Category: Social work

Reflection #4: Mental Health Matters
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Watch and Reflect
Watch Video above.
What is “Black Mental Health” and why does it “Matter”? Hear Phillip’s journey of trauma, resilience, and advocacy as he gives an impassioned talk discussing the impact of trauma on black identity, and black wellness, and why America’s current conversation on mental health is inadequate. – Phillip J. Roundtree, MSW, MS is the Founder of Quadefy LLC, an organization dedicated to providing empowerment services to enhance the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength of an individual, team, and/or business. He is a staunch advocate of destigmatizing mental health, by promoting total wellness, amongst marginalized and often underrepresented communities. His transparency, as it relates to his personal journey in coping with depression and anxiety, gives a face, voice, and hope to those who’ve yet to recognize their emotional and cognitive strength. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedxLinks to an external site.
Submission and Grading
1. After watching the video above, in your own words describe how are the the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness affected by culture, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender or age of individuals?
2. Use a key term/concept from our class to share how it relates to the mental health please bold the term and define it first.
Please click on at the end of this discussion post.

Submit a 2- to 3-page paper (not including title page and references) evaluating your leadership style and followership style based on the four questionnaires you completed. Be sure to:
Summarize your personal leadership traits and style based on the Leadership Traits and Leadership Styles Questionnaire results. Include both strengths and areas for improvement that reflect these two questionnaires.
Describe your followership style based on the Followership Questionnaire results. Explain the implications of this style for you as both a leader and a follower within an organization.
Identify at least one area of growth that would be most important for you to develop, based on the Conflict Style Questionnaire feedback from your colleague or supervisor. Explain why this area is most important to you as a developing leader.
Use the Learning Resources to support your Assignment. Make sure to provide APA citations and a reference list.

Kalief Browder
Agency Introduction
What is the NY Department of Correction’s mission statement? You will find a lot of information using the following link: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doc/index.pageLinks to an external site.
Describe the target population of Rikers Island inmate population in detail, including pertinent information related to age, gender, socio-economic status, race, culture, ethnicity, etc. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.fordham.edu/download/downloads/id/14783/mcdonald_rikers_island.pdfLinks to an external site.
It is apparent that Rikers Island as an institution does not respect self-determination. Research and provide 2 organizations that exist to improve inmate conditions and treatment at Rikers Island, or jail/prison inmates in general. In 1-page minimum, provide both organizations:Name
Location
Mission and Vision statements
Explanation of the services/efforts towards improving inmate treatment.

answer all these questions below using the source I provided please No AI CHATGPT OR PLAGIARISM USED TO COMPLETE THIS ASSIGNMENT the text book you need to utilize is in the link below https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qrvoptti4g2idikz28ups/Handbook-of-Evidence-Based-Interventions-for-Children-and-Adolescen.pdf?rlkey=v6sf12isxsytcopoamzuu1rwl&dl=0
1.In developing an intervention for children and adolescents, what considerations would you give to developing a treatment integrity assessment plan? How would you analyze treatment integrity and measure the intervention’s outcomes? Please provide specific details.
2.Please develop and demonstrate the implementation of a suicide prevention plan at a middle school. Please be specific with the steps taken to implement the suicide prevention plan
3.Please plan an intervention for a school shooting at a high school where students and school personnel are affected. Please be specific with the details you take into consideration as the plan is being developed.
4.You have an eleven-year-old boy who is being bullied. His parents bring him to you for counseling. Please detail the steps you would take to assist this child
5.You are a social worker at an agency your local school system has contracted to provide services to the school district. The school district has a very high Hispanic population, and the challenges are centered around housing instability, food insecurities, low attendance, and poor test scores. What intervention would you implement? Please be very specific with your assessment tools and targeted outcomes.

answer all these questions below using the source I provided please No AI CHATGPT OR PLAGIARISM USED TO COMPLETE THIS ASSIGNMENT the text book you need to utilize is in the link below https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qrvoptti4g2idikz28ups/Handbook-of-Evidence-Based-Interventions-for-Children-and-Adolescen.pdf?rlkey=v6sf12isxsytcopoamzuu1rwl&dl=0
In developing an intervention for children and adolescents, what considerations would you give to developing a treatment integrity assessment plan? How would you analyze treatment integrity and measure the intervention’s outcomes? Please provide specific details.
Please develop and demonstrate the implementation of a suicide prevention plan at a middle school. Please be specific with the steps taken to implement the suicide prevention plan
Please plan an intervention for a school shooting at a high school where students and school personnel are affected. Please be specific with the details you take into consideration as the plan is being developed.
You have an eleven-year-old boy who is being bullied. His parents bring him to you for counseling. Please detail the steps you would take to assist this child
You are a social worker at an agency your local school system has contracted to provide services to the school district. The school district has a very high Hispanic population, and the challenges are centered around housing instability, food insecurities, low attendance, and poor test scores. What intervention would you implement? Please be very specific with your assessment tools and targeted outcomes.

