Heidi Cook Observation

For Mrs. Hewes the Introduction to Social Work class we were asked to interview a licensed Social Worker and write an experience paper about the interview. Finding a social worker to interview wasn’t very hard for me because many of my mother’s friends got their masters in social work, but not many of them actually got their license except for one of them. The licensed social worker that I interviewed goes by the name of Tanya Hill. Tanya got her Masters of Social Work at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida in 2000, as well as her license and she now resides in Panama City, Florida. Tanya is someone that I have known since I was a little girl and someone that I definitely aspire to be like once I graduate. My interview with Tanya was over the phone since I did not have time to drive back to Florida to do a face to face one, but while we were on the phone every answer she gave me to the questions I asked were quite interesting.

Marcia Warren is my mother’s oldest sister, and she is the oldest of four girls in her family. She grew up in Brookline, Pennsylvania and went to Brashear High School, where she met her husband Clyde. For secondary education, she studied psychology at Chatham University, and received her masters at The University of Pittsburgh in clinical social work. She currently works in private practice as a Psycho Therapist. Marcia is the type of person one goes to when they having a problem or going through a tough time. Her calming voice and gentle tone allows people to feel comfortable around her. When prompted with the question of why she chose this profession she said, “I have always been interested in human behavior.” Human behavior has played a large role in my aunt’s life, particularly the behavior of her father. This relationship and display of behavior plays a major role in who she is today.

Another possible intervention I would have made to help Izzie was to recommend a different program aside from Family House. As a professional, it is expected that social workers would be aware about the policies of the facility and be astute and prudent enough to anticipate that Izzie’s eldest son will not be allowed to stay in the facility. It is the responsibility of the social worker to make recommendations appropriate to a case in relation to what services and facilities are available within a state (Barrow and Lawinski, 2009). I would have realized that separating Izzie from her eldest son would only make it difficult for the family and I would have made an effort to choose a facility that can both provide the therapy Izzie needed and

Jeanine Hilt was exceptional for her appreciation of the Lee family and attempts to become well-versed in Hmong culture. She demonstrated a willingness to learn from them and admirably strong commitment to advocacy on their behalf. Because of her determination to understand their background and their personal lives, she gained their respect and formed a very strong rapport with them. More people, and especially more social workers, should take that kind of approach to clients.

Calli N. Morrison and Constance R. Tullis are students at the School of Social Work at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Mary, a 31-year-old single mother of three children (ages 9, 5, and 3) has been seeing Annabelle, a mental health counselor at a community mental health center for about 4 months. She has become increasingly anxious over past few weeks and reports that she feels frightened all the time, is unable to sleep through the night, and worries that “something horrible is going to happen.” She also admits to having a “couple of drinks” during the evening several times a week. Mary shared during her last session with Annabelle that she is very worried that she is a horrible mother and is afraid that her children will be taken away and placed in foster care.

Children and families are the foundation of our society and our future. I understand family social work as both tertiary intervention and primary prevention. Issues such as unemployment, abuse, neglect, and lack of housing can put undue stress on family systems. By addressing and helping to alleviate these issues as a tertiary intervention a family can have increased stability in its home life. This strengthened environment can be a primary preventative measure for the children in the home. It can lead to lower levels of incarceration, higher education rates, higher employment

This intervention was a personal intervention conducted on myself. I am a 39-year-old Caucasian married mother of two currently enrolled in the Advanced Standing Master Social Work Program at Florida International University.

Bernadette Carroll is a DC school social worker. There she does therapy with students and programs on bullying. She also does both individual and group sessions. Bernadette Carroll is a license social worker, she currently have a BSW, MSW, LSCWS and she is currently working on her doctorate of social work at Capella University. She has been a social worker for 10 years where she have been helping her clients the best way she can. She also worked as a Child Protective social worker where she investigate and supervise situations with abuse and neglect of children. The aspect of Bernadette’s field of practice that seems more attractive to me is the fact that while on her journey, she tried to make connections with people and exploring options in order to do what she wanted to do.

We have a long history of working with Ms. Kerfoot’s family. Her daughter Emma returned to George Hull Centre for Children and Families in November 2016, where she currently resides. Ms. Kerfoot attends one-on-one and family counselling sessions two time per week. In addition, Ms. Kerfoot attends regular mother-daughter group therapy sessions, as well as monthly meetings with Emma’s psychiatrist teachers

Through a lot of collaboration, the social work department provided leadership in promoting sustainable changes in service delivery and practice to improve the quality of services provided. Through engagement, we spent a lot of time being an emotional support for the patient’s mother. What she had been going through was heavy and it was evident that she needed someone to talk to. With her having the space to share what she was feeling, we were able to use empathy and other interpersonal skills such as active listening. Through assessment, we took the time to collect, organize, and interpret client data by not only speaking to Bianca’s mother, but by collaborating with the nurses, doctors, and specialists that had been working with the patient.

As my research mentor, Dr. Cormier provided guidance on how to improve on my professional communication, writing and presenting skills. I would later use these skills and the knowledge I learned while working on the project in my internship at the Governor’s Office of Adoption and Child Protection (OACP). It was this experience in fact, that I was able to use to connect with a professional that became a partner of the OACP on the 30 Days of Amazing Children initiative. The initiative I worked on as an intern. The initiative was a statewide adoption campaign, that promoted the adoption of Florida’s foster children. The professional who I was able to develop a connection with, ran the local Children’s Medical Services (CMS) office, and her focus and interest were on mental health disorders. By being able to chat briefly with her on the subject, I was able to open the waters to the OACP’s proposal of having the CMS offices participate in the initiative by showcasing children with severe medical

Cathy Turner, my mother, is the executive director, president of the board, and the lead therapist at NewSong Counseling Center located in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. Her duties are extensive because she has so many roles within the organization. Some of these include paying the bills involved with running a business such as rent and utilities and creating clinical reports. As the president of the board she creates the agenda for board meetings and suggests places for growth. Also as lead therapist, Turner selects the treatment plans for all of her clients utilizing evidence-based practices that she researches and implements.

Intervention: MHP and MHS discuss several incidents in the home that Samantha displayed defiance and disrespect. MHP use role-play to process outcomes from reported behaviors and practice alternative ways to express herself. MHP, MHS and Samantha discuss the role-play and possible trigger for the behaviors. MHP provide Samantha examples of her behaviors that is consistent in all environments. MHP administer the circle of support to prepare for Samantha’s discharge. MHP offers Samantha to review coping skills to improve overall behaviors. MHP explain to Samantha adjusting to a family unit is important.

Alicia Augello Cook (Alicia Keys) was born on January 25, 1981 in Manhattan, New York. She started piano lessons at the age of 7. She attended Manhattan’s Performance Art School and majored in choir. Alicia was able to graduate at 16 because of her great talent.Through her high school years, she had attracted many record companies. In 1998 she signed a deal with Arista Records. She was accepted into Columbia University on a full scholarship.