The previously mentioned Information for Practice social work-related blog has been reformatted, and given my afore mentioned qualms with the old layout, it seems necessary that I rescind my earlier complaints.
Now much cleaner, the site is divided into the following sections: guidelines; non open access journals; images in the news; news; video; grey literature; and open access journals.
The video section is most substantial addition to overall content, and definitely worth a look.
Thursday, January 8
Social Work in the Context of the Military (some statistics)
I began this entry in July and haven't a clue why I didn't post it then. Unfinished, most likely, but it's been a while since I've focused on the military social work topic, so I don't know where else I was going to take it. For now. . .
PILOTS database posted here
Vital Mission: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans:
• The number of homeless veterans in CA 2005: 49,546
• The number of homeless veterans in CA 2006: 49,724
• The total number of veterans in CA 2005: 2,193,336
• The percent of veterans who are homeless: 2.26% (highest % for all 50 states)
Cunningham, M., Henry, M., & Lyons, W. (2007). Vital Mission: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans (Publication). Washington, DC: The Homeless Research Institute at the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
The Veterans for America November 2007 report "Trends in Treatment for America's Wounded Warriors":
* Almost 1.6 million American service members have deployed to OIF and OEF, and over 525,000 have deployed more than once• 60% of those deployed have family obligations
* 30% of Soldiers and Marines in high combat situations (those who spend over 56 percent of their time off base) will develop a mental health problem (depression, PTSD) – if members of National Guard, number rises to 49% of total population
* Soldiers on their second tour in Iraq are 50% more likely to develop a mental health problem than those on their first tour
* 58% of those with mental health issues will not seek treatment
* Of the 229,000 veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom who sought treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs between 2002 and December 2006, 37% received a diagnosis of a mental health condition, including 17% for PTSD
Trends in Treatment of American's Wounded Warriors: Psychological Trauma and Traumatic Brain Injuries: The Signature Wounds of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Rep.). (2007). Washington, D.C.: Veterans for America.
The American Psychological Association February 2007 preliminary report on "The Psychological Needs of U.S. Military Service Members and Their Families":
* Approximately 1.5 million American troops have been deployed in support of the war effort; one-third of them have served at least two tours in a combat zone, 70,000 have been deployed three times, and 20,000 have been deployed at least 5 times
* At present, 700,000 children in America have at least one parent deployed
* As many as one-fourth of all returning service members are struggling with “psychological injuries”
* Currently, there are 1,839 psychologists employed by the VA, charged with serving more than 24.3 million veterans from previous wars as well as a rapidly growing number of GWOT veterans
* For example, 14% of those surveyed screened positive for acute stress symptoms and 17% screened positive for acute stress, depression, or anxiety. In addition, 14% of the soldiers surveyed for the MHAT-III reported using medication for a mental health, combat stress, or sleep problem
* There have been 3,416 U.S. military fatalities as of January 26, 2007; if we multiply that number by .8, the average number of children per active duty member (MFRI, 2004), we can draw the conclusion that approximately 2,733 children have lost a parent in OIF/OEF
* The cohort of families with service members who are experiencing combat-related stress and PTSD may be at risk for increased violence against children and Domestic Violence
* Hogeís 2004 landmark study found that among soldiers who met screening criteria for mental disorders, only 38-45% expressed interest in getting help through the military system, and only 23-40% of them had gotten any professional help in the past year
* Potential barriers to effective military mental health treatment for both active duty members and their families: having enough trained mental health practitioners, removing stigmatization, long waiting lists, poor referral process, limited hours, etc.
* Some common factors that can put military families at risk: young families, especially those experiencing a first military separation; families having recently moved to a new duty station; foreign born spouses; families with young children; those with lower pay grades; families without a unit affiliation; and National Guard and Reserve families
Johnson, S. J., Sherman, M. D., Hoffman, J. S., James, L. C., Johnson, P. L., Lochman, J. E., Magee, T. N., & Riggs, D. (2007). The Psychological Needs of U.S. Military Service Members and Their Families: A Preliminary Report (Rep.). American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Military Deployment Services for Youth, Families and Service Members.
