Social Work Practice Quiz #2

ABC Model

(A=antecedent, B=behavior, C=consequence) the ABC model provides a coherent and practical approach to understanding problems the systems involved, and the roles they play.

In order for the social worker to assess.....

.....and propose actions he/she must have some understanding of how the client thinks. "The client's thought patterns are influenced by intellectual functioning, judgement, reality testing, coherence, cognitive flexibility, values, beliefs, self-concept, cultural belief system, and the dynamic interaction among cognitions, emotions, and behaviors that influence social functioning."

Where do social workers get the information on which to base their assessment?

1. Background sheets or other forms that clients complete. 2. Interviews with clients (i.e. accounts of problems, history, views, thoughts, events, and the like) 3. Direct observation of nonverbal behavior 4. Direct observation of interaction between partners, family members, and group members. 5. Collateral information from relatives, friends, physicians, teachers, employers, and group members 6. Tests or assessment instruments 7. Personal experiences of the practitioner based on direct interaction with clients

List of strengths

1. Facing problems and seeking help, rather than denying or otherwise avoiding confronting them. 2. Taking a risk by sharing problems with the social worker---a stranger. 3. Perserving under difficult circumstances.

Sharing Perceptions, Ideas, Reactions, and Formulations

A key role of the social worker in the change-oriented phase of the helping process is to act as a "candid feeback system" by revealing personal thoughts and perceptions relevant to client problems.

Precontemplation

A lack of awarenes of the need for change.

Major Depressive Disorder

Affected individuals experience recurrent episodes of depressed mood, , is far more common than bipolar disorder.

Sharing Feelings When Clients' Behavior Is Unreasonable or Distressing

Although social workers should be able to take most client behaviors in stride, sometimes they may experience justifiable feelings of frustration, anger, or even hurt.

Bipolar Disorder

Among the symptonms of mania are "a distinct period of abnormality or persistently elevated, expansive or irritable mood.."

Distorted attributions

Assertion based on presumed laws of nature: "All children tell lies at that age. It's just natural. I did it when I was a kid.:

Intrapersonal Systems

Assessing Behavioral Functioning

Intrapersonal Systems

Assessing Cognitive /Perceptual Functioning Intellectual functioning Judgment Reality testing Coherence Cognitive flexibility Values Misconceptions Self-concept Assessing thought disorders

Intrapersonal Systems

Assessing Emotional Functioning Emotional control Range of emotions Appropriateness of affect Assessing affective disorders Bipolar Disorder Suicidal risk Depression and suicidal risk with children and adolescents

Intrapersonal Systems

Assessing Environmental Systems Physical environment Social support systems Spirituality and affliliation with a faith commonly

Intrapersonal Systems

Assessing Motivation

Intrapersonal Systems

Assessing Use and Abuse of Medications, Alchohol, and Drugs Alcohol use and abuse Use and abuse of other substances Dual diagnostic comorbid addictive and mental disorders

Dual Diagnosis: Addictive and Mental Disorders

Because alcohol and other drug abuse problems can co-occur with a variety of health and mental health problems (known as comorbidity), accurate assessment is important for treatment planning.

Positive Feedback: A Form of Authentic Responding

Because positive feedback plays such a vital role in the change process, we have allocated a separate section in our attempt to do justice to this topic. Positive feedback can have the additional effect of increasing clients' confidence in their own coping ability.

Reality Testing Criteria

Being properly oriented to time, place, person, and situation Reaching appropriate conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships Perceiving external events and discerning the intentions of others with reasonable accuracy Differentiating one's own thoughts and feeling from those of others.

Intrapersonal Systems

Biophysical Functioning Physical characteristics and presentation Physical health

Questions that Solicit the Social Worker's Perceptions

Clients may also pose questions that solicit the social workers' opinons, views, or feelings. "How do I compare to your other clients?"

