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A supervisor is someone who guides and oversees the work or activities of a student or another counselor. The three major goals of a supervisor include enhancing the skills and knowledge of professional and or student counselors, to ensure the welfare of the clients and maintain control between the client and the student. A supervisor’s responsibility is to mentor and teach students and professionals (Erford, 2010, p. 202-205). The supervisor will challenge, encourage and stimulate a student or professional counselor to help them gain the knowledge to become proficient (Erford, 2010, p. 202-205).

There are different purposes for a counseling supervisor, among them include improving the counselor’s professional and personal growth, encouraging a counselor’s knowledge and advancement of liable counseling services and programs. Among the roles of a supervisor include advocate, case consultant, collaborator and teacher. A supervisor helps counselors explore their counter transference issues. The supervisor support “interpersonal and intrapersonal exploration” of the student or counselor’s teaching and assessment. Supervisors explore diversity issues of counselor, student, and client. (Erford, 2010, p. 202-205).

Model of a supervisor includes developmental approach, models developed for the supervisor and theory-based. When a supervisor works from a theory based supervision model work with students and counselors in the same way of their counseling theory. “Some of the content, focus, and process of supervision are grounded in the supervisor’s counseling model include the developmental approach, models developed and theory based (Smallwood, 2010)

Models of Supervision with Michael Part I

Michael has worked as an intern student for two months under the supervision of Janet. Janet is a theory based supervisor. She uses the person-centered model of supervision (Erford, 2010, p. 202-205). Michael shows a lack of confidence. However, with the person-centered approach, he should gain more confidence because this approach encourages confidence. Janet will use Michael’s experiences to help him gain knowledge of his gain a personal awareness. Janet will not judge his mistakes; instead she will have empathy, and accept his mistakes as a means to learn. Janet will discuss Michael’s difficulties with him as a means of learning from his mistakes.

When Michael shares his concerns with his client, he is letting Janet is aware that he needs and appreciates her suggestions Michael is trying to learn from the way Janet would deal with this situation. Janet may get some ideas from Michael to help him see his own feelings regarding his thoughts (Smallwood, 2010). To help his gain confidence the supervisor works closely with the student and counselor and develops a working relationship. (Smallwood, 2010).

If Janet was a developmental model supervisor, she would encourage Michael to gain confidence by becoming aware of himself and other. She would encourage him to become motivated and gain independence. Michael would be going to Janet for advice because she is the supervisor, and she wants him to be relatively dependent on her. Michael should eventually become more independent and function unaided without seeking approval from his supervisor. (The International Child and Youth Care Network, 2001).

There are eight growth areas that Janet will be helping Michael to attain. These areas include assessment techniques, client conceptualization, interpersonal assessment, intervention, individual differences, professional ethics treatment goals and plans, and skill competence (The International Child and Youth Care Network, 2001).

The discrimination model of supervision is divided into three categorized patient centered, supervisee-centered, and supervisory-matrix-centered. This approach gives the supervisor much authority because their role is “didactic”, allowing the student or counselor to treat the patient. This model focuses on the client, not the student or counselor allows for some interaction between the counselor and the student. In Michael’s case this form of supervision may not work as he has little self esteem or confidence in himself (Smith, 2009)

Part II Importance of Supervision to counselors and professional counselors

The benefits a student or professional counselor gain from supervision include development in personally and professional, gain new strategies, have support, and are given the opportunity to develop professionally (Benshoff, 1992-12-00). Supervision is critical in learning, maintaining and improving professional skills of students and professional counselors. Counselors and professional counselors incorporate their academic training with hands on experience. Supervision also gives counselors the ability to learn about their own style of counseling and examine the strengths and weaknesses. Supervision is also effective in increasing the knowledge of the counselor by giving them the ability to help each other and learn from mistakes (Benshoff, 1992-12-00)

There may be times when supervision is impossible. This is when the counselors work together in what is called a triadic model by rotating the tomes of counselor, commentator and facilitator with peer supervision sections. This helps counselors develop professional counseling skills by implementing them effectively with clients (Benshoff, 1992-12-00).

Supervision helps counselors to learn by teaching or mentoring them. The supervisor challenges, encourages, and stimulates the counselor to give them the knowledge to gain confidence. Supervisors help counselors to develop into exemplary counselors by promoting their personal and professional development by teaching, mentoring, collaborating, and consulting. (Erford, 2010, p. 202-205).

Heading for Conclusion/Summary

Supervision is essential to challenge, stimulate and encourage counselors and professionals by gaining knowledge from advocating, mentoring, teaching, training and collaborating. The focus of counseling supervisors is to facilitate the counselors’ development professionally and personally. Supervisors also consider the diversity of counselors and professionals in the counseling relationship and respect differing opinions and beliefs (Erford, 2010, p. 202-205). There are different models of supervising including the theory based, developmental approach and the models developed for supervision (book). The person centered theory is when supervisors try to build a working relationship with the counselors in order to gain their trust. Supervisors show empathy and genuine concern for the counselor pointing out mistakes, in a way that is not demeaning (Erford, 2010, p. 202-205). A supervisor who correctly uses the person centered theory will help the counselor to have self confidence and the ability to understand the counseling process. When a supervisor uses the cognitive behavioral model they are teaching the counselor appropriate behavior and helping them to develop specific skills needed to allow them to become motivated and gain successful knowledge. (Erford, 2010, p. 202-205). The supervisor assesses the counselor or professional for each issue and helps them work through issues, so they can move on to the next of the three levels. The eight domains of professional counseling that are addressed include assessment techniques, client conceptualization, individual differences intervention skills, treatment goals and plans and theoretical orientation and professional ethics. (Erford, 2010, p. 202-205). Other theories of the discrimination model include Intervention skills, conceptualization skills and personalization skills (Erford, 2010, p. 202-205) .

Introduction

The definition of social work is very complex and controversial. There is no generally accepted definition of what social work is. Social work sits within the broader range of the social care sphere. (Horner, 2003, p.2)

There are three views of social work. The first is the reflexive-therapeutic views. This view sees social work as seeking the best possible well being for individuals, groups and communities in society. (Payne, 1997, p.4) The other view is the socialist-collectivist views; this view sees social work as seeking cooperation and mutual support in society so that oppressed and disadvantaged people can gain power over their own lives. (Payne, 1997, p.4) The last view is the individualist-reformist views. This view sees social work as an aspect of welfare services to individuals in society. (Payne, 1997, p.4) There is a general consensus amongst writers that the three different views are present within the social work discourse. (Payne, 1997, p.6)

The International Association of Schools of Social Work and the International Federation of Social Workers defined social work as a profession that, ‘’promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well being…social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environment. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work ’’. (Citied in Horner, 2003, p.2)

Another definition of social work that was propounded by the former minister for health, Jacqui Smith is as follows, ‘’social work is a very practical job. It is about protecting people and changing their lives, not about being able to give a fluent and theoretical explanation of why they got in to difficulties in the first place .New degree courses must ensure that theory and research directly informs and supports practice. The requirements for social training work set out the minimum standards for entry to social work degree courses and for the teaching and assessment that social work students must receive ’’. (Horner, 2003, p.2) The major difference between these two definitions is that the first definition fails to emphasise the control element of social work practice, which involves the use of legislation by the state to intervene and protect vulnerable children and young people who are at risk, to enforce mental health treatment and services and to protect vulnerable older people. (Horner, 2003, p.3) The second definition focuses on social work as a ‘rational technical activity and its inherent anti-intellectualism’. (Horner, 2003, p.3)

This essay will examine the current roles and functions of social workers in England and Wales.