PBS Now - http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/339/ptsd-facts.html
• 30.9% of Vietnam veterans in one study had developed PTSD during their lifetimes
• Between 1999 and 2004, the number of veterans seeking benefits for PTSD increased 79%
• In Iraq, roughly one in six combatants has experienced PTSD
• 35 percent of Iraq veterans sought psychological counseling within a year of coming home, according to the Department of Defense
National Survey on Drug Use and Health, "Male Users with Co-Occurring Serious Mental Illness and a Substance Use Disorder," Nov.11, 2004 - http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k4/vetsDualDX/vetsDualDX.htm
• In 2002/2003, an estimated 1.2 million male veterans were identified as suffering from serious mental illnesses. Approximately 340,000 of these individuals had co-occurring substance abuse disorders. Approximately 209,000 female veterans (13.1 percent) reported serious mental illness, and 25,000 (1.6 percent) reported co-occurring substance use disorder and SMI.
PILOTS database posted here
Vital Mission: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans:
• The number of homeless veterans in CA 2005: 49,546
• The number of homeless veterans in CA 2006: 49,724
• The total number of veterans in CA 2005: 2,193,336
• The percent of veterans who are homeless: 2.26% (highest % for all 50 states)
Cunningham, M., Henry, M., & Lyons, W. (2007). Vital Mission: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans (Publication). Washington, DC: The Homeless Research Institute at the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
The Veterans for America November 2007 report "Trends in Treatment for America's Wounded Warriors":
* Almost 1.6 million American service members have deployed to OIF and OEF, and over 525,000 have deployed more than once• 60% of those deployed have family obligations
* 30% of Soldiers and Marines in high combat situations (those who spend over 56 percent of their time off base) will develop a mental health problem (depression, PTSD) – if members of National Guard, number rises to 49% of total population
* Soldiers on their second tour in Iraq are 50% more likely to develop a mental health problem than those on their first tour
* 58% of those with mental health issues will not seek treatment
* Of the 229,000 veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom who sought treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs between 2002 and December 2006, 37% received a diagnosis of a mental health condition, including 17% for PTSD
Trends in Treatment of American's Wounded Warriors: Psychological Trauma and Traumatic Brain Injuries: The Signature Wounds of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Rep.). (2007). Washington, D.C.: Veterans for America.
The American Psychological Association February 2007 preliminary report on "The Psychological Needs of U.S. Military Service Members and Their Families":
* Approximately 1.5 million American troops have been deployed in support of the war effort; one-third of them have served at least two tours in a combat zone, 70,000 have been deployed three times, and 20,000 have been deployed at least 5 times
* At present, 700,000 children in America have at least one parent deployed
* As many as one-fourth of all returning service members are struggling with “psychological injuries”
* Currently, there are 1,839 psychologists employed by the VA, charged with serving more than 24.3 million veterans from previous wars as well as a rapidly growing number of GWOT veterans
* For example, 14% of those surveyed screened positive for acute stress symptoms and 17% screened positive for acute stress, depression, or anxiety. In addition, 14% of the soldiers surveyed for the MHAT-III reported using medication for a mental health, combat stress, or sleep problem
* There have been 3,416 U.S. military fatalities as of January 26, 2007; if we multiply that number by .8, the average number of children per active duty member (MFRI, 2004), we can draw the conclusion that approximately 2,733 children have lost a parent in OIF/OEF
* The cohort of families with service members who are experiencing combat-related stress and PTSD may be at risk for increased violence against children and Domestic Violence
* Hogeís 2004 landmark study found that among soldiers who met screening criteria for mental disorders, only 38-45% expressed interest in getting help through the military system, and only 23-40% of them had gotten any professional help in the past year
* Potential barriers to effective military mental health treatment for both active duty members and their families: having enough trained mental health practitioners, removing stigmatization, long waiting lists, poor referral process, limited hours, etc.
* Some common factors that can put military families at risk: young families, especially those experiencing a first military separation; families having recently moved to a new duty station; foreign born spouses; families with young children; those with lower pay grades; families without a unit affiliation; and National Guard and Reserve families
Johnson, S. J., Sherman, M. D., Hoffman, J. S., James, L. C., Johnson, P. L., Lochman, J. E., Magee, T. N., & Riggs, D. (2007). The Psychological Needs of U.S. Military Service Members and Their Families: A Preliminary Report (Rep.). American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Military Deployment Services for Youth, Families and Service Members.
