Article Excerpt: An MSW Student’s Life: Summer 2009
by T. J. Rutherford
(Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt from the Summer 2009 issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER. Read the full article at:
http://www.socialworker.com/home/Feature_Articles/Professional_Development_%26_Advancement/An_MSW_Student%27s_Life%3A_Summer_2009/
Balance. It seems elusive these days. When last semester’s whirlwind of four classes, a 20-hour internship, and a 30-hour work week came to a screeching halt, I felt almost lost. I’d wake up wondering which bag I was packing (school or work) and to where I needed to run. When my “shift” at work was finished, I would gather up my things hurriedly to head off to...home.
For about a week, I found myself in a little ball, tucked into the corner of the couch, watching mindless television and not wanting to “do” anything or “go” anywhere. Of course, I was doing things and going places. I just needed to unwind.
About the time I started to feel a semblance of my old self returning, summer school’s accelerated semester began. I have two classes, each for approximately six hours, on Friday and Saturday mornings. I am still working a 30-hour work week, Monday-Thursday. This feels almost too easy after the previous semester’s load. It’s not easy, though. What would normally be taught in several months is condensed into six (6) weeks, and that means lots of reading, writing, and researching.
I needed to be honest with myself this summer. I was not in the mood for school. I wanted a break. I wanted to languish on the beach and hide out in coffee shops. I wanted to have assignment-free week nights to watch movies and hang out with my husband and friends.
That said, I am staying in summer school. I want to stay on track. It’s perfectly normal to want to quit for a while. It’s unacceptable for me to do so, however. What I know is that if I deny my feelings, they will persist. Once I admitted this to myself and my therapist, we started to work through it. I actually feel as if I am on the other side of it already, but I felt it was worth mentioning, in case it might help another student who feels the same way.
To graduate in May 2010 (less than a year!), I need to take two electives this summer, and then take four classes each semester in fall and spring. I will also have a year-long field practicum beginning in August. There is no way around it, so I am just going to walk through it.
My quest for balance begins today.
I need to incorporate self-care into this journey. I struggled last semester with fitting in time for me, and I need to do much better in fall and spring. I will do better! When we know better, we do better.
What can I do differently, knowing what I know after last semester’s experiences? The foremost issue that needs to be addressed is that of working, going to school, and having a 24-hour internship. I can’t do it all. I tried. Maybe some people can, but I will not. I am currently working out the details for changing that.
The next link that was missing last semester involved the spiritual aspect of daily living. Part of my well-being depends upon feeding my soul with prayer and meditation. While I fit it in, in tiny bites, this is not something that I can sacrifice. It is the most important aspect of life for me, so no matter what, I cannot put it on the back burner.
I did not get enough rest last semester. Although I know this is to be expected at times, and it is often the norm for graduate students, it became the rule rather than the exception for me. I stayed up late so often that it became difficult to go to sleep. After my doctor prescribed a sleep aid, I was able to sleep, but I began having horrifying nightmares, which led to a fear of sleeping. Never having had nightmares before, this was especially frightening. After about a week or two of that, I stopped using the sleep aid and made a decision to practice discipline. I created a sleep schedule. I am now going to bed at a reasonable hour most of the time, and I am getting enough sleep without the nightmares. When I can, I sleep in and enjoy extra rest. I am also trying to nap in the afternoons on the weekends. This is harder than I thought!
Read the rest of this article at:
http://www.socialworker.com/home/Feature_Articles/Professional_Development_%26_Advancement/An_MSW_Student%27s_Life%3A_Summer_2009
and read more about T.J.’s everyday grad school experiences at our blog: http://blog.socialworker.com
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Linda Grobman’s THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER Book Club: Second Book Selection Announcement—STILL ALICE
by Linda May Grobman, ACSW, LSW
I am pleased to announce that THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER Book Club’s second book selection is the novel STILL ALICE, by Lisa Genova. I started reading this book last week and have had a hard time putting it down. In this novel, the brilliant Harvard psychology and linguistics professor Dr. Alice Howland, just before her 50th birthday, notices small lapses in her memory. She writes it off as menopausal symptoms at first, but she soon realizes that there may be more to it than that. As she is walking in a familiar area of Cambridge, she suddenly forgets how to get home. Alice is eventually diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease. The story is told from her point of view and illustrates the many issues that early-onset Alzheimer’s patients and their families face. Neuroscientist and first-time novelist Lisa Genova tells the story with great care and detail.