Key roles and skills of social workers

A lot is expected from social workers. Society expects social workers to protect and care for citizens deemed in need of protection and care and at the same time to care and protect the community as a whole. (Horner, 2003, p.5)

A social worker is employed by the local authority, on behalf of the state and has to work within the confines and constraints of the law. (Horner, 2003, p.4) A social worker must at all times been conversant with relevant legislation and procedure and must abide to them. The social worker is always faced with balancing the rights of vulnerable individuals to fulfil their wishes, whilst at the same time carrying out the state’s need to protect all vulnerable people, sometimes by restricting rights and liberty of others. (Horner, 2003, p.4)

Generally, a social worker is there to give help and support to people who are going through a difficult patch in their lives. A social worker has to ensure that the rights of service users are identified and promoted. (Lymbery and Postle, 2007, p.23) A social worker is a paid professional, ‘’who aims to assist people in overcoming serious difficulties in their lives by providing care, protection or counselling or through social support, advocacy and community work’’. (Collins, 2006, p.516) The role of a social worker is to assist people who are socially excluded from society and are experiencing difficulties in their lives, to get back on their feet. The process of social exclusion revolves around five components: poverty and low income; lack of access to the job market; lack of social support and networks; the overall condition of the local neighbourhood; and exclusion from services. (Collins, 2006, p.505) The role of the social worker is to tackle social exclusion and promote social inclusion. The social worker needs to address approach to practice that will effectively strengthen social networks, maximise options for income and ensure that services are more accessible. (Collins, 2006, p.505)

Social workers have specific legal duties that distinguish them from other groups. A social worker investigates allegations of child abuse. A social worker can apply where necessary and appropriate for a person to be detained in hospital, when his or her mental state presents a risk of harm to self or to other members of the public. A social worker also supervises children in care of the local authority. (Thompson, 2000, p.2)

A social worker requires skills in making assessments personally or jointly with service users and their families in order to discover the strengths, needs and preferred need for each particular service user. The social worker needs to treat each service user as a unique individual and accord the service user the respect he or she deserves. A social worker should be skilled and knowledgeable on how to handle hostile and aggressive situations, without putting her safety or the service user at risk. Most importantly, knowledge of the law, policies and regulations affecting social work practice must be mastered by the social worker.

A social worker is charged with caring for the entire community by protecting and promoting the welfare of the community as well as that of the individual. This might mean enforcing some elements of control over an individual. This at times leads to conflicts and tensions as the social worker is caught in between the community and the individual. (Thompson, 2000, p.3)

Social workers work with young people and their families as well as the elderly. Social work is divided in to adult services and Children services. Adult services includes, working with people with mental health problems or learning disability. Adult services can also include working with people in residential care, working with offenders in the community or working with the elderly.

Children and family social work, is a branch of social work, where the social worker provides assistance and advice to keep families together. It can also involve work in children’s home or providing support to younger people leaving care.

I will focus on children and families social work. Social work with children and families spans a wide range of activities primarily directed at protecting the child. (Cree and Davis, 2007, p.15) It is often a very controversial and volatile area because of the state interference with family life. The government has introduced a lot of policy and organisational changes in children and family services in recent years that have greatly changed the terrain of children and family social work. The 1989 and 2004 Children Acts as well as key policy document such as Department for Education and Skills 2003, Department of Health and Department for Education and Skills 2004 and Secretary of State for Health 2003, have all combined to create a role for social workers which combines contributing to the assessment of the needs of children and young people, protecting them from harm and consulting with other relevant agencies to deliver services that promotes the children’s well being and safety in partnership with the social workers and their families. (Cree and Davis, 2007, p.15)

Social work within the social policy frame work

Collins defined social policy as, ‘’government policy in the area of welfare, and the academic study of its development, implementation and impact’’ (Collins, 2006, p.507)

Modern social work is no longer based on the poor law parish structure, but is governed by legislation and delivered through local government structures, however, some voluntary sector organisations, many of which have their origins in the established and non-conformist churches still provide some services for those that are socially excluded. (Horner, 2003, p.17) Contemporary social work can be seen to play a crucial role in relation to current social problems, concerns about wide spread substance abuse and problems of social disintegration among others. (Horner, 2003, p.26)

Social work deteriorated in the 1980s and 1990s in Britain under the Conservative government. There was little direct political concern with social services during the Conservative, Thatcher administration. (Payne, 2005, p.97)The reasons for the deterioration were: ‘’service failures, particularly in the area of child protection; a professional attack, both from the right wing and the left wing on its social policing role and a political attack on its role in the welfare state’’. (Payne, 2005, p.94) The Labour government under Tony Blair came in to power in 1997. According to Payne, ‘while social care was not a major plank of policy, it was affected by general government policies and priorities, which focused on education and health’’. (Payne, 2005, p.103) The government initiated a modernization agenda which focused on effective delivery of services; including cooperation amongst the multi-agencies and involving service users’ own priorities. The government laid a lot of emphasis on improved care for children and the mentally ill. However, most of the labour government’s policy were slowing building on past policies and did not take a new direction. (Payne, 2005, p.103) The labour government introduced the quality improvement projects. The labour government also brought about increased legislation in to the realm of social work. The General Social Care Council was also set up to take over responsibility for regulating social work education.

Mental health social work has seen a lot of changes in recent years. The 1980s and 1990s saw the closure of the many long stay Victorian asylums and the development of community based alternatives. (Cree and Davis, 2007, p.60) The Mental Health Act 1983 was a land mark legislation in many respects. Section 114 of the Act requires local authorities to provide an approved social worker for mental health service users.

The NHS and Community Care Act 1990 provided a frame work for the organisation and delivery of services under existing legislation. The Act tried to alter the balance of care in four fundamental directions: ‘’ from institutional care to community based care; from public sector to independent sector provision; from NHS to local government responsibilities and from supply led services to needs led services’’. (Horner, 2003, p.76) The social worker had a key role to play in identifying the range and location of services. (Horner, 2003, p.77)

The Children’s Act 1989 reformed the law relating to children. Contemporary social work practice with children, young people and their families is largely governed by the Children’s Act of 1989. (Horner, 2003, p.46) The Children’s Act 2004 provides the legal basis on how social workers, collaborate with other agencies to ensure that the best interest of the child is protected and achieved at all times.