PBS Now - http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/339/ptsd-facts.html
• 30.9% of Vietnam veterans in one study had developed PTSD during their lifetimes
• Between 1999 and 2004, the number of veterans seeking benefits for PTSD increased 79%
• In Iraq, roughly one in six combatants has experienced PTSD
• 35 percent of Iraq veterans sought psychological counseling within a year of coming home, according to the Department of Defense
National Survey on Drug Use and Health, "Male Users with Co-Occurring Serious Mental Illness and a Substance Use Disorder," Nov.11, 2004 - http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k4/vetsDualDX/vetsDualDX.htm
• In 2002/2003, an estimated 1.2 million male veterans were identified as suffering from serious mental illnesses. Approximately 340,000 of these individuals had co-occurring substance abuse disorders. Approximately 209,000 female veterans (13.1 percent) reported serious mental illness, and 25,000 (1.6 percent) reported co-occurring substance use disorder and SMI.
A Few New Resources
(Another half-post from July, only being published now)
SAMHSA's Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator
"This searchable directory of drug and alcohol treatment programs shows the location of facilities around the country that treat alcoholism, alcohol abuse and drug abuse problems." Certainly useful, but it also highlights the emphasis placed on 12-step programs, programs which are often unsuited to the needs of many, particularly adolescents who would like to stop using.
SAMHSAs search engine remains an excellent resource. For those with access to the Internet, anyway. . .
County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health AIDS Program Glossary
Because sometimes all those letters can become overwhelming. . .a veritable Alphabet City of acronyms related to HIV/AIDS-related vocabulary, running the gamut from medical, to legal, to organizational terms as well as the names of groups working to fight the virus.
Google for Non-Profits
"Learn how you can use Google tools to promote your cause, raise money, and operate more efficiently."
Most of the products/apps are already familiar to those who use Google's resources, but each section is framed to suit the perspective of someone working for a "cause". Additionally, there is Google Grants, which I'd not seen before stumbling across Google for Non-Profits.
And now I'll stare off into space for a while, imagining what it would have been like to have Google for Educators back in my teaching days. . .
SAMHSA's Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator
"This searchable directory of drug and alcohol treatment programs shows the location of facilities around the country that treat alcoholism, alcohol abuse and drug abuse problems." Certainly useful, but it also highlights the emphasis placed on 12-step programs, programs which are often unsuited to the needs of many, particularly adolescents who would like to stop using.
SAMHSAs search engine remains an excellent resource. For those with access to the Internet, anyway. . .
County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health AIDS Program Glossary
Because sometimes all those letters can become overwhelming. . .a veritable Alphabet City of acronyms related to HIV/AIDS-related vocabulary, running the gamut from medical, to legal, to organizational terms as well as the names of groups working to fight the virus.
Google for Non-Profits
"Learn how you can use Google tools to promote your cause, raise money, and operate more efficiently."
Most of the products/apps are already familiar to those who use Google's resources, but each section is framed to suit the perspective of someone working for a "cause". Additionally, there is Google Grants, which I'd not seen before stumbling across Google for Non-Profits.
And now I'll stare off into space for a while, imagining what it would have been like to have Google for Educators back in my teaching days. . .
What's in a Name?
It occurs to me that perhaps I should change the name of this blog, assuming that's possible. My original focus was on violence, particularly in schools, as a public health issue. Weaving in my interests in conflict resolution, mediation, etc. but also using my social work experience to take into account the interplay of the systems which perpetuate or hinder the violence. Push for prevention. Person in environment. . .
As I just missed an application deadline for a youth coordinator position for the L.A. County Bar Association (a job in which I'd do CR training in schools as well as work with families, design curriculum, etc.) I'm reminded of just how little time I give to my studies on the topic anymore, and yet it remains one of my passions. I would still love to get my PhD at Berkeley researching effective programs and then using my macro skills to get those programs implemented. I haven't lost sight of that.
But right now it seems as if, largely due to the structured work at hand, I'm on the HIV/AIDS - comprehensive health education - reproductive rights track. And this has a hold of me too. I am not expressing unhappiness in my situation. I suppose I just worry in that they are both public health issues and though there is some overlap, it is nearly impossible to focus on either to the depth I would prefer.
I oscillate between breadth and depth fairly regularly. I'm not the type who prefers one to the exclusion of the other, but when I'm learning about something and then working to apply the knowledge, I hate the idea of all other responsibilities and demands for my time. I'm learning. Shouldn't that count for something. Can't I come back to the rest later?
And it also comes down to the common fear of "what if I make the wrong choice?". What if I focus the next year or two I remind myself that in social work, this kind of shift is almost inherent and its flexibility is why I opted for an MSW in the first place.
I started writing this months ago and instead of finding an answer, I've dropped the ball almost completely. It seems a bit too personal to write about at length, here, but living my life without a sense of purpose and direction doesn't really feel like living at all. . .
