Understanding the various theoretical frameworks help social workers perform their job in a way that will not only help the client, but will give the social worker a guide throughout the helping process. Learning all the theories in class has been useful during the process of working in my internship for the program because I find myself applying the theories to my cases. I have found some theories to be very helpful in the field that I intend on keeping them in mind during my practice now and in the future. Background I am a 24-year-old heterosexual Hispanic woman that was raised in Fresno, California in a Catholic family. As an able-bodied citizen, I considered my social class upbringing to be middle class because I always had the necessary resources growing up. Being raised within my Mexican culture has made me culturally self-aware. Identifying as Mexican American, Spanish-Native Speaker and cis-gender woman, have given me a wider …show more content…
Cognitive theory can be defined as “ an activating event produces a belief or thought-that produces an emotion or action”(p172). The principle of cognitive theory is that cognition is our conscious mental activity this includes all our beliefs, assumptions, and ideas. Cognition is how we process information. When you have an invalid or faulted cognition it causes distress in one’s life, which may lead to an individual seeking cognitive therapy. The assumptions for cognitive theory are that cognitive interventions focus on assessing the rationality of one’s thought, the conclusions they then reach about one’s self, and the environment around them. A major concept in cognitive theory is schemas, which are our internalized patterns of thought, how we organize, and store, process new information. They may develop through direct and observed
According to Alligood (2014), cognitive schema is used when a patient or individual interprets his or her illness, treatment, or hospitalization. An implication of cognitive schema in evidence-based practice is the example of an individual’s personal feelings regarding multiple sclerosis. Using the example of a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in practice, an astute nurse will begin by assessing the individual’s subjective feelings towards multiple sclerosis, the disease.
Cognitions are the thoughts, beliefs, and the internal messages that individuals have about events within their lives (Gladding, 2005). This is the basis of cognitive theory and what counselors assist their clients in modifying. To execute this properly in helping clients professional counselors must know the major principles of cognitive theory, cognitive interventions, who may benefit from cognitive interventions, and examine case studies to identify and treat cognitive distortions that inhibit individuals.
In the health care field, social workers are faced with one of the most difficult and conflict social problem. Patients who are chronically ill have on occasion if they can end their life at their decision. As a social work, you must follow your code of ethics and the law by denying their right to the end-of-life decision. This is called euthanasia, a practice used to end the life of a seriously ill male or female. There is a conflicting issue on the interplay of person and professional views social workers given to patients who are experiencing or experienced end-of-life decisions. There are multiple conflicts with the use of euthanasia and assisted suicide, one major factor is the lack of training needed to successfully handle the situation. Another factor is that the constitutional laws conflict with the actions of agreeing to end someone’s life. For instance, Dr. Jack Kevorkian performed the act of euthanasia on a chronically ill man and publicly videotaped the procedure. He was at the time in the state of Michigan, a state that bans euthanasia and assisted suicide. He was charged with murder and sent to jail for his
Theories can help explain why a problem is occurring and where the most effective intervention should take place. Theories can be obtained from research and from facts. According to Michael Tropeano “a theory is a statement backed by evidence gathered through the scientific method intended to explain something. Theoretical approaches for social work are often used to explain human behavior and serve as starting points for practice models and treatments.”
According to Hutchison (2015), “Cognition can be defined as our conscious or preconscious thinking processes-the mental activities of which we are
Cognitive theory is a learning approach in psychology that attempts to explain the behavior of humans by studying thoughts and reasoning process. The cognitive theory is founded on many other factors like cognitive reasoning and social cognitive theory. Aaron Beck founded the theory and it is meant to understand the human behavior by observing the processes triggered by reasoning and individual thoughts. The cognitive theory is a research based theory because it tends to investigate human behavior through making observations and thought analysis.