The Human Rights Act 1988, incorporated in to English laws, the European Convention on Human Rights. It gives individuals the power to challenge gross abuses of civil liberties and it also requires legal an administrative action to take account of human rights in the course of any action they under take. (Payne, 2005, p.104)

The future of social work in England and Wales appear to lie in a range of roles in diverse services, heavily regulated by the government and the development of multi professional work, where the social worker interacts with other professions roles. (Payne, 2005, p.105)

Professional principles and values of social work

Social work is a highly regulated profession these days. It is a very difficult and complex profession and any one coming in to the profession will need to exhibit the right temperament. You will need to be in control of your emotions at all times and also avoid being judgemental or stereotyping people. There are professional principles and values social workers must exhibit.

A social worker at all times must maintain the dignity and worth of service users. The social worker should always bear in mind, that she is there to help the service user get back on his feet and not to control him or run his life. A social worker ought to be aware and value the rights and duties of individuals, their families, groups and the entire community at all times.

A social worker must believe in the principle of social justice. This includes ‘’fair access to public services and benefits to achieve human potentials; social development and environmental management in the interests of present and future human welfare’’. (Horner, 2003, p.135) A social worker will need to treat all service users with respect and without any bias based on their sex, colour, or creed. For example, a social worker should have an open mind when working with a paedophile or some one that is mentally unwell.

A social worker’s primary objective is the promotion of social justice. The social worker has as one of his fundamental goals, to meet the personal and social needs of service users in order to help them meet and develop their potentials.

One core value of the social worker is confidentiality. A social worker must maintain absolute confidentiality when dealing with a service user. The social worker should not divulge any information without first obtaining the consent of the service user. This also goes to show that the case worker respects the service user. A social worker must possess integrity. This comprises all the elements of honesty, reliability, openness, equity, and fairness. A social worker needs to be competent in the discharge of her duties. This entails keeping abreast with new laws and legislations in the field of social work.

A social worker needs to address at all times, injustice in the system and explore ways of eliminating them. The social worker should also expose any bad policies that contribute to hardship and social exclusion in society. The social worker should also at all time up hold the civil and political rights of service users as well as their economic and social rights.

Conclusion

Social work has a long way. The profession of social worker is highly regulated today in England and Wales. The work of the social worker is to help vulnerable people in the society, within the constraints of legislations, so that they can get back on to their feet and get on with their lives. A lot of professional principles and values are expected to be imbibed by the modern social worker. Despite the very complex nature of social work and countless policies and legislation, the value of the social worker in our society today can not be overemphasised. Social workers today are highly trained professionals who despite their challenging and demanding jobs continue to ensure that vulnerable people and those that are socially excluded are given all the protection and support they need in order for them to take back control of their lives.

Bibliography

Collins (2002) Internet based dictionary of social work, Harper Collins, Glasgow

Cree, V.E and Davis, A (2002) Social work, voice from the inside, Routledge, Oxon

Horner, N (2003) What is Social work? Context and Perspectives, Learning Matters, Exeter

Koprowska, J (2008) Communications and interpersonal skills in social work, 2nd Edition, Learning Matters, Exeter

Lymbery, M and Postle, K (2007) Social work: A companion to learning, SAGE, London

Payne, M (1997) Modern social work theory, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke

Payne, M (2005) The origins of social work, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke

Shardlow, S and Payne, M (1998) Contemporary issues in social work: Western Europe, Arena, Aldershot

Thompson, N (2000) Understanding social work, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke

Introduction

A common issue in the behavioral science field is attempting to determine who is in need of services, determining where best to spend resources, and in general trying to determine a model of prediction to determine juvenile delinquency in order to apply prevention techniques. It is the goal of this proposal to show that the General Theory of Crimes concept of self-control and the influence it has on determining juvenile delinquency is the better method than other more common models.

Research has shown that self-control moderates some (if not all) of the relationships other theories have with delinquency. One of the more recent theories, the general theory of crime (Gottfredson, Hirschi. 1990), suggests that the concept of self-control is the single best forecaster of crime. Self-control refers to a person’s ability to think of the long-term consequences of antisocial behavior, (Hirschi, 2004). Substantial attention to this theory has resulted in remarkable empirical support for its direct effects on delinquency, yet various external factors (i.e. friends) still appear to have significant additional effects as well, (Pratt, Cullen, 2000). In contrast to relying upon a particular viewpoint, for example those used in the general theory of crime; others suggest using multiple theories at the same time, (Messner, Krohn, Liska, 1989).

Researchers have been investigating the extent to which self-control moderates the association between a variety of outside factors and criminal behaviors; however it is only recently that researchers have started to look at how much self-control influences criminal behavior. Some studies have found that outside factors, such as the area they live in, will have a more significant influence for those with a greater level of self-control, (Wikstrom, Loeber, 2000). In other words, some have suggested that outside influences are simply insignificant for those with low self-control, (Gottfredson, Hirschi, 1990).

As a result, those with some level of self-control will have an influence by outside factors. On the contrary, others have found that social influences (i.e. delinquent peers) have definite effects for those most at risk. For example, Wright and colleagues (2001) suggest that those with little self-control have a greater tendency towards deviant behavior and therefore harmful social influences serve only to worsen that tendency. In contrast, those with high self-control are able to defy the temptation of these negative social influences.

However, it has been suggested that certain individual characteristics could possibly moderate the effects of factors such as those found in social learning theory, (Agnew, 2006). Social learning theory has achieved a rather large amount of empirical support. Current theories may need to look at their concepts, and policies aimed at criminals who don’t have self-control may need to refocus their efforts on social issues that may not be as important for those criminals that show signs of superior levels of self-control.

As mentioned above, it remains uncertain how strong the connections are, and in what way their effects present, however it is believed that the General Theory of Crime presents a more defensible viewpoint to be the best predictor of juvenile delinquency, since it includes self-control. Moreover, the purpose of this proposal is to attempt to provide a greater insight into which of these theories best predict juvenile delinquency, in order to provide better treatment/prevention for this population (i.e. better management with impulses).

Literature Review

The behavioral science field has for a long time searched to find the best way to explain the broad ranges of criminal behavior. Numerous theories have developed due to this most often with distinct and more often than not incompatible suppositions to explain criminal behavior. These explanations vary from sociological factors and individual characteristics, to the more recent interaction between the two effects. Before describing these potential interactive relationships, a few theories will be discussed to show the important contribution each has made on its own.

Social Learning Theory:

Akers presented one of the best known social learning theories, and over the years has been given substantial support. Akers re-examined the theory of differential association put forth by Sutherland, in an attempt to explain criminal behavior that looked at the idea of differential reinforcements, imitation, definitions, and differential associations. The conforming or nonconforming of these factors will be determined by whether or not the behavior is balanced, (Akers, 1998). Differential associations are perhaps one of the most important parts of the social learning theory. The concept of differential association refers to the interaction with different groups, and how antisocial people associate more with each other than they do with those that would be considered pro-social, (Akers, 1985).