Openly (and Tactfully) Sharing Reactions When on the Spot

Clients sometimes create situations that put social workers under considerable pressure to respond to messages that bear directly on the relationnship, such as when they accuse a social of being uninterested, unfeeling, irritated, displeased, critical, inappropriate, or incompetent.

Learned hopelessness

Clients who do not belive that they can influence their enviornment. A passive resignation that their lives are out of their hands.

Axis I

Clinical syndromes such as sleep, anxiety, eating, and mood disorders; schizophrenia; disorders usually first evident in infancy, childhood or adolescence; and subtance-related disorders.

Involuntary clients

Conveying empathic understanding reduces the level of threat perceived by the client and mitigates his or her defensiveness, conveys interest and helpful intent, and creates an atmosphere conducive to behavior change.

4 Elements of an Authentic Message

Describe the situation or targeted behavior in neutral or descriptive terms. In their messages, clients often omit references or make only vague references to the situations that prompted their responses.

DSM-IV-TR

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is an important tool for understanding and formulating mental and emotional disorders.

Authentic Responding Initiated by Social Workers

Disclosing Past Experiences A fundamental guideline that applies to such situations is that social workers should be certain they are focusing on themselves to meet the therapeutic needs of their clients.

Distorted attributions

Fixed beliefs about others: "She'll never change. She never has. I think we're wasting our time and money on counseling."

Axis V

Global Assessment of Functioning or "GAF" scores. A 0-100 scale on which the professional assigns a numeric score of psychological, social and occupational functioning at the time of evaluation.

4 Elements of an Authentic Message

Identify the specific impact of the problem situation or behavior on others. Authentic messages often stop short of identifying the specific effects of the situation on the sender or on others, even though such information would be very appropriate or helpful. Social workers can identify how specific client behaviors negatively impact not only the social worker but also the clients themselves.

Action and Maintenance

Implement the changes identified and take steps to avoid problem recurrences.

Ethnic minority

In assessing the functioning of someone from an ethnic minority, it is important to consider the degree to which he or she experiences a goodness of fit with the culture in which he or she is situated.

Emotional constriction

Individuals who are experiencing constriction may appear unexpressive and withholding in relationships.

anhedonia

Individuals who are unable to feel joy or to express many pleasureable emotions.

Eco-map

It identifies and organizes relevant environmental factors outside of the individual or family context. They are useful in clarifying the supports and streses in the client's environment, revealing patterns such as social isolation, conflicts, or unresponsive social systems.

Reality Testing

It is a critical index to a person's mental health.

Schizophrenia

It is a psychotic disorder that causes marked impairment insocial, educational, and occupatioal functioning.

Dementia

It is characterized by "multiple cognitive deficits that include memory impairment and at least one of the following: aphasis (deterioration in language functioning) apraxia (difficulty with motor activities) agnosia (Failure to recognize familiar objects) disturbance in executive functioning (abstract thinking and planning, sequencing, and ceasing complex activities)

Mental Retardation

It is defined as lower-than-average intelligence and "significant limitations in adaptive functioning in at least two of the following skill areas: communication, self care, home living, social/interpersonal skills, work, leisure, health and safety.

Inordinate apprehension

It is often demonstrated by muscle tension, constant fidgeting or shifts in posture, hand wringling, lip-biting, and similar behaviors---usually indicates that a client is fearful, suspicious, or exceptionally uncomfortable.

Scaling motivation

It is similar to scaling problems or concerns. It involves asking clients to estimate the degree to which they feel hopeful about resolution, or perhaps the degree to which they have given up hope.

Self Disclosure

It is the conscious and intentional revelation of information about oneself through both verbal expressions and nonverbal behaviors (e.g. smiling, grimacing, or shaking one's head in disbelief). Viewed from a therapeutic perspective, self disclosure encourages clients to reciprocate with trust and openness.

Religion

It is the socially sanctioned institution based on those spiritual practices and beliefs.

spirituality

It is the totality of the human experience that cannot be broken into individual components.