The book has taken the literary world by storm. After her manuscript was ignored by more than 100 literary agents, Lisa Genova published Still Alice herself, later gaining attention and being picked up by an imprint of Simon and Schuster called Pocket Books. The Pocket Books edition of Still Alice debuted in January 2009 at number 5 on the New York Times trade paperback fiction bestseller list.
Please read this book with me! You can order STILL ALICE from Amazon.com for $10.20 (or less from some third-party sellers on Amazon) plus shipping.
Visit the book club group page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?&gid=98840583520) for more details. I will soon announce the date for discussion of this book online at http://www.socialworkchat.org.
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Social Work Intervention in Family Mediation
by George Varghese, MSW
What is Family Mediation?
Family mediation is a way of resolving disputes after separation or divorce. In mediation, couples are helped to look for their own solutions to their disputes.
Family mediation is also increasingly being used to solve other types of family problems, such as:
- disputes
between a parent and child;
- disagreements
over care for elderly or seriously ill relatives;
- grandparents’
contact with grandchildren, and
- homelessness
caused by family arguments.
The lawyer can help the clients before, in between sessions, and when agreement has been reached, so the clients know that whatever is agreed to is fair to them.
How Does it Work
A professionally trained mediator who is a qualified social worker must assists the couple to reach their own agreement.
- Both
parties attend.
- Discussions
are confidential.
- The
mediator does not take sides.
- A
couple is seen together and helped to settle their differences.
- A
climate is created in which neither party dominates but in which both
parties participate fully in good faith.
- An
atmosphere of co-operation and responsibility is created and maintained.
- Couples
are helped to deal with difficult emotional issues that can prevent them
reaching agreement.
- Couples
are helped to reach agreement that they believe to be fair, equitable and
workable.
How Long Does It Take
The mediation sessions usually last one hour, and it normally takes six to eight sessions. An agreement is drawn up based on what both parties have agreed by the mediator and this is given to both people to have it looked over by each of their attorneys and made into a legally binding agreement. How this occurs is agreed and documented by both parties.
Nature of the Process
Mediation is a process wherein the parties meet with a mutually selected impartial and neutral person who assists them in the negotiation of their differences.
Role of the Mediator
Mediation leaves the decision power totally and strictly with the parties. The mediator does not decide what is "fair" or "right," does not assess blame, nor does he or she render an opinion on the merits or chances of success if the case were litigated. Rather, the mediator acts as a catalyst between opposing interests attempting to bring them together by defining issues and eliminating obstacles to communication, while moderating and guiding the process to avoid confrontation and ill will. The mediator will, however, seek concessions from each side during the mediation process.
Forbearance from Litigation During Mediation and Confidentiality of Proceedings
At the outset of a mediation process, the mediator may well seek agreement from the parties to refrain from litigation during the mediation process and to hold everything that is said in the various sessions confidential and not deemed an admission or used against any party in any other proceeding if mediation fails.
Procedures: Joint Session Followed by Private Caucuses
Mediation generally begins with a joint session to set an agenda, define the issues, and ascertain the position and/or concerns of the parties. This allows the parties to attack the resolution process either on an issue-by-issue or group-by-group basis.
The joint session is then followed by a separate caucus between the mediator and each individual party or his or her counsel. This allows each side to explain and enlarge upon his or her position and mediation goals in confidence. It also gives the mediator an opportunity to ask questions that may well serve to create doubt in an advocate's mind over the validity of a particular position.
