Introduction “HIV/AIDS is a complex infection that warrants an aggressive and holistic approach to management and treatment. While a diagnosis of HIV infection today may not carry the imminent fear of death that is has in the past, for many HIV-infected people, it does mean a restricting of their lives to face the future. They must contend with uncertainties, not only in relation to health status, but also with regard to financial security, alterations in relationships, and discrimination, all of which may impact quality of life” (Buseh, Kelber, Stevens & Park, 2008, p. 409). According to Peterson and Jones (2009), “The HIV/AIDS epidemic has exacted a devastating toll up upon Black men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States, and …show more content…
Given the high incidence of HIV/AIDS and the rapid spread of the pandemic over the last two decades, the social work profession should take an active stand to mitigate the overwhelming psychological and social effects” (National Association of Social Workers, 2015, p.155). NASW supports prevention and education; social work education on HIV/AIDS; service delivery, care, and treatment; and political action and advocacy. Professional cooperation with existing HIV and AIDS educational, treatment, and research organizations to develop and implement programs that include educational and prevention strategies that meet the needs of all segments of our society (2015, p.155). According to NASW, education of all social workers so they are knowledgeable about behavioral strategies to prevent the transmission of HIV, including safer sex and harm reduction (2015, p.155). For service delivery, care, and treatment NASW supports, “elimination of the inequities of obstacles in access to medication, clinical trails, and HIV care specialists; or services that ensure psychological, social, cultural, and economic well-being” (2015, p.156). National Association of Social Workers (2015) policies demonstrated that increasing the awareness of funding and grants through policies, related to state and local treatment programs will ensure better care for African American men living with HIV/AIDS (2015, p.
Cunningham, M. (2012). Integrating Spirituality in Clinical Social Work Practice: Walking the Labyrinth (1 ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc.
Defined within the NASW Code of Ethics a primary purpose of social work is to promote social justice and change within and on behalf of clients. This established code challenges social workers to enhance social functioning and well-being of all people. Not limited to, but including helping people meet basic human needs, with special attention to vulnerable, oppressed and impoverished members of society in need of personal empowerment and strength. Historically the Social Work profession has dedicated its efforts to alleviating life’s grand challenges and environmental forces that create, contribute and address problems within human existence (Reamer, 2017).
Social support was defined by Berger (1992) as the resources that are provided by other persons. This broad concept of social support was organized or operationalized into three categories by Barrera (1986): (a) social embeddedness (the connection to significant others); (b) perceived social support (access to social support resources and appraisal of that support); and (c) enacted support (actions that others perform when they render assistance to a focal person). In the gay community, many of these supports have been either in the categories of social embeddedness or perceived social support. Barrera (1986) also found a positive relationship between social support and stress: When gay men are isolated socially and emotionally from the mainstream of society they often develop, enhance, or utilize social support resources
Social workers play a very important role in many situations. Most people can only help an individual up until a certain point then they have no clue what to do to help the individual. A social worker comes up with a plan to help an individual that cannot help themselves. Without social workers many individuals will not know how to manage certain situations. They will come up with an idea that they believe is suitable and move on without thinking about it. Social work has come a long way from when it first began. Comparing then and now, social work is much better and very well organized. The people that are in need whether they are mentally ill or someone that cannot support themselves, are being taken care of properly. It is known that years
Perhaps one of the most versatile and diverse careers is social work, as this career works with individuals struggling with substance abuse, low-income families, and homeless individuals. Social work is a profession that is concerned with solving personal, group, and community relationships (Farley, Smith, & Boyle, 2011). Among some of the most important aspects of social work are the restoration of impaired social functioning, the provision of social services, and prevention (Farley et al., 2011). Reducing problems in human relationships and improving human interactions among individuals are the major focuses of this profession, regardless of which people group the social workers are serving (Farley et al., 2011). Even though it is a relatively new profession, social work has existed in various forms throughout history. However, the beginning of social work’s development as a profession was primarily European in origin, with the ideals spreading to the United States
Many people don’t know that social workers deal with more mental health than any psychologist, psychiatrist and psychiatric nurses combined. Interesting right? I would definitely have thought otherwise. Social work is a very unique field that is overlooked and should have quite a bit more appreciation than it does. Making it in the real world is tough but thanks to social work peoples civil rights are protected, people with mental illnesses are now able to afford humane treatment and society is more in tune with preventing child abuse and neglect. To be successful in the field of social work you have to care about what you are doing, have ethics, and have empathy… social work is not all about the money.
http://www.avert.org/hiv.htm. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. April 2011. Retrieved July 19, 2011 from http://www.cds http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/aboutDHAP.htm Stanhope, M. & Lancaster, J. a. The adage of the adage of the ad Public Health Nursing: Population-Centered Healthcare in the United States.