Differential associations happen first and provide the context for the conceptualization of definitions, introduction to reinforcements, and models to copy, (Akers et al., 1979). The rewards and punishments of recognized associations will influence the capability to create new associations and uphold the old ones, (Akers, 1998). The common groups with whom one differentially associates include, family, peers, church, neighbors, schools, and teachers, however they are not limited to just these, (Akers, 1985). The priority, duration, frequency, and intensity of each relationship establish its strength, (Akers, 1998). Specifically, those relationships that happen most often, begin earlier, last the longest, and involve those with whom one is closest will have the greatest sway on the behavior. The number of delinquent friends that one associates with is the best forecaster of criminal behavior, (Akers et al., 1979). In the end, it is this balance of these reinforcements (either as rewards or punishments) that provide to increase or decrease delinquent behavior.

The General Theory of Crime:

The General Theory of Crime unlike the previous theories seeks to explain delinquent behavior as the result of a single individual trait, (Gottfredson, Hirschi, 1990). This single trait, i.e. self-control, refers to a person’s ability to think about the long-term, negative consequences of antisocial behavior, and all of the possible consequences of a individual’s actions, (Hirschi, 2004). With the understanding that pain is experienced differentially and that pleasure is equally enjoyed by everyone, a person’s level of self-control will have an effect on how much a person works out consequences. Therefore, the less a person ponders prospective consequences, the greater the chance they will commit delinquent acts when the opportunities to do so arises, (Gottfredson, Hirschi, 1990). Hirschi and Gottfredson (1994) felt that their theory explains not only delinquent acts, but also a number of behaviors concerning instant gratification at the risk of long-term pain. Moreover, if one lacks self-control they are often described as impulsive, short-tempered, having risky behaviors, insensitive, and selfish, (Gottfredson, Hirschi, 1990).

Delinquent acts are committed in order to satisfy ones self-interest, and their immediate satisfaction. For those lacking self-control, these delinquent acts tend to satisfy their impulsive desires, and are often harmful to others, (Gottfredson, Hirschi, 1990). Additionally, because those low in self-control are more inclined to look for acts that offer instant satisfaction at the risk of long-term pain, one can assume that they will engage in delinquent behaviors (i.e. drinking and drug use. Furthermore, those committing one type of delinquent behavior are more likely to commit another type of delinquent behavior, which means ones past delinquent behavior is the best forecaster of future crime, (Hirschi, 2004). On top of variety, delinquent behaviors will be committed more often by those lacking self-control, (Gottfredson, Hirschi, 1990). According to Hirschi and Gottfredson, everyone is prone to deviate in the beginning; however it is through good parenting that self-control is acquired, and will remain somewhat stable throughout a person’s life (Hirschi, Gottfredson, 1994). Though, Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) felt that opportunity was necessary along with self-control they did admit that there were numerous opportunities to commit delinquent acts, and therefore diminished the part they play.

Summary

Research has shown that important concepts resulting from social learning theory (i.e. associations, definitions, and reinforcements), and the general theory of crime (i.e. self-control) are linked to antisocial behavior. Concepts from each of these theories have shown to have an effect on delinquent behavior; however there is also evidence that shows that there are interactive effects as well, though they have failed to agree on the exact way this interaction takes place. The theories discussed earlier attempt to show why people commits deviant acts through direct and independent measures, and can be considered as either a social causation or social selection model. Social causation proposes delinquent acts are the result of deviant social relationships, which social learning would fall under since it suggestions factors outside the person lead to antisocial behavior.

On the contrary, social selection suggests delinquent acts are the result of individual characteristics, which the general theory of crime is a good example of since it proposes that self-control predicts a person’s involvement with deviant peers or having attachments that are weak to other people that are more generally open. Looking at only social causation or social selection model has led to a partial description of delinquent behaviors, and has been shown that the effects of outside factors remained considerable when individual measures (i.e. self-control) were included, (Wright, Caspi, Moffitt, Silva, 1999). For that reason, a model that includes both processes would present a more defensible viewpoint, (Wright et al., 1999).

Methodology

The aim of this research project is to target adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years in both middle school and high school in the Lexington, KY area. Two surveys, one based on social learning theory and another based on the general theory of crime, will be designed to examine crime and delinquency in both middle and high school students. Two weeks before the surveys will be distributed to the students and an informed consent form will be passed out detailing information about the researcher, that the surveys are voluntary and not required by the school to be taken, their purpose, and explaining how the surveys and their collections will be confidential. Both parents and students will need to sign the consent form indicating that they have acknowledged the above and give consent for the student to participate in the survey, which the student would be required to turn in at the time of the surveys. Multiple (4+) team members will be required to be on hand in order to assist the students with any questions, and to insure that the survey sheet is placed in a sealable envelope and that there are no identifiable markings on the survey. All surveys once completed would then be gone over and any with identifiable marking would then be destroyed and the rest would be shuffled to insure that someone could not tie a particular survey to a particular student.

Delinquency, the dependent variable, would then be measured by asking the students how many different crimes they have ever committed; spread over multiple different types of delinquent behavior questions, i.e. have you ever used alcohol, have you ever stolen something worth $50 or less, and as such. The independent variable social learning theory would then be comprised of three items, which are reinforcements, peer associations, and definitions. Definitions are defined as the student’s attitude towards a behavior that they recognize as positive, negative, or neutral. Peer associations, would then be measured by asking the number of their friends that had committed any of the acts of delinquency previously mentioned. Finally, reinforcements would then be measured by asking whether or not their friends would respect the student getting away with any of the acts of delinquency previously mentioned. The independent variable general theory of crime would then be broken down into two measures of self- control, which are behavioral and attitude; with self-control being defined as being impulsive, insensitive, physical, risk-taking, short-sighted, and nonverbal (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). Behavioral would then be measured by behaviors similar to crime (i.e. I’m more likely to hit vs. talk when mad), and attitude would then be measured by the students character traits (i.e. I often act on the spur of the moment without stopping to think). After all of the data has been completed I would then compare the two results to each other and see which of the variables showed the greater correlation.

Works Cited

Agnew, R. (2006). General strain theory: Current status and directions for further research. In F. Cullen, J. Wright, and K. Blevins (Eds), Taking Stock: The Status of Criminological Theory (pp. 101-123). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

Akers, R. (1985). Deviant behavior: A social learning approach, 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Akers, R. (1998). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

Akers, R., Krohn, M., Lanza-Kaduce, L., Radosevich, M. (1979). Social learning and deviant behavior: A specific test of a general theory. American Sociological Review, 44, 4, 636-655.

Gottfredson, M., Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Hirschi, T. (2004). Self-Control and Crime. In R. Baumeister and K.Vohs (Eds.), Handbook of Self-Regulation: Research, Theory, and Applications (pp. 537-552). New York: The Guilford Press.

