Handy List of Words for Healthcare Workers

As a healthcare worker, you are required to keep case notes. It’s important to maintain detailed records through case documentation. It allows you to create successful outcomes for your clients. Always make sure your case notes are useful. Do your best to make sure they provide insight and value. Analyze your notes and see if they would be useful to another case worker. You want to make sure you give an accurate picture of the client’s history, as well as their current situation.

It’s important to use language that is non-judgmental. Neutral language is the most common form of case notes in social work. It’s also helpful if you avoid making assumptions and remember to stick to the concrete facts. You should always indicate clearly when a comment is an observation. It is imperative you make it clear when you are recording the client’s own words by using quotation marks.

Notes are important in this type of work because the courts can subpoena records and other reports; you have to be careful about what you say about your respective client. Write your case notes immediately after you have spoken with a client. Here’s a handy list of words that many social workers use while writing up their case notes:

• Acknowledged
  Actively Listened
  Addressed
  Advised
  Advocated
  Asked
  Assisted
  Challenging
  Checked In
  Clarified
  Collaborated
  Commended
  Confronted
  Conducted
  Conveyed
  Crisis Intervention
  Developed
  Educated
  Empathized
  Empowered
  Encouraged
  Ensured
  Established
  Explained
  Explored
  Expressed
  Facilitated
  Focusing/Refocusing
  Framing/Reframing
  Goal (setting)
  Development/Goal Setting
  Guided
  Highlighted
  Honoring
  Identified
  Information Giving/Gathering
  Informed
  Interacted
  Interpreted
  Joined
  Modeled
  Observed
  Physical Activity
  Played
  Praised
  Presented
  Probed
  Problem Solving
  Prompted
  Rapport-building
  Recapped
  Recommended
  Redirected
  Reflected
  Reflective Listening
  Reframed
  Reinforced
  Reiterated
  Reminded
  Reviewed
  Role-played
  Social Skills Practice
  Suggested
  Supported
  Teaching/Lecturing
  Urge

Stomp Out the Stigma of Postpartum and Perinatal Depression

Many women feel guilty about feelings of separation that arise before and after the birth of their child. While postpartum depression has become more widely discussed and accepted, antenatal and perinatal depression are often overlooked or simply unheard of. If this is your first pregnancy, everything likely seems overwhelming. How can you prepare yourself for something that you’ve never experienced? Don’t hope for the best and ignore the possibility, create a psychotherapy plan during the early stages of your pregnancy.

The surge of hormones you experience during the late stages of pregnancy can create many significant changes in your life. Appearing in its most basic form, foods you once loved might suddenly seem unappealing. The bigger changes will be the change in lifestyle and dealing with exhaustion. If you are a professional, your regimented schedule will change to accommodate your new child. A simple change in schedule can cause more stress than you might realize. Social activities may become more difficult causing you to feel isolated. Depression doesn’t have to run in your family to develop the symptoms of postpartum and antenatal depression.

Devise a plan for every stage of pregnancy. Prepare for the both the slim possibilities and the inevitable changes. The more planning you do and the earlier you do it will make for a much less stressful pregnancy experience.

For more information on creating a pregnancy psychotherapy plan download our class Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Antenatal and Postpartum Depression

The Reality of an Aging Population: Is Freedom 55 Attainable?

By Megan Ferguson

Dementia is a debilitating illness that is characterized by degeneration of memory, cognition, behavior and the ability to perform activities of daily living. Approximately 35.6 million people worldwide have dementia and there are 7.7 million new cases every year and this is subject to continually increase as consequence of population aging and the projected increase of the aging population. In addition, although dementia mainly affects older adults, it is not attributed to an age-related change as it may lead to disability and lack of independence among older adults around the world. Although incidences of dementia, the most common being Alzheimer’s disease, have been rapidly increasing, no treatment has been developed to cure the disease or reverse its deterioration of the brain and individuals’ functioning capacity. Therefore, research needs to take place to establish inexpensive ways to help individuals reduce their risk of dementia and maintain cognitive function. Recent studies suggest that people who delay retirement have a decreased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. However, researchers believe that the age of onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia is affected by many more complex risk factors and protective factors that extend beyond simply delaying retirement, which makes this topic relevant to the future health of older adults.

Therefore, since the amount of people with dementia is expected to double by 2040, it is evident that a means to reduce the risk of dementia needs to be developed. However, older adults must decide what activities will be the most effective in helping them maintain cognitive and mental health throughout old age. For some this may be continuing to work or retirement, depending on their current occupation and job satisfaction or other unique ways of exercising their brains that will work for them. Due to the growing aging population and growing risk of dementia in the aging population, Freedom 55 may be attainable for some; however, not for all.

References

Basu, R. (2013). Education and dementia risk: results from the aging demographics
memory study. Research on Aging, 35, 7-31.

Beeri, M.S. & Goldbourt, U. (2011). Late-life dementia predicts mortality beyond
established midlife risk factors. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19,
79-86.