As I just missed an application deadline for a youth coordinator position for the L.A. County Bar Association (a job in which I'd do CR training in schools as well as work with families, design curriculum, etc.) I'm reminded of just how little time I give to my studies on the topic anymore, and yet it remains one of my passions. I would still love to get my PhD at Berkeley researching effective programs and then using my macro skills to get those programs implemented. I haven't lost sight of that.
But right now it seems as if, largely due to the structured work at hand, I'm on the HIV/AIDS - comprehensive health education - reproductive rights track. And this has a hold of me too. I am not expressing unhappiness in my situation. I suppose I just worry in that they are both public health issues and though there is some overlap, it is nearly impossible to focus on either to the depth I would prefer.
I oscillate between breadth and depth fairly regularly. I'm not the type who prefers one to the exclusion of the other, but when I'm learning about something and then working to apply the knowledge, I hate the idea of all other responsibilities and demands for my time. I'm learning. Shouldn't that count for something. Can't I come back to the rest later?
And it also comes down to the common fear of "what if I make the wrong choice?". What if I focus the next year or two I remind myself that in social work, this kind of shift is almost inherent and its flexibility is why I opted for an MSW in the first place.
I started writing this months ago and instead of finding an answer, I've dropped the ball almost completely. It seems a bit too personal to write about at length, here, but living my life without a sense of purpose and direction doesn't really feel like living at all. . .
Thursday, July 3
Something Positive
I feel as if I need to make a concerted effort to highlight news that doesn't suck.
News in the world of social work is not much different from everything else you see and hear - depressing stories of violence, hardship, isolation, etc. - but we do have the added bonus of our work mirroring these stories and are able to use terms like "vicarious trauma" and "compassion fatigue" with fair frequency and authenticity.
I find pictures of kittens in a barrel to be just as soothing as the next person (I want you to look at Phillip's eyes), but there have to be some stories out there, beyond simple human interest, that feature promising practice and forward-thinking policy. Converting the world to a strengths-based perspective is not an easy task.
News in the world of social work is not much different from everything else you see and hear - depressing stories of violence, hardship, isolation, etc. - but we do have the added bonus of our work mirroring these stories and are able to use terms like "vicarious trauma" and "compassion fatigue" with fair frequency and authenticity.
I find pictures of kittens in a barrel to be just as soothing as the next person (I want you to look at Phillip's eyes), but there have to be some stories out there, beyond simple human interest, that feature promising practice and forward-thinking policy. Converting the world to a strengths-based perspective is not an easy task.
Wednesday, July 2
New-ish Links
My aim is still to do this every Friday, but better to do it now so that it gets done at all.
Research / Resources:
HIV/AIDS - Sexual Health:
Research / Resources:
- NYU School of Social Work: Information for Practice - I don't much care for the layout of the page - 3 columns of information, which I must read separately if I'm going to glean anything at all - but the content is excellent. Updated daily, NYU's School of Social Work provides news related to mental health, social justice, policy, substance use, etc. (you know, social worky-type topics) mostly from the US, but from other countries as well. The links to scholarly journals are particularly nice, though without subscription to a service or access via a university, the articles are not always available. Nevertheless, a very good resource to check on a daily basis.
- The Campbell Collaboration - This is an excellent resource. As mentioned, those in the field and not in an academic setting are often severely limited in the access they have to current research and evidence-based practice. This is a problem. Here is a solution:
The Campbell Collaboration "strives to make the best social science research available and accessible. Campbell reviews provide high quality evidence of "what works" to meet the needs of service providers, policy makers, educators and their students, professional researchers, and the general public."
- Social Policy Resources - This is simply a good list of links. News sources (traditional and otherwise), data sources, governmental sites, nonprofits, advocacy groups, welfare, health care, housing, social security, etc.
HIV/AIDS - Sexual Health:
- Guttmacher Institute - Focusing on sexual and reproductive health, the Institute is a fantastic resource for policy analysis and to a certain extent, research. Highly recommended.
- San Francisco AIDS Foundation - The Bay is usually the place to go for forward-thinking programs. The focus differs based on the city for obvious reasons, but I tend to find more applicable information and resources from SF and Oakland than New York City, for example.
"The San Francisco AIDS Foundation "is one of the oldest and largest community-based AIDS service organizations in the United States. The mission of the agency is to end the pandemic and the human suffering caused by HIV."
- Johns Hopkins HIV Guide - More a medical resource than policy/program resource, but such things are important to have.
