Charles Appelstein is a highly respected social worker. He wrote The Gus Chronicles about a thirteen year old boy and his perspective on several topics. Gus is a victim of childhood abuse and offers a look into a variety of things such as residential treatment centers. Despite being difficult to read at times, overall the book was extremely insightful, educational, and an excellent read. In the following paper I will discuss the author Charles, the book, as well as my personal opinions. Charles D. Appelstein, M.S.W., is the President of Appelstein Training Resources (ATR). Along with his wife, Cheryl, and their daughter, Julie, Charles currently lives in New Hampshire. He is an active outdoors man in his spare time (American Entertainment International Speakers Bureau, Inc., 2017). According to Learn.org (2017), M.S.W stands for Master of Social Work. It also states that an individual possessing a master's degree in social work works in social services settings such as schools, hospitals, as well as government agencies. LLC (ATR) implements professional strength-based training, consultation, publications, CDs, as well as DVDs to anyone who works with children and/or youth experiencing emotional and behavioral issues. Robert Lieberman describes Charlie as “the best youth care trained in America” (Appelstein Training Resources, 2017). He has spent over 25 years assisting children and youth who are struggling with emotional as well as behavioral challenges (Learn.org, 2017). He
Charlie’s friendship with Jasper Jones, his parents, and witnessing the intolerance of Corrigan are the three biggest factors in Charlie's development from innocence to experience. Jasper Jones exposed him to fear and forced him to be brave and face his fears, the rampant intolerance in Corrigan, both racial and otherwise, exposed him to the injustices of the real world, and his relationship with his parents taught him to be diplomatic and control his
Charlie is very far from what most people call normal: he is shy, introverted, awkward, independent, paranoid, confused, respectable and kind; showing many examples of this throughout the book. He keeps to himself for the most part and is constantly in his own head. Aside from the many negative traits he also has many attributes: he is a loyal friend and listens to the people he talks to, he is a caring person and comforts those in need. However he has his flaws as well: Charlie can get very angry and upset at others which causes him to lash out with violence or sadness, he is extremely sensitive, crying frequently and constantly questioning himself. Several of his peers labeled him as nerd or a weirdo, which damaged
Medical Information: Charlie has no history of major surgeries, head injuries, or chronic illnesses. He currently takes medication for his anxiety he was diagnosis with last year.
This paper will use the book The Family Crucible to demonstrate the authors’ family systems approach to therapy. Narrative theory is compared and contrasted with family systems theory, and is ultimately integrated into my own theoretical foundation for practice as a social worker.
Charlie shows symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. He seems to also suffer from depression, which can root from PTSD. The symptoms that were correct of PTSD were having flashbacks of traumatic events. The symptoms of anxiety that were correct were worrying about feeling guilty, and not becoming happy. The symptoms of depression that were correct were blaming yourself for everything, and always putting yourself down. The things that were realistic about PTSD were having flashbacks, feeling guilty, not wanting to become happy, blaming yourself, putting yourself down, and worrying; for example, Charlie became mentally unstable as a result of being sexually abused as a child. He blocked (repressed) thoughts like that out, and they never come
As an undergraduate at SUNY Potsdam, I took various sociology and human services classes. However, I was mostly fascinated by the family violence theme discussing different forms of abuse within the household and how children can become victims of such acts. Eager to expand my horizons, I first decided to become a volunteer in a program called “Adopt-A-Bear Cub, which is an after-school program at Saint-Lawrence Elementary School for children who are at risk. I mentored a second-grade boy from a disadvantaged background and
Andre Ward was one out of four students who ever attended the first social work program created in Medgar’s ever Institution. He was force to give a brief highlight of his current
Dave Pelzer’s book, “A Child Called It” (1995), chronicled the unforgettable accounts of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California’s history. The book is an intriguing, yet intimidating journey through the torturing childhood of the author, himself. The child, Dave Pelzer¸ was emotionally and physically tormented by his unstable mother. He was the victim of abuse in his own home, a source of ridicule at his own school, and stripped of all existence. This book left me in suspense as I waited with anticipation for the end of this little boy’s struggle to live. Throughout this paper, I will focus on the events that took place in this book and discuss my personal feelings and the effects this story had on me.