Hirschi, T., Gottfredson, M. (1994). The generality of deviance. The Generality of Deviance (pp. 1-22). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Magnusson, D. (1988). Individual development from an interactional perspective: A longitudinal study. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Messner, S., Krohn, M., Liska, A. (Eds). (1989).Theoretical integration in the study of deviance and crime: Problems and prospects. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Pratt, T. Cullen, F. (2000). The Empirical Status of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime: A Meta-Analysis. Criminology, 38, 3, 931-964.

Wikstrom, P., Loeber, R. (2000). Do disadvantaged neighborhoods cause well-adjusted children to become adolescent delinquents? A study of male juvenile serious offending, individual risk and protective factors, and neighborhood context. Criminology, 38, 4, 1109-1142.

Wright, B., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T., Silva, P. (1999). Low self-control, social bonds, and crime: Social causation, social selection, or both? Criminology, 37, 3, 479-514.

Wright, B., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T., Silva, P. (2001). The effects of social ties on crime vary by criminal propensity: A Life-course model of interdependence. Criminology, 39, 2, 321-351.

Introduction

Each age group in society has its own role and this is important in many different ways. Youth as a description of a sector of society has many definitions

depending on the perspective being used. For the purposes of this discussion youth will be considered to be the stage of life involving transition into

adulthood: approximately age 15 to 25.

Young people are often considered to represent the future as they bring new ideas and energy to add to the pool of knowledge that currently exists. They

can bring enthusiasm and vitality which can lead to new discoveries and developments that can benefit society or even the world at large. Although not the

only drivers of social change, young people are seen to be one the key drivers engendering change. Whether this is inherent in the beliefs of young people

or the hope for the future is placed upon them by older generations is not clear. However, India is changing and developing, and this affects the lives of

the people living there in varying degrees depending on their individual circumstances. Therefore, there are many new opportunities becoming available that

can provide very different futures for today’s youth that were not available to previous generations. This essay will consider the role of youth in a

changing Indian society.

The Role of Youth

In order to consider the role of youths in India it is helpful to first consider the overall situation in India as this provides the context in which

young people are growing up. There are two areas in particular to consider: the transition towards being a developed country and the changes in population.

India has made great strides in technology and other areas, including the space programme. However, much of the country remains unaffected by such

developments and there is still much to be done to create an inclusive society where the living conditions for the whole population are brought up to an

acceptable level and absolute poverty is eradicated. The differences between castes and religions also still remain a factor in the cohesiveness of the

population as a whole.

The population of India is also still increasing substantially and is expected to exceed that of China by the middle of this century. The population in

2012 was estimated to be 1.22 billion. In line with world trends life expectancy has also increased in India from 62.3 years for males and 63.9 years for

females in 2001-2005 to 67.3 years and 69.6 years respectively in 2011-2015. Birth rates, however, have fallen slightly from crude figures of 22 per 1000

population to 21 per 1000 population between 2011 and 2012 (The World Bank, 2014). However, given the size of the population this still represents a large

number of births. One health issue that is also particularly important is HIV/AIDS as there are estimated to be 2.4 million people in India living with the

condition (MedIndia, 2014).

These are some of the key elements that affect India at present and which overarch the role of young people in society.

Young people in India today

The youth of India make up approximately a quarter of the population and thus represent a substantial sector of society (Adlakha, 2014). The environment in

which they are living is very different to that which was experienced by their parents. As a result many of the traditional values and cultural behaviours

are being challenged by the influence of other cultures, particularly those in the West. Therefore, it can be seen that there are competing ways of life

that exist which may be considered either a choice or a cause of confusion for young people. However, there are also good role models such as the first

Indian-born woman to go into space, Kalpana Chawla, that show what can be achieved by Indian people male or female.

Young people in India are considered to be vitally important as they will bring new ideas and developments to improve their country where older people are

viewed as unable to be innovative or deal with new ideas. This perception differs from the views of young people and indeed the structure of society in

general that exists in the West. Western perceptions do place young people in a strong position but, possibly due to a substantially longer life

expectancy, there is a less dismissive view of older people, certainly in respect of those of working age. The roles of people in a other age ranges in

addition to young people are considered to be valuable as each contribute differently to society as a whole. This does not extend in many cases to the

elderly, however, but the longer life span in the West presents a different set of issues (Kruger & Poster, 1990, p. 72). India is keen for their young

people to become involved in civil society and develop political interest as this seen to be a vital part of the development of the country. In many ways

there would appear to be a great deal of pressure being placed on the younger generation to move India into more developed and progressive country.

The ability of the young people to fully participate in this way, however, is inhibited by two main factors. The first is the level of education, which

also will be indicative of their wealth status, and the second is their caste and/or religious position. The better educated the young person is the more

likely they are to participate more fully in civil society according to available research. Therefore, increasing the level of education across the country

is important to develop the skills in the young people to enable to undertake the type of jobs that will help India develop. There is a substantial problem

with illiteracy across the population, and even children attending school are leaving education still illiterate. This is particularly the case for the

children from the poorest sectors of society. Unesco’s 11th Education For All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report suggests, amongst other factors, that at the

present rate of progress the poorest women in India will not be universally literate until 2080 (UNESCO, 2013/14). Therefore, unless this is addressed the

pressure on young people to improve India will not produce the required results as there will be insufficient desire and capability to make the

improvements a reality. There may also need to be a change of thinking generally in society to develop a desire for education and a belief that education

is important to improve the standards of living for everyone. For the poorest people earning a living may be more important than education and even young

children are needed to contribute. Child labour is still a major issue in India and will impact on the children’s ability to ever improve their lives

(US Department of Labour, 2013, p. np). There is legislation in place in the form of The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (Indian Child

Line, nd), which, if observed and enforced, should prevent this.

The caste system and/or religious beliefs also present barriers to a cohesive progress despite the changes made to eliminate these problems

(Zezulka-Mailloux & Gifford, 2003, p. 156). This is a complex system with many ramifications which will not be discussed at length here but which does

have a substantial influence on how people live in India. The way that different groups within the population view each other can be divisive, with even

those people considered to have more secular views not wishing to eat with others from a different group, in some cases not even wanting to speak with

them, or other similar types of segregation. This creates an atmosphere in which some people are more likely to be able to progress whilst others will be

open to oppression. Thus the overall situation has many factors working at the same time, some which are conducive to progress and others that are

barriers.

The specific ways in which India is planning progress into the future are contained within the India 2020 Report which considers the vision for the future

of India, the opportunities and the challenges in respect of human development, infrastructure, energy and many other areas (Kalam & Rajan, 2002). The

Report indicates that the changes already taking place in the country are bringing about shifts in many areas such as in the population with lower birth

rates and anticipated increased life expectancy. The effect of these changes is likely to be felt in different ways depending upon how affluent the person

is. For poorer people their situation is still very difficult and much more will need to change to enable and empower this group of people to improve their

lives. The India 2020 Report also identified Nodal Points for Indian prosperity. In order for these Points to be effective the population will need to know

what is required and pull together to achieve these goals. Within this plan there is clear evidence of the reliance that is being placed on young people to

carry out these plans and be the key changing force in the country. However, whilst acknowledging the levels of poverty and all the other barriers that

currently exist to gaining good levels of education and an improved standard of living across the country, the impact of poverty does not always seem to be

seen as a major factor in the ability of the young people to fill this role.

