In many societies certain groups possess more resources and hold more power than other groups. In some of these societies, racial discrimination and racial tension also exist. While members of the societies may openly acknowledge that unequal distribution of power and racism are present in their society, many fail to examine the complex relationships between privilege and racism. Social workers must understand this complex relationship so they can educate and empower their clients. Empowerment is the cornerstone of social work practice.

In the book Black Empowerment, the author,Barbara Solomon, writes, “Empowerment refers to a process whereby persons who belong to a stigmatized social category throughout their lives can be assisted to develop and increase skills in the exercise of interpersonal influence and the performance of valued social roles” (p. 6).

Empowerment practice is based on a collaborative relationship between worker and client, initiated to promote the client’s power through self-actualization, self-determination, and the fulfillment of personal goals (Gutierrez, Parsons, & Cox, 1998). Further, this process includes increasing your clients’ awareness of the structural oppression that exists and its impact on them. It is the role of social workers to empower clients and to bring about awareness of the inequalities that exist in society. This is done two fold—through work with clients on the micro and mezzo levels and on a macro level through work in organizations and communities.

Social workers cannot effectively empower clients without first understanding the mechanisms of oppression and how they impact their day-to-day work. Then social workers can recognize the impact on their clients’ lives and apply the appropriate skills.  

To prepare: Review the case study “Working With Individuals: The Case of Mary.”
 
·      Post an explanation of the relationship between racism and privilege.

·      Furthermore, explain how the concepts of racism and privilege relate to “Working With Individuals: The Case of Mary.”
 
·      Explain the impact of racism and privilege on social work practice.
 
·      Provide recommendations for how you as a social worker might use an empowerment perspective when responding to Mary.

 ·      Be specific and provide examples from the case. Also, identify specific skills social workers might employ.

References (use at least 2)

         Adams, M., Blumenfeld, W. J., Castaneda, C., Hackman, H. W., Peters, M. L., & Zuniga, X. (Eds.). (2013). Readings for diversity and social justice. (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge Press.

                                       Chapter 11, (pp. 77–86)

                                       Chapter 12, (pp. 86–92)

                                       Chapter 14, (pp. 96–101)

                                       Chapter 15, (pp. 102–109)


National Association of Social Workers. (2007). Institutional racism & the social work profession: A call to action. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers.org/diversity/InstitutionalRacism.pdf

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Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].

         Working With Individuals: The Case of Mary”

Working With Individuals: The Case of Mary

Mary is a 47-year-old, single, heterosexual Caucasian female. She lives with her 52-year-old sister and 87-year-old father in the home in which she was raised. She also has a 45-year-old sister who lives 10 minutes away and a 23-year-old daughter living on her own. Mary and her family members do not maintain friendships outside the family. Mary has been unable to work for the past 3 years because she says she has felt too frightened to go too far from her home. As a result, she has been financially reliant on her family members for these last few years. Prior to this lapse in employment, she had been a school bus driver and an administrative assistant at a warehouse distribution center. Mary has no history of drug or alcohol abuse. She is well groomed and physically fit with a diagnosis of hypoactive thyroid, for which she is treated with Synthroid^®. Mary was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and adjustment disorder, not otherwise specified (NOS) by the clinic psychiatrist.

Before meeting with me, Mary saw a social worker in a private practice for 2 years. She entered treatment with that clinician because she said she was traumatized by a romantic relationship with a married African American man she had met at work. Her trauma symptoms began 6 months after she ended the yearlong romantic relationship. Mary said the romance occurred because he had “brainwashed” her, as there could be no other reason she would have slept with him. Mary believes that bad people are capable of “brainwashing” good people to perform bad deeds. Mary was raised in a home that espoused racism, and she and her family members believe that African Americans and other people of color are untrustworthy and bad. She said, “I take after my father, and he thinks black people are just evil.” Mary said she understands her feelings about race are not right.

Mary considered her initial attempt at treatment unsuccessful for two reasons. First, she felt the therapist (a Caucasian woman) judged her and her family harshly for their racial beliefs and this got in the way of the two of them building a trusting working relationship. Second, she did not feel relief from her PTSD symptoms. Mary ended the relationship with that social worker 6 months ago. Mary then approached her primary care physician about her symptoms, and the doctor prescribed an antidepressant. When, after 3 months, Mary asked to have her dosage increased, the doctor suggested that she get a psychiatric evaluation and consider returning to therapy. Mary’s insurance company suggested our agency for the psychiatric evaluation and approved 10 sessions.

Mary said she felt sad, frightened, and anxious most of the time. She had no appetite, slept most of the day, had no interest in dressing, and rarely left the house. When she did go out, she felt the need to be accompanied by of one of her sisters.

