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Strengths and weaknesses of social work
Your understanding of the social work role
Strengths and weaknesses of social work
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Introduction 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. The Scope Many of these individuals with behavioral and mental issues have ultimately gone through the correctional facility. Presently, 7 million individuals in the United States are under correctional supervision, …show more content…
These individuals often do not have a support system, social workers can serve as supporter to get the kind of treatment that these individuals need. To compensate for the lack of time put into these issues social workers can link people into other organizations that can give the time that they need to help with their issues. Furthermore, with issues such as transportation mentioned in the Trajectories of Health and Behavioral Health Services Use among Community Corrections–Involved Rural Adults article, social workers can provide transportation or services that give transportation to these clients. As well as providing connective services, social workers can serve as a moral check by being a probation officer. This role gives social workers the ability to make sure clients are on the right track behaviorally. Ethical Dilemma With any profession it can be difficult to remain unbiased. When dealing with the mentally and behaviorally unstable like those just coming out of prison, especially crimes such as child molesting, keeping those feelings in check could be a strain. It is possible that services for this group get neglected because of the biases within the system. Social workers may find it difficult to help, in turn resulting in this lack of effort. NASW Code of
The stigma and negative associations that go with mental illness have been around as long as mental illness itself has been recognized. As society has advanced, little changes have been made to the deep-rooted ideas that go along with psychological disorders. It is clearly seen throughout history that people with mental illness are discriminated against, cast out of society, and deemed “damaged”. They are unable to escape the stigma that goes along with their illness, and are often left to defend themselves in a world that is not accepting of differences in people. Society needs to realize what it is doing, and how it is affecting these people who are affected with mental illness.
In the health care field, social workers are faced with one of the most difficult and conflict social problem. Patients who are chronically ill have on occasion if they can end their life at their decision. As a social work, you must follow your code of ethics and the law by denying their right to the end-of-life decision. This is called euthanasia, a practice used to end the life of a seriously ill male or female. There is a conflicting issue on the interplay of person and professional views social workers given to patients who are experiencing or experienced end-of-life decisions. There are multiple conflicts with the use of euthanasia and assisted suicide, one major factor is the lack of training needed to successfully handle the situation. Another factor is that the constitutional laws conflict with the actions of agreeing to end someone’s life. For instance, Dr. Jack Kevorkian performed the act of euthanasia on a chronically ill man and publicly videotaped the procedure. He was at the time in the state of Michigan, a state that bans euthanasia and assisted suicide. He was charged with murder and sent to jail for his
illnesses. It is estimated that about 50 percent of prison population suffers from some sort of mental illness. The most common mental illnesses that mostly make up this population are anxiety, antisocial personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder.
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and of that over sixty percent of jail inmates reported having a mental health issue and 316,000 of them are severely mentally ill (Raphael & Stoll, 2013). Correctional facilities in the United States have become the primary mental health institutions today (Adams & Ferrandino, 2008). This imprisonment of the mentally ill in the United States has increased the incarceration rate and has left those individuals medically untreated and emotionally unstable while in jail and after being released. Better housing facilities, medical treatment and psychiatric counseling can be helpful in alleviating their illness as well as upon their release. This paper will explore the increasing incarceration rate of the mentally ill in the jails and prisons of the United States, the lack of medical services available to the mentally ill, the roles of the police, the correctional officers and the community and the revolving door phenomenon (Soderstrom, 2007). It will also review some of the existing and present policies that have been ineffective and present new policies that can be effective with the proper resources and training. The main objective of this paper is to illustrate that the criminalization of the mentally ill has become a public health problem and that our policy should focus more on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
Stereotypes and stigmas promote a dangerous, single-minded perspective. These incomplete or half-truths are often far more duplicitous than lies, as they are more difficult to detect. When these perspectives remain unchecked, they can result in far-reaching, adverse consequences. It is the individual’s duty to refuse to perpetuate this single story perspective. Due to misinformation presented by the media, the stigma surrounding mental illness has created a discriminatory single story perspective; however, through honest and open dialogue, particularly with those suffering from these diseases, these stereotypes can be abolished.