My strengths definitely stem from my passion about helping others and social work. Becoming a mother and overcoming tough challenges is also a strength of mines. That experience made me stronger and shaped who I am today. I definitely intend to encourage my clients that anything is possible and you can do anything that you set your mind to do. Being around my family and the obstacles that we have overcome has definitely gave me a broader perspective of life and the situations that current that can impacts us in many ways. As a social worker it is important to listen, communicate, build rapport with boundaries with our clients in order to be an effective social worker. Being a social worker requires certain core skills. Many of these I learn during my education and internships, others I have learned from different areas of my life. You are required to orient yourself to the ethical codes for social work in order to provide top-notch services to the people you treat in therapy. You may also find it helpful to understand common elements of good therapy. Certainly there are many different skills and traits that you help you succeed as a social worker. Some of the main skills that will help you in the counseling profession include,
What does it mean to become a social worker? Why was I committing two years of my life to school after renouncing further education? I asked myself this after I applied, waited anxiously for my acceptance letter and scrambled to figure out the finances after I was accepted. I could not have guessed that the first day of the Micro Human Behavior Social Environment (SWG 510) would capture my attention and thrust me into the professional world of Social Work. As I learned more about what it meant to become a social worker, I found myself aligning to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Ethical Standards as reviewed through Foundation Course I’s first chapters.
After completion of the social work program I would like to work in a clinical setting. I would really like to be in a mental health center or a hospital working with military members. I don’t have and preference on the kinds of issues that I would like to work with. As long as I am helping veterans, I will be happy. The reason that I prefer to work under these condition is because I have a passion for working with military members, since I am prior military I feel like I can relate to them and I understand what they are going through. I know that it is very hard for military members to talk to civilian about their problems because civilians just don’t understand, no matter what they say. I will be required to have a diverse set of qualities
Theory is defined as “…”. In the social work profession, it is not enough to just understand the definition of theory, but rather be able to integrate theory into practice when working to plan interventions at multiple practice levels. This integration of theory into the social work practice is an emphasis of the profession as noted in the profession’s core competencies. Core competency 2.1.6 “engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research” (NASW code of ethics) is the basis for theory integration within the social work profession. The profession’s practice behaviors state that social workers must “use research evidence to inform practice” (NASW code of ethics). In other words, social workers should “attend to findings
Research is a necessity when it comes to providing services. Social Workers need it to be able to determine their clients ' needs, to see what resources/services they have access to and if their client doesn 't have much access where can they get it. Research is also used to see how effective an intervention is and whether it would be a right fit for their clients. It provides social service agents with ways to identify problems within their clients, communities, organizations, and the government. Also it helps them to create ways to aid in effective change. It is very beneficial when a social worker needs to "assess the needs and resources of people in their environments, evaluate the effectiveness of social work services in meeting people
The origins of social work in the United States mirror an ongoing growth of ideas put together from many different cultures. While modern social work here in the states were built on Christian idea many of its concepts are in part due to the influence of the Koran and the mutual aid practices of Native Americans, the African-American community, and immigrants from all over the world.
This approach has much future promise particularly in the context of economic challenges and resource constraints. Since the African continent has problems with lack of resources it is wise that countries adopt this approach and move away from the remedial one which is costly. The developmental approach is highly friendly with social work’s historical values and commitment to achieving social justice and human rights (Midgley & Conley, 2010). However, there are limitations facing the developmental approach in social work.
The social work profession is defined as “a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people (ISFW, ‘Global Definition of Social Work’, 2016).” The definition may be true about the profession but it is more in depth than just that. To me, the profession’s primary focus is to help others through life as much as we can while letting them make their own choices and guiding them. In society, social workers are utilized in many different nonprofit and government roles. They serve the community in many different ways from monitoring parent visits to helping people through mental illnesses. Human beings are so complex and things that happen