Confidential Listener
One form of mediation is known as "confidential listening" in which each side agrees to reveal his or her settlement positions to the mediator in a private caucus so that it can be ascertained whether there is any overlap or common ground upon which to reach a settlement. The ground rules must be agreed upon up front, and the mediator, of course, does not reveal the information given in the private caucus. The only thing revealed is whether or not it appears to the mediator that the parties are within a zone of settlement.
Benefits of Mediation
Mediation is a cost-effective route to achieving settlement of a dispute in terms of legal and operational costs and management of time. Preservation of relationships, reduced timeframe for the resolution of the dispute, reduced stress for all parties, privacy, and confidentiality are all hallmarks of mediation.
Role of Social Worker
The intervention with agreed clients with proper consent is essential with A-Z documentation procedures in a systematic manner ensuring confidentiality and highlighting social ethics and social work principles. Social workers in the family mediation process must be good listeners, nonjudgmental, professional relationship managers, facilitators, and skilled at creating a better ambiance in positive and progressive manner using the effective social work skills.
George Varghese, MSW, is a social worker in Ireland.
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CASA 2009 Teen Survey: Teens Likelier to Get Drunk, Use Marijuana, Smoke Cigarettes if They See Parent Drunk
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Compared to teens who have not seen their parent(s) drunk, those who have are more than twice as likely to get drunk in a typical month, and three times likelier to use marijuana and smoke cigarettes, according to the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV: Teens and Parents, the 14th annual back-to-school survey conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
The CASA survey found that 51 percent of 17-year-olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk and 34 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk.
Teen drinking behavior is strongly associated with how teens believe their fathers feel about their drinking. Compared to teens who believe their fathers are against their drinking, teens who believe their fathers are okay with their drinking are two and a half times likelier to get drunk in a typical month.
The survey found that five percent of 12- to 15-year-old girls and nine percent of 12- to 15-year-old boys say their fathers are okay with their drinking. Thirteen percent of 16- and 17-year-old girls and 20 percent of 16- and 17-year-old boys say their fathers are okay with their drinking.
“Some Moms’ and Dads’ behavior and attitudes make them parent enablers—parents who send their 12- to 17-year-olds a message that it’s okay to smoke, drink, get drunk, and use illegal drugs like marijuana,” said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA’s chairman and founder and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. “Teens’ behavior is strongly associated with their parents’ behavior and expectations, so parents who expect their children to drink and use drugs will have children who drink and use drugs.”
Prescription Drugs Readily Available
For the first time this year, the survey asked 12- to 17-year-olds how fast they can get prescription drugs to get high. More than one third of teens (8.7 million) can get prescription drugs to get high within a day; nearly one in five teens (4.7 million) can get them within an hour.
When teens were asked where they would get prescription drugs, the most common sources were home, parents, other family members, and friends.
Drinking, Drugging, and Sex
This year, the CASA survey took a close look at teen drinking and discovered that 65 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds who drink monthly report that they get drunk at least once in a typical month. Eighty-five percent of 17-year-old drinkers get drunk at least once in a typical month.
The survey found that one third of teen drinkers usually drink with the intention to get drunk. Eighty-five percent of teen drinkers who say that when they drink they usually drink to get drunk do so at least once a month. Of those teens who do NOT set out to get drunk, 33 percent find themselves drunk at least once a month.
Compared to teens who have never tried alcohol, teens who get drunk monthly are:
• 18 times likelier to have tried marijuana;
• four times likelier to be able to get marijuana in an hour;
• almost four times likelier to know someone their age who abuses prescription drugs;
• more than three times likelier to have friends who use marijuana; and
• more than twice as likely to know someone their age who uses meth, ecstasy, or other drugs such as cocaine, heroin, or LSD.
Compared to teens who have never tried alcohol, those who get drunk at least once a month are:
• twice as likely to know a girl who was forced to do something sexual she didn’t want to do; and
• nearly four times likelier to know a guy who uses drugs or alcohol to hook up.