Lupton, M.K., Stahl, D., Artcher, N., Foy, C., Poppe, M., Lovestone, S. et al. (2009).
Education, occupation and retirement age effects on age of onset of Alzheimer’s
disease. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 25, 30-36.

Kryscio, R.J., Abner, E.L., Lin, Y., Cooper, G.E., Fardo, D.W. et al. (2013). Adjusting
for mortality when identifying risk factors for transitions to mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 35, 823-832.

Marchione, M. (2013, July 15). Delaying retirement can delay dementia, large study
finds. The Associated Press. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/health/delaying-retirement-can-delay-dementia-large-study-finds-6C10637029.

World Health Organization (2012). Dementia Retrieved November 15, 2013 from

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs362/en/.

I’m a Social Worker, What’s your Superpower

By Megan Ferguson

Dr. Anna Scheyett, Dean of the College of Social Work for the University of South Carolina discusses the concept of “social workers as superheroes” in her TED Talk.  Social workers are social change agents and fight for social justice.  Everyone will meet a social worker in some point of their lives as we all experience turmoil at various points of our lives.  Additionally, social workers wear a variety of “hats” and work in a variety of settings such as addictions, child welfare, corrections, community development, gerontology, healthcare, mental health, public assistance, disability services, immigrant and refugee services, social policy and many other areas.

Connecting this article to its title, “I’m a social worker, what’s your superpower”, we operate from the strengths perspective and focus on individuals’ strengths, abilities and talents rather than deficits.  Social workers’ roles may not be prescriptive, but we fill in the gaps wherever the filling is needed.

Dr. Scheyett’s TED Talk can be found by searching YouTube.

Care Planning from an Interdisciplinary Framework

By Megan Ferguson

Care planning involves answering the following questions:
1. What are the problems/issues?
2. Who is involved?
3. How do we (as professionals) intervene?
4. What are the goals of the intervention?
5. How do we evaluate our intervention?

In order to build on this framework, interdisciplinary care involves teamwork from a variety of professionals. For example, within a hospital, all members of the healthcare team (doctor, nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, social worker, etc.) may be working towards a safe discharge plan for a patient to return home. Interdisciplinary care must occur to bring about improved patient outcomes such as more efficient practice, an increased individualized and patient centered approach and improved quality in care. If healthcare professionals do not have the same intervention goals, the patient may suffer. Therefore, if practitioners focus on a single, shared goal, a patient will be more successful in receiving the care that they require.

In addition, the need for interdisciplinary care should be increasing with:
• A growing aging population with chronic and complex needs
• The increasing knowledge and skill required to provide comprehensive care to patients
• The increasing specialization in healthcare fields
• The growing encouragement to develop multi-faceted teams in healthcare, and
• The increased emphasis on continuity in care planning.

Therefore, changes in practice approaches and interventions need to take place to advocate for the use of integrated care plans. With a growing aging demographic and the development of more complex health problems, it is crucial that interdisciplinary care is used in all areas of the healthcare field. Therefore, it must be represented in practice to improve quality and efficiency of care to all individuals.

Source: Andrew Booth, Steven Ariss,Tony Smith, Pam Enderby,and Alison Roots4 Susan A Nancarrow, “Ten principles of good interdisciplinary team work,” Human Resource Health, 2013: 1-11

Social Workers: The Power of Vulnerability from Brené Brown

Understanding humanity is an important trait for any social worker. The need for human connection – the ability to feel belonged and to love is something that every human being wants, and needs. Human beings just want to be happy.

In this 20 minute TED Talk, you’ll find out what Brené Brown learned about being truly happy through all of her research.

In the “Power of Vulnerability”  TED Talk,  Sociologist Brené Brown shares what she learned with her research on what it takes to be happy. She studied  people intensely and found that we need to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, have compassion towards others, be courageous, embrace all of the imperfections that we have and ‘to be seen.’ Brown shares that in order to be seen, we need to let others see us in our vulnerable state. We need to love with all of our hearts, give people the utmost compassion and be ‘us.’

10 Memes That Every Social Worker Can Relate To

Being a social worker isn’t always easy. Here are some memes to help you feel that you’re not alone.

In order to help people grow mentally stronger, you have to be mentally alert. Coffee is a social worker’s best friend. A morning without coffee is a slower day in general, and that can be wearying.

Only social workers can truly appreciate this one! If you’re a social worker, you’ll find great satisfaction when you see the wheels click in a client’s head. It’s the greatest feeling in the world when you see a client finally understand the lesson you’ve been teaching.

So true! Social workers develop and advise on social policy legislation. They spend a lot of their time conducting social research and assist in community development.

Sometimes the job will drive you crazy and make you cry, but Social workers are in this field because they truly care about making a difference!

Social workers are in this field because they care more about helping people. They typically specialize in fields of practice such as child welfare, family services, mental health, corrections or addictions.

The job involves having to keep a lot of secrets. This is because social workers provide counsel and therapy to assist clients in developing skills to deal with and resolve their personal problems.

