Social Work Related to Alcohol and Substance Abuse Essay

Describe the practice setting of the social worker you shadowed.

• The field experience I was engaged in was a DUI class for those who seek help with alcohol and substance abuse. The social work of this setting offers services to understand the current point of clients and identify the directions to improve their behaviors.
• Compared to a traditional approach, this setting uses unique names of treatment stages, such as No Way-Not Now, Well Maybe, Getting Ready, I am Doing It, and The New Me, which helps to make the interaction more welcoming. There are various assessments for clients to keep them aware of the stage they are at and make sure that they are comfortable. Discussions also stimulate self-discovery, for example, the evaluation based on choosing a “wolf” to feed, while talking about cravings and temptations
• The agency promotes human rights, as well as social, economic, and environmental justice, by applying a broad perspective of change. It is accepted that a wide variety of theories, including self-efficacy expectations, health belief model, changes in environmental contingencies, and many others, can be used in the Prime Solutions program. The recognition of the diverse needs of clients contributes to justice.
• This setting was chosen because of my experience in overcoming substance abuse. I understand the challenges faced by clients and have a sincere desire to master my knowledge and skills to provide them with professional service.

Discuss the social worker’s role and boundaries within the setting.

• The paramount role of the social worker in this setting is to act as a mentor to guide clients through change processes. Namely, guidance with self-evaluation, consciousness increase, emotional well-being, and relationships is necessary. For example, in terms of consciousness raiding, one of the sessions was devoted to discussing the context of temptations and cravings. Attention was paid to biology, social and economic factors, and also psychological triggers.
• One of the sessions focused on the use of a 3-2-1 support system that implies having some people to refer to in case of cravings. The more there are people to rely on, the higher the chances that a person would succeed. Among the interprofessional team members, there can be sponsors, counselors, psychotherapists, and so on. Also, friends and family members can be involved in support.
• In the DUI setting, the social work is limited by ethics and relationships with a client. While a social worker is expected to remain focused on the client’s situation, he or she cannot dictate how to behave and what to choose, which is especially important in conflict cases, when the client should master personal rationalization. The social worker cannot impose personal beliefs on clients.
• The engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation of clients were performed in a competent and comfortable social and psychological environment. The interaction between the social worker and clients was based on open-ended questions, trust, respect, and active listening. The factors that affected clients were discussed in detail, with a focus on their strengths to use recovery opportunities. Specific intervention goals were defined according to a client’s unique case.

Apply the social work competencies and the textbook and journal article readings to the social work practice witnessed and the experiences described by the agency representative(s).

• The demonstration of ethical and professional behavior is the competence that should be employed in this setting to recognize various frameworks for decision-making. Depending on a client’s background, culture, personal values, and many other issues, social workers are to apply critical thinking to provide the best care possible (Barsky, 2019). Some clients may need a greater support with evaluation, while others have a clear vision of their current state and need extensive interventions. The engagement in difference and diversity in practice is another competence that calls for being aware of oppression mechanisms and overcoming them, which is especially important to build openness with clients.
• Listening to the wolf is the first experience that began with a positive note and engaging the group session participants in engage in the discussion. Compared to the book, the session offered several prompts to clients to motivate them to remember their experience, such as asking about the time they felt relaxed or laughed. Self-reflection was the second experience that stimulated clients the address the questions about why they keep following destructive behaviors. This experience was similar to the book statements, which involved clients in accepting the power of cravings, but also realizing that there are cues to note for their prevention.
• The study by Putney et al. (2017) proposes the integration of the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) training into social work practice that assists clients with alcohol use disorders. The results of the study show that 90% of participants were satisfied with training. Accordingly, confidence in screening and intervention based on improved knowledge and skills would also benefit the given settings.
• The steps of Engagement, Assessment, Intervention, and Evaluation were used as a multi-level approach to work with clients. For example, evaluation was conducted across the sessions to measure progress and build on clients’ strong points (Smith et al., 2018). In turn, interventions were focused and meaningful, allowing clients to self-reflect.

Practice self-reflection by discussing your feelings regarding the agency and/or experience.

• My supervisor was involved in the sessions to properly assess clients and offer them the resources they needed. The main advantage of the supervision was that it provided feedback, and it helped me in shaping my professional practice in this setting.
• The agency shared the resources to gain knowledge about possible interventions. The prime solutions platform was especially important to understand how to approach clients with alcohol use problems. It became clear that the key role of a social worker is to assists clients in discovering who they are, where they want to move, and how to achieve it.
• The first way I saw God in this setting was acceptance and a lack of judgment regarding clients. Moreover, social workers are expected to convince clients that everyone can mistake, while every fall can be considered a start of a new way of life (Henriksen, 2016). The second observation is that social workers act based on love as if bringing God’s idea to help those in need and offer them psychological and emotional support.
• While working with people having substance use issues, it can be especially challenging to uncover their unique triggering mechanisms to prevent relapses. Many clients are not aware of their internal factors, confused about relationship problems, and generally resistant to be open with counselors. Therefore, it may be quite complicated to reveal what they actually want and create a plan of action.
• My first strength is that I have the experience of overcoming a similar problem, which allows me to better understand the feelings and thoughts of clients. Also, empathy and communicative skills are my strong points that allow me to consider situations from different perspectives, paying attention to a client’s emotional state and building relationships. I believe that my experience and skills would be important to work effectively in this setting.

References

Barsky, A. E. (2019). Ethics and values in social work: An integrated approach for a comprehensive curriculum (2^nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Henriksen, J. O. (2016). God revealed through human agency – Divine agency and embodied practices of faith, hope, and love. Neue Zeitschrift Für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie, 58(4), 453-472.

Putney, J. M., O’Brien, K. H., Collin, C. R., & Levine, A. (2017). Evaluation of alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) training for social workers. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 17(1-2), 169-187.

Smith, D. C., Egizio, L. L., Bennett, K., Windsor, L. C., & Clary, K. (2018). Teaching empirically supported substance use interventions in social work: Navigating instructional methods and accreditation standards. Journal of Social Work Education, 54(1), 90-102.