Older Americans Resources and Services Questionnaire (OARS)

It provies information about the client's functioning across a variety of domains, including economic and social resources and activities of daily living.

Assessment

It refers to a process occurring between practitioner and client, in which information is gathered, analyzed and synthesized to provide a concise picture of the client and his or her needs and strengths.

Self disclosure

It refers to the sharing with the client of opinions, thoughts, feelings, reactions to the client, and personal experiences of the practitioner. We define as the conscious and intentional revelation of information about oneself through both verbal expressions and nonverbal behaviors (e.g., smiling, grimacing, or shaking one's head in disbelief). Viewed from a therapeutic perspective, self-disclosure encourages clients to reciprocate with trust and openness.

Social Network Grid

Key persons in clients' social networks Areas of life in which the support occurs Specified types of support provided by each person The degree to which support persons are critical Whether the support is reciprocal or unidirectional The degree of personal closeness The frequency of contacts Length of the relationship

History of the problem....

Namely how long it has existed. Knowing when the problem developed and under what circumstances assists in further evaluating the degreeof the problem, unraveling psychosocial factor associated with the problem, determining the source of motivation to seek assistance, and planning appropriate interventions.

A Paradigm for Responding Authenticity

Note that the student uses all of the elements of the paradigm: identifying specific feelings (hurt, puzzlement, frustration, fear); describing the events that occurred in a neutral, nonblaming manner; and identifying the impact she feared these events might have upon the client-social worker relationship.

Three major reasons to explore emotional problems:

People open gain relief simply by expressing troubling emotions related to their problems. Because emotions strongly influence behavior, the emotional reactions of some people impel them to behave in ways that exacerbate or contribute to their difficulties. Intense reactions often become primary problems, overshadowing the antecedent problematic situation.

Cognitive Flexibility

People with cognitive flexibility generally seek to grow, to understand the part they play in their difficulties, and to understand others; these individuals can also ask for assistance without perceiving such a request to e an admission of weakness or failure.

Emotional excesses

People with emotional excesses may have a "short fuse", losing control and reacting intensely to even mild provocations.

Axis II

Personality disorders such as borderline, anti-social, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive, schizoid, paranoid and Mental Retardation.

4 Elements of an Authentic Message

Personalize messages by using the pronoun "I". When attempting to respond authentically, both social workers and clients commonly make the mistake of starting their statements with "You". Beginning messages with "I" encourages senders to own responsibility for their feelings and to personalize their statements.

Five-Stage Model For Change

Precontemplation, contemplation, determination, action, and maintenance.

Distorted attributions

Pseudoscientific explanations: "My family has the gene for lung cancer. I know I'll get it, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Axis IV

Psychological and environmental problems, or "PEPs" such as educational problems, problems related to interaction with the legal system/crime, housing problems.

Distorted attributions

Psychological labeling: "Mother is senile, she can't be given a choice in this matter."

Seeking exceptions

Questions that determine when the problem does not exist or does not occur. The answer may refer to different sitesm times, or contexts. Exploration then asks the client to elaborate on what is different in those incidents and what other factors might cause it to be different.

Distorted attributions

Reference to being "fixed" religious or philosophical principles, natural laws, or social forces: "Sure, I already have as many children as I want. But I don't really have a choice. The church says that birth control is against God's will."

Openness and self disclosure

Sharing opinions, thoughts, feelings, personal experiences of yours

Positive Feedack: A Form of Authentic Responding

Social workers often employ (or should employ) this skill in supplying information to clients about positive attributes or specific areas in which they demonstrate strengths, effective coping mechanisms, and incremental growth. In so doing, social workers enhance their clients' motivation to change and foster hope for the future.

Experiencing Discomfort in Sessions

Sometimes intense discomfort may indicate that something in the sessionis going awry and needs to be addressed. It is important to reflect on your discomfort, seeking to identify events that seem to be causing or exacerbating it (e.g., "I'm feeling very uneasy because I don't know how to respond when my client says things like "You seem to be too busy to see me' or 'I''m sure worth your trouble'").

