Assignment 1

Title page

Social work

Aims of the group

I work in Child Welfare Services as a social worker having the job of helping children who are victims of abuse, neglect or parental neglect. I had to assist a seven years old African-American boy Andrew, adopted by a white couple. The child had been a victim of abuse and faced psychological problems in adjusting to the new settings and with new parents. The aims of the group was to help the child in building strong and positive bond with his new parents. It also focused on offering him counseling for assisting him in overcoming his fears and insecurities.

Processes that the group engaged

Different processes were used for helping Andrew in becoming a better and confident child. The processes started five months earlier when I was assigned the job of helping Andrew. The initial process was focused on building the relationship of trust with the child. The next process was to identify the factors behind the disturbed behavior of the child. I came to know that behavioral problems faced by child was due to his belonging to poor background. His common issues include stress, anxiety, depression, aggression, and anti-social attitudes. African- America child exhibited disturbed and uncontrolled behaviors due to his backgrounds. I applied the knowledge for understanding the reasons and finding appropriate solutions. The reason for his disturbed behavior and insecurity was the abuse and violence that he encountered in his previous home CITATION CCy12 \l 1033 (Raver, 2012). In the group I was given the leading role so my first goal was to build a relationship of trust with the child. I managed to make him realize that his new home is the right place for him. The group was assigned different tasks according to their skill sets. Several meetings were conducted for studying the behavior of Andrew and numerous solutions were shared by each group member.

Stages of achieving goals

The central goal was to help Andrew in gaining confidence and improving his relationship with his new parents. This process involved many other goals for reaching the final goal. This started by educating the parents about the steps they had to follow for removing the fear of the child. They were instructed to treat Andrew with love and affection. They were explained ways in which they could remove the insecurity of the child such as by making him feel comfortable, playing and talking with him CITATION Dan17 \l 1033 (Neiditch, 2017). They were also asked to avoid using harsh tone or strict behavior with the child. Meetings were arranged with the parents in which they were explained the reasons behind the inappropriate behavior of Andrew.

The second stage focused more on Andrew as he was made to talk about his feelings. He was encouraged to talk and express anything he felt about his new parents and the house. The next stage focused on providing a positive environment to the child. The parents were asked to create a friendly environment and engage child in different activities that could express protection towards him. In this stage parents spend 2 hours watching cartoon program with the child CITATION Jim07 \l 1033 (Ife, 2007). They were also asked to spend 1 hour in playing with Andrew twice in a week. They managed to show him affection in this time such as when he faced difficulty in building blocks they instructed him. This technique was used for showing affections. The relationship of the child improved with his new parents in three months.

Roles played in group

I had to administer mental health program focusing on investigating identifying problems of abuse, neglect and harmful living conditions experienced by Andrew. I had to adopt assertive communication styles for building a trustworthy relationship with the child and the parents. My role as a social worker was to help the child and help him in accepting his new home. I had to offer him counseling and explain him that he is better at his new home CITATION Joh99 \l 1033 (Graham & Barter, 1999). I had to assure that the new parents of Andrew manage to offer him adequate support that helps him in adjusting to the new place. I used assertive leadership style that allowed me to convince the parents about they role in building a positive personality of child. I provided them awareness and education on parenting such as adoption of friendly behavior and avoidance of aggression or violence CITATION Jon10 \l 1033 (Turner, 2010). I encouraged the parents to overcome the gap in their relationship with Andrew by showing him affection and care.

I was given the role of a counselor so I had to encourage him for improving his behavioral problems. I encouraged Andrew to talk to other boys of his age and play with them at school and neighborhood. I also explained to the parents that they had to listen to the child and address his needs.

Conflict and meditation

During the process I had to manage thee conflict as parents didn’t liked my idea of allowing Andrew to paly with the neighborhood boys initially. I had to convince them that it was for improving his social skills. They doubted that this might harm Andrew. However I had to convince them because Andrew had isolated himself and maintained distance from others.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Graham, J. R., & Barter, K. (1999). Collaboration: A Social Work Practice Method. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services .

Ife, J. (2007). THE NEW INTERNATIONAL AGENDAS: WHAT ROLE FOR SOCIAL WORK . Retrieved 11 29, 2018, from https://www.ifsw.org/the-new-international-agendas-what-role-for-social-work/

Neiditch, D. (2017). How Bad is Homelessness In America? . Retrieved 03 10, 2018, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-bad-is-homelessness-in-america-really_us_58f6916de4b0c892a4fb736f

Raver, C. C. (2012). Low-Income Children’s Self-Regulation in the Classroom: Scientific Inquiry for Social Change. Am Psychol, 67(8) , 681–689.

Turner, J. H. (2010). Theoretical Principles of Sociology, Volume 2: Microdynamics. Springer.