Interventions are a very important tool that social workers must use when working with individuals, families, groups, and communities. Regardless of the specific population being served, the intervention must be evidence-based. It is crucial that social workers develop skills and knowledge on different populations and communities so that they will be able to deliver effective services to all populations. A great example of an intervention would be case management for children who have been physically and sexually abused in a specific area. This would include finding the proper foster care, lawyers, education, transportation, and supervision for the children. Intervention also involves the social worker advocating on behalf of the vulnerable population.
8A -Implement clinical evidence-based interventions with individuals, families, and/or groups
Course Evidence: For both of my Advanced Clinical classes, I was required to record videos of myself demonstrating clinical skills with both individuals and groups. With the individual session, I demonstrated all ten steps for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and for the group video, I demonstrated all of the clinical group skills that I had learned throughout the semester.
Knowledge: The knowledge that I used is from both of my Advanced Clinical classes where I learned about how to implement Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and group psychotherapy skills.
Field Evidence: As an extra project for my field placement which was approved by both my task supervisor and field instructor, I completed a CEU in delivering tele-therapy. Completing this CEU was necessary in terms of learning about how to deliver mental health services later on in my social work career. This was also relevant in terms in of the current COVID-19 crisis that is currently taking place.
Telebehavioral Practice Basics for Social Work Educators and Clinicians Responding to COVID-19
Affective process: For this competency, I was required to consider and notice the specific effect that art therapy has on some of the participants at Signal Centers. The reason that art therapy is the main intervention is due to the agency not allowing any other types of interventions to be used such as Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing, or Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). From using art therapy, I have found that it is a very effective method for engaging and building rapport with those in the developmental disabilities population.
8B – Integrate macro level evidence-based strategies with organizations and/or communities
Course Evidence: For my Advanced Social Policy class, I learned about how to implement advocacy and create a project in order to bring around attention to an issue that may be affecting a specific community. For instance, a major assignment that I had in the class was a group project where my colleagues and I completed research surrounding the issue of child abuse and how it affects children in the Chattanooga area and across the state of Tennessee. Also, my group and I implemented advocacy strategies in the project to help bring around attention to the issue.
Advanced Social Policy I paper
Advanced Social Policy Presentation
Skills: The skills that were being used for this specific competency are writing, case management, and assessment which are important skills for social workers. Writing is important for social workers because details about the specific case of the client is very important in order for the interdisciplinary team to create a proper treatment plan.
Values: The values that were used for this competency was service and dignity and worth of the person. By completing research on different therapeutic methods and studying the diagnosis of different mental disorders, it is done with the intention of serving the client in the best way possible.
Field Evidence: On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I assisted my task supervisor in organizing and monitoring a community service project for the high school students to participate in for the day as shared on the third week of my field journal. The specific tasks that they were required to do involved cleaning the entire facility including the tables, chairs, bathrooms, smart board room, and the art studio. For this project, I assigned different groups of students to complete different cleaning projects so that the agency would be cleaned in a more timely and efficient manner.
Cognitive Process: For this competency, I was required to evaluate and apply some of the research and concepts on art therapy with the participants at Signal Centers. Also, I was required to help the other staff members to formulate and develop specific tasks for the high school students to complete for their community service project.
Theoretical foundation: The specific theoretical foundation that I applied for this competency was structural functionalism. The concept of this theory explains how each part of society functions together to contribute to the whole. Social work is a broad field which involves therapists, counselors, case managers, politicians, etc. who can all make a contribution to advocating for better policies for those struggling with different mental illnesses and disorders. Also, the way that this theory applies to the community service project is that it involved many individuals to come together to help clean the agency which greatly benefitted the health of the participants who attend the agency daily.
Additional evidence: While completing my field placement from home during the national quarantine, I took a basic course in Project Management Essentials course in which I earned a free certificate. This type of course was very beneficial in which I learned the importance of teamwork when it comes to leading and participating in a project. Taking this project management course was a great addition to the information that I have learned and applied with assigned projects from my Advanced Administration classes from this past year and will greatly benefit me in the future for any administrative tasks that will be assigned.