Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
An advanced practicing social worker has to have the ability to conduct interventions with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities Their ability in implementing interventions must not be hindered by size of the client, whether they are at a micro, mezzo, or macro level. This competency requires that the interventions in the practice must be evidence-based. This means that the social worker cannot implement an intervention strategy to their clients and claim it will be successful if there is no data supporting the claim. The interventions must be agreed upon and therefore, it cannot be forced upon a client. Most importantly, the interventions must focus on helping the client achieve their goals.
Practice Behavior:
8.1 – Implement clinical evidence-based interventions with individuals, families, and/or groups
Course Evidence: The final project for SOCW-609, Advanced Clinical Practice: Clinical Interventions, was a Group Therapy Intervention Project Presentation and a full session Group Therapy Intervention Project Script. These assignments that I and two of my peers worked on include two evidenced interventions for group psychotherapy. The presentation lists two evidence-based interventions with its sources that back up its effectives on the population of the group. The script demonstrates how the interventions were utilized during the session.
Field Evidence: Here is a schedule of the programming that is offered for the Intermediate Care Program. On Mondays, I co-facilitated a psychotherapy group called Seeking Strength at the Auburn Correctional Facility. The topic of the group was about Honesty and we used materials from Lisa Najavitz’s evidence-based curriculum, “Seeking Safety, A Treatment Manual for PTSD and Substance Abuse.” We used there material weekly, so you can find I documented this practice behavior weekly in my March Monthly Journal. On Tuesdays, I co-facilitated another psychotherapy group called “Coping With Anger” with another colleague. My colleague would send me an email with new evidence-based materials prior to completing the current group intervention. Here is a copy of an email and the content she would send: Email, Recovery and Reintegration Planning
8.2 – Integrate macro level evidence-based strategies with organizations and/or communities
Course Evidence: The interventions to be used within the Peer-To-Peer Support Program were designed to be applicable in different organizations and within communities. In the Needs Assessment and Program Proposal Plan I wrote for SOCW-612, Advanced Administrative Practice: Program Development, there is research that supports changing the structure of the environment or using peer-led groups to help bullying victims. These interventions are applicable in macro levels since they are not interventions that are bound to only be done in one setting.
Field Evidence: An incarcerated individual in my caseload had been decompensating and been becoming more of a risk to the community. He was demonstrating more thought disorganization, threats of violence, and has been non-compliant to medication. There was a sense of urgency in pushing for hospitalization with this individual since his maximum expiration date was coming soon. This was not the first time an individual has shown symptoms that suggest a need for being impatient. The Center New York Psychiatric Center has a procedure that allows mental health staff to refer individuals for hospitalization. I followed the procedure and started by rewriting the discharge summary from being strength-based. The updated summary shows how necessary it was to have the incarcerated individual be hospitalized. Hospitalizations are a form of a holistic type of interventions that provide the necessary services to reduce harm for the individual and others, intensify treatment, and stabilize the patient. With the individual being hospitalized, it will guarantee that he will continue to receive treatment to help him rehabilitate and be stabilized to reintegrate into society. I documented my conversation with my field instructor in Week 3 of my February Monthly Journal. Towards the end of this rewritten discharge summary, you can see where I emphasize the importance of having the incarcerated individual hospitalized.