Assessing Environnmental Systems

The assessment focuses on the transactions between the two; or the goodness of fit between the person and his or her environment.

Determination Phase

The client is committed to action and works with the clinician to develop a plan for change.

Contemplation Phase

The client recognizes his or her problem and the consequences that result.

Flight of ideas

The client's response seems to "take off based on a particular word or thought, unrelated to logical progression of the original point of the communication.

Members of certain groups may have particular need for enhanced SSSs....

The elderly Abused and neglected children Teenage parents Persons with AIDS Persons with severe mental illness, and their families The terminally ill Persons with disabilities Person who experience geographical and/or cultural dislocation as refugees and immigrants

Empathic Communication (Empathy)

The first dimension of empathy, empathic recognition, is a precondition of the second dimension, demonstrating through accurate reflection of feelings that the social worker comprehends the client's inner experiencing.

Motivation

The goals are to determine whether areas of dissatisfaction or interest on the client's part can be identified and used as a source of motivation. When and if the client acknowledges a problem, the boundaries of the problem will become clear, and the exploration can then proceed in a typical fashion.

Two-dimensional matrix framework

The horizontal axis ranges from environmental to individual factors.

Cues for Authentic Responding

The impetus for social workers to respond authentically may emanate from (1) clients' messages that request self-disclosure or (2) social workers' decisions to share perceptions and reactions they believe will be helpful.

Attributions

The next elements of assessments involves understanding and describing the client's perceptions and definitions of the problem. The meanings people place on events ('"meaning attributions") are as important as the events themselves, because they influence the way people respond to their difficulties.

reciprocal interaction

The person acts upon and responds to the external world's reactions (and vice versa).

Looseness of association or derailment

The practitioner "can understand the sequence of the words", but the direction they take seems to be governed not by logic but by rhymes, puns, or other rules that might be apparent to the patient but mean nothing to you.

Facilitative conditions or core conditions

These conditions or skills were originally denoted by Carl Rogers (1957) as empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence. These facilitative conditions are associated with positive outcomes.

Antecedents

They often give valuable clues about the behavior of one participant that may provoke or offend other participant , thereby triggering a negative reaction, followed by a counter negative reaction, thus setting the problematic situation in motion.

Diagnostic labels serve many purposes:

They provide a language through which professionals and patients can communicate a commonly understood constellation of symptoms.

Scaling the problems

This involves asking the client to estimate, on a scale of 1 to 10, the severity of the problem. The response can help in tracking changes over time, open up the opportunity to ask what accounts for the current level of difficulty or relief, and determine what it might take to move from the current level to a higher point on the scale.

Personal Self-Disclosing Statement

This statement centers on struggles or problems the social worker is currently experiencing or has experiences that are simialr to the client's problems "As you talk about your problems with your children, it reminds me of similar difficulties I had with mine when they were that same age."

genogram

This tool, which is similar to a family tree, graphically depicts relationships within the family, dates of births and deaths, illnesses, and other significant life events.

Distorted attributions

Unchangeable factors: "I've never been an affectionate person. It's just not in my character."

Issues to be assessed in all situations:

What (if any) current or impending legal mandates must the client and social worker consider? *If the client is mandated to receive services or faces other legal concerns, this factor may shape the nature of assessment and the way the client presents himself or herself.

Issues to be assessed in all situations:

What does the client see as his or her primary problems or concerns? *Referred to as "starting where the client is", this question highlights social work's emphasis on client self-determination nd commitment to assisting clients (where legal, ethical and possible) to reach their own goals.

Positive Feedback

When sent consistently, positive messages also have the long-range effect of helping clients who have low self-esteem to develop a more positive self-image. Positive feedback can have the additional effect of increasing clients' confidence in their own coping ability.

Emotional blunting

a muffled or apathetic response to material that would typically evoke a strong response.