Social Workers are very important to everyday life. They are the ones that help people in need when they have nobody else to turn too. Also, they provide resources and better understanding of predicaments that you could be experiencing. I will reflect on how the class has affected me, my own experiences and how some theories have connected to my life experiences, and lastly, if the class helped toward my major. This class is important for someone that wants to become a social worker and wants to learn about the different theories used. Also, learning about me during this process of completing this class is fun and a way to see if the social work profession is right for me. There was many theories explained throughout this class but many will not be said because it wasn’t the main points that I was trying to get across. There are two tools that are used that can help a social worker organize a client’s life: Bubble map and Briefcase exercise. There are so many different ways a social worker can help a client deal with their problems and come up with a solution. It is up to that social worker to identify the client’s problem and see what theory fits.
Theory has been defined as, “an organized set of assumptions, beliefs, or ideas about particular phenomena in the world (Teater, 2015).” Theory is used to understand and explain possible and perceived instances, behaviors and outcomes (Teater, 2015). Social workers use theory in order to understand, as well as, introduce interventions and solutions to their client’s individual situation. It is important for students entering into the social work profession to have a base knowledge of theories, with basic understanding of their similarities and differences to appropriately apply theory in practice. The theories which will be focused on in this paper include Systems Theory and Cognitive Behavioral Theory.
Several acheivements occurred in the development of cognitive psychology. The study of neuroscience brings us to what we know about cognition today. Cognitive psychology came from the criticisms and flaws of behaviorism. The focus of behaviorism is on observable behaviors, although cognitive psychology became a means to studying mental processes. Cognitive psychology can answer the questions behaviorism could not provide. Behavioral observations are key factors in cognitive psychology, and help with interpreting mental processes and behaviors. Through studying mental processes cognitive psychologists’ expanded psychology through and beyond observations. Behavioral observations helps researchers test cognitive theories. Behaviorists study observable behavior and cognitive psychologists study the mental processes. When studying these processes, researchers attempt to explain how unobservable processes interact with the observable behaviors and helping cognitive psychologists test their theories in
Social cognitive theory is different from social learning theory because it takes into account cognitive processes including thinking, memory, language, and evaluating consequences. According to social cognitive theory, individuals play a part in their development (Malone, 2002). Cognitive patterns play a very large role in depression (Furman & Bender, 2003). For example, people don’t have a motivation to move forward in difficult times if they don’t believe they are able to do so. Self- efficacy is an important part of personal agency, and a main aspect in social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2001). A person’s perceived abilities and confidence play a part in what he or she does in his or her life. Cognition becomes a motivator or a hindrance, according to social cognitive theory. A person’s perceived self- efficacy helps determine what a person chooses to do, the amount of effort they put into it, and how long they can persist if there are barriers or failures that occur. How a person sees failure is also influential (Bandura, 20...
Whilst evaluating the cognitive approach to psychology there are many strengths such as that the cognitive approach takes an understanding of the influence from mental processes on one’s behaviour, focusing on an individual’s thinking patterns and their perception. This approach also relates to many known functions and operations that the human body performs such as memory and problem solving.
Social workers should have a strong knowledge base comprising of information gathered from variety of empirically tested theories which allows them to effectively appreciate the nature of people’s problems. Theory is a vital component in social work practice that guides the way in which social workers view and approach their clients, at micro, mezzo and macro level. Theory helps predict, explain and assess situations and
First, there are a few special points about these theories everyone in the social work field should know about. One is that the focus is on the application and practice vs. the explanation and prediction.
The cognitive principle: the core idea of the cognitive element of CBT is based on looking at different interpretations which people make of events (Graham, 2005). It basically highlights that when two people react differently in a situation, it is because they feel and see the event differently and gives different ‘meaning’ to it.
Social cognitive theory is the study on how an individual stores, processes, and applies information about others in their everyday life. It was first known as the “Social Learning Theory”, and was later changed to the term known today as the “Social Cognitive Theory”. The definition of social cognition is defined as any cognitive process that involves one or more than one person. While the definition of cognition is unconscious process in the brain that bring about representations. Social cognition purpose is to study social knowledge, social structure, group behavior, social influences, social categories (age, race, sex) defines a person. (Science Direct) Social cognition is thought to be the outcome of social interactions. One will learn by observing others, this is known as vicarious learning. For example, one is more likely to follow another’s behavior if they can identify with them, whether it be personality wise, age proximity, and more. (Verywell)