Sustain Family Dialogue

Posted: family counseling services

Help me please!! Any insight will count.

1. Briefly describe a social problem of significance to you. Why
do you feel it is a problem, how did you come to identify and
understand it, what do you believe are past or present societal
factors contributing to the problem, and what are possible ways
social workers could address the problem?

2. Ethical decision-making is a defining and critical skill
in professional social work practice, as social workers often
need to negotiate between the conflicting interests and beliefs
of individuals and society. Describe and analyze a situation
you witnessed or directly experienced involving an ethical
dilemma from your professional or volunteer experience. What was your assessment
of the situation, how did you respond and what was your
decision-making process in determining the response, and what
were the consequences of your response? Based on the ethical
dilemma you have just described, also discuss any conflicts
you experienced between your personal values and the NASW
Code of Ethics or other professional code of ethics or policy.
Please protect the confidentiality of specific individuals or
organizations in your response.

1. In the days of increased societal stressors to keep up with the Joneses, broken families, limited professional supports, and negative media representation; I believe drug use has become a social phenomenon since its epic entry in the mid 1900s. Growing up I had one parent, my father, a fallen victim to the usage of crack cocaine, and this is the reason why I went into social work to help families that experienced the lost of a loved one to the cold world of drugs. My father began using drugs, when I was about 3 years old, leaving my mother to support and protect two toddlers on her own. We lost out home, all living necessities, and most importantly the characteristics of a good father. He became a man of different standards, he stole from family members, he became very manipulative, started committing crimes, and participating in risk taking behaviors that put his family and himself in danger. The new face that he wore and the new principles that he held displayed the effects of drug addiction. Drug addiction ruins lives and families across the world, it has no face, conquers individuals of all ages, races, and genders. I believe that there are many factors that play a part in why individuals turn to drug use including social pressure and locality associations, self-medication due to lack of effective coping mechanisms, and for a lack of recreational activities. I believe social workers can utilize effective cognitive behavioral and pyshocosical interventions that aim towards enhancing their ability to cope and increasing life skills. I believe addiction impairs the family system and offering counseling services to repair the damage and aiding the members with skills render encouragement for their recovery, resulting in family cohesion and a collective effort to reduce triggers.

2. During my time as an intern for a substance abuse group, I decided to expose risk taking behaviors associated the lowering of an individual’s inhibitions for their drug of choice and incorporate the practice of sex and possible negative consequences. To determine what is known about practicing safe sex and diseases that can be acquired I created a survey with open and closed ended questions to be completed privately in another room, to ensure confidentiality. An informed consent form was given that detailed the topics that would be covered, linkage possible referrals to medical and non medical facilities, and the limits of confidentiality. One individual reported being HIV positive and “the best sex is without a condom and I love sex. I have not told my new person yet, I have not had sex in 3 years since that day and I don’t want to lose him. I don’t plan on telling him.” I mentally assessed her need for nurture and the loneliness that she has suffered since being diagnosed. Putting her needs first, I knew I had to respect her dignity and worth by allowing her to disclose her status to her partner before intercourse or breaking of the relationship. The awareness of my code of ethics prompted me to contact my site supervisor to discuss what actions should be taken, the possible breach of confidentiality, and legal margins. I determined that I needed to document the dialogue, attempt to promote self-determination with disclosing to her partner, and reporting my responsibility to disclose to the appropriate authorities. I knew that would cripple my relationship with her however I am responsible for preventing harm to others based on her negligence for personal safety more so than promoting her future clandestine behaviors.

You did a nice job.

