Category: Social Work and Human Services

Instructions:
Submit a reflection journal that builds on the journal prompt listed below. You may choose to write as a traditional journal, a creative writing piece, or upload alternative media (video essay, art) that represents your reflective process. Please note, if you choose to upload media produced by someone else (e.g., video, visual art), you will need to append a written reflection of your own that accompanies the media you have selected. No more than 2 pages double spaced.
Prompt:
What does it look like for you to fight against anti-Black racism and oppression from your positionality? This can look different for BIPOC and folx with proximity to whiteness.
What would you want to express about your own experience as a racialized person? (e.g., African American /Black descent, Asian American Pacific Islander, First Nations, Latino/a, Arab, white European heritage and/or Biracial and/or Multiracial, recent immigrant, etc.)
Considering your identities, how do you show up committed to anti-racism together in our classes, for people we serve, for ourselves?

Instructions:
Submit a reflection journal that builds on the journal prompt listed below. You may choose to write as a traditional journal, a creative writing piece, or upload alternative media (video essay, art) that represents your reflective process. Please note, if you choose to upload media produced by someone else (e.g., video, visual art), you will need to append a written reflection of your own that accompanies the media you have selected. No more than 2 pages double spaced.
Prompt:
What does it look like for you to fight against anti-Black racism and oppression from your positionality? This can look different for BIPOC and folx with proximity to whiteness.
What would you want to express about your own experience as a racialized person? (e.g., African American /Black descent, Asian American Pacific Islander, First Nations, Latino/a, Arab, white European heritage and/or Biracial and/or Multiracial, recent immigrant, etc.)
Considering your identities, how do you show up committed to anti-racism together in our classes, for people we serve, for ourselves?

This is not for a class. I’m a group home manager for people with disabilities. When I got here, the previous manager had multiple checklists. I think it’s too much and would like them consolidated. Can you please give an estimate on consolidating these into one post size (that I can laminate) for daily, weekly, monthly?

