Jane Smith is a 80 year- old African American women that lives alone. She seems to be in good shape, and get around the house very well. Compared to other individuals her age she is healthy. Jane Smith was referred to counseling at her Neighborhood Center by the head Social Worker. Social Worker stated on the referral sheet that Ms. Smith suffers from Agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is an intense fear of being in public places when you feel escape may be hard to do. Individuals with Agoraphobia tend to avoid public places and may not leave the home. Agoraphobia can be treated with CBT. CBT help change the way you think, feel, and behave and can be used to treat various health problems which includes phobias. Social Worker explained that Ms. Smith …show more content…
Smith has expressed that she would like to go out to the Community Center to participate in the weekly bingo games. Ms. Smith lives alone and has no family that consistently visits her. The only family member that she speaks of is her granddaughter who runs all of her errands when needed. She also had a daughter but says that she only comes around when she is in need of something. Ms. Smith sometimes complain that her granddaughter take a long time to return with her groceries or to even just stop by. Ms. Smith says that she doesn’t always feel comfortable with her granddaughter handling her financial business. Ms. Smith stated that she is sometime scared being in the house alone. She also stated that sometimes people walk pass her home and uses water out of her faucet on side of her home. Social Worker recently enrolled Ms. Smith into PACE. PACE is an adult day health center which allows seniors to socialize with each other and to also receive medical care. This program was helpful for Ms. Smith because it provides transportation to and from doctor appointments for her since she doesn’t have any one to bring her. However she doesn’t participate in the day program because she isn’t comfortable being away from her home. Ms. Smith always says she would like to visit former place that she remember going during her adolescent years but she fears that something bad may happen while she is out in
It is of paramount consideration that social workers are conscious of, aware and sensitive to the cultural demands of their clientele. This is because culture is a pivotal factor upon which a great deal of conduct, norms, social connections and mindsets of clients revolve. For social workers there is need to understand and appreciate how cultural traditions influence relationships with a diverse panorama of client needs and demands. This literature review seeks to create a foundation regarding the facts stated above through filtering and analysis of relevant and interesting research studies and works by previous authors. This review of literature focuses on how social workers develop or maintain cultural competence following graduation from Masters of Social Work Program. It aimed at providing answers for further research regarding how social workers maintain cultural competence post graduation. In addition, this literature review seeks to consider that social workers are not enhancing their cultural awareness post graduation as mandated by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) code of ethics.
Agoraphobia is a psychological disorder characterised by panic and anxiety. This particular anxiety disorder involves the fear of experiencing a panic attack in a public place where safety may be unavailable, which causes discomfort (Lilienfeld, 2017). This disorder is commonly recognized in women and often arises during adolescent years. Often times, people develop agoraphobia after a previous panic attacks, which than causes them to worry about having another in the future (Agoraphobia, 2017). This results in avoidant behaviours, such as evading places where an attack may occur. There are many causes, symptoms, effects on both the individual with the disorder and their loved ones, as well as a variety of treatments available.
Even though she is an elderly woman, she is still a strong and an independent person: "Quickly he checked her apartment for any signs of memory loss or depression. He found none and immediately felt relief. The apartment smelled of soap and Lysol, the signs of an old woman who wouldn't tolerate nonsense." (p. 116).
The therapist Stephanie has had the liberty to have a few sessions with her client, Martha Rose. The client is an elderly Caucasian female, age 70 whom was recently diagnosed with early onset Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She is a widow who lives alone and has retired as a Navy nurse. Her source of income is from a neighbor, JoAnn, age 67; whom she helps care for. Martha also has two children, Jennie age 45 and Thomas age 42. Both of her children are currently in the military and are station overseas and have children of their own. Martha Rose has very little contact with her 2 children and 4 grandchildren; only able to see them about once a year. The commonly used form of communication is via email, on average once weekly. The last visit from Martha’s children Jennie and Thomas has been about 20 months ago.
Since the Mill’s closing the community has gone downhill with unemployment and crime skyrocketing. Carla should speak with Reverend Smith to possibly create programs to reduce the crime such as, after school programs as well as crime watch in community, and more police to assure safety for residents. The matter of lack of care and living alone could be solved by bringing a caretaker into the home of Carla if she’s open to the concept. Carla would benefit from carrying on with her relationship with sister, and improving on one with Loretta, Reverend, and especially
Mrs. Nancy Hamilton (changed name for privacy) is 95 years old female who resides in a local continued care retirement community (CCRC) located in the Los Angeles County. I decided to interview Mrs. Hamilton for her successful aging. I have known her for 9 years and her aging process has not been an easy ride but she always maintained a positive sprit that kept her going even today. Mrs. Hamilton moved in to a CCRC in 2006, two years after her husband passed away. Mrs. Hamilton has one daughter and one son. Daughter Margaret lives nearby and visits frequently and takes care of personally needs such as transportation to medical appointments or shopping for skin care products or clothes as necessary. Son, David lives in the Northern California and visits a few times a year.
For a person diagnosed with agoraphobia, there are a number of restrictions and consequences associated with the disorder. A serious consequence is the incidence of severe and paralysing panic attacks. In the early stages of agoraphobia people suffer recurring panic attacks when in certain public places or situations. These attacks cause the person to feel generally uncomfortable in public settings. Eventually, fear of the recurrence of the panic attacks results in an obvious reluctance or refusal to enter all situations associated with the attacks. Other consequences of agoraphobia may include fear of being alone, fear of being in places where escape might be difficult, feelings of helplessness, dependence on others and depression. These consequences place many serious restrictions on a person with this disorder. Agoraphobia causes people to restrict their activities to smaller and smaller areas in order to avoid crowds, and open and public places or situations. This may finally lead to the inability of a person to leave their home without suffering a panic attack.