Posted: family counseling services

Hi People of Yahoo!
I’m a 15 year old (turning 16 this year) female and I need your help. I recently discovered a legal document at my mother’s house 3 weeks ago; it was the legal document of the removal of my siblings and me from my mother’s home on the 30th of August 2006. (It wasn’t a warrantee) The Document was dated with a stamp 9 of Nov 2009. We were removed from my mother’s house under the Emergency Action proceedings where we were then placed in the care of my Grandmother. Due to my mother’s “ongoing metal difficulties”. However there was a nurse there who claimed at the time that “They weren’t there to hurt anyone.” Those very words burned into my mind and I can never forget them. For quite some time we had to go to counselling and the document stated “Eileen was unhappy and could not understand why she had been removed from her mother.” I was indeed unhappy however the only reason I couldn’t understand is because no one told me what the hell was going on and also why. Due to these horrific memories I have been deeply stressed out for the last two years and I have Depression also because of these life scarring events. I have suffered a lot because of this to the point where I was cutting myself hoping I would die. No one told me what was happening then and yet it feels like they are still hiding things from me. Is it possible that I can sue family services for emotional grievances or anything like that? If there’s anything at all, please, please, tell me. I need you help with this. I want to get back at Family and Children Services for what they have done to me. Don’t say anything like “Get over it” or “It’s the past, move on.’ it’ll only deepen my pain. This is something I can’t let go – not until it has been put to rest with payback. I will be able to sleep at night and live in peace if there’s ANYTHING at all you can provide me with to use against them.
As it turns out my Mother indeed does not have any "Metal difficulties" As I have done my studying looking at each and every single metal diificulties there is known to mankind.
Is it possible I could review my files, Of which this document has a part of?

Hi Eileen
The local authority have "a duty of care" to the children in their area.
No officer acts alone. All agencies will have regular meetings for information sharing and joint decision making.
They also have to observe "least intrusive action". So you were placed with external family rather than with a foster carer or a children’s home. You and your siblings were kept together.
Many years ago I worked in a children’s home when a ten years old girl was placed there. Twenty years later she arrived at the district office I had moved to and she had retained the anger she’d had as a ten years old child.
I arranged for her to have access to her file sho she could see why all the decisions were made and they were really all in her "best interests".
Maybe this could work for you.
I hope this helps. Good luck and best wishes.

Posted: family counseling services

I am really into human services. I thought about social work, but the pay is extremely to low. Now, I am thinking of family and marriage counseling. I would like to open my own practice after getting my masters. I would like to know from informed individuals, what is family and marriage counseling like? Is it stressful? Are there many people seeking therapy? Is this a lucrative field? And what additional advice can you provide?

Thanks in advance! 10 points to most informative answer!

Your salary will always depend on the agency you work for, experience and the state and regional area you reside. I know a Psychologist who worked for a couple of years in a rural mental health clinic. She did not choose that job because of money, but because there was a need for professional mental health professionals in that area. Most of her patients were either on Medicaid on uninsured. She felt what she did every day was rewarding, and she did not do her job because of what her salary was going to be. She said that anyone can go be a therapist for rich people, if salary is all you care about.

And as far as salaries, a licensed clinical social worker working for the VA hospital can make $60,000 after one year….I guess for some, that is low. Depending on where you work and your experience will be depending on your salary. There are Marriage and Family therapy jobs that range from 40,000, so again it depends on where you work. For example, one position in CA is hiring either a Psychiatric Social Worker or a Marriage and Family Therapist I/II…..starting salary is around $58,000. Keep in mind what you will find in some states, like some CA job searches, is that jobs for therapists have a couple of different licenses that can interview for that job, not just a MFT. So some state will hire a MFT, LCSW, or LPC (licensed professional counselor) for jobs surrounding marriage and family counseling.

As far as the job market, there are counseling/therapy jobs nationwide.

Posted: family counseling services

My girlfriend had an affair with the oil change guy from two trailers down. I think she might have slept with as many as four other dudes, too, and I cheated on her with a dude that time. There’s this ad for a tv show that I saw the other day. It seemed targeted at families like ours. Can anyone vouch for the reliability of these counseling services?

TV=entertainment yoru life does sound like a huge drama ball there for it would be entertaining to watch.. as far as helping your sisutation i think iw ould go with something a bit more professional!

Posted: family counseling services

Say, two cases were similar, and someone accidentally sent your case to the wrong family, the case includes- mental assessment, physical exam, you sexuality and sex life, your name, date of birth, place of residence. Do they have to tell you?