India 2020 proposes a range of factors that will improve the country for the whole population. This includes aiming for full employment, improvements to

the judicial system and legislature to create systems that are seen to be operating with integrity, fairness and transparency, cleaning the environment,

achieving literacy and numeracy for all and making India a major nation in the world. This must, however, be achieved by creating a fair society for every

part of the population. One element that is of concern is the ‘brain drain’ of skilled people leaving the country. India needs to finds ways of

retaining well trained young people to carry out the vision for the future. At present many young people perceive that there are more opportunities for

them elsewhere rather than wanting to stay in their home country and improve conditions there (Glennie & Chappell, 2010). If the country wishes young

people to take a major leading role in progress it will be necessary to provide the appropriate motivation for them to want to do this. Furthermore, in

order to improve the conditions in the country as a whole more trained people are needed to create and fill the jobs that will increase prosperity. There

must, of course, then be relevant jobs for the young people to take. Creating an environment that places value on education, work, and creating a good work

ethic is very important to making effective progress towards a more economically successful country. This process will also begin to reduce the disparity

between the rich and poor, with the ultimate goal of absolute poverty being eradicated (although eradicating relative poverty may prove more difficult) and

improving the lives of the poorest in society.

The spiritual aspect of life is important in India and many people are guided in their lives by their beliefs. There are even newer beliefs such as

Baha’i, which places emphasis on a number of areas that are important in the changes indicated by India 2020. Baha’i places importance

on training for a trade or profession, and particularly on the often neglected area of education for women. In addition there is also a focus on ensuring

young people have every opportunity to enter work which is of service to others by virtue of one’s skills and abilities (Baha’i, 2014).

This type of approach could be very helpful to young people to help to develop a good work ethic and the sense of community by helping others. It also

emphasises the need for good moral and spiritual standards to support the young person’s working life. This is only one of the religions/beliefs in

India, but it does indicate the way in which secular and religious aspects of life are more integrated than is common in western countries.

The desire to adhere to religious beliefs can be both a positive and negative factor for young people depending on their particular religion and the way in

which is directs them to behave as people. One area of concern in this respect currently is that of the recruitment of young people by terrorist

organisations. This is clearly an issue from the point of view of the activities of such organisations, but it also takes valuable young people out of

society.

The International Year of Youth (first held in 1985),was supported by Baha’i, who continue to support the ongoing activities of that organisation

(United Nations, 2014). This has widened in scope in the form of The World Programme for Action of Youth (United Nations, 2014). In order to promote youth

involvement it is recommended by Baha’i that young men and women should be encouraged to take part in projects that aim to improve living

conditions, increase the quality of human life, and develop the self-reliance of their communities. Projects that are improving the situation for rural

communities are particularly highlighted as ones which are important for young people to engage with. Young people can also play an important role in the

quest for world peace.

Young people have been a main focus for some time in India, and specific initiatives have been sought to involve young people in a range of topics. The

Youth Day 2008 focussed on “Youth and Climate change: Time for action.” During this event Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, addressed

the meeting (Pandve, et al., 2009, p. 105). In this address he indicated that young people are adaptable and can easily incorporate carbon saving methods

into their everyday life. Therefore, it was important that young people were actively included in local, national and global level decisions on climate. In

this way they will improve the world for their own futures and that of their children. Involving young people in making changes to their everyday life is

one main aspect of the role they are required to play in society.

Further initiatives will be needed to address many of the difficulties to support young people. Looking at those offered in other countries could provide

useful information, such that of “The Promoting Tolerance and Dialogue through Interactive Theater” in Eastern Indonesia. This is a one-year

program funded by Great Britain’s Strategic Program Fund and implemented by IREX Europe, IREX and the Center for Civic Education Indonesia (CCEI). This is

a programme that uses theatre to provide the dialogue to work on prevention of conflict, extremism and intolerance (IREX, nd). This particular programme

has now ended but could be used as a model for future activities. With the difficulties that are currently being seen as a result of terrorism this is an

area of extreme importance and different methods of approaching the topic can be used to spread the message to young people.

The call for young people to be involved in India politics began with Gandhi, who asked the youth of the day to come forward to become actively involved in

the freedom movemen (Atkin, 2012, p. np). However, there are still few young people involved in the political arena. Most elected politicians are aged 50

or over whilst most of the voting public are under 40 (Ruland, et al., 2005, p. 181). This suggests either that younger people are happy with this

situation or perhaps that they have little interest or enthusiasm for politics. There can be confusion here when there is a suggestion that the older

leaders should make way for ‘youth’, because in this context the word ‘youth’ is used just to mean people younger than others, i.e.

perhaps people in their 30s or 40s rather than very young people with no experience. This is something that is discussed widely in the media (Jain, 2009).

This use of ‘youth’ to mean different age groups, between 15 and 40 plus, can present a confusing message to readers.

Poverty reduction is a major issue in India and there has been work across the world that suggests that involving young people in creating change to reduce

poverty, and other important such issues, is vital and more effective than allowing them to simply be the target for development. This may be promoted from

within India or it may be helpful for outside agencies already working in this area with young people to help set up relevant initiatives (The National

Council of Swedish Youth Organisations, 2009, p. 8).

It is interesting to consider the more popular representations of the role that young people should play in society. There is a marked view that older

people should step down in preference to younger people because only younger people have the ability to create change. The knowledge and experience of

older people is acknowledged but it can frequently be seen that there is pressure for them to take a ‘back seat’, and only advise and guide,

but not to actively participate (Kumar, 1998, p. 234). There does not as yet appear to be any research to demonstrate how this will affect society and the

way that younger people feature, particularly in political and other such positions. However, it does appear to reduce the respect and reverence in which

older people have customarily been held, which could be seen to be more in line with a more western approach where youth culture has become prominent.

Conclusion

India is a vast country with an enormous population that is increasing quite rapidly. There is a definite move towards becoming a developed country but

there are still many problems to be solved. Comparing the situation in India with western countries presents challenges, as the cultural and social

situation is very different and there are very different belief structures. One key factor is that young people are considered to be almost the

‘saving grace’ for the country. Great reliance is placed on young people becoming educated and increasing the status and economic profitability

of the country. This is set, however, against poverty and poor educational offerings and achievement for large sections of the population. Providing more

equal opportunities for men and women and eradicating child labour are two areas that will take great effort to resolve given and enormous number of people

involved.