- REACH LA - A youth-oriented organization focusing on programs and outreach here in Los Angeles, REACH LA often partners with LAUSD, which is how I'm familiar with them. Particularly in regard to curriculum. I still don't know a lot about the group and some of their curriculum design is not the strongest, but that's why I've added their site to the list: to learn more.
Sunday, June 8
Power
Power
The difference between poetry and rhetoric
is being
ready to kill
yourself
instead of your children.
I am trapped on a desert of raw gunshot wounds
and a dead child dragging his shattered black
face off the edge of my sleep
blood from his punctured cheeks and shoulders
is the only liquid for miles and my stomach
churns at the imagined taste while my mouth splits into dry lips
without loyalty or reason
thirsting for the wetness of his blood
as it sinks into the whiteness
of the desert where I am lost
without imagery of magic
trying to make power out of hatred and destruction
trying to heal my dying son with kisses
only the sun will bleach his bones quicker.
The policeman who shot down a 10-year-old in Queens
stood over the boy with his cop shoes in childish blood
and a voice said “Die you little motherfucker” and
there are tapes to prove that. At his trial
this policeman said in his own defense
“I didn't notice the size or nothing else
only the color.” and
there are tapes to prove that, too.
Today that 37-year-old white man with 13 years of police forcing
has been set free
by 11 white men who said they were satisfied
justice had been done
and one black woman who said
“They convinced me” meaning
they dragged her 4'10” black woman's frame
over the hot coals of four centuries of white male approval
until she let go the first real power she ever had
and line her own womb with cement
to make a graveyard for our children.
I have not been able to touch the destruction within me.
But unless I learn to use
the difference between poetry and rhetoric
my power too will run corrupt as poisonous mold
or lie limps and useless as an unconnected wire
and one day I will take my teenaged plug
and connect it to the nearest socket
raping an 85-year-old white woman
who is somebody's mother
and as I beat her senseless and set a torch to her bed
a greek chorus will be singing in ¾ time
“Poor thing. She never hurt a soul. What beasts they are.”
Audre Lorde
*"Power" is a poem written about Clifford Glover, the ten-year-old Black child shot by a co who was acquitted by a jury on which a Black woman sat. In fact, the day I heard on the radio that O’Shea had been acquitted, I was going across town on Eighty-eighth Street and I had to pull over. A kind of fury rose up in me; the sky turned red. I felt so sick. I felt as if I would drive this car into a wall, into the next person I saw. So I pulled over. I took out my journal just to air some of my fury, to get it out of my fingertips. Those expressed feelings are are that poem"
Links and Resources
It may seem as if I've abandoned this project. Not the case. However, I am overwhelmed enough by the rest of my life to have bookmarked a Lifehacker post titled: Tips to Get Blogging Done. We'll see if it helps any.
I've added links a plenty to the del.icio.us page. Generally speaking, the tags are fairly well organized. From now on I intend to post new links in a wrap-up entry on Fridays. Again, we'll see how that goes.
Because my current work is around HIV/AIDS prevention and policy, the list is quite heavy in these areas, but I like to keep my eye out for all areas of interest. That being said, I imagine the majority of my posts in the next few months will relate to health, health education, HIV/AIDS, reproductive rights, social work management, social work administration, and reflections on the work itself in which I'm involved.
I still have a list of topics and notes from months ago that I'll get to posting eventually. Step one is just writing this little update. Hopefully there will be a few more and with more substance by the end of tonight, even. I'll make use of this thing yet.
I've added links a plenty to the del.icio.us page. Generally speaking, the tags are fairly well organized. From now on I intend to post new links in a wrap-up entry on Fridays. Again, we'll see how that goes.
Because my current work is around HIV/AIDS prevention and policy, the list is quite heavy in these areas, but I like to keep my eye out for all areas of interest. That being said, I imagine the majority of my posts in the next few months will relate to health, health education, HIV/AIDS, reproductive rights, social work management, social work administration, and reflections on the work itself in which I'm involved.
I still have a list of topics and notes from months ago that I'll get to posting eventually. Step one is just writing this little update. Hopefully there will be a few more and with more substance by the end of tonight, even. I'll make use of this thing yet.
Tuesday, February 5
Some More Thoughts on Deliberate Self-Harm in Children and Adolescents
(Article: Hurry, J. (2000). Deliberate Self-Harm in children and adolescents. International Review of Psychology, 12, 1, 31-35.)
How would you define the following terms?
