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Please respond to the discussion post.

Discussion post: Carley

Sawyer and Burton (2013) outline several barriers to effective practice at the clinical level, including issues with assessments, the lack of inclusion of fathers, and awareness and knowledge.

1. Assessments: Sawyer and Burton (2013) discussed several issues that tend to arise during the assessment process, including unnecessary repetition of assessments being taken, insufficient collaboration with other professionals, and unequal consideration of or attention paid to certain family members. Sawyer and Burton (2013) assert that many of these problems can be solved by increasing communication and collaboration, both within an agency, among other professionals, and with the family. Involving all family members, as well as other relevant professionals, will ensure that all voices and perspectives are considered, and can lead to more realistic and effective intervention plans to be developed as a result.
2. Lack of inclusion of fathers:  As mentioned above, it is critical that all family members be considered when providing care or support to families. As Sawyer and Burton (2013) acknowledge, social services tend to prioritize mothers, while excluding fathers. This becomes detrimental, as it precludes fathers from being involved in gaining awareness of and providing for the needs of their children, while simultaneously placing the mother in a position of being responsible for implementing plans or changes. Finding ways to ensure that all family members are involved in the process of planning, determining and implementing relevant interventions, can increase their effectiveness.
3. Awareness/knowledge: A lack of awareness or knowledge being evident among professionals is certainly a significant barrier to effective practice. All family members are each influenced and impacted by one another, and this awareness needs to be considered and implemented into practice more often in order to ensure families receive the best level of care possible. As Sawyer and Burton (2013) discuss, while it’s understandable that some agencies prefer that parents do not bring their children to facilities that provide services related to substance use, it is also important that we as professionals are incorporating a holistic approach in regards to the individual, which therefore includes their family as well. An individual does not exist in a vacuum, so it always important to consider the entirely of the family, especially in regards to children. Ultimately, acknowledging that all family members’ needs and behavior impact each other, and then providing care and support accordingly, is essential to effective practice.

References

Sawyer, E. & Burton, S. (2013). Building Resilience in Families Under Stress: Supporting families affected by parental substance misuse and/or mental health problems. NCB – National Childrens Bureau.

Sawyer and Burton (2013) identify several barriers that impact practice on a clinical level including: awareness, decision making and unhelpful service responses.

Discussion Post. Caitlyn

Awareness: As a social worker, it is imperative that we asses situations with open minds and focus on treating the whole person. An individual who is seeking treatment for substance misuse cannot just be treated for their addiction, but needs to be treated as a whole since there are many factors impacting their misuses. Sawyer and Burton (2013) discuss programs that do not permit children to attend treatments with their parents because the facility is not suitable for children. By limiting consumers and not allowing them to bring their children with them, programs are creating another barrier for individuals to seek treatment. Programs should welcome families for treatment so that individuals are not hindered by finding child care coverage when seeking treatment. If it is not suitable for a child to be in the same room with a parent while treatment is being administered, there could be a section of the facility where staff monitor children as their parents receive treatment. This would also give staff the opportunity to engage with the children to make sure they are receiving the support they need as they too are impacted by their parent’s substance misuse.

Decision making: Also connected to awareness to the situation and treating the entire consumer is decision making. As social workers, we have to make tough calls in situations that are causing harm to an individual, another person or if someone is harming the consumer. We may have to call Child or Adult Protective Services to file reports if consumers are not taking adequate care of those in their lives or if harm is being done. No social worker likes making these calls, but it is part of our job as mandated reporters. It is important that plans are carefully formulated when working with families and we are attempting to fix the larger situation at hand, not just putting a band aid on the situation that is currently presenting itself.

Unhelpful service responses: It is important to remember as social workers that consumers are either mandated to meet with us or they had to make a conscious decision to seek help for a problem. It is never easy to ask for help especially when it is a situation that you will become vulnerable. As social workers, we should be supportive of consumers and not create more reasons for them to not seek the help they need. Sawyer and Burton (2013) use the examples of warning letters or language that places blame on the consumer. If someone is already hesitant to be seeking help, blaming them for not being willing to accept treatment modalities presented is not going to make a person want to stay in treatment. Social workers need to meet consumers where they are. We should allow the consumer to continue to be in the driver seat of their lives, but to sit in the passenger seat and offer guidance or resources if it looks like they are going to take a wrong turn. Social workers should not be a GPS for consumers, but more a co-pilot along for the ride to offer suggestions when needed.

Sources:

Sawyer, E. & Burton, S. (2013). Building Resilience in Families Under Stress: Supporting families affected by parental  substance misuse and/or mental health problems. NCB – National Childrens Bureau.