Discussion
Opioid use for pain medication is a complex and versatile topic since it requires a delicate balance between considering opioid adverse effects and its advantages for pain management. Though modern medicine has proven the detrimental consequences of opioid misuse, it recognizes its benefits for pain medication (Bolshakova et al., 2019). Healthcare professionals play an essential role in drawing the line between opioid abuse and benefits by carefully considering patients’ medical history, individual symptoms, and potential advantages of alternative treatment. That is why government and legislation cannot become the ultimate authority to allow or prohibit opioid use in medicine. While they can provide general guidelines and regulations, it is doctors’ duty to determine whether a patient requires opioid use for pain management or another alternative treatment to prevent potential harm. Nevertheless, legislation can promote an evidence-based approach to the issue, provide opportunities for leveraging alternative strategies and educational campaigns, and fund research efforts (Chisholm-Burns et al., 2019). Although opioid use for pain medication is a questionable matter due to numerous drawbacks, healthcare specialists must professionally navigate their practice in the contemporary environment.
References
Bolshakova, M., Bluthenthal, R. N., & Sussman, S. (2019). Opioid use and misuse: health impact, prevalence, correlates and interventions. Psychology & Health, 34(9), 1105–1139. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2019.1622013
Chisholm-Burns, M. A., Spivey, C. A., Sherwin, E., Wheeler, J., & Hohmeier, K. C. (2019). The opioid crisis: Origins, trends, policies, and the roles of pharmacists. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 76(7), 424–435. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxy089
Response to Ciarra
Hi, Ciarra! Thank you for providing your perspective on opioid use, which remains a topic of heated debate. I genuinely like how you provide a historical perspective on the matter, revealing the unethical side of opioid misuse. Nevertheless, if the doctors initially knew the harmful effects of OxyContin, I believe they intentionally neglected the line between proper opioid application and abuse. According to Bicket et al. (2019), creating a protocol for opioid prescription is a great idea that can create a comprehensive framework to facilitate the process of patient condition assessment and the necessity of using this type of drug. However, while guidelines can ease this process, careful examination of each individual situation is required to provide the most individual patient approach. Thank you for the post! Great job!
References
Bicket, M. C., Brat, G., Hutfless, S., Wu, C. L., Nesbit, S., & Alexander, G. C. (2019). Optimizing opioid prescribing and pain treatment for surgery: Review and conceptual framework. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 76(18), 1403–1412. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxz146
Response to Karyn
Hi, Karyn! Thank you for the exciting opportunity to discover the topic of opioid misuse from your perspective. Indeed, science has relatively recently discovered adverse effects of opioids on human health, while historically, they were considered an ultimate pain-relief medication (Friedman & Nabong, 2020). Equipped with all the information in the world and recent scientific advances, healthcare professionals can masterfully manage opioid use to provide more good than bad. It is a significant advantage that you have mentioned not only physical symptoms, such as slower breathing and digestive issues, but also more individual aspects, such as the patient substance abuse history. Taking into account all available factors will help to make the right decision about the necessity to prescribe opioids and take the risk. Thank you for the post! Keep it up!
References
Friedman, A. S., & Nabong, L. (2020). Opioids. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America, 31(2), 289–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmr.2020.01.007
respond to classmates:
Anne:
I unfortunately do not have a lot of experience working with clients who are suffering from an opioid addiction. But I can certainly look back into a past life and see where an opioid addiction and its ramifications of one’s body, family, job and heath. My nieces father and extended family members suffer from an opioid addiction as this common where she lives in the mid-west.
My husband grew up in a small town in Missouri. Opioids and other drugs were readily available and accessible to all who knew where to find it. My husband luckily did not fall into the opioid epidemic, but our niece has suffered the consequences of addition in her birth father’s family. As a result, my niece now lives full time with my father-in-law (her grandfather). This was to keep the baby safe, secure and watched over by safe adults. Some people in her extended family did reach out for help and as a result, started living drug free. This was through MAT that they were able to take control over their addictions.
According to Chapter 4, in 2017 47,000 people died of opioid overdoses in the United States alone. This is a huge social issue as well as a health crisis. April 2020-April 2021, drug fatalities rose by three-fourths due to an easy to obtain drug, fentanyl.
In my opinion and lack of experience I believe MAT has been helpful in stabilizing people who are addicted as this allows the person to be more comfortable while going through detox. Detox is a dangerous business as this should be conducted with medical professionals present and helping the client recover in a safe manner; this reduces the craving as lesions the withdrawal symptoms and allows for counseling to start as the patient is stabilized to some degree. This as a result, is a safe way to treat a client going through withdrawals.
Megan:
With the knowledge I have gained thus far, I believe that I would prefer to work for a treatment agency that allows clients to be on long-term MAT. I do not have much experience in dealing with people who are addicted to drugs or withdrawing from drugs, but I think that they should be as comfortable as possible during the detox process to ensure that they do not relapse. Many people relapse during the detox process because of the negative effects detoxing has on their body. They often sweat, have a fever, chills, vomit, etc. It can be a very scary and daunting experience! Allowing these individuals to participate in MAT will show them that detoxing is possible, and it does not always have to be a gruesome experience. However, I do think that the MAT medications should be tapered down eventually. Maybe they can start to decrease the dose overtime and continue to decrease the dose only when other symptoms/ side effects disappear. I have talked about the Matthew Perry book before, but I really think that it helped open my eyes to drug addiction and the detox process. He actually was in the middle of a detox at a facility, called a drug dealer, and did drugs in the parking lot because of how bad he felt. Using MAT can hopefully allow more individuals to “stay clean.”

the assignment is a group project as mentioned in the files that I have provided. my part for the project is under Ali, please explain why those are needed and how are they being used. my part is only a page and a bit more like a page and a half max. I included some sources from course material and please use some peer-reviewed sources with APA style. the first book is Lee, B. (2011). Pragmatics of community organization (4th Edition). Common Act
Press. the second one is Lee, B., & Todd, S. (2017) A casebook of community practice: Problems & strategies
(2nd edition). Common Act Press. I will provide course material as well for you to use.

Write a two to three page paper on working with clients with addictions other than substance abuse. Discuss interventions used, counselor’s values, barriers to treatment, challenges to counselor, etc.