• Deliberate Self-harm
• Parasuicide
• Suicide Gesture
• Attempted Suicide
• Ambivalent Attempted Suicide
• Self-injury
Can any of these terms be used interchangeably? What are the possible effects of such ambiguity in meaning on scholarly works and evidenced-based research?
According to Hurry (2000), deliberate self-harm “implies an act, not merely thoughts about suicide. However, it does not necessarily include the wish to kill oneself”.
The World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases (1992) defines parasuicide as
"An act with nonfatal outcome, in which an individual deliberately initiates a non-habitual behaviour that, without intervention from others, will cause self-harm, or deliberately ingests a substance in excess of the prescribed or generally recognised therapeutic dosage, and which is aimed at realising changes which the subject desired via the actual or expected physical consequences. It may be used interchangeably with the terms 'attempted suicide' and 'deliberate self-harm'.”
Chapman & Dixon-Gordon (2007) define deliberate self-harm (DSH) as “the deliberate, direct destruction or alteration of body tissue without suicidal intent. In contrast with DHS, suicide attempts involve conscious intent to die and ambivalent suicide attempts involve ambivalence regarding the intent to die”.
How would you define the following terms?
• Deliberate Self-harm
• Parasuicide
• Suicide Gesture
• Attempted Suicide
• Ambivalent Attempted Suicide
• Self-injury
Can any of these terms be used interchangeably? What are the possible effects of such ambiguity in meaning on scholarly works and evidenced-based research?
According to Hurry (2000), deliberate self-harm “implies an act, not merely thoughts about suicide. However, it does not necessarily include the wish to kill oneself”.
The World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases (1992) defines parasuicide as
"An act with nonfatal outcome, in which an individual deliberately initiates a non-habitual behaviour that, without intervention from others, will cause self-harm, or deliberately ingests a substance in excess of the prescribed or generally recognised therapeutic dosage, and which is aimed at realising changes which the subject desired via the actual or expected physical consequences. It may be used interchangeably with the terms 'attempted suicide' and 'deliberate self-harm'.”
Chapman & Dixon-Gordon (2007) define deliberate self-harm (DSH) as “the deliberate, direct destruction or alteration of body tissue without suicidal intent. In contrast with DHS, suicide attempts involve conscious intent to die and ambivalent suicide attempts involve ambivalence regarding the intent to die”.
Important points to consider:
• Is the behavior repetitive and/or habitual?
• What is the intended result of the behavior/action?
• Where is the client developmentally? What is his/her understanding of death?
• How can we improve our interventions and research around this topic?
• Is the behavior repetitive and/or habitual?
• What is the intended result of the behavior/action?
• Where is the client developmentally? What is his/her understanding of death?
• How can we improve our interventions and research around this topic?
Sunday, January 20
Micro v. Macro
I've added via Blackboard most classes being offered this semester. Downloading readings for courses in which I'm not enrolled could certainly be construed as a bit of productive avoidance, but these readings and this research could be useful in the future, and I'm not always going to have university (read: easy and free) access to these journals and studies. I'm already finding the GLBT-related readings for the Spirituality and Clinical Practice course to most interesting and probably relevant to other papers I'll be writing for one of my own classes.
I'm also most pleased to find out that in addition to the research I'll be doing this semester, (policy and interventions for homeless children, developing an elective for the program centering around the micro, mezzo, macro skills needed to work effectively with an immigrant population) I'll also be teaching a handful of classes for a B.S.W. capstone course. Yeah; super excited doesn't cut it. I wasn't aware that this would even be an option and I'm really looking forward to the experience.
Living the other side of the coin in the macro/micro battle, however arbitrary the conflict, feels good. To view work as either expressly micro or macro is an artificial division, in my opinion. And then to create a hierarchy is just plain infuriating. I realize that social work got bitched-slapped by the field's historical lack of the scientific method, but the pendulum swing (present in most fields I can think of) approach isn't the most appropriate. Clinical is better. Micro is worth more. These are the values put forth by the program, whether it admits to it or not. I was drawn to social work because of the flexibility and supposed interrelatedness of all levels of practice. Bottom line is that right now, I'm happier on the macro side of things. I'm surrounded by peers who read and ask questions and act. They put themselves out there and it's a welcome change. As time goes on, however, I'm realizing that I am no more macro than I am micro. If anything, I move toward whatever position is represented the least. I'd love to see a SW program that didn't rely on such imaginary divisions. I'm interested to know just how other schools structure their curricula.
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