Mary presented as angry during our initial sessions. She requested that one of her sisters attend the sessions with her, to which I agreed. My intent in agreeing to have her sister in the room was to help Mary feel safe and create a strong rapport. During the early sessions, most of what Mary said began as half sentences that she asked her sister to complete. Mary referred to her sisters as her “caretakers and minders” who “know me better than I know myself so you should talk to them.” Mary said that if she talked for herself she would get “it wrong.” The “it” and the “wrong” remained elusive in meaning when I asked her what that meant.

Mary agreed, after two sessions, to meet with me alone. We used our first individual session to establish Mary’s goals for therapy. Among her goals was developing ways she could feel safer about going outside alone. Over the next eight sessions, I used cognitive behavioral therapy interventions to help Mary build coping strategies for recognizing triggers to frightening thoughts and to help her manage her anxiety symptoms. I also used psychoeducational interventions to help Mary develop routines for proper sleep hygiene, healthy eating, and regular exercise.

After several sessions, Mary shared insight into her feelings about dating an African American man. Mary said that being attracted to an African American man frightened her and that there was no future for her relationship with this man because he was married. Mary believed that she had jeopardized her secure position in the family because being with an African American man challenged the family’s ideas about race and their view of themselves as separate and unique from non-family members. Once the family discovered Mary’s relationship with this man, she believed her only way back into their lives was to accept the role of a “crazy sister” in need of protection and whose judgment about people was faulty. By forming a relationship with an African American man, Mary had shown her judgment to be outside of the norm in the conventions of her family.

In our final two sessions, Mary said that she no longer felt like she was the “crazy woman in the family” and she felt safe going to the grocery store alone. It was my impression that Mary may have been the identified patient in her family but exploring this idea would require family therapy.

Discussion 2 : Values Consistent With Social Work Practice

While counseling clients, it can be tempting for social workers to rely on their own set of values and ethical principles. Although the intention here is a good one, social workers must remember that, when working, their values need to be consistent with those of social work practice. The video case study featuring Eboni is a good example of what kinds of consequences can arise when a social worker is led by a personal set of ethics and values. For this Discussion, watch the video about Eboni and consider how you would respond to her during this particularly difficult time in her life. Be sure to include what kinds of supports are available for a pregnant teen.

Post your answer to the following questions:

·      After watching the video about Eboni, describe her response to the situation in terms of her developmental stage. How would you, as a social worker, respond?

·      What do you think are the most important messages for Eboni to understand at this point in her life span?

·      Also, explain which concepts/values, consistent with social work practice, you would try to reinforce.

·      Be sure to include what kinds of supports are available for a pregnant teen.

References (use at least 2)

Caputo, R. K. (2009). Adolescent sexual debut: A multisystem perspective of ethnic and racial differences. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 9(4), 330–358.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013). Logan family (Episode 3) [Video file]. In Sessions.

Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Boston, MA:  Cengage Learning.

         Chapter 6 (pp. 295-332)

 

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•  Case Study Treatment Plan: The Assessment Process Scoring Guide.
•  APA Style and Format.
•  Turnitin.
•  Writing Feedback Tool.
•  Case Study Treatment Plan Template.
•  Case Study Treatment Plan | Transcript

For this assignment, complete the Assessment Process sections of the treatment plan for your course project. This treatment plan is based on the case study you selected for your course project. You can review the case studies in the Case Study Treatment Plan media piece available in the resources.

The Assessment Process sections of the treatment plan that you will complete for this assignment consist of the following:

• Identifying information.
• Presenting problem.
• Previous treatments.
• Strengths, weaknesses, and social support systems.
• Assessment.
• Diagnosis.
• References.

The sections of the treatment plan you submit for this assignment should be 4–5 pages in length, with a minimum of two references from current articles in the professional literature in counseling. Be sure to cite your references in current APA format.

To assist you in completing this assignment, please use the Case Study Treatment Plan Template (available in the resources) to organize your work. Each section of the template includes a description of the type of information you must include. You should type your paper directly into this template, save it as a Word document with your name, and then submit it to the assignment area.

For additional information, see the course project description.

Submit your paper to Turnitin before you post it to the assignment area so you can catch any areas that are showing up as possible plagiarism.

Note: Your instructor may also use the Writing Feedback Tool to provide feedback on your writing. In the tool, click on the linked resources for helpful writing information.

THE CASE STUDY

Oscar is a 19-year-old Hispanic male who is the oldest of 5 children. His family has been farming the same land for 4 generations. Currently they grow vegetables for the regional grocery chain’s produce departments. They live in a rural area of the county. Three generations live in two separate houses on their land. They are fiercely independent and have little to do with people in town, although the family itself is extremely close knit.

