Agency as a System

De Arellano, M.A., Waldrop, A.E., Deblinger, E., Cohen J.A., Danielson C.K., Mannarino A.R. (2005). Community outreach program for child victims of traumatic events: a community- based project for underserved populations. Behavior Modification, 1, 130-55.

Shanell Bathersfield conducted a self-assessment. She initially determined that the systems theory was one that she was not comfortable with. Through the last few course weeks, she was able to gain an in-depth perspective on several theories that are impactful in the social work field. The coursework and utilizing Juana and Adelina as case studies, truly gave an exclusive insight on how theories are used to understand the client’s circumstances and improve their well-being.

Milgram’s agency theory basically states that you the state of mind you are in determines if you’re obedient or not. He argued that normally we operate in the autonomous state, where you assert control over yourself and what we do. An example of this is when faced with danger, most people will turn away to try and avoid conflict. Even if you decide not to walk away, this is still the autonomous state because you’re deciding what to do. There is also the agentic state which says you are subconsciously acting as an agent to some authority figure and that you do what they tell you because you feel as if you are an agent of that person. An example of this would be during the trial of Nazi’s

System perspective see’s human behaviors as the outcome of interactions within and among social systems of interrelated parts. These social systems of interrelated parts consist of people within the family, friends, school and work. System perspectives can be understood as the subsystem of larger systems, where each system has its unique identity but they are all interdependent. From a system perspective, behaviors are influenced from the past which are learnt from within the family and other social systems. Within a system perspective, there are smaller systems that a Social Worker may consider for a more holistic view. This is done by considering the role the physical and social environment has on a person’s behavior as well as protective and risk factors that influences positive and negative outcomes.

The crisis intervention team (CIT) program is an approach for law enforcement officers to safely respond to individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Since its inception in 1988 in Memphis Tennessee, the program has spread rapidly and has been described as “the most visible pre-booking diversion program in the United States. CIT develops a special team of officers who are meant to serve as first responders to individuals suspected of having a mental illness, are suicidal, or experiencing a mental health crisis. The goal of CIT is to reduce arrests of individuals who would more appropriately be diverted to the community mental health system. It is also meant to improve the safety of officers and civilians and it accomplishes this

The structure and agency debate is a common one in the field of sociology and different theorists come up with different ways of accounting for the actions of social actors. This essay takes the position that structuration solves the problem of this much contested debate. Initially key concepts and elements of structuration will be pointed out .These elements include structure, agency, social systems and power amongst many others. Subsequently, there will be engagement of a discussion of different schools of thought and finally it will be demonstrated how structuration prevails over the structure-agency debate.

For my senior year field placement, I am currently working at Elwyn’s Media campus in the Children’s Behavioral Health Services Outpatient program. At the outpatient program I am working with the Director of Clinical Operations, Ellen Chung. I also work with Jennifer Torrey who is the Clinical Coordinator for Elwyn’s Media location’s Outpatient program. I also work one on one with the Outpatient Case Manager, Shaneen Brown. I am also working in the Therapeutic After School Program (TASP). At the TASP I work with the Case Manager Jennifer Ziegler and the Clinical Case Manager Denise Georganas. The outpatient therapy team at Elwyn is a multidisciplinary team that works to help children reach their fullest potential. Some services offered by the Outpatient program at Elwyn are psychiatric evaluations, individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy, medication management, client/family education and community resources. The goal of the Therapeutic Socialization Program is to facilitate socialization and communication skills and to decrease problematic behaviors through participation in fun and engaging in activities. This program is based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis and other proven approaches to develop individually tailored treatment protocols to help children, adolescents and young adults in the areas of socialization, self-regulation and communication. The TASP also focuses on providing parents with new information to better understand their child’s

The global market has shown exemplary contribution to the growth of the world's development until recently where financial crisis have been bombarding most economies. As a result, the cost of livelihood had been unaffordable to many who live below the dollar. The monetary crisis has led to the lowering of many currencies against the dollar, hence advancing the economy crisis to most worldwide nations. This turn of events has been attributed to the lack of exercise of business and management ethics in many multinational companies, firms and investments. Financial scandals have been the order of the past twenty years leading to the sweep over of the flourishing global market. The scandals, especially in larger companies and multinational, are spurred by inter and intra-conflicts in their organizational structures.

The role of the TSS in the school is to enhance the classroom experience of the child who would be unable to benefit from educational opportunity due to severe emotional psychiatric and behavioral difficulties a TSS works in the community and school, the purpose of having a TSS in the school is to primarily work with a child’s mental health treatment and is reliable to follow as dictated in the treatment plan to interact with others children to support the development of socialization skills and peer relationships. developing a collaborative relationship with the teacher

This section of the paper will discuss the definition of social work, values associated with social work and arguments for and against the use of systems theory in social work practice. Social work can be described as a field of study that encompasses individuals and their environment. Social work can be defined as work trained professionals do to elevate stressors of individuals so they may become more self-sufficient and empowered to live to their fullest potential.

Military mental health providers hold dual roles as clinicians and commissioned officers. While they are bound by the ethical code and professional guidelines of their profession, they are also held to the standard of Department of Defense (DoD) statutes and regulations. They are expected to provide competent clinical care but also enforce military boundaries and discipline (McCauley, Hacker Hughes, & Liebling-Kalifani, 2008). Likewise, there may be duality in the provider’s obligation, both to the patient/service member and to their higher command. These conflicting relationships and obligations are referred to as mixed agency (Kennedy & Johnson, 2009; Kennedy & Moore, 2008). Ultimately, the provider’s responsibility to the unit’s mission may not always align with the best interests of the patient (McCauley et al., 2008).

The relationship between structure and agency is a key discussion point in sociology. The concept was brought to life by the sociologist Georg Simmel, but has been discussed by many other famous theorists, such as Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. The partnership between structure and agency are crucial to the development of society, and the process of individualization.

It removes barriers to accessing mental health services and may promote increased communication and collaboration among school districts, families, and community services to help meet the needs of children with emotional and behavior

Structure and agency are two theoretical terms used to explain the capacity at which we as people are able to be individuals, and to what extent those influences limit our individuality. Structure refers to the ways in which a society is organized. Agency refers to the behaviors and actions of the individuals within the social structure. Agency is limited by the structure due to cultural barriers and inequalities within the structure. In this essay, I will present an overview of why critical theorists are concerned with those inequalities, and I will further identify the problems within the system contributing to the unequal access to the public sphere, relating specifically to class and gender inequalities.

Discuss the differences between the “agency theory” and the “stewardship theory”. Explain which of these theories applies to your strategic audit firm and why?