There have been great improvements in areas such as IT and space development which has meant that some sectors of the youth have been able to move into

those areas. However, in order to make the progress that is sought for India to become a developed country, young people need to be motivated in directions

that will achieve that goal. There is a substantial concern regarding young people being drawn into terrorism, and major changes in law and order remain to

be achieved. So it can be seen that there is much to be done and directives in place to work towards those aims. However, this does appear to place a great

deal of responsibility and reliance on younger people to make this happen.

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This essay will outline and explain why inter professional collaborative practice in social work is important. It will also examine key factors that help or hinder effective inter professional collaborative practice. It will explain why it is important that professionals work together and effectively as a team and the consequences that can occur when professionals fail to collaborate successfully.

There has been a great deal of political and professional pressures for the development of inter professional collaborative practice. From the late 1990’s onwards there were vast amounts of official documents to promote the importance of collaborative working within the health and social care sector. The 1998 social services White Paper Modernising Social Services (DoH, 1998) and The NHS Plan (2000) devoted entire chapters to the subject. It has been argued that inter professional working has advanced further in relation to services for older people than it has in relation to children and families. The Green Paper Every Child Matters (DfES 2003) recognised this and one of the main elements of this paper focused that improved collaboration was required so as not to repeat the tragic events of the Victoria Climbie case (this case will be discussed in further detail later in the essay). Government recognition suggests that many social problems cannot be effectively addressed by any given organisation acting in isolation from others. That is, when professionals work together effectively they provide a better service to the complex needs of the most vulnerable people in society. Inter professional collaborative practice involves complex interactions between a range of different professionals and is when professionals work together as a team to reach mutually negotiated goals through agreed plans. It is a partnership that can be defined as a formal agreement between the different professions who agree to work together in pursuit of common goals. Collaborative is defined as putting that partnership into operation or into practice. It involves the different professions working together and using their own individual skills instead of working in opposite directions to meet the needs of particular service users. It is suggested that when social workers and other professions work collaboratively the service user gets a better deal. ‘Willing participation (Henneman et al, 1995, cited in Barrett et al, 2005, p.19) and a high level of motivation’ (Molyneux, 2001, cited in Barrett et al, p.19) have been stated as vital aspects of effective inter professional collaboration.

Social workers have certain ethical obligations to society that they must follow and this comes in the form of The British Association of Social Work (BASW) Code of Ethics and the National Occupational Standards for social workers. The Code of Ethics follow five basic values, Human Dignity and Worth, Social Justice, Service to Humanity, Integrity and Competence whilst the National Occupational Standards outline the standards of conduct and practice to which all social workers should adhere to. Whilst working in collaboration with other professionals, social workers should follow these Codes and Standards to ensure that the best possible outcome is achieved for the service user.

In the past inter professional collaborative practice has been difficult with many disadvantages and that this has caused problems between the different professions involved. This has in the past led to catastrophic tragedies as in the case of Victoria Climbie. Shared accountability is important for effective collaboration and all professionals should be accountable. Each profession should support one another, not be seen as self interested and that no one profession is higher than another. Some of the problems that can occur are when there is not a logical distribution of power. ‘Unequal power distribution can be oppressive’ (Payne, 2000, cited in Barrett et al, 2005, p.23) and can limit participation for some group members. Struggles for power are rooted in professional tradition and social difference. It is believed by some critics of social work that ‘social workers have often been located in settings where they were considered as subordinate to other more established professional groups’ (Brewer and Lait, 1980, cited in Wilson et al, 2008, p.401). Traditionally there have been difficulties within the medical profession and Cooke et al, (2001, cited in Barrett et al, 2005, p.23) suggests that ‘general practitioners felt threatened by a redistribution of power and had problems letting go of their traditionally held power base’. Social work in the past has been described as a semi profession and similar to nursing and teaching and not comparable to the ‘learned profession of medicine or law as it does not have the required features of those professions’ (Freidson 1994). Payne (2000 cited in Barrett et al, 2005, p.23) identifies this as ‘people’s capacity to get what they want’. Power in inter professional collaborative practice should be shared and distributed and no hierarchy of power should exist. If some professionals see themselves as more powerful than another they are not meeting the needs of the service user. Being territorial and not sharing information and knowledge has long been a problem in inter professional collaborative practice. Molyneux (2001, cited in Barrett et al, 2005, p20) ‘found that professionals who were confident in their own role were able to work flexibly across professional boundaries without feeling jealous or threatened’. ‘Professional adulthood’ was an expression used by Laidler (1991, cited in Barratt et al, 2005, p.20) to describe professionals who were confident in their own role to share information and communicate effectively with other professionals. These professionals do not feel territorial about relinquishing their knowledge and understanding to further enhance good inter professional collaborative practice. Stapleton (1998, cited in Barrett et al, 2005, p.20) suggests that ‘a combination of personal and professional confidence enables individuals to assert their own perspectives and challenge the viewpoints of others’.

Open and honest communication is a vital and probably one of the most important aspects of inter professional collaborative practice. It requires professionals to take into account each other’s views, be respectful, dignified and to listen to each other without being highly critical of one another. Constructive criticism needs to be undertaken alongside constructive suggestions and encouragement and should take place at a time when other professionals are receptive. Active listening is an important skill. To be able to recognise and respond to what is being communicated is a fundamental skill. Professionals working collaboratively should demonstrate this verbally and non-verbally to each other. This is greatly helped if all concerned put aside the typical stereotyping of each other’s professions in order to hear and listen to what the speaker is saying. Keeping good eye contact and having good body language is just as important. ‘It is estimated that approximately two-thirds of communication is non-verbal, i.e. something is communicated through ‘body language’ – by a body movement, a posture, an inflection in the voice’ (Birdwhistell, 1970, cited in Wilson, 2008, p.297). A breakdown in communication and the lack of sharing of information between the professions in the past have been major failings in inter professional collaborative practice for example in high profile child protection inquiries and this has led to tragic consequences. Effective systems of communication and knowing what information should be shared are essential not just between the professions but also between the service users.

Trust, mutual respect and support are key features to inter professional collaborative practice. Trust was highlighted by many professionals as one of the most important factors in successful collaboration. When trust is absent professionals may feel uncomfortable and insecure in their role and this in turn can lead to defensive behaviour to counteract their insecurities. Stapleton (1998, cited in Barratt et al, 2005, p.22) suggests that ‘trust develops through repeated positive inter professional experience and develops gradually over a period of time’. Trust cannot be gained overnight so it is important for professionals working collaboratively to give one another time for trust to develop. When professionals feel valued, they feel respected. This can be achieved by actively listening to each other and having an insight into one another’s professions.

Conflict between the professions can have a huge impact on the different professionals and service users. Loxley (1997, cited in Barrett et al, 2005, p.24) suggests that conflict is ‘interwoven with collaborative practice’. To counteract some of the problems associated with conflict it may be beneficial to all concerned to form ground rules. These ground rules could go some way to prevent and help the management of conflict and could include; open discussion and the obligation to be able to give each other honest feedback. Most importantly these ground rules need to benefit all parties involved.

