Framwork for Practise and Presentation Sociology --

¶ … Framwork for Practise and Presentation

Sociology -- Social Work

There are several factors that contribute to seeming intractability and complexity of social issues. We cannot retrieve an actual picture of any problem considering a single issue. The root causes of social issues are related to individual circumstances and some are beyond the individual control. Central goal of social work profession is the social justice. Social workers can better serve all the needs of the service users if they will have the tools that are required to analyze the existing social policies and problems. This term paper is based on the ideology and the theories embraced by social workers; also their practice strategies and inclusiveness of cultural diversity is discussed in detail.

FINAL PAPER -- FRAMWORK FOR PRACTISE AND PRESENTATION

We find several social issues in our surroundings. Every social issue does not depend on a single cause rather there are specific root causes that ultimately give rise to social problems. Such problems are handled by social work professionals and social agencies. They are the ones, who can help shape practices and policies, legitimacy of the social work as a dedicated profession and nature of services delivery system. It is vital to first understand the social policy in order to get practically engaged with social work; confidently dealing with ethical and political questions about rights and responsibility as a society. Social workers should have the required tools to effectively promote social justice; they should understand impact of social policy and social structures upon service users. Also they have to be involved in the policy practice. This term paper tells about the true ideology, embraced theories, practice strategies, goals and objectives, understanding of cultural diversity and self-determination of social workers.

Ideology

Social workers are the ones, who can help people to transform their living conditions. The core function of this profession is to aim at human progress, equality, democracy, social justice and self-determination. Social workers work as a community or under an organization. They have diverse goals that ultimately meet at one point. Social problems rise due to lack of housing and other resources for youth outreach programs and mental health. The social workers have to work as a counselor; they are awarded responsibilities on the basis of their qualification and experience.

They carry out various sessions for rehabilitation but what actually is the rehabilitation counseling? "Rehabilitation counselors are uniquely skilled to provide a wide variety of services to individuals with disabilities and are grounded with commendable values and beliefs which mediate the profession. The profession has traditionally provided counseling and consulting services" (Marchionda 2011). Basically the process of counseling involves setting of goals, growth of benefits and communication; also involved are psychological, behavioral, social and vocational interventions. The modalities and unique techniques utilized during rehabilitation counseling process include diagnosis and planning of the treatment, self co-ordination, and case management, and appraisal, interventions in order to remove attitudinal, employment and environmental barriers and adjustment to psychosocial and medical disability.

The social workers are reminded that "Rehabilitation services should no longer be imposed without the consent and participation of people who are using the services. Rehabilitation is now viewed as a process in which people with disabilities or their advocates make decisions about what services they need to enhance participation" (Community-Based Rehabilitation 2004).

Every social agency has a mission statement for example it wants to transform the service delivery system and all the programs to protect youth and children in a much better way and to support their development. Two of the main reasons of rise in social problems are poverty and lack of educations. "Adversity can take multiple forms for children. It may stem from constitutional vulnerability; from parental and familial difficulties and dysfunction or from environmental stressors. All of which may jeopardize children's development and affect their mental health." (Pacione, Measham, Kronich & Meloni 2012)

The social agencies mark their goals that they have to achieve with time. Some of them that have community and health services and three or four health authorities target their goal as transforming into a huge operational department. There they plan to share a common identity and culture of excellence. They aim at strengthening their service delivery framework. Dedicated social agencies prioritize key values as a part of their planning cycle. These key values may include the developing of a social agency that is collaborative, responsible, child plus youth centered, respectful, knowledgeable and responsible.

Social agencies have some primary client groups; this may include the concerns, needs or problems that cause people to come to them. The primary client groups include maltreated children, homeless children and adults, substance abused children and adults, families that require services for child care and adoption of children whether locally or nationally. Social agencies provide protection intervention to youth and children in need of high protection from a parent. They find permanent homes for these children; provide rehabilitative services and handle their educational, residential and financial issues. The social workers and agencies pay a lot of attention regarding rehabilitation services (to drug abuse children and adults). "People with addictions remain vulnerable during the middle phase of treatment; cognitive capacity usually begins to return to normal, the mind can still play tricks. Clients may remember the comfort of their past use of substances yet forget just how bad the rest of their lives were" (Flores & Georgi 2005).

A few years later some drug dealers were caught, they were offered rehabilitation services by a social agency. Instead of a punishment they were offered a deal; either they could live a tough life in jail or could go for a rehabilitation course in the respective social agency. This alternative approach was adopted in order to cure addiction and to stop this social problem. The deal stated, "Either complete an experimental long-term rehabilitation program and be treated like an addict with all the struggle of self-reform, or face mandatory prison time as just another common criminal with all the attendant lost freedom and wasted life" (Clines 1993).