Oscar is currently a freshman at the same college his father attended, majoring in agriculture. When he came home for spring break, his parents noticed significant changes in his appearance. He had lost weight, looked haggard, wasn’t sleeping and seemed irritable and argumentative. He told his parents that he did not want to return to college after the break. He went on to say that his roommate had placed cameras in the room so he could record everything Oscar did while the roommate was absent. His grades were poor and he expressed that he believed his instructors were prejudiced against him. This poor performance was in stark contrast to his performance in high school, where he was in the top 10% of his class. Within days of coming home he had stopped showering and began wearing multiple layers of clothes (3 pairs of jeans and 4 t-shirts). He became essentially non-communicative, responding to questions with one-word answers and not initiating conversation. Oscar seemed unhappy or irritable whenever he encountered a member of his family and began spending all his time in his room. He even refused to talk with his youngest brother, with whom he had always been close. He did not take meals with his family, a long-standing tradition in his family, and left his room only in the middle of the night. He could then be heard opening drawers in the kitchen, going into his siblings’ rooms and leaving the house for long periods of time.

The family (parents and grandparents) became very disturbed and consulted their priest. The priest recommended that the parents take Oscar to see a fellow parishioner who is also a counselor. This counselor was also disturbed with Oscar’s presentation and recommended hospitalization. The family was very reluctant, but eventually agreed. By the time they got to the hospital, Oscar was essentially non-communicative, only nodding or shaking his head in response to direct questions.

The parents provided history that indicated Oscar had been a good student in high school and had participated in the school’s FFA club. He has always wanted to carry on the family tradition of farming. He did not have many friends, but the family attributed that to their living in the country.

The psychiatrist diagnosed Oscar with major depressive disorder, single episode, severe with psychotic features and prescribed anti-depressants. He was released three weeks later, with some improvement. One week later he was readmitted, with the same presentation he had at the previous admission. This time, though, his father reported that he had found a cache of knives in the barn, some from the house, some from the grandparent’s house and some from the barn itself. When he asked Oscar about them, Oscar responded that he needed them to protect himself from attacks. When his father asked from whom, Oscar responded that he had seen one of his college professors in the field of broccoli. That same day, Oscar’s mother found notes stuffed between Oscar’s mattress and box springs in Oscar’s handwriting. The content of them was Oscar arguing with someone about killing his younger siblings. One side did not want to do it and begged to not have to; the other side ordered the killings, saying that was the only way to keep them safe. In light of these two events, both parents were afraid for Oscar to remain at the house. Oscar swore that he would never hurt any of his family and said that was why he had been keeping away from them. His parents could not be sure that no harm would come and were unable to watch Oscar day and night. Therefore, they readmitted him to the hospital.

During this admission, Oscar was more forthcoming with his treatment team. Once they had this additional information, the team realized that Oscar’s initial diagnosis had been wrong. They began a re-assessment. Oscar acknowledged that the problems began about the time of the new semester. He was unable to complete his school work, as he was “consumed” with the need to follow instructions that were being given to him. These instructions actually began with a buzzing in his head, which quickly evolved into specific directions. When pressed, he acknowledged that he did not know who was giving him the directions, though he sometimes thought it might be Jesus. These instructions were for him to keep a log of every time he heard a door close on his hallway in the dorm. Oscar came to believe that doing this was the only way to keep his family safe from dark angels. Oscar tried to keep these voices quiet by smoking marijuana on a daily basis. While this helped in the short term, it also made it more difficult for him to complete any of his school work. By the time for spring break, the messages had begun to change. He was no longer able to keep his family safe by keeping a list; the voices told him he would have to kill them. Oscar knew that he did not want to kill his family. He could also not avoid going home for spring break. Therefore, he devised the plan to isolate himself.

Once the family recovered from their initial shock and as Oscar began to show some improvement with his new, anti-psychotic, medication, his parents and grandparents wanted to take him home to the farm. They believed that life on the farm, being outside and with hard, physical labor would cure Oscar. Finally, Oscar agreed to tell them what has been happening with him. At that point, the family agreed to residential treatment for Oscar. When asked if anyone else in the family has ever had symptoms like this, the grandfather acknowledged that he had a brother (Oscar’s uncle) who had religious visions. This brother left the family and became a monk. Later the family heard that he had died under mysterious circumstances. One of the other monks at the monastery told Oscar’s grandfather that his brother had died from engaging in a prolonged fast. The family is very lucky on two counts: 1) they have their medical insurance through the farmer’s co-op and it includes coverage for residential treatment for up to a year, and 2) this hospital has a residential treatment unit for late adolescents and young adults. You are working as a counselor at the Residential Treatment facility where Oscar has been placed. He will be here for a minimum of 6 months and as long as one year. Professional staff at this facility includes 3 counselors, an addictions counselor, a social worker (currently on maternity leave), a psychologist, and 2 nurses on every shift. Oscar’s psychiatrist is also on staff and will continue to follow his care.

The social worker usually coordinates clients’ treatment plans; however she is currently away on maternity leave so you will be the lead therapist who is coordinating Oscar’s treatment during the next 45 days. Once she returns, you will collaborate with her for developing Oscar’s post-residential treatment and resources for him and his family.

 

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