Susan Kiss Sarnoff Case Analysis

This article was infuriating to read at times due to the opposing opinion I possess. The author, Susan Kiss Sarnoff, essentially describes social workers and therapists as unqualified. She suggests that they exaggerate the truth in order to get a response that is of benefit to them. This exaggeration is referred to as concept stretching. “Defining every woman who has ever had a shouting match with a loved one as a “victim of domestic violence” enable ideologues to claim huge numbers afflicted. This also makes their issue seem to be of crisis proportions, and even allows ideologues to claim “universalization” of the problem -- that everyone suffers from it to some degree.” Sarnoff states that the reasoning behind concept stretching is to gain

“The detection of child abuse itself has had unintended consequences, due to the fact that Child Protective Services (CPS), state agencies established by federal law, receive a federal bounty for breaking apart families and putting children in foster care.” Sarnoff is suggesting that social workers place children who have not been proven to have been truly affected by abuse into foster care in consideration of their own profit. Sarnoff claims that child abuse cases have increased due to “coaching.” She explains that incompetent therapists and parents in custodial battles will coach children to claim that something has happened to them. I do agree that it has become more common for parents fighting for custody to attempt this. However, I believe that social workers and therapists do not suggest pulling a child from their home with the intention of recognition or pay but in the best interest of the child. If I were a social worker and I felt strongly that a child was being abused, I wouldn’t hesitate to suggest placing the child in foster care. If I were to mistakenly place a child in foster care who hadn’t been harmed, I would feel guilty however I would feel worse if I disregarded a case and it resulted in death of the child. Sarnoff continues her rant by suggesting that expert witness in child abuse cases are unreliable. She claims that many experts “lack credentials, present unreliable theories as facts, and

Statistics can gain attention quickly and begin to circulate. These statistics can be misinterpreted if not researched and result in the public lacking accurate knowledge. An example is the Listerine ad claiming that “Listerine kills 99% of bacteria.” Some consumers may incorrectly interpret this information and quit brushing trusting that Listerine only is just as effective. Listerine does not suggest replacing brushing and flossing with using mouth rinse daily however if consumers don’t do their research, some may assume that is what is being promoted. Another example is a recent study that a television news station as well as the New York Times reported regarding flossing being less relevant than previously believed. If hygienists would trust this because it’s on the news without researching it for themselves, they could potentially give faulty information to their patients. Vice Versa, if extensive research has been conducted and flossing has indeed shown to be less effective and less necessary than we thought, we are stressing the importance of flossing daily to our patients which is now faulty information. In conclusion, patients and clients often trust the advice of professionals so they should always stay up to date on recent research and protocol changes in order to give patients the best care and