Empathic communication plays...

a vital role in nurturing and sustaining the helping relationship and in providing the vehicle through which the social worker becomes emotionally significant and influential in the client's life.

Testing and screening instruments are useful...

and expedient methods of quanitfying data and behaviors. They are also essential components in evidence-based practice in that they "enhance the reliability and validity of the assessment and and provide a baseline for monitoring and evaluation."

Authenticity also involves being nondefensive...

and human enough to admit one's errors to clients.

The scope and focus of the written product....

and of the assessment itself will vary depending on three factors: the role of the social worker, the setting in which he or she works, and the needs presented by the client.

Ethnic minority clients

are actually members of two cultures or perhaps more, depending on their identities and differences in the parents' families of origin, so that their functioning must be considered in relationship to both their culture of origin and the majority culture.

Authentic social workers relate....

as people, expressing their feelings and assuming responsibility for them rather than denying the feelings or blaming the client for causing them.

Observations of interactions.....

between spouses or partners, family members, and groups members also often enlightening.

The information obtained from...

client interviews is usually the primary source of assessment information.

Workers must possess...

cultural sensitivity and the capacity to take many perspectives when viewing client's situations and drawing conclusions about them.

Clients commonly engage in transactions with the following systems:

ef).The family and extended family or kinship network The social network (friends, neighbors, co-workers, religious leaders and associates, club members, and cultural groups) Public institutions (educational, recreational, law enforcement and protection, mental health, social service, healthcare, employment, economic security, legal and judicial, and various governmental agencies.) Personal service providers (doctor, dentist, barber or hairdresser, bartender, auto mechanic, landloard, banker) Religious/spiritual belief system

A final source of information.....

for assessment is the social worker's personal experience based on direct interaction with clients.

Assessment involves an actual....

formulation or statement at a given time regarding the nature of client's problems, resources and other resourc and other related factors.

Another aspect of assessment is the task of....

identifying the skills that clients need to ameliorate their difficulties. This information enables you to negotiate appropriate and feasible goals aimed at developing skills.

Personality disorders may...

impede the development of a trusting and effective treatment relationship.

Discovering meaning attributes...

is also vital because these beliefs about cause and effect can be powerful and may represent barriers to change.

Social problems such as

joblessness or incarceration may limit the client's access to needed treatment for substance abuse.

Moderation distortions often involve...

marked misinterpretations of the motives of others and may severely impair interpersonal relationships.

Some psychiatric problems

may emerge as a result of substance use (e.g., paranoia or depression.)

Self disclosures of current problems...

may undermine the confidence of clients, who may well wonder how social workers can presume to help others when they have haven't successfully resolved their own problems.

Direct observation of....

nonverbal behavior adds information about emotional states and reactions such as anger, hurt, embarrassment, and fear.

Assessments that draw multiple sources...

of data can provide a thorough, accurate, and helpful representation of the client's history, strengths, and challenges.

Determining when problematic behaviors occur..

often yields valuable clues about factors at play in client's problems.

OARS

open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening, and summarizing.

The assessment is a fluid and dynamic...

process that involves receiving, analyzing, and synthesizing new information as it emerges during the entire course of a given case.

The frequency of problematic behavior....

provides an index to both the pervasiveness of a problem and its effects on the participants.

Natural support systems include....

relatives, friends, neighbors, co-workers and close associates from school, social groups, or one's faith community.

This understanding of the presenting problem is

significant because it reflects the client's immediate perceptions of the problem and is the impetus for seeking help.

With respect to the first constraint,...

social workers must avoid misconstruing authenticity as granting free license to do whatever they wish, especially with respect to expressing hostility.

Motivational interviewing is a...

specialized person-centered method for addressing ambivalence and enhancing motivation. In this framework, client-worker interactions are dominated by OARS.

It is often wise to explore..

specifically the client's use of alcohol or other substances, exposure to abuse or violence, the presence of health problems, depression or other mental health problems, and use of prescription medication.