Marijuana, Availability Up Sharply
Between 2007 and 2009, there was a 37 percent increase in the percentage of 12- to 17-year-olds who say marijuana is easier to buy than cigarettes, beer, or prescription drugs (19 percent to 26 percent).
Forty percent of teens (10 million) can get marijuana within a day; nearly one-quarter of teens (5.7 million) can get it in an hour.
Teens who say that the decision to use marijuana by someone their age is not a big deal are four times more likely to use it compared to teens who say this decision is a big deal.
Teens whose parents believe the decision to use marijuana is not a big deal are almost twice as likely to use the drug, compared to teens whose parents say this decision is a big deal.
Most teens who smoke cigarettes (56 percent) say the decision to use marijuana is not a big deal.
“Parents are the key to raising drug-free kids, and they have the power to do it if they send their children the clear message to choose not to use and demand that the schools their children attend be drug free,” noted Califano whose book How to Raise a Drug Free Kid: The Straight Dope for Parents, was published last month by Simon & Schuster’s Touchstone/Fireside Division.
QEV Analytics conducted the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV: Teens and Parents from March 2 to April 5, 2009 (teens) and March 21 to April 10, 2009 (parents). The firm interviewed at home by telephone a national random sample of 1,000 12- to 17-year-olds (509 boys, 491 girls) and 452 of their parents. Sampling error is +/- 3.1 percent for teens and +/- 4.6 percent for parents.
CASA is a national organization that brings together under one roof all the professional disciplines needed to study and combat all types of substance abuse as they affect all aspects of society. CASA is the creator of the nationwide initiative Family Day—A Day to Eat Dinner With Your ChildrenTM –the fourth Monday in September—the 28th in 2009—that promotes parental engagement as a simple and effective way to reduce children’s risk of smoking, drinking, and using illegal drugs. For more information, visit www.casacolumbia.org.
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Three Federal Agencies Join with Sesame Workshop to Launch National PSA Campaign Stressing Healthy Habits to Prevent H1N1 Flu Infection
The Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Education, and Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, have teamed up to launch a new national public service advertising campaign designed to encourage American children and families to practice healthy habits and to take steps to prevent the spread of the 2009 H1N1 flu virus. The PSAs featured in this campaign can be viewed on www.flu.gov.
During the spring, the Sesame Workshop produced four different versions of a television PSA featuring Sesame Street's Elmo and Gordon explaining the importance of practicing healthy habits such as washing your hands; sneezing into the bend of your arm; and avoiding contact with your eyes, nose, and mouth. They have now been reformatted to promote www.flu.gov, the federal government's one-stop Web site for all the latest information on the new H1N1 virus and the seasonal flu. The PSAs will be distributed nationwide and will be supported in airtime donated by television stations.
"We are thrilled to partner with Elmo, Gordon, and Sesame Workshop again to emphasize the steps kids and their parents can take to stay happy and healthy this school year," said Secretary Sebelius. "Younger children and their parents are some of the people most at risk from the new H1N1 flu virus.”
"The first day of National Preparedness Month is a great reminder that personal preparedness starts at home and these PSAs promote simple things we can all do to stay healthy and safe," said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.
"We want to keep our children safe, healthy, and learning. By practicing prevention, close monitoring, and common sense, we can help prevent the spread of H1N1 and seasonal flu among children and young people this year" Secretary Duncan said. "Having Elmo and our friends at Sesame Street help get that message out there will be a tremendous help."
On a global scale, Sesame Workshop was the first nonprofit to respond to the flu outbreak in Mexico, with the immediate creation of four PSAs featuring the beloved Muppets of Plaza Sésamo and several Mexican celebrities who donated their time to the cause. The flu prevention messaging has reached millions of children and their families both in Mexico and the United States.
The PSAs are part of an initiative to provide practical steps recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help prevent the spread of the flu virus and other infectious disease, including:
* Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
* Keep your distance from others if you are sick.
* When possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick, and don't send your children to childcare or school if they are sick.
* Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
* Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing and sneezing.
* Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
For more information on how to take steps to prevent the flu, visit www.flu.gov.
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