With a focus on the University of Pittsburgh’s MSW program, I anticipate a curriculum that will give me tools and unique procedures to analyze and understand clients’ different life situations. This program will provide me with the knowledge to evaluate and apply research methods. I will become more activity oriented to the prevention and alleviation of social problems. Upon completion of master degree, I would have demonstrated empathy along with a genuine desire to improve the quality of the lives of others. The University of Pittsburgh’s MSW program will not only offer a path of
The job of a child welfare worker appears to be a demanding profession that promotes the child’s safety, but also strengthens the family organization around them in order to successfully raise the children. This child welfare workers work in the system known as the Child Protective Services whose initiative is to protect the overall welfare of the child. The short novel From the Eye of the Storm: the Experiences of a Child Welfare Worker by Cynthia Crosson-Tower demonstrates the skills necessary to deal with the practice of social work along with both its challenges and its happy moments. The novel consists of some of the cases involving Tower’s actual career in social work. In reading the book, I was able to experience some of the actual
A trauma narrative is a narrative that describes an experience or experiences that cause someone to be destressed and cannot be incorporated into their memory easily. Throughout her own traumatic narrative, Jeannette Wall’s describes different aspects of her everyday life that showcase various levels of significance. She is able to show how certain life events impact her plans for escaping her current socioeconomic status and her plans for the future. The text is also able to tell us about trauma, poverty, ourselves, and our society. Furthermore, the text demonstrates the impact that trauma and poverty can have and how they can have lasting effects. These concepts help us to think about our own life experiences and situations and they also show us how to be analytical about our society. Lastly, this narrative is able to reveal to us the different aspects of a traumatic childhood and how important and impactful this type of upbringing can be. Jeannette Walls uses her own traumatic autobiography to show that despite her adverse upbringing in poverty and passive and unattached parenting she was able to become successful. The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, shows the benefits and the value that can come from having a traumatic narrative. This is significant because it shows that an experience can shape a person, but a person can also shape the experience.
A traumatic narrative is a narrative that aims to describe an experience of extreme horror or shock that cannot be incorporated unproblematically within memory. Throughout her own traumatic narrative, Jeannette Wall’s describes different aspects of her everyday life that showcase various levels of significance. She is able to show how certain life events impact her plans for escaping her current socioeconomic status and her plans for the future. The text is also able to tell us about trauma, poverty, our selves, and our society. Furthermore, the text demonstrates the impacts of trauma and poverty and how they can have lasting impacts. These concepts help us to think about our own life experiences and situations and they also show us how to be analytical about our society. Lastly, this narrative is able to reveal to us the different aspects of a traumatic childhood and how important and impactful this type of upbringing can be. Jeannette Walls uses her own traumatic autobiography to show that despite her adverse upbringing in poverty and passive and unattached parenting she was able to become successful. The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, shows the benefits and the value that can come from having a traumatic narrative. This is significant because it shows that an experience can shape a person, but a person can also shape the experience.
Kids who have been a victim of maltreatment are often times hindered in development as the rest of their life plays out. No matter the starting age, a family neglect can create in kids an odd and unpleasant feeling. The constant exposure to depressors and “bring-me-downs” that effected kids see really puts them into a terrible cycle. Some cases of maltreatment lead to extraordinary stories and even more impressive characters. In Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, we can observe that Chris McCandless fell into this vicious cycle, and was effected by it throughout his adventurous life. Some of McCandless’ experiences later in life can be directly correlated with his childhood difficulties. But, in order of make sense
The Sociological Perspective was a concept argued by C. Wright Mills was and still is a valuable tool to help people look at, understand and interpret their everyday lives and social world around them (in which they live). The argued perspective will be discussed through the use of the Sociological Imagination with the Personal Problem of Depression and the Social Issue of Child Abuse with what can be done to solve both of these ‘Dilemmas of Youth’.
Children advance through a series of life changing events while growing up. Plenty of them are cheerful milestones that are celebrated for instance a birthday or an accomplishment, and then there are those children who are neglected and abused by another family member. When a child is abused or neglected, it not only affects them when they are children, but also affects them when they become functioning adults in society. A sociological social psychology perspective that can be applied to explain why child abuse happens which is the social structure and personality perspective. This perspective can also find a way to solve child abuse in the home. Child abuse is a social problem that has been happening for plenty of decades in our society and with the social structure and personality perspective, one is able to help explain why it happens and how the problem can be solved.