CHOOSE ANYWHERE IN NEW YORK STATE !!! VERY IMPORTANT !!!! YOU CAN EMBELLISH ALL YOU WANT.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Outline the treatment practices in your community for persons with coexisting disorders and discuss ways to integrate “seamless” treatment practices. Include your agency and how you integrate with the mental health agencies with your clients if you are employed at an addictions agency. If you do not work at an agency please contact an addictions agency in your community and find out how they integrate with the mental health agencies for their clients.

Discussion
Opioid use for pain medication is a complex and versatile topic since it requires a delicate balance between considering opioid adverse effects and its advantages for pain management. Though modern medicine has proven the detrimental consequences of opioid misuse, it recognizes its benefits for pain medication (Bolshakova et al., 2019). Healthcare professionals play an essential role in drawing the line between opioid abuse and benefits by carefully considering patients’ medical history, individual symptoms, and potential advantages of alternative treatment. That is why government and legislation cannot become the ultimate authority to allow or prohibit opioid use in medicine. While they can provide general guidelines and regulations, it is doctors’ duty to determine whether a patient requires opioid use for pain management or another alternative treatment to prevent potential harm. Nevertheless, legislation can promote an evidence-based approach to the issue, provide opportunities for leveraging alternative strategies and educational campaigns, and fund research efforts (Chisholm-Burns et al., 2019). Although opioid use for pain medication is a questionable matter due to numerous drawbacks, healthcare specialists must professionally navigate their practice in the contemporary environment.
References
Bolshakova, M., Bluthenthal, R. N., & Sussman, S. (2019). Opioid use and misuse: health impact, prevalence, correlates and interventions. Psychology & Health, 34(9), 1105–1139. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2019.1622013
Chisholm-Burns, M. A., Spivey, C. A., Sherwin, E., Wheeler, J., & Hohmeier, K. C. (2019). The opioid crisis: Origins, trends, policies, and the roles of pharmacists. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 76(7), 424–435. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxy089
Response to Ciarra
Hi, Ciarra! Thank you for providing your perspective on opioid use, which remains a topic of heated debate. I genuinely like how you provide a historical perspective on the matter, revealing the unethical side of opioid misuse. Nevertheless, if the doctors initially knew the harmful effects of OxyContin, I believe they intentionally neglected the line between proper opioid application and abuse. According to Bicket et al. (2019), creating a protocol for opioid prescription is a great idea that can create a comprehensive framework to facilitate the process of patient condition assessment and the necessity of using this type of drug. However, while guidelines can ease this process, careful examination of each individual situation is required to provide the most individual patient approach. Thank you for the post! Great job!
References
Bicket, M. C., Brat, G., Hutfless, S., Wu, C. L., Nesbit, S., & Alexander, G. C. (2019). Optimizing opioid prescribing and pain treatment for surgery: Review and conceptual framework. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 76(18), 1403–1412. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxz146
Response to Karyn
Hi, Karyn! Thank you for the exciting opportunity to discover the topic of opioid misuse from your perspective. Indeed, science has relatively recently discovered adverse effects of opioids on human health, while historically, they were considered an ultimate pain-relief medication (Friedman & Nabong, 2020). Equipped with all the information in the world and recent scientific advances, healthcare professionals can masterfully manage opioid use to provide more good than bad. It is a significant advantage that you have mentioned not only physical symptoms, such as slower breathing and digestive issues, but also more individual aspects, such as the patient substance abuse history. Taking into account all available factors will help to make the right decision about the necessity to prescribe opioids and take the risk. Thank you for the post! Keep it up!
References
Friedman, A. S., & Nabong, L. (2020). Opioids. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America, 31(2), 289–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmr.2020.01.007
respond to classmates:
Anne:
I unfortunately do not have a lot of experience working with clients who are suffering from an opioid addiction. But I can certainly look back into a past life and see where an opioid addiction and its ramifications of one’s body, family, job and heath. My nieces father and extended family members suffer from an opioid addiction as this common where she lives in the mid-west.
