Instructions for this assignment
Review entire document section IIIA and adapt to instructions.
Review tracking comments for additional information
This paper list the right skills and provides good ideas but it needs to be described, explained and articulated in a very simple (down to earth) way. Please describe the skills applied in each section and give examples.
Keith's incapacitation is a significant setback to the guardians and siblings, who often have to deal with stress, anxiety, trauma, and depression while taking care of him. Please describe how I was able to interact with Keith and his family.
Section IIIA: Engagement
Keith has mental and social health challenges that require assistance from a legally designated person. Keith has the challenge of initiating, upholding, and making choices of food, clothes, and place to stay. Tarrant Court assigned Keith for monitoring to determine whether the guardianship should be continued, modified, or terminated. The court requires firsthand information about Keith because he is under its supervision (guardianship). Keith has social disability challenges, considering that he cannot give informed consent, has difficulty accessing medical and social services, and has a non-verbal challenge. An MSW intern’s intervention on Keith must, therefore, assess the family members’ approach to their guardian roles. Besides, the intern will base the case review on informed approaches that will guide coping and improvement.
The first engagement approach used on Keith will be relational strategies. Keith’s condition may have emanated from his network, particularly his upbringing and current family. Relational view in social work posits that the solutions and wellbeing to social life problems arise from a coping network’s reflectivity and action and not individuals (Berg-Wager & Birkenmaier, 2017). The approach is based on the reciprocity principle, which indicates that people will likely pay back what they receive from others (Berg-Weger & Birkenmaier, 2017). This approach is based on the reciprocity principle, which indicates that people will likely act based on how they perceive others (Berg-Weger & Birkenmaier, 2017). In this case, Keith and his family opened up and responded positively when they felt safe and respected during the engagement process. Social workers are, therefore, relational guides. In this case, I used the necessary skills to connect with Keith and his family. I used eye contact, active listening, open-ended questions, and empathetic responses to connect and establish trust with the family.
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Secondly, the MSW intern will use motivational interviewing to engage Keith and his family members. Though Keith has mental and social problems, he communicates in a particular way. The intern’s first goal during interaction will be to learn his communication approach. Motivational interviewing is a client-centered approach that guides behavior changes by helping clients explore and resolve ambivalence (O’Hare, 2019). In this case, the intern will apply the unique circumstances in Keith’s life to guide their interaction. The MSW intern will focus on encouraging Keith and his family to perceive value from the exchange. That way, they will disclose the necessary information to guide assessment and intervention.
Furthermore, the MSW intern should use client-centered and client-controlled interaction to engage the client. Keith’s condition and circumstances differ from those of other clients. In that case, the professional’s discussion with him will rely on his challenges and needs. It will relate to his environment and the challenges he (and his family) has experienced (O’Hare, 2019). Their interaction will also be controlled by Keith and his family in that the intern will discuss and concentrate on the issues they are free to disclose.
Keith’s social and mental health problem is a delicate and emotional issue at his family level. In that case, the engagement approach adopted by an MSW intern should be one that helps relieve the burden and entrench optimism. Thus, the expert will embrace empathy, open-ended questions, concentrating on Keith’s feelings and thoughts, note-taking, active listening, and eye contact (Berg-Weger & Birkenmaier, 2017). The complementary skills will create a conducive environment for Keith and his family members to disclose their challenges. Besides, the capabilities will increase trust and create a perception that the social worker is destined to help with Keith and his family.
References
Berg-Weger, M., & Birkenmaier, J. (2017). The practice of generalist social work (4th Ed.). Routledge.
O'Hare, T. (2019). Essential skills of social work practice: Assessment, intervention, and evaluation (3rd Ed.). Oxford University Press.