Social workers understand methods of assessment with diverse clients and constituencies to advance practice effectiveness and understand theories of human behavior and the social environment, and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge to effectively intervene with clients and constituencies. Social workers understand the global interconnections of oppression and human rights violations, and are knowledgeable about theories of human need and social justice and strategies to promote social and economic justice and human rights. Social workers understand strategies designed to eliminate oppressive structural barriers to ensure that social goods, rights, and responsibilities are distributed equitably and that civil, political, environmental, economic, social, and cultural human rights are protected. Choose one of the following family vignettes and create a thorough treatment plan which illustrates the intersectionality of the above factors. Include at least six long-term goals. Develop at least five objectives and six interventions for each long-term goal. Be sure to include any sub-system work needed and work with other agencies.
The Juarez family is comprised of three children: Juan, age 15; Jesus, age 12; and Sarah, age 5. The parents are originally from Mexico and have had all three children here since they immigrated 16 years ago. They are still in the process of obtaining citizenship. They struggle with making ends meet and both parents speak limited English. Jesus has been experiencing mood problems at school and angers easily. He often gets into fights and is on probation for assault. He is quiet most of the time and is having trouble sleeping. The other two children are doing fine, but the parents are concerned that Sarah is overly anxious. The parents do not always agree on discipline as Mr. Juarez believes that spanking with a board is appropriate, and they have been reported to Child Protective Services for abuse. The family is strong in its faith and regularly attends Catholic Mass. The family has been referred to you through Child Protective Services.
The Smith family is a blended family with five children. The father, John, has three children from a previous marriage: Josh, age 10; Emily, age 7; and June, age 5. Their step-mother (Becky) has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals most of her life. Becky’s second husband has been accused of sexually abused their two girls while she battled substance abuse and mental illness. The father was notified by Child Services once the girls told their aunt, and he has custody of them at this time. Becky’s divorce was problematic, and she has a strained relationship with her ex-husband. She and her stepson Josh have heated arguments and she suspects he has been using drugs and alcohol. She is very controlling and consistently argues with teachers and other authority figures about how to interact with her stepson. Both John and Becky work full-time and struggle with poverty and are afraid of the court costs that could occur from the sexual abuse charges. They live in a rural town. They have self-referred to you for parent-child problems concerning Becky and her stepson Josh. The Bell family consists of a single mom raising her two sons. They have just moved from a family shelter as Mrs. Bell has left an abusive husband. Her eldest is Sam, age 15 and her youngest is Joe, who is 12. They are African American. She works part time at two jobs to make ends meet. Sam experienced a lot of mixed feelings lately regarding his sexuality, but does not want anyone to know. He is bullied at school and does not have any friends. He does not like sports, but does prefer drama class. He is failing in most of his classes. He often masturbates while thinking about other boys and has viewed a few gay websites. His mother is unaware of his struggles; she just thinks he is depressed. Joe has also had problems with his peers and they have been picked up by the police for vandalism on several occasions. She is unsure what to do to help her boys and is not sure about therapy. The family has been referred to you by the school.
Support your assignment with at least five scholarly resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources, including seminal articles, may be included.
Length: 10 pages, not including title and reference pages
Your assignment should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic.