Theory

Social workers widely embrace the Cognitive Behavioral Theory (CBT). "CBT targets the thoughts, choices, attitudes, and meaning systems that are associated with antisocial behavior and deviant lifestyles. It uses a training approach to teach new skills in areas where offenders show deficits, such as interpersonal problem awareness" (NICIC 2007). The cognitions of individuals impact their behavior. The social workers remove these cognitions; they naturally turn the individual's attention towards positive approach. This brings motivation and a positive change in the individual's behavior.

Social workers embrace theories such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Aboriginal Theory. The elements of Structural and Critical Theory also played a major role while developing this framework of practice and presentation. The approaches of Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are rooted in one principle. It says that the cognitions of an individual play a primary and a significant role in development of behavioral and emotional responses to all the situations of life. The primary determinants of an individual's actions and feelings in CBT models are the cognitive processes. CBT approaches are efficient in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These approaches follow three fundamental assumptions. Assumption number one is that the cognitive processes can be known. One can become aware of them with proper practice and training. Assumption number two is that we always respond to the environmental due to our actual thinking.

The Cognitive-behavioral Theory holds that our thinking behind the reality of our life is connected to our reaction to that reality. Assumption number three is that cognitions can be targeted intentionally; they can be modified and changed. In order to increase the functionality and adaptability of the individual, cognitions are changed into more balanced, relieved thinking. The rehabilitation counselors learn emotions through a process that has two parts. They are operant conditioning and classical conditioning. This is stated in the "Two-factor Theory." Operant conditioning and Classical conditioning are used to observe the behavior of individuals during the rehabilitation sessions. Sociology is a rich study of various theories that have changed with time but their fundamental principles are still the same.

Emotional-processing theory is based on an integrated framework for the analysis and explanation of maintenance. Basically this theoretical approach is a combination of cognitive, learning and behavioral theories of PTSD. It is built on the idea that the behaviors of individual are affected by emotional experiences. The emotional processing is the modification and activation of memory structures. Emotional processing includes creation of an access to complete memory of any particular event; it reactivates the structure of fear through process of exposure. This also it helps the individual to access new information with existing maladaptive information. There are two mechanisms in cognitive therapy. These are namely the Socratic Method and the Collaborative empiricism. Collaborative empiricism refers to formation of therapeutic alliance. On the other hand the Socratic Method employs some open-ended questions. These questions assist the client to recover knowledge, which is purely relevant to targeted problem.

The Ethers and Clark Model specify three goals of therapy in their Cognitive-behavioral theory. They have nine elements in their treatment model. The first is the "Detailed Assessment Interview." In this process the rehabilitation counselor identifies unique problematic cognitive themes. The second important element presented in the model is "Rationale for treatment." This element describes that cognitive therapy is used to ensure that the individual (client) understands the presence of rationale. "Some form of exposure leading to confrontation with a feared object is an effective form of treatment for anxiety and an essential aspect for the corrective emotional processing of pathological fear...to reduce pathological fear, the fear structure must be activated through some form of exposure" (Antonio & Resko 2008).

Every human group consists of members that have some beliefs. In this way every human group has its own ideology. The social theorists speak about ideology. Their ideology is nothing more than a simple set of beliefs and concepts. Critical Theory plays an essential role when a social theorist or agent forms a framework of his practice and presentation. "Agents are enlightened and emancipated by a critical theory. The critical theory induces self-reflection in the agents; by reflecting they come to realize that their form of consciousness is ideologically false and that the coercion from which they suffer is self imposed" (Geuss 2011).

Practice Strategies

A framework to the social work practice resides on a defined set of assumptions and beliefs about the declaration of conditions that bring change in systems and people. Here the question arises that how a social worker or a social agency can facilitate needed and desired change? This includes raising awareness and speaking out regarding child abuse. There are some of underlying issues including addictions, abuse, poverty, neglect and inequality in between social classes. Unresolved cultural and family conflict, health and inadequate social policy are also some of the underlying issues.

Discrimination between gender, races, age and ethnicity also give rise to social problems. Social workers are trained for bringing value to the life of the client. These workers identify all the reasons behind the problems faced by the client and then address solutions. Their responsibility is to enable all their clients to live a happy life. Social workers, who put efforts for bringing happiness and relaxation in the lives of socially disturbed people, deliver the lessons of motivation and hard work. "Living in harmony is perceived as a necessity. Failure to do so puts people in positions of vulnerability and danger. Harmony is health, disharmony is illness. Like diabetes, disharmony causes malfunctions in other parts of the body being affected, be it at the individual or at level of society" Margot & Lauretta 2006).

Social workers also learn social laws in order to fulfill the issues of client's legal help in a much better way. Social workers should have the skills and ability to help all the clients in making positive changes in their lives. For this purpose the workers have to understand clients belonging to different cultures. The social workers have to communicate and interact with them in the best possible way. A successful social worker evaluates and analyzes relationships with other people and clients in order to bring more improvement in their lives.