Mild distortions may be associated with....

stereotypical perceptions (e.g., "All social workrs are liberals" or "The only interest men have in women is sexual.")

SOAP Notes

subjective observations, objective data, assessments and plans

Cognitive/Perceptual

the assessment of how clients perceive and think about themselves and the environment within which they find themselves, is a critical factor in understanding their problem(s). how they perceive and think about the events and people who are important to them determine to a large extent, how they feel about themselves and their problems. the meaning or interpretations of events--rather than the events themselves--motivate human beings to behave as they do.

Intra-psychic

the assessment of the intra-psychic functioning of your client will depend to a large extent on the degree to which you accept those theoretical explanations that postulate explanations of internal psychological processes such as ego functioning, defense mechanisms, id, super ego, the unconscious intra-psychic conflict and resolution. Intra-psychic constructs have given way to cognitive and behavioral theories with an objective to shorter term interventions approaches.

While some data are common to all interviews,

the focus of a particular interview and assessment formulation will vary acording to the social worker's mission theoretical framework, or other factors.

The second constraint reiterates...

the importance of social workers' responding to clients' needs rather than their own.

Authenticity

the sharing of self by relating in a natural, sincere, spontaneous,open and geniune manner...means that social workers' verbalizations are congruent with their actual feelings and thoughts.

Physical Environment refers to...

the stability and adequacy of one's physical surroundings and whether the environment fosters or jeopardizes the client's health and safety.

Assessments describe.....

the symptoms that support a particular diagnosis but they go further to help us understand the client's history and background, the effect of the symptoms on the client, the available support and resources to manage the problem, and so on.

Cognitive dissonance may result...

when clients discover inconsistencies between their values and behaviors.

Self help groups is....

where members look to themselves for mutual aid and social support.

To emphasize strengths and empowerment during the assessment process social workers should...

1. Give preeminence to the client's understanding of the facts. 2. Discover what the client wants. 3. Assess personal and environmental strengths on multiple levels.

In order to depend on strengths in assessments...

1. practitioners must be sensitive to them and skillful in utilizing them to accomplish case goals. 2. Social workers who fail to account for strengths and selectively attend to pathology are ill equipped to determine the client's potential for growth and the steps needed to get there. 3. A large proportion of clients need help in enhancing their self-esteem.

List of strengths

10. Having the capacityy for introspection or for examining situations by considering different perspectives. 11. Demonstating the capacity for self-control. 12. Being able to function effectively in stressful situations. 13. Demonstrating the abilitiy to consider alternative courses of actions and the needs of other when solving problems.

List of strengths

4. Being resourceful and creative inmaking the most out of limited resources. 5. Seeking to further knowledge, education, and skills. 6. Expressing caring feelings to family members and friends

List of strengths

7. Asserting one's rights rather than submitting to injustice. 8. Being responsible in work or financial obligations 9. Seeking to understand the needs and feelings of others.

Issues to be assessed in all situations:

What if any potentially serious health or safety concern might require the social worker's and client's attention?

Developmental stages

In determining clients unmet needs and wants, it is essential to consider the development stage of the individual, client, couple or family.

DSM-IV-TR Concerns

It excessively focuses on individual pathologies over strengths and societal and environmental problems.

The miracle question

It helps the practitioner to determine the client's priorities and to operationalize the areas for change. Eventually the social worker asks, "If, while you were asleep, a miracle occurred and your problem was solved, how would things be different when you woke up?" This technique helps the client envision the positive results of the change process and elicits important information for structuring specific behavioral interventions.

Self Involving Statement

It is a message that expresses the social worker's personal reaction to the client during the course of a session. "I'm impressed with the progress you've made this past week. You applied what we discussed last week and have made another step forward learning to control angry feelings."

Authenticity (genuineness)

It is defined as the sharing of self by relating in a natural, sincere, spontaneous, open and genuine manner. Being authentic, or genuine, involves relating personally so that expressions are spontaneous rather than contrived.

