadblock to Communication, with special emphasis on trying not to console Mary too much (which I wanted to do) since her husband recently died.
Chapter 4: Helping Someone who is Different & Invitational Skills
When working with clients who are elderly we must understand the psychological effects of aging on the mind and body. Not only is the elderly person at higher risks for mental and physical problems, but also the economic, social ,spiritual. And cultural changes as well. It is normal for anyone to experience a sense of loss from the death of a love one. When counseling Mary M. I had to be sensitive to the fact that I was counseling a woman. There are certain guidelines to be used when counseling women and as a male helper I am to keep in check any biases and pre-conceived notions that I may have about woman in our current society. Such biases may be that they are weak, not as intelligent (due to the fact that especially older women might not have sought out higher education or employment). I am to educate and use my skills that are particularly facilitative to women, and recognize that sometimes it may be in the best interest of the female client to have a female helper.
When dealing with older persons it is important to realize that older persons have a different set of issues than younger ones. We need to adapt our counseling style to fit the older person’s needs. An example would be if they were hearing impaired, maybe journaling, or expression through art would be helpful. Another key is to know the origins of depression which may stem from the loss of a loved one, lifestyle changes, or health issues. When talking to Mary M. I quickly realized she had all three. Also, older people may have feelings about identity and status changes. Our jobs may be to help them redefine who they are or find new interest to recreate themselves. It is important to realize that each older person has their own unique life story. Using positive invitational skills, good eye contact, body language and position, attentive listening and silence, appropriate space and touching, I allowed Mary to open up, feel comfortable with me, and thus we enriched our therapeutic relationship.
Chapter 5: Reflecting Skills: Paraphrasing
During the counseling session with Mary I used Invitational skills, open and closed questions, and encouragers to allow Mary to express the feelings of her depression and to hopefully highlight the feelings, meanings, and reasons for her depression. I began reflecting to Mary the feelings and meaning that I felt she was trying to express to me. It is important to understand the statement “I felt” when referring to the interpretation of what the counselor is receiving as communication of the client’s message. I was looking for verbal and facial cues to let me know that I was getting it right what Mary was trying to say to me. I was sure to paraphrase, the content in the precise manner for content and meaning. A paraphrase is a brief synopsis of what the client is telling you. It is important for the client to understand that you are listening attentively and getting what they are trying to tell you. From what Mary had told me so far is that she has never had any family history of depression, until the death of her husband. She feels lonely, unmotivated, and useless lately. Before her husband died, she was busy caring for him, taking care of the house, doing bills, and as she said “I didn’t have time to feel depressed. She exclaimed to me that now that I live with my daughter she does everything. She cooks my meals, washes my clothes, and does all of the house work. All I do is stay in my room and watch soap operas. So when paraphrasing her story back I was particular not to add or change anything she said and to keep it brief. I tried to stay away from some of the common problems helpers have with paraphrasing- simply reacting to facts, difficulty hearing what the client is telling us because of distractions, worrying about what to say next, being judgmental and taking the client’s side (this was hard for me to do in Mary’s case), or being judgmental in general.
Chapter 6: Reflecting Skills: Reflecting Feelings
As professional helpers not only is it important for us to work continually at upgrading our counseling skills but it is just as important to be emotionally intelligent. Emotionally intelligent helpers can monitor their client’s emotions and feelings and grasp the true understanding of how their situation has affected them. When talking with Mary I could sense that she was in a lot of pain after the death of her husband (listening with the third ear). She expressed grief, sadness, and loss. I could tell by the way that she talked about him that they had a great connection and love for each other. It is important for us as helpers to increase our vocabularies when it comes to words which describe feelings. It is also important to realize that feelings are expressed differently by different groups and cultures, and that some individuals find it very hard to express their feelings because of their backgrounds and the way they were raised. Easy feeling statements by new helpers such as myself may be as easy as “You feel “or “You feel _____ because” . As we practice and become more articulate with our feeling vocabulary we can add different strengths- mild, moderate, or strong to intensify or soften a feeling we are trying to describe. Some of the phrases I used to show reflection of feelings with Mary were “You feel depressed because of the loss of your husband”. “You feel nonproductive because your daughter does everything and you are not allowed to help”. By the use of the correct labeling and identification of Mary’s feelings, I feel that I deepened our helping relationship, and had shown Mary that I was truly listening and taking the time to understand her hurt and pain.
Chapter 7: Reflecting Meaning and Summarizing
When defining the word “Meaning” the word “constructivism” was defined in the text. Simply put constructivism is that we all define our experiences based on our own world view and beliefs. Like looking at an art picture we will all see something different. A client’s interpretation of their story will reflect their past and cumulative experiences, and may be greatly different from that of the helper. When we understand where a client is coming from we then can get a deeper sense of who they are and how they interpret their issue or problem. If we understand how they interpret their situation we can then maybe help them see it differently, and look at alternatives to change. With Mary it was important to understand that she is an older person who was raised to get married, have children, and be a house wife. She has looked at her life through these rose colored glasses. So change for her might not come as easily as for a resilient young woman in her twenties. I did not have a problem with Mary disclosing or expressing her feelings or emotions. However, when we do have problems with clients who have not disclosed at deeper levels the inner circle strategy is a tool where the helper uses the appropriate questions and reflections of meaning to get to deeper levels of the story. Reflection of meaning is important because a lot of clients are not aware of underlying issues or thoughts. A lot of times they will have an “Ah Ha” moment and make the connection between their thoughts, actions, and behavior. When reflecting meaning a quick phrase tool would be “You feel (specific emotion) because (the facts of the situation that account for the emotion). In Mary’s case a phrase I used to reflect meaning went as this “Mary you feel sad because of the suffering and then loss of your husband”.
