3 Discussions - w10

Discussion 1:  Trauma

Trauma is ubiquitous. While trauma is most commonly associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, trauma can manifest in a myriad of different ways and not every client who experiences trauma will be diagnosed with PTSD. Social workers intervene directly with trauma when working in Veteran’s services, domestic violence/sexual assault response programs, and child protective services. Social workers also work with trauma indirectly when working in mental health, substance abuse services, schools, refugee resettlement, and other forms of social service. Whether or not you are directly treating a traumatic episode as the presenting problem, trauma will be present in the clinical space. 

In this Week’s Discussion, you will demonstrate your skills related to explaining trauma and intervention to a client. This will require you explain the concepts in a manner that is understandable to the developmental and educational level of the client. No need to solicit a volunteer to assist you. Position yourself as though the client is directly behind the camera lens. The goal is to show, not tell. In other words, you are expected to demonstrate rather than discuss your skills. You should role-play as if you were speaking directly to a client.

Submit a 650 word script demonstrating your skills. In the role-play: 

· Ask one question that you would use to elicit information about a client’s trauma experience. [Assume a response and move to the next part of the skill demonstration]

· Explain to the client the effects of trauma generally and how trauma may be affecting the client specifically.

· Explain to the client what intervention(s) you would recommend and why.

· Explain the role you would take in any intervention given your scope of practice and to whom you would refer the client for additional intervention.

Include a 650 word transcript to ensure your script is accessible to differing abilities. 

Discussion 2: Existential Questions and Post-Traumatic Growth

Upon hearing the stories of sometimes horrific atrocities clients or client families have experienced, you as a social worker may find yourself confronting existential questions such as Why? For example, Why do horrible events happen to good people? Why do people abuse their children?

Trying to make sense of such trauma is not easy, and you may seek answers to these existential questions your whole life. And yet, there are opportunities for growth despite trauma for both clients and social workers. This is known as post-traumatic growth, where a renewed sense purpose or a more profound outlook on life is the by-product.

In this Discussion, you work to seek meaning from the trauma your clients experience and the subsequent healing you help your clients achieve in your social work practice.

To prepare:

· Read about trauma-informed social work, and read this article listed in the Learning Resources: Vis, J.-A., & Boynton, H. M. (2008). Spirituality and transcendent meaning making: possibilities for enhancing posttraumatic growth. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work, 27(1/2): 69–86. http://dx.doi.org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1080/15426430802113814 (attached)

Should be at least 150 words and contain at least 1 citation and 1 reference.

Post:

· In 1 sentence, identify an existential question with which you have grappled in relation to a client who has been traumatized.

· Reflect on your fieldwork, or perhaps identify an existential question that might arise in working with the client in the case study you have selected throughout the course.

· In 3 to 4 brief sentences, describe where there is potential for growth for the client as a result of the trauma.

· In 3 to 4 brief sentences, explain where there is potential for growth for you, the social worker, as a result of listening to the client’s stories and bearing witness to their trauma.

· Describe any challenges you may experience between the meaning you hold based on your personal beliefs and working within the client’s potentially different belief framework.

Discussion 3: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Mindfulness Interventions

According to Garland (2013), there is skepticism about mindfulness as an effective intervention. Often, because of its philosophical roots in Buddhism, practitioners and scholars equate mindfulness with “New Age” beliefs. As a result, some may wonder how effective mindfulness interventions are. Recall from Week 1 that it is important to answer the question about the effectiveness of interventions by using empirical evidence rather than experiences or intuition.

You may not have experienced or practiced mindfulness. Reflect on some of the following questions: (1) What did you notice? (2) What were you thinking while you were listening? (3) What were you feeling while you were listening? (4) How was your body reacting while listening? (5) How did you feel after you practiced mindfulness?

In this Discussion, you will experience an example of mindfulness and also determine whether mindfulness has scientific support.

To prepare:

· Listen to a recording from those found at this website listed in the Learning Resources: UCLA Health. (n.d.). Free guided meditations. Retrieved December 8, 2017, from http://marc.ucla.edu/mindful-meditations (on website)

· Read this article listed in the Learning Resources: Garland, E. L. (2013). Mindfulness research in social work: Conceptual and methodological recommendations. Social Work Research, 37(4), 439–448. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svt038 (attached)

· Conduct a library search for one research study about the effectiveness of mindfulness as an intervention for the client in the case study you have been using. Remember when looking for studies to take into account your client’s age, developmental stage, and presenting problem. Client is Tiffani Bradley. The case study of Tiffani Bradley is attached.

Post:

· In 1 to 2 sentences, respond to one of the four following questions in terms of what you noticed during the mindfulness exercise you completed:

· What were you thinking while you were listening?

· What were you feeling while you were listening?

· How was your body reacting while listening?

· How did you feel after you practiced mindfulness?

· In 2 to 3 sentences, describe your experience practicing this technique and how this experience influences your choice on whether to use it with a client during practice.

· Provide the reference for the study you found, and be sure to use citations in the body of your post using APA guidelines.

· In 1 to 2 sentences, briefly summarize the methodological context (i.e., research method, how data was collected, and the instruments used) of the studies and the findings.

· Evaluate the findings in terms of their validity and applicability for the client

Should be at least 150 words and contain at least 1 citation and 1 reference.