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Mental health assessment Relfection
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Introduction Many assessment tools and interviewing skills are available to the clinical social worker within a mental health setting. This paper will examine one such assessment tool, the competency based assessment, and its applicability in a mental health setting. A comparison will be made between this advanced assessment method and a generalist social work assessment. Interviewing people who have mental health concerns can offer challenges for clinical social workers. Several interviewing techniques that can help with some of these challenges will be outlined. Assessment Assessment is a basic skill of generalist social workers. As my current place of employment does not employ any defined assessment, I will utilize information from a generalist text and a sample assessment. The parameters of a generalist assessment are often defined by the specific practise agency (Birkenmaier, Berg-Weger, & Dewees, 2011). The assessment is utilized to identify relevant information such as demographics and the major areas for work such as the client’s goals (Birkenmaier et al., 2011). Many theories such as psychoanalytic or strengths perspective can influence a generalist assessment based on the assessing social worker’s theoretical preference (Birkenmaier et al., 2011). The sample generalist assessment used focuses on the client’s: living skills; health and disability; educationemployment; legal issues; housing; significant relationships; understanding of the issue; demographics; and crisis management (National Council of Social Service, 2006). The social worker has the opportunity to delve further into those areas if deemed necessary by their agency (National Council of Social Service, 2006). The competency based assessment... ... middle of paper ... ...(2004). Stigma: The feelings and experiences of 46 people with mental illness. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 184(2), 176 – 181. Gray, S. W., & Zide, M. R. (2007). An introduction to the competency-based assessment model. In Psychopathology: A competency-based assessment model for social workers (2nd ed.) (pp. 1 – 23). USA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Link, B. G., Struening, E. L., Neese-Todd, S., Asmussen, S., & Phelan, J. C. (2001). The consequences of stigma for the self-esteem of people with mental illnesses. Psychiatric Services, 52(12), 1621 – 1626. National Council of Social Service, (2006). Intake and assessment – a guide for service providers. Retrieved from http://www.ncss.org.sg/documents/ JulyIntakeandAssessmentv.pdf Shebib, B. (2011). Choices: Interviewing and counselling skills for Canadians (4th ed.). Toronto, Ont.: Pearson Canada.
Tadić, A., Wagner, S., Hoch, J., Başkaya, Ö., von Cube, R., Skaletz, C., ... & Dahmen, N. (2009).
The data provides culturally competent guidelines for social workers. The social worker must understand and appreciate diversity among and within cultures. They should be aware of the history, culture, and contemporary realities. They also must have good skills in patience, listening, and tolerance of silence. A social worker needs to be aware of their own biases and need for wellness and display humility and a willingness to learn. They need to be respectful, nonjudgemental, and openminded. However, researchers must find a way to measure cultural competence with studies that examine beliefs and evaluate actions of social workers. It should include several cultural groups.This will be highly important in building a knowledge base. Doing these studies there can be a better plan to include cultural competence and serve clients from different backgrounds a lot better.
Maclean, S. & Harrison, R. (2008) Social Work Theory: A Straightforward Guide for Practice Assessors and Placement Supervisors. Kirwin Maclean Associates, Staffordshire
Social workers address people’s problems every day, but it’s the identification of people’s strengths that provides clues for how to solve their problems and improve their life situations (Saleeby, 2013, pp.17-20).
...Hallert, C., C. Grant, S. Grehn, C. Grannot, S. Hultent, G. Midhagens M. Strom, H. Svensson,
Based on the understanding of the student’s definition of generalist practice to her the establishment of generalist practice is based on best practice evidence based knowledge, social frameworks and ecological points of view in advancing increased empowerment and self-assurance for multi-level client systems. Generalist practice acquaints social workers with essential ideas in social work, which incorporate advancing human prosperity and applying precaution and intervention strategies to social issues for individual, group, and communities while adhering to ethical principles and critical thinking.
The generalist model in the social work profession was drawn from a social system’s theory in the late 1960 's due to the complexities of problems and challenges faced by human beings. It was needed to assist social workers in assessing and interviewing clients. Rather than make the client fit the model, the generalist model seeks to find the approach that best fits the client, as well as emphasizing respect for client self-determination and the use of client strengths with empowerment as an expected client system outcome. A generalist practice model is used in all areas of social work field in ethical and effective helping based on the eco-systems perspective using problem-solving strategies and practice skills requiring a strengths perspective
Uni Lever uses the Competency Based Interview why is it called competency is that because it is a concept linking three parameters : Knowledge, Skills and Attitude. For example you’re going to join a company as a Project Manager you have a good Interpersonal Skills (Skills) , but you lack the adequate education/experience or as we called it knowledge , and the right temperament/Behavior as this relates to Attitude. Competency-based interviews (also called structured interviews) are interviews where each question is designed to test one or more specific skills. For example, the interviewers may want to test the candidate's ability to deal with stress by asking first how the candidate generally handles stress and then asking the candidate to
Brand, B., Classen, C., Lanins, R., Loewenstein, R., McNary, S., Pain, C., Putnam, F. (2009). A
Interviewing and research skills are needed within the social work profession. Effective communication skills are one of the most crucial components of a social worker’s job. Every day, social workers must communicate with clients to gain information, convey critical information and make important decisions (Zeiger, 2017). This interview experience was an opportunity to explore the daily challenges and rewards of a licensed social worker. I was excited for the opportunity to interview a social worker in the gerontology sector as this is a specialty I am considering. This meeting allowed me to explore the educational steps of being a social worker, practices of the agency, the clients who are served, and the challenges the agency has.
Kaslow, N. J., Grus, C. L., Campbell, L. F., Fouad, N. A., Hatcher, R. L., & Rodolfa, E. R. (2009). Competency Assessment Toolkit for professional psychology. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 3(4, Suppl), S27-S45. doi:10.1037/a0015833
Miley, K, O'Melia, M, DuBois, B 2013, Generalist social work practice: an empowering approach, 7th edn, Pearson, USA.
E. Samset ; D. Schmalstieg ; J. Vander Sloten ; A. Freudenthal ; J. Declerck, et al.
The Criterion Referenced Competency Test, also known as the CRCT, was created in 2000 in which all students, grades one through eighth, are required to take. ...
For this competency, I learned it is important that the client(s) are involved in setting their goals. Dr. Whitford taught us that it is important that clients are a part of goal setting, yet social workers must guide the client to have measurable, attainable, positive, and specific goals. I also learned that it is important to build on the client’s strengths during the assessment stage; in addition, it is important to gather data about the client’s life. Overall, these are the important aspects of this competency.