Jackson would be to undergo Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT is a method of psychotherapy that looks to treat psychological disorders by implementing modifications that change dysfunctional thoughts, emotions, and behavior. (Zalyte, Neverauskas, & Goodall, 2017) CBT is the most commonly used and most effective treatments for Agoraphobia. (Gloster, Wittchen, et al. 2011) In this case, therapist guided exposure during CBT will prove to be Mrs. Jackson’s best option. Self-exposure to their trigger can be difficult for phobia patients, and they will often activate avoidance behaviors which can interfere with their progress through treatment. The presence of a therapist can help to counteract this. (Hahlweg, Fiegenbaum, Frank, Schroeder, & von Witzleben, 2001).The therapist’s role in this case would be to reassure Mrs. Jackson about her safety, and identify safety behaviors that Mrs. Jackson can utilize to ensure that she is secure, such as carrying a cell phone for emergency purposes. The therapist’s feedback can help guide Ms. Jackson and promote more effective behavior by providing modeling and verbal instructions. I would recommend setting up a daily plan that included gradual exposure to the world outside of the home, with small steps being taken until Mrs. Jackson is more comfortable and can make larger and larger advances into the outside world. The therapist’s presence will help keep her accountable, and ensure that she is
Social workers are generalist practitioners that utilize various theoretical frameworks to assist in problem-solving for individuals, family, groups, and communities. They aim to provide interventions at any level based on the need of their clients. The generalist social worker assist with a broad scope problems and can be found in a variety of institutions. When assisting with adult clients who suffer with social development due to childhood trauma, social workers must know what trauma is. Trauma is prevalent in the social work community, almost every social worker has had a client that has suffered from trauma. In order to assist adults that have social development issues stemming from childhood there are The four-fold principles
The older adult interviewed for the purpose of this assignment was Alice Margaret Cox, the interviewers grandmother. Alice was born on February 17th, 1932 in Brown County, Minnesota. Alice was the daughter of Rose Veldman and had three brothers and three sisters. In 1942, Hikel Veldman, after marrying Rose, legally adopted Alice and her six siblings. He brought four children of his own, making a family of 13. After the family was adopted, the majority of their childhood to early adult life was spent living in Hollandale, Minnesota. Alice spent the majority of her life farming and now helps out part time at a family owned thrift store. Alice currently resides in Lake City Minnesota, in her home of twenty plus years. Only four of the eleven
When dealing with an individual that is suffering from a behavioral or mental illness can be challenging, due to the fragile balance within their life. Not only do these members have to deal with the day to day changes of life, they must also deal with the reproductions caused by this instability. Moreover, the stigmas associated in these various contexts can lead to a plethora of problems. As social workers, it is our job to help navigate around these problems and help create success for the lives of our clients.
Mental illness is a lot like having a psychical illness, and more than sixty million Americans suffer from some type of mental disorder every year. Most people who suffer from a mental disorder are unaware that they even have a mental problem until they seek some type of medical attention. The evolution of Social Work in Mental Health, has been influenced by development of different types of psychiatric care. Mental illness causes a lot of emotional pain and that pain causes us to push for a solution. Social workers do many things some of the important work that social workers so is help people who have a range of issues that includes eating disorders, mental illness, financial problems, substance and mental abuse, along with marriage and
I obtained my Masters in Social Work (MSW) degree from India in the year 2006. As with most countries around the world, the emergence of social work in India was from charity aiming to eliminate poverty. Gradually it shifted from philanthropy to rights based approach and then to organized social work. Community organization surfaced as the most central method of social work practice along with practice of casework. Although social work is much more structured in nature now, it still operates along the conventional perspective of social work. Social work is not even recognized as a profession in India. An indicator of an occupation being publicly recognized as a profession is exhibited by
Each participant expressed on how they make ends meet daily with their social security and disability check. Ms. Molly mentioned “My son lives with me and works out of town to help pay the utility bills. I would stretch my disability check to help and buy groceries for the house.” Study examined elderly women living alone in poverty with no source of income from working and no educational backgrounds. Research stated that elderly women who rely on one source of income are like to live in poverty (Slesinger, 1988). Ms. Washington mentioned “It’s hard now living alone and disable to work. When my husband was living he would pay take of the bills and give me money to spend on food. Now I have a lot of medical bills and little money to get my prescription filled.” Lastly, Ms. Orange did not want to discuss her financial issues but stated that “I do what I can to make ends meet with the little money I get. My family member make should that I am caught up on my utilities and make sure I have everything I need.” Studies examined community service use for older adults living in rural areas who are unaware of the difference services provided for them. They also argued that elderly people living rural areas are content with the lifestyles that influence their attitude towards seeking help because they might be afraid on how rural people are viewed (Sun,
CBT is the treatment option for some mental disorders, such as depression, dissociative identity disorder, eating disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, hypochondriasis, insomnia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and panic disorder without agoraphobia (Clark, 1986). In contrast, as Flannery-Schroeder & Kendall (2000) describe, CBT is an inappropriate treatment option for some patients. Patients with significant cognitive impairments (for example patients with traumatic brain injury or organic brain disease) and individuals who are not willing to take an active role in the therapy and treatment process are not desirable candidates.