For this short assignment please only provide answers for ONE of the docuseries, Gabriel Fernandez, or Kalief Browder. NOT BOTH. 3 pages MAXIMUM, using APA formatting. Answer the following questions for the docuseries you choose to watch:
Gabriel Fernandez
Agency Introduction
What is the LA DCFS mission statement? You will find a lot of information using the following link: https://dcfs.lacounty.gov/about/who-we-are/Links to an external site.
Describe the target population DCFS serves in detail, including pertinent information related to age, gender, socio-economic status, race, culture, ethnicity, etc. (What population does the Department of Child and Family Services Serve) https://dcfs.lacounty.gov/about/who-we-are/Links to an external site.
Does the agency respect self-determination? Describe how the agency does or does not respect self-determination.Give one specific example from the docuseries to support your point of view.
Kalief Browder
Agency Introduction
What is the NY Department of Correction’s mission statement? You will find a lot of information using the following link: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doc/index.pageLinks to an external site.
Describe the target population of Rikers Island inmate population in detail, including pertinent information related to age, gender, socio-economic status, race, culture, ethnicity, etc. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.fordham.edu/download/downloads/id/14783/mcdonald_rikers_island.pdfLinks to an external site.
It is apparent that Rikers Island as an institution does not respect self-determination. Research and provide 2 organizations that exist to improve inmate conditions and treatment at Rikers Island, or jail/prison inmates in general. In 1-page minimum, provide both organizations:Name
Location
Mission and Vision statements
Explanation of the services/efforts towards improving inmate treatment.

is anticipated that the initial discussion post should be in the range of 250-300 words. Response posts to peers have no minimum word requirement but must demonstrate topic knowledge and scholarly engagement with peers. Substantive content is imperative for all posts. All discussion prompt elements for the topic must be addressed. Please proofread your response carefully for grammar and spelling. Do not upload any attachments unless specified in the instructions. All posts should be supported by a minimum of one scholarly resource, ideally within the last 5 years. Journals and websites must be cited appropriately. Citations and references must adhere to APA format.
Classroom Participation
Students are expected to address the initial discussion question by Wednesday of each week. Participation in the discussion forum requires a minimum of three (3) substantive postings (this includes your initial post and posting to two peers) on three (3) different days. Substantive means that you add something new to the discussion supported with citation(s) and reference(s), you are not just agreeing. This is also a time to ask questions or offer information surrounding the topic addressed by your peers. Personal experience is appropriate for a substantive discussion, however should be correlated to the literature.
All discussion boards will be evaluated utilizing rubric criterion inclusive of content, analysis, collaboration, writing and APA. If you fail to post an initial discussion or initial discussion is late, you will not receive points for content and analysis, you may however post to your peers for partial credit following the guidelines above.
Initial Response
Instructions:For this discussion, please reflect on the work you have done in this course so far.
What has been the most interesting to you in this course?
What successes have you had?
What are ideas or concepts you still struggle with?
Next, your final assignment for this course will involve your participation in a simulation experience as a social worker engaging in practice with a client. In preparation for the final assignment, share any expectations or concerns that you might have regarding the upcoming experience in the final assignment.
Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.
Your initial response is due by Wednesday at 11:59 pm CT.
Estimated time to complete: 2 hours
Peer Response
Instructions:Please read and respond to at least two of your peers’ initial postings. You may want to consider the following questions in your responses to your peers:Compare and contrast your initial posting with those of your peers. How are they similar or how are they different?
What information can you add that would help support the responses of your peers?
Ask your peers a question for clarification about their post.
What most interests you about their responses? Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.All peer responses are due by Sunday at 11:59 pm CT.Estimated time to complete: 1 hour