My husband grew up in a small town in Missouri. Opioids and other drugs were readily available and accessible to all who knew where to find it. My husband luckily did not fall into the opioid epidemic, but our niece has suffered the consequences of addition in her birth father’s family. As a result, my niece now lives full time with my father-in-law (her grandfather). This was to keep the baby safe, secure and watched over by safe adults. Some people in her extended family did reach out for help and as a result, started living drug free. This was through MAT that they were able to take control over their addictions.
According to Chapter 4, in 2017 47,000 people died of opioid overdoses in the United States alone. This is a huge social issue as well as a health crisis. April 2020-April 2021, drug fatalities rose by three-fourths due to an easy to obtain drug, fentanyl.
In my opinion and lack of experience I believe MAT has been helpful in stabilizing people who are addicted as this allows the person to be more comfortable while going through detox. Detox is a dangerous business as this should be conducted with medical professionals present and helping the client recover in a safe manner; this reduces the craving as lesions the withdrawal symptoms and allows for counseling to start as the patient is stabilized to some degree. This as a result, is a safe way to treat a client going through withdrawals.
Megan:
With the knowledge I have gained thus far, I believe that I would prefer to work for a treatment agency that allows clients to be on long-term MAT. I do not have much experience in dealing with people who are addicted to drugs or withdrawing from drugs, but I think that they should be as comfortable as possible during the detox process to ensure that they do not relapse. Many people relapse during the detox process because of the negative effects detoxing has on their body. They often sweat, have a fever, chills, vomit, etc. It can be a very scary and daunting experience! Allowing these individuals to participate in MAT will show them that detoxing is possible, and it does not always have to be a gruesome experience. However, I do think that the MAT medications should be tapered down eventually. Maybe they can start to decrease the dose overtime and continue to decrease the dose only when other symptoms/ side effects disappear. I have talked about the Matthew Perry book before, but I really think that it helped open my eyes to drug addiction and the detox process. He actually was in the middle of a detox at a facility, called a drug dealer, and did drugs in the parking lot because of how bad he felt. Using MAT can hopefully allow more individuals to “stay clean.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOb8tX1MFGk
Housing First permanent supportive housing – a service model described in the video above – is a highly effective, evidence-based intervention for people with a history of housing instability and other complex needs (e.g., serious mental illness, substance use disorder, chronic health conditions, etc.). It combines affordable housing with recovery-oriented, person-centered supportive case management (referred to as Assertive Community Treatment or the “ACT team” in the video) to keep individuals with complex needs housed in their own independent apartments in the community. Because Housing First services are intended to be individualized and person-centered, relationship building is a critical part of service delivery in this intervention.
Watch the required video and write a brief essay (400-500 words) that answers the following questions:
Which “E.M.P.A.T.H.Y strategies” discussed in Reiss & Kraft-Todd (2014) does the Housing First provider use to express empathy in their interactions with consumers in the video? Provide at least one example.
Which “relationship development skills” discussed in Walsh (2013) does the Housing First provider use to build relationships with consumers in the video? Provide at least one example.

Please use the uploaded document and the resoursed to answer this questions
Live the question as a heading
1a. Describe at least 4 strategies from this week’s resources that you have or will use in your field placement group.
1b. Discuss how these strategies effectively will or have engaged the group.
Cite your sources
2a. Discuss the impotence of non-verbal communication especially in groups.
2b. What non-verbal communication strategies will or have you used to indicate you are the group leader?
2c. List one activity you can practice on Competency 6 using the souse below (Working with Gorups)
Competency #6: Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities. Social workers understand that engagement is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with, and on behalf of, diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
Earley, J.M. (2021, October 7). Understanding the importance of nonverbal communication [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCB4vySdTrk (10:53)
Field, T. (2018, September 21). Group dynamics and process: Advanced group issues [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Leg5cyOpz-Y (6:43)
lease read and watch the embedded video: Cherry, K. (2020, July 27), Types of nonverbal communication. Very well mind https://www.verywellmind.com/types-of-nonverbal-communication-2795397
Miller, J. J., Grise-Owens, E., Owens, L., Shalash, N., & Bode, M. (2020). Self-care practices of self-identified social workers: Findings from a national study. Social Work, 65(1), 55–63.