Axis III

Physical disorders such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hypertension. Clinicians must note the source of this information, for example, "patient report" or "physician referral".

Requests from Clients for Personal Information

Self-disclosing responses may or may not be appropriate, depending on the social worker's assessment of the client's motivation for asking a particular question.

4 Elements of an Authentic Message

Share feelings that lie at varying depths. Doing so is particularly vital when social workers experience strong negative gfeelings (e.g., dislike, anger, repulsion, disgust, boredom) toward a client, because an examination of the deeper aspects of feelings often discloses more positive feelings toward the client.

Timing and Intensity of Self-Disclosure

Social workers should avoid sharing perosnal feelings and experiences until they have established rapport and trust with their clients and the clients have, in turn. The danger in premature self-disclosure is that such responses can threaten cleients and lead to emotional retreat at the very time when it is vital to reduce threat and defensiveness.

Brief solution-focused therapy

The therapy asserts that small changes can lead to larger changes, that focusing on the present can help the client tap into unused capacities and generate creative alternatives, and that paying attention to solutions is more relevant than focusing on problems.

Two-dimensional matrix framework

The vertical axis consists of potential strengths and resources at one end with potential deficits, challenges, and obstacles are shown at the other end.

Motivation

When motivation lies outside the client, it is more difficult to identify the parameters of the problem. After attempting to understand and reduce the client's negativism about being pressured to seek help, you engage the client in an exploration of his or her life situation.

An assessment issue regarding client's fluency

is how the client's fluency in English may contribute to the presenting problem. Language differences can block acess to esential community resources especially for clients isolated from their cultural reference groups and limit access to information through newspapers, computers, radio, and television.

Culturally competent assessment requires....

knowledge of cultural norms, acculturation, and language differences; the ability to differentiate between individual and culturally linked attributes; the initiative to seek out needed infomation so that evaluations are not biased and services are culturally appropriate; and an understanding of the ways that cultural differences may reveal themselves in the assessment process.

Diagnoses are...

labels or terms that may be applied to an individual or his or her situation. It can reflect a medical condition, mental disorder or other classification.

Wants consist of...

strong desires that motivate behavior and that, when fulfilled, enhance satisfaction and well-being.

Behavior theorists suggest

that actions and emotions are created, maintained, "and extinguished through principles of learning". As such, the assessment focuss on the conditions surrounding troubling behaviors, the conditions that reinforce the behavior, and the consequences and secondary gain that might result.

The presenting problem and the exploration...

that follows usually identify key individuals, groups, or organizations that are participants in the client's difficulties.

Human needs include....

the universal necessities (adequate nutrition, safety, clothing, housing and healthcare). They are critical and must be at least partially met for human beings to survive and maintain sound physical and mental well-being.

Network therapy

these practitioners mobilize 40 to 50 significant people who are willing to come together in a period of crisi for one or more members of the network. The goal is unite their efforts in tightening the social network of relationships for the purpose of offering support, reassurance, and solidarity to troubled members and other members of this social network.

Determining the frequency of problematic behaviors....

thus helps clarify the degree of difficulty and the extent to which it impairs the daily functioning of clients and their families.

Assessments represent opportunities....

to determine whether the agency or individual social worker is best suited to address the client's needs and wants.

Events that immediately precede decisions....

to seek help are particularly informative. Sometimes referred to as precipitating events, these antecedents often yield valuable clues about critical stresses that might otherwise be overlooked.

Diagnoses can become self-fulfilling prophecies.....

wherein clients, their families, and their helpers begin to define the client only in terms of the diagnostic label.

Determining where problematic behavior occurs...

will assist you in identifying areas that warrant further exploration and in pinpointing factors associated with the behavior in question.

Assessments derived from cognitive theory...

would focus on the nature of the client's thoughts and schemas (cognitive patterns), causal attributions, the basis for the client's beliefs, and antecedent thoughts in problematic situations.