Thousands of people statewide are in prisons, all for different reasons. However, the amount of mental illness within prisons seems to go unaddressed and ignored throughout the country. This is a serious problem, and the therapy/rehabilitation that prison systems have do not always help those who are mentally ill. Prison involvement itself can contribute to increased suicide (Hills, Holly). One ‘therapy’ that has increased throughout the years has been the use of solitary confinement, which has many negative effects on the inmates. When an inmate has a current mental illness, prior to entering into the prison, and it goes undiagnosed and untreated, the illness can just be worsened and aggravated.
The discussion of mental health is slowly being brought to the social surface to create a more inclusive society for those dealing with a mental illness. However, those with a mental illness are continuously being affected by stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination by those who simply don’t comprehend the complexity of the human brain (Glaser, G.2017). As more people become mental health activist, they are exposing the plethora of issues surrounding the overall mental and physical stability of those who are negatively affected by the social construct of what it means to be normal.
When a child is diagnosed with a mental illness, parents and families have to adapt and adjust to a new lifestyle.
Criminal Justice officials understand the situation in their prisons regarding mental health but have not taken action to fix it. For example, “According to the Department of Justice, abo...
Correctional psychologists are virtually clinical psychologists in a correctional setting. These professionals do their own, more intensive screening of an inmate’s mental health history and current mental health status. Based on their findings, they provide program recommendations, offer group and individual counseling, administer psychotropic medications, assess how each individual would be best managed. Additionally, correctional psychologists are on-call to handle emergency situations involving mentally ill inmates, such as hostage negotiations and crisis intervention. The treatment of mentally ill individuals in jails and prisons is a prominent concern that is becoming more so as more ill individuals are sentences to jail and prison stays. Currently, the United States correctional facilities are the largest provider of mental health services. (Reingle Gonzalez,et al
HRW: Ill Equipped: U.S. Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness: VII. DIFFICULTIES MENTALLY ILL PRISONERS FACE COPING IN PRISON. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/usa1003/7.htm
There are many ways in which the mentally ill are degraded and shamed. Most commonly, people are stated to be “depressed” rather than someone who “has depression”. It is a common perception that mental illnesses are not a priority when it comes to Government spending just as it is forgotten that most mental health disorders can be treated and lead a normal life if treatment is successful. The effect of this makes a sufferer feels embarrassed and feel dehumanized. A common perception is that they should be feared or looked down upon for something they have not caused. People experience stigma as a barrier that can affect nearly every aspect of life—limiting opportunities for employment, housing and education, causing the loss of family ...
Colgan (2006) reports high recidivism rates nationwide for mentally ill offenders released from prison and that over half of state inmates had received three or more previous sentences. Additionally, research indicates a 64 percent re-arrest rate for mentally disordered offenders leaving prison in comparison to the 60 percent rate for individuals with no mental illness (Slate & Johnson, 2008). The aforementioned number of individuals leaving prison each year coupled with the elevated recidivism rates of mentally disordered offenders becomes far more alarming when the prevalence of mental illness within the U.S. criminal justice system is presented. In a NJS report, James and Glaze (2006) found that over half of all jail and prison inmates had a mental health problem, including 705,600 (56%) state and 78,800 (45%) federal prison inmates.
Because mentally ill inmates are continually cycling in and out of the correctional system, the system must consistently pay for their incarceration costs time and time again. Investing in mental health treatment would prevent this issue because it would help to lower their recidivism rates, resulting in less incarceration costs. Furthermore, the current strategies for dealing with mentally ill inmates are unresponsive and detrimental to the public. Research has shown that because inmates with mental illnesses are more likely to have their parole time revoked under community supervision, this in turn gets them more involved in the criminal justice system which has a negative impact on public health, safety and spending (Prins & Draper, 2009). Even correctional employees are fighting to reform the way that they are forced to treat mentally ill inmates as stated by correctional rules and regulations. Currently, parole and probation workers are collaborating with prison and jail administrators, prosecutors, judges, community-based treatment providers and defense attorneys in order to create strategies that preserve public safety while simultaneously
The United States prisons, jails, and correctional agencies have been confronted with the number of mentally ill persons in custody or under supervision. Although designed and operated as a place of punishment, prisons have nonetheless become de facto psychiatric facilities despite often lacking the needed mental health services. (Metzner & Feller, 2010) Therefore, prisoners with mental illness are in demand of urgency and require a response, services, and adequate care. Administrators in corrections must attempt to manage prisoners who have mental illness and search for ways to combat concerns.