Summarizing is used after the reflection of feelings, meanings, and paraphrasing of a client’s story. Summarizing has been compared to the. Untangling of knots. It recaps all that a client has said to include content, feelings, issues and future plans or goals When working with Mary I summarized that she was experiencing depression because of the long illness and loss of her husband. That her life had changed drastically since his death and that her daily activities have stopped since she moved in with her daughter making her feel useless and unproductive. There are several types of summaries which can be used at different times during the counseling session to include the focusing, signal, thematic, and planning summaries. Summaries help the client and helper organize viewpoints and issues in a condensed way.
Conclusion
There were several important outcomes to Mary’s helper session. The first important theme that Mary learned from this experience is that Depression is common and affects people for different reasons and especially for people who have experienced the loss of a spouse and life changing experiences. Mary learned that the meaning behind her Depression stemmed from this loss and also from the feeling of being useless and unproductive. She agreed to stay on her medication and consult her doctor to see if the dosage was high enough. We also worked together to come up with some possible solutions to make her feel more independent and useful. Mary agreed to talk with her daughter and let her know how she felt. Her daughter did not realize that her mother was feeling depressed because of the restrictions she had put on her. Mary and her daughter worked out a plan to involve Mary in some of the household duties she

Respond to student posts below. Make sure to support your opinions with fact and resources.
1) Collapse Subdiscussion
Tamesha Love Spradley
Tamesha Love Spradley
Monday Jul 3 at 11:21am
McGoldrick et al. (2016) conveyed that healthy development within human beings involves creating a firm sense of spiritual, cultural, and psychological identity within the context of one’s formed connections with others. This perspective guides every individual from birth to death and identifies their generational heritage. This context also involves one acquiring a sense of “home” or belonging. The sense of belonging includes processing feelings of safety, commitment, empowerment, and ownership.
This concept helped me understand the impact of the family of origin and the family life cycle in the lives of family members because developing a sense of belonging has a huge impact on a human’s mental and emotional development. From the moment life begins, humans have an automatic desire to “belong” in their family and feel safe and loved. This becomes even more important as life continues, and the family evolves. I am aware of the importance of building family bonds and the need to be loved by family members, but reading about belonging caused me to realize how crucial it is from the moment life begins rather than when a child reaches a specific milestone such as talking. The concept of belonging also altered my perspective regarding the fact that all humans will always require a sense of belonging even throughout adulthood.
A sense of home gives a person the safety and security to grow their self-worth and political awareness, as well as to resist the oppressive powers in our society (McGoldrick et al., 2016). Before reading this in the textbook, I never thought about the fact that having a sense of belonging at home helps a person be able to resist harsh circumstances presented by society. After thinking about it, it makes perfect sense because when an individual’s needs are met at home, there is no need for them to go and seek fulfillment and fall subject to the pressures of society. Learning and utilizing this material to better understand myself, my family and other families will help me be a more effective Human Service professional by creating a deeper sense of understanding for others. Families come in many forms and after gaining a deeper revelation about family dynamics and what impacts and enhances them, I can help individuals solve their problems more effectively. Understanding the intricate aspects of family connections provides a framework for an individual’s beliefs and values, which is important for assessments and providing assistance to others (Saroca & Sargent, 2022).
References
McGoldrick, M., Preto, N. G., & Carter, B. (2016). The expanding family life cycle: Individual, family, and social perspectives (5th ed.).
Saroca, K. L., & Sargent, J. R. (2022). Understanding families as essential in psychiatric practice. Focus, 20(2), 204–209. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20210035
2). Leigh Evans
Wednesday Jul 5 at 10:23am
McGoldrick et al. (2015) states that traditionally, human development referred to male development and a women’s development was defined by the men in their lives, and their role was defined by their position in the life cycle of their father, husband, or children. This concept I learned provided me with a stronger understanding of the impact of the family of origin and the family life cycle on the lives of family members. This help me understand my grandmother and how being raised in the house with her, why things were handle they way they was. According to this concept I would define my grandmother as a traditional women development. The traditional social role of women is that of the lady of the house, taking care of the family, being focused on children and their happiness (Sekścińska et al., 2016). As a women growing up in the society that feminism is putting an end to gender roles I could never understand the traditional roles of women. I see how a person’s upbringing dictates their development and how it passes through the family life’s cycle. Learning this information will help me be more effective as Human Services professional by teaching people’s that they are define by who they want to be and not by traditional roles. Learning this information also help me understand the life’s cycle of other families and why they live a certain way. A lot of family cycles are the traditional way of living and often times you see it within certain family cultures they keep the traditions and the cycle just continues.

McGoldrick, M., Carter, E. A., Garcia-Preto, N., & Carter, B. (2015). The Expanding Family Life Cycle: Individual, Family, and Social Perspectives.
Sekścińska, K., Trzcińska, A., & Maison, D. (2016). The Influence of Different Social Roles Activation on Women’s Financial and Consumer Choices. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00365P