Assignment:
Q1. Many social work students dread taking research classes. They often view the courses as unnecessary to be a good social worker when, in fact, the opposite is true. How do you really know that your interventions are working, unless you evaluate them? As a social worker it is essential to identify in a quantifiable manner whether a treatment is helping the client or if it needs to be abandoned for another approach. In the past, social workers depended on recognizing a client’s progress through their own observations. Today, with a significant push both in the field of social work and among insurance companies to provide evidenced-based practice, social workers now are expected, more than ever, to evaluate their practice. Selecting the proper measurement/evaluation tool, based on the clients’ presenting concerns and treatment goals, will provide the evidence-based practice that is expected by the field. For this Discussion, review this week’s Learning Resources, including the course-specific case studies. Select either Abdel or Pedro from the course-specific case studies provided and search the Mental Measures Yearbook database to identify potential scales that could be used to evaluate the treatment. Select one of the scales you identified and consider why it might be useful in evaluating treatment. Finally, think about the validity and reliability of that scale. Note: The course-specific case study you select should differ from the case study you selected in Week 6. Write a description of the scale you might use to evaluate treatment for the client in the case study you selected and explain why you selected that scale. Be sure to reference the case study you selected in your post. Finally, explain the validity and reliability of that scale. Support your posts and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.
Q2. Ending a client relationship can be just as difficult as ending a personal relationship. In fact, while much of the literature addresses when to terminate, a more significant topic is the feelings that surround termination. Depending on the client and the length of treatment, saying goodbye can be hard for both of you. As a result, you should prepare for termination and the feelings surrounding this step of the GIM process early in the client-social worker relationship. While you generally anticipate that successful treatment will lead to the eventual termination of the client relationship, there are a variety of other reasons for why this relationship might come to an end. There might be a set number of sessions the client’s insurance will allow, or maybe the end of your internship is quickly approaching. Maybe termination results from the unexpected, like a new job, an illness, or the client leaves without notice. Regardless of the cause, you and your client must be prepared for the end of your working relationship. Not discussing termination can result in uncomfortable feelings, including anger and disappointment for the client. As the social worker, you might feel disappointed about not being able to see the treatment through to completion. Even when termination is a planned event, clients might respond with anger, increased silence, missed sessions, or early termination. If they feel positive about this next step, they might express feelings of satisfaction and pride, with an appropriate amount of sadness about losing this relationship. While you are involved in a purely working relationship, you may be surprised at how many emotions or what types of emotions might surface for both of you when terminating the relationship. For this Discussion, review this week’s Learning Resources. Consider potentially positive and negative feelings that you, as a social worker, and the client might feel regarding the termination of a therapeutic relationship. Then, think about how you might assist the client with the potential negative feelings. Finally, reflect on how you might help yourself with your own potentially negative feelings. Write a brief description of two potential positive and two potential negative feelings that both you, as the social worker, and the client might feel, regarding the termination of a therapeutic relationship. Then, explain a skill you might use to assist a client with the potential negative feelings. Finally, explain how you might help yourself with your own potentially negative feelings. Support your posts and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.
Your answer must be, typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font (size 12), one-inch margins on all sides, APA format.