Social services do have my files, they have every check up, physical, mental health test and counselling session note form age 7 until now, age 15, if my file was sent to another girls family, who’s case is similar to mine and the mistake was noticed, the other girls family sent it back. Do they have to tell me? As this is a breach of the data protection act, what are my rights, could I sue them?

i think you can ……it is who you want to leave and it is your life so i guess you have the right to sue them!!!
these mistakes shouldn’t be made! because it is your future

Posted: family counseling services

It for a Family Studies assignment for school. I’ve got couple’s counseling, premarital counseling and financial counseling so far but I need one more idea. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

Party planner

Posted: family counseling services

I am on spring break right now and I’m not happy about it. I wish I was back at college. My mother has breast cancer (she is just finishing up radiation and never had to go through chemo) my grandfather, her dad, is sick and in poor health.

So at home I am stressed out with that. At school I don’t have to deal with it, I can block it out with friends, work, and alcohol (I know that isn’t the safest thing). I never look forward to a phone call with my family because I know it will be my mother complaining about her cancer or complaining about her father or it will be my dad venting to me about how hard it is for my mother. I just don’t have to deal with that stuff at school. The last week before break I was dreading coming home, I cried almost everyday.

Now that I am at home I hardly talk to my family, like I used too. I would prefer to hide in my room but at the same time I feel like I have an obligation to my mother to make her happy. I feel like I can’t talk to my family about how I feel because it is selfish not to want to deal with my mothers cancer/not want to be there for her. I know that its selfish and I feel guilty about it, but it’s how I feel and I can’t help that. Sometimes I hit myself in the head when I think about things I’ve said in the past or bad memories come up and I know that’s not okay.

I really can’t wait to go back to school in a week and being back itself will make me a lot happier, but when I go back do you think I should seek counseling?

Caroline,

First of all I am really sorry to hear that you are feeling this way – it must be difficult not to be able to find the comfort at home!

You mention in your message that now you don’t talk to your family like you used to – that’s a shame as it may be precisely what you all need. I think it would be good for you to talk to your parents and explain how emotionally stressful this situation is to you, coupled with the demands of college, as they may have no idea.

You can honestly tell them that it is not that you don’t care about the situation, it seems to be quite contrary that you do very much otherwise it wouldn’t get to you so much, and you can together find strategies for dealing with this. Also remember that phasing yourself out is not a solution and it will continuously haunt you down with bad moods/anxiety if you do. Try to feel the emotions truly for what they are, don’t deny them, don’t fix them, indulge in sadness, anger, self-pity etc up until they stop scaring you and then try to find lasting strategies to change them.

But fist of all, speak to your parents – they love you and will be willing to listen. Sometimes easy does it!

Posted: family counseling services

There was abuse invloved 2 years ago in my husband and i’s relationship but we’ve both got counseling and worked through all that. We live in a nice clean home and we are both responsible. The only problem is my husband smokes pot, i am begging him to stop but he’s saying hes going to stop on his own time. Will the doctors call family services and get my baby taken away?
Any offensvie answers will be reported. This is a very serious question thank you

It might be more than the doctors that you have to worry about because if he buys somewhere there is a sting he could get arrested or as far as you know, he is selling the dope also which would mean even more time or someone else also selling could end up shooting at your home with you in it. You said there was abuse involved and you got past that but now that he says he will quit in his own time, I wonder if he still has the potential to be abusive. You need to tell him that the dope has to go or you will.

Posted: family counseling services

I have become very depressed, I can’t sleep, I really just feel the need to talk to someone, to release all the things inside me that I have held in for so long! I have had things happen to me as a child that I always knew about, but I never thought of them… I guess I repressed the memories but for some reason I started having dreams a couple months ago & it has made me feel like I need to deal with this! I will never sleep soundly again if I don’t! My family is having financial difficulties lately as many people are so I need some kind of free of based on income facility… If anybody knows of 1, please let me know thanks!

Hey , sometimes it just helps to talk to a stranger . I’m here for you if you like because I’ve been through some things as well . Jodiannhenningham@yahoo.com .

Posted: family counseling services

if u go to family counseling and discuss addiction and there are kids in the house(only one of the parents has problem however) would they report you to child services for the sake of the kids?

Only if you admitted to putting the children in danger, hurting the children, or abandoning the children. Counselors are there to help you get through your problems, not call the cops on you. Im pretty sure that the only situation they can inform police would be if you were a real threat to yourself or others (saying you wanted to kill yourself or someone else), and even then you would probably just get carted off to the psych ward for 24 hours.