Social work is truly a rewarding experience. Social workers act as advocates for client groups within their community.

Paperwork is your friend when you’re on the job. Social workers are constantly filing paper work because they are always interviewing clients individually, in families, or in groups, to assess their situation and problems.

Social work involves investigating cases of child abuse or neglect. Therefore, your investigation skills make you heroes at the end of the day!

On top of all the paper work, you plan programs of assistance for clients including referrals to agencies that provide even more legal aid, housing and medical treatment for your clients. This is your field of expertise. You were born to do this.

Did you like these memes? Take a look at some of our most popular Social Worker continuing education unit classes below

• Social Worker Cultural Competence and Diversity
• Social Worker Suicide Risk Assessment and Treatment
• Social Worker Mindfulness
• Social Worker Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy
• Social Worker Substance Abuse Treatment and Domestic Violence

Antipsychotics May Increase Childs Risk for Medical Issues

Our society can sometimes overuse psychotropic medications. It could be for different reasons but most companies make drugs like this because people believe they are the solution for our problems. Contrary to popular belief, antipsychotics are not ‘quick fix’ solutions. When it comes to children, these type of drugs are frequently misused. Some of these drugs are used because parents sometimes have an unrealistic desire to have their children behave like robots. Well-behaved children would most likely decrease the stress in our busy lives, but giving them antipsychotics is the wrong way to go.
In fact, a new study suggests that prescription antipsychotics can pose a significant risk to children’s health. Researchers have discovered that initiating antipsychotics may actually elevate a child’s risk not only for significant weight gain, but also for Type II diabetes by nearly 50 percent. You really have to evaluate your child before taking on this method.
Some children can truly benefit from antipsychotics, and those are generally the children who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Recently, more and more children are significantly overprescribed and that’s the main problem. Most of these kids just need parents who are engaged and supportive. Unnecessary consumption of antipsychotics can be very detrimental to their health.
Source: Antipsychotics May Hike Kids’ Risk for Medical Issues (http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/04/08/antipsychotics-may-increase-childs-risk-for-medical-issues/83277.html)

5 Celebrity Social Workers

Social work is truly a rewarding career. Many people who have a career in social work have talents and gifts that also allow them to excel in other professional areas. Plenty of people find a career in social due to their backgrounds or experiences in life; this can force a person to develop an overwhelming sense of compassion for people in need. People step into this field due to their desire to help and serve those around them. Here are some examples of celebrities who active in social work before they became famous with among the media:

Samuel L. Jackson
Before Jackson started his award-winning career in acting, he worked as a social worker for two years in Los Angeles. He graduated with a BA degree from Morehouse University in Atlanta in 1969. After working as a social worker, Jackson went on to star in popular films such as Pulp Fiction, Coach Carter and now Marvel’s Avengers film franchise as Nick Fury.

Alice Walker
After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, Walker began her career in social work. She worked as a social worker, teacher, and lecturer during the Civil Rights Movement. Later in life, she gained popularity for her literary works. She is most famous for writing The Color Purple.  Ms. Walker won a Pulitzer Prize for writing that novel.

John Amos

Amos studied social work at Colorado State University after receiving an athletic scholarship to play college football. He decided to major in social work because he felt like it would prepare him to work within the African-American community. After graduating from college, he went on to become a social worker at the New York’s Vera Institute of Justice. Soon after moving to New York he caught the acting bug and earned his first break-out role as a weather man on the Mary Tyler-Moore show in 1970.

Suze Orman
Before starting an extremely lucrative career in finance, Suze Orman received a B.A. in social work. She then struggled for many years and worked as a waitress until the age of 30 before earning her first financial role at Merrill Lynch.

Martin Short
We know Mr. Short as a comedian and actor, but before he started entertaining people he earned a degree in social work from McMaster University. He then worked as a part-time social worker in Toronto while building his entertainment career in comedy.

Solution-focused therapy

Solution-focused therapy is a competency-based model that focuses on clients’ strengths and previous successes rather than previous weaknesses and challenges. In addition, solution-focused therapy operates within a focus on clients’ understanding of his/her own concerns/problems or situations and what clients want to change to improve their situation. The basic beliefs behind solution-focused therapy include:
• A focus on solutions rather than problems.
• A therapeutic process that focuses on clients’ desires for change and future goals rather than previous problems or conflicts.
• Encouragement to build-off and continue to engage in current useful behaviors, abilities and strengths.
• A belief that not all problems occur all the time. Thus, in instances where the problem could of occurred and did not can be used by a client and practitioner to work toward constructing solutions.
• A belief that solutions already exist for clients.
• A belief that small incremental changes can lead to larger changes that can be sustained.

Within solution-focused therapy, practitioners help clients find alternatives to current undesired patterns of behavior and/or thinking and collaborate with practitioners to construct solutions or alternatives to these patterns. Solution-focused therapy is an excellent approach to meet clients where they are at, collaborate with clients and uphold client self-determination; which are characteristic values of social work practice.