It is anticipated that the initial discussion post should be in the range of 250-300 words. Response posts to peers have no minimum word requirement but must demonstrate topic knowledge and scholarly engagement with peers. Substantive content is imperative for all posts. All discussion prompt elements for the topic must be addressed. Please proofread your response carefully for grammar and spelling. Do not upload any attachments unless specified in the instructions. All posts should be supported by a minimum of one scholarly resource, ideally within the last 5 years. Journals and websites must be cited appropriately. Citations and references must adhere to APA format.
Classroom Participation
Students are expected to address the initial discussion question by Wednesday of each week. Participation in the discussion forum requires a minimum of three (3) substantive postings (this includes your initial post and posting to two peers) on three (3) different days. Substantive means that you add something new to the discussion supported with citation(s) and reference(s), you are not just agreeing. This is also a time to ask questions or offer information surrounding the topic addressed by your peers. Personal experience is appropriate for a substantive discussion, however, should be correlated to the literature.
All discussion boards will be evaluated utilizing rubric criterion inclusive of content, analysis, collaboration, writing and APA. If you fail to post an initial discussion or initial discussion is late, you will not receive points for content and analysis, you may however post to your peers for partial credit following the guidelines above.
Initial Response
Instructions:Discussion question 1: Welcome to the mid-point in our class. Please share three things which have been beneficial to your learning and three areas for improvement. Please also provide an update on your policy advocacy project. Also, please be sure to share any questions you have for our instructor. Your response should be at least 400 words. No responses are needed to your classmates.
Discussion question 2: Conduct an Internet search or reflect on your own personal experiences in accessing childcare. Take good notes and answer the following questions:
What are some of the ways parents are advocating for changes in childcare policy (interest groups, lobbying efforts, etc.)?
How do childcare workers or those who run childcare facilities advocate for changes in childcare policy (interest groups, lobbying efforts, etc.)?
Are these groups advocating for the same changes, or do they have different priorities?
How can social workers encourage the groups to work toward common goals, and work together with them?
Are there other important stakeholders who should be part of this process?
Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.
The post and responses are valued at 25 points. Please review post and response expectations. Please review the rubric to ensure that your response meets criteria.
Estimated time to complete: 2 hours
Peer Response
Instructions:You are expected to actively participate in the forums each week. Responses to others must add substantively to the discussion by building upon classmates’ ideas or posing critical questions to further the discussion. For example, a posting of “I agree with what people are saying” is not sufficient. What is considered sufficient is initiating further discussion, promoting further thought, providing critical or integrative dialog providing effective support or encouragement, challenging by showing supporting literature or other documentation, and/or self-reflecting regarding the topic. You must respond to at least two other peers’ initial posts. Please read and respond to at least two of your peers’ initial postings. You may want to consider the following questions in your responses to your peers:
Compare and contrast your initial posting with those of your peers. How are they similar or how are they different?
What information can you add that would help support the responses of your peers?
Ask your peers a question for clarification about their post.
What most interests you about their responses? Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.
All peer responses are due by Sunday at 11:59 pm CT.
Estimated time to complete: 1 hour

Social Work Values
Objective: Define social work and introduction to social work values.
Social work is a dynamic and demanding profession that requires a variety of skills and qualities. Whether these skills are innate or acquired, success in the field requires social workers to continually develop them throughout their career. While this list is not exhaustive, the following skills are vital for all social workers.
Social workers rely on their values and skills to help individuals address issues. One of the core values of social work is the importance of human relationships. To start building a strong relationship a social worker will begin applying the skills we learned about in this module. One of the most significant one being empathy.
Empathy is the ability to identify with and understand another person’s experience and point of view. NASW defines it as “the act of perceiving, understanding, experiencing and responding to the emotional state and ideas of another person.”¹
“Stepping into someone else’s shoes” and recognizing that experiences, perceptions and worldviews are unique to each individual enables social workers to better understand and build stronger relationships with clients. It is a vital skill that helps social workers to determine a client’s needs based on his or her unique experiences in order to efficiently provide services.
¹Barker, R. L. (2003). The Social Work Dictionary. 5th ed. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
The difficult thing about empathy, as you saw in the video On Empathy is that sometimes we might not agree with our client or in an attempt to be positive, we want to cheer them on and say something completely opposite so they feel better, what I like to call “the cheerleader response”. See examples below:
Client (when discussing her daughter) : “I am a terrible parent, she just doesn’t listen to me and I have to yell at her to get her attention”
In this situation we might be tempted to say “Of course you are a good parent…don’t be so hard on yourself”…however that is not true empathy. Empathy would be something like “What I hear you say is that parenting is hard” or “That sounds like a struggle, it must be very hard for you”.
Adolescent Client (when discussing his dad): “My dad hates me, he is the worst dad ever!”
In this situation we might be tempted to say “No he doesn’t! He loves you so much, he buys you food and clothes…” or “You are mad, but you know that’s not true.” An empathic response would be something such as, “I am sorry to hear that, what does it meant to you that he hates you?” or “Help me understand why he hates you, that must be lonely and hard for you…”
Submission and Grading
1. In your own words, define Social Work and state how it is different from other professions you have encountered or your own (if Social Work is not your major). See section Social Work and Other Helping Professions to help with this question.
2. Reflect on empathy, how can you practice using it to strengthen the core value of importance of human relationships. Think of your everyday interactions at work or in your community. Even if you do not work in social work, you can use empathy with any type of customer, consumer or individual in your community. In a full paragraph, describe
1. How you will implement empathy and do you think it will benefit those relationships?
2. Do you foresee any difficulties as you practice implementing empathy?
Please click on at the end of this discussion post.
(20 points total) Please see “snowman” icon on the top right-hand corner to see assignment rubric used for grading.