Social workers belonging to any social agency should hold very high ethical standards. They have to subscribe to high ethical standards both off and on the job. Social workers should respect the confidentiality of the clients. Good social agencies terminate those workers that are not careful about the confidentiality of the clients. The social workers are strictly not allowed to discuss the problems and matters of clients among each other or with a third person (an outsider). Keeping confidentiality builds trust of the client in the social agency or worker.

A social worker has to pay a lot attention to his or her habit of listening. This is because social workers have to understand the causes of mental health problems, addictions and abuses of clients. They have to guide the clients in making required adjustments and changes to live a different life. If a social worker listens to the client, he successfully understands all the issues can come up with the best conceptions and techniques for the client.

Since children and youth cannot protect themselves, the social workers have a legal and an ethical duty to protect them both mentally and physically. Social workers have to provide behavioral services for abused children. At times the entire family is counseled in order to make changes in the child's home. Counseling programs include abuse counseling, addiction programs, family counseling, behavior counseling and anger management programs as well. Abused children engage in attitudes and behaviors that are anger based therefore they need behavior therapy in order to adjust their life. Such children have victim mentality and suffer learning disabilities. Abuse causes them depression and develops negative mind set in them. The social workers have to teach them how to think and behave in positive manners. Abused children have are taught to believe in themselves and also that everyone in their surroundings in not bad and selfish. Excessively abused children forget the meaning of happiness, fun and liveliness. Their manipulative behaviors are then addressed.

Some youth has suffered a very abuse for a very long time. In such cases their families are also taught so the youth can slowly and gradually forget their painful past. Youth that has suffered abuse for a very long time do not open in the counseling sessions and try to hide truth of their life from the social workers. The social workers have to invest a lot of time to build their trust so the solutions to social problems can be addressed easily.

Substance abused children, youth and adults are deeply understood and assisted by social workers. Often a chart is maintained for them just like the one drawn below.

The social worker has to make sure that the self-care plan has a balanced list of activities (activities for mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health of the client). The social workers can use this kind of charts for keeping clients' records.

Table 1: Groups found in the settings of substance abuse treatment

Group Types

Group Model or Combination of Models

Skills Development

Cognitive -- Behavioral Therapy

Interpersonal Process

Support

Specialized Group

Psycho-educational

Anger/feelings management

Skills-building

Conflict resolution

Relapse prevention

12?Step psychoeducational

Psychoeducational

Trauma (abuse, violence)

Early recovery

Substance abuse education

Spirituality-based

Cultural

Psychodynamic

Ceremonial healing practices

Support

Family roles (psychoeducational)

Expressive therapy

Relaxation training

Meditation

Multiple-family

Gender specific

Life skills training

Health and wellness

Cognitive -- behavioral

Psychodrama

Adventure-based

Marathon

Humanistic/existential

Children having different parents (divorced parents) are usually neglected. Such children learn to believe that no relation can survive forever and somehow it ends up when one person cheats the other person. Such rehabilitation cases are also dealt by the social workers. Teenage pregnancies, fear of lost of virginity and parental reaction badly affect one's confidence. The root causes arise from the brought up of the person. A person, whether he is a son, a father, a brother or a husband; he has to fulfill his responsibilities in order to prevent his loved ones from facing any mental or emotional issues in future. Same goes for the female gender relationships. Poverty, homelessness, rising economic issues, all can be solved if an individual is willing to face them. The social workers teach all this when they deliver rehabilitation programs to families.

Ethnics

'Much attention is paid to strategic dimension of diversity policies, systems..diversity is essentially about cultural norms and values, appropriate reflection work becomes a fundamental task to create a truly inclusive work environment where people from diverse backgrounds feel respected and recognized" (Pless & Maak 2004). The social realities and conditions that influence the clients are basically the cultural beliefs, values and traditions. Every client has a different cultural background. The social workers have to communicate with all of them. Understanding their social issues and addressing right solutions to them is the core function of being a dedicated social worker. In some cultures women do not have the authority to speak about property ownership. Such women are when left by their husbands acquire the social services to get their rights legally. Therefore the social workers have to learn high standards of ethnicity and social laws.

The social agencies are now practicing more to improve their systems of spreading awareness to provide educational, emotional and financial services to their clients. To achieve the objectives of the social agency, they utilize their highest potentials. Their potentials are based on some sound principles. Their diverse viewpoints are respected and heard; their approaches and perspectives are valued. They are encouraged to make meaningful and unique contribution to the society. In this way they establish "vision of inclusion."

The most important is the principle of recognition. The principle of recognition plays an essential role in our lives. The social workers have to develop this awareness in all their clients. Emotional problems arise when emotions and feelings are not valued. Whether it's a child, teenager or an adult, everyone wants value and respect. Emotional recognition is therefore essential.