A great deal of emphasis is placed on social workers to critically reflect their practice. It literally means that social workers reflect on their practice before, during and after, thinking through tasks carefully. Other professionals may not do this in line with social workers beliefs of critical reflection or in the same way or see that reflection on their own practice is an important aspect of successful inter professional collaborative practice.

To illustrate the above points a practice example will now be explained. The inquiry into the death of ten year old Victoria Climbie highlights the disastrous consequences when communication in inter professional collaborative practice fails. This child death case was fraught with communication breakdowns across the range of professionals associated with the case. In Lord Laming’s report (2003) he draws attention to and illustrates lack of communication as one of the key issues. Victoria Climbie was failed by a system that was put into place to protect her. Professionals failed in this protection by not communicating with each other or with Victoria herself. One of the criticisms in the Laming Report (2003) was that none of the professionals involved in the case spoke to Victoria about her life or how she was feeling and suggests that even basic service user involvement was absent. There was an opportunity which is highlighted in his report that a social worker missed an opportunity to communicate with Victoria by deciding not to see or speak to her while she was in hospital. It could be argued that if basic levels of communication with Victoria herself had been implemented, then more could have been achieved to protect her. It was not only a lack of communication with Victoria herself but a lack of communication between the professions that were investigated in the Laming Report (2003). Communication is equally important between the service user and the different professional bodies. Professionals are less effective on their clients’ behalf if they cannot communicate precisely and persuasively’. (Clark, 2000, cited in Trevithick, 2009, p.117). For successful inter professional collaborative practice to work a combination of personal and professional skills are required, together with competent communications skills to enable the different professions to challenge the views of others. Recommendation 37 of the Laming Report (2003) states ‘The training of social workers must equip them with the confidence to question the opinion of professionals in other agencies when conducting their own assessment of the needs of the child’. On at least one occasion, this did not happen when a social worker did not challenge a medical statement which turned out to be professionally incorrect which in turn led to the tragic eventual death of Victoria. Had the social worker challenged the medical opinion in this instance then it could be argued that more efficient communication and less confusion in the case may have saved Victoria. Alan Milburn (Hansard 28 January 2003, column 740, cited in Wilson et al, 2008, p.474), the then Secretary of State commented when introducing the Children Bill in the Commons that ‘Victoria needs services that worked together’ and that ‘down the years inquiry after inquiry has called for better communication and better co-ordination’. Communication lies at the heart of high quality and successful inter professional practice and Victoria is just one case of when there is a lack of communication between the professionals and the devastating consequences that can arise.

In conclusion, successful inter professional collaborative practice has many elements and all these different elements require that the different professions adopt them. Although inter professional working practice has been around for many years and is not new, it still needs to be continued, developed and incorporated into the daily work of all professions. When health and social care professionals from different disciplines truly understand each other’s roles, responsibilities and challenges, the potential of inter professional collaborative practice could be fully realised and many of the barriers alleviated, giving a more successful outcome to the service user.

Discuss the role of Housing Associations in delivering housing and regenerating housing estates and areas. To what extent should Housing Associations be more than housing providers?

The first section of this essay will give a brief historical background to the origins of Housing Associations and philanthropic intervention within housing provision. The second section will address the role of the Housing Corporation in monitoring the role of housing associations. Section three will address issues of socially excluded groups and subsequent sections will address the effects of globalisation, politics and demography within social housing – and the regeneration of housing estates and areas. The final section will look at the constraints of housing Foyers and associations and will debate the expanding role of housing associations questioning the extent to which housing associations should be more than housing providers.

The origins of Housing Associations

Housing Associations have their origins in the twelfth century. However, Philanthropic activity became more evident from the eighteenth century when the ongoing issues of famine, ill health, overcrowding, homelessness, unemployment and squalor were rife throughout Britain. The condition was exasperated by the lack of interest shown by the government and the wealthy. Social reformers such as Samuel Peabody donated ?150,000 into providing homes for the destitute. This praiseworthy gesture assisted but failed to eliminate the homeless crisis that ravaged the working classes. In her book Built to Last, (Grant 1992) speaks about the person centred approach of Octavia Hill a wealthy property owner who in the 1880s operated from a stance of professional Helper. Hill attempted to provide a service that extended beyond the sole role of housing provider to that of a Social landlord. She believed in the rehabilitation of people as well as properties and utilised the opportunity to personally collect rent and offer her tenants cleaning, building & maintenance employment, housing management advice and support which she seemingly viewed as an opportunity to impart a sense of self respect and responsibility. She seemed to be of the opinion that housing and tenants could not be addressed separately but holistically. (Grant p.20).

This fundamental approach is essentially the key to the regeneration of housing estates and areas in the twenty first century. In order for regenerative work to be successfully maintained, a set of guidelines and principles must be in place to ensure that the housing problem is being tackled effectively. This leads to the role of the Housing Corporation

The housing Corperation

The role of the Housing Corporation in regeneration is to ensure that taxpayer’s money is managed and spent effectively, efficiently and economically. They provide the finances to housing associations and require that all housing providers are registered and operate within They are also responsible for ensuring that RSL (Resident Social Landlords) comply with Audit Commission guidelines that stipulate and promote tenant participation, capacity building and empowerment in order to make their views heard regarding the management of their homes and to influence policies that affect their lives. Essentially, their overall aim is to minimalise social exclusion, ensure that housing is affordable, and build strong communities. www.housingcorp.gov.uk. The NFHA 1995 (national Federation of Housing Associations) p.1 states that housing associations should only manage estates where basic facilities and good transport links are provided. In other words, the idea of regeneration is to increase accessibility to public services and to reduce isolation which breeds exclusion. There are several factors that affect the role of housing providers in regeneration, namely politics, globalisation, and demography.

Politics

The common factors that existed between the 1880s and the present time is that housing associations are non-profit making organisations, have various titles such as trusts, charities and co-operatives and essentially are altruistic. All are required to be registered and monitored and are accountable to the Audit Commission who is responsible for ensuring that tax-payers money is protected and spent economically, effectively and efficiently.

The core and expanding role of housing associations and the effects of demography.

The core role of housing associations was originally to provide adequate homes for low-income families. Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, there was further development of high-rise council estates which was built to house low-income families. This did little to quell or include the housing needs of socially excluded groups such as single people, pensioners, minorities, the disabled and lone parent families. Other urban issues such as health were more prominent on government agenda. However, Conservatives 1979 election attempted to alter the perspective of social housing and the welfare state with the view of individualism and self-provision as opposed to state dependency. The cessation of new build and the introduction of housing schemes as shared ownership, Homebuy and the selling off of council properties were hoping to usher in a sense of independence and ultimate vision were of a nation of homeowners, privatisation of services and CCT (Compulsory Competitive Tendering). Presently the role of housing associations not only includes housing provision but regeneration initiatives. They provide a range of services which include training and employment opportunites for the low-paid, community safety, health, education.

Arguments for and against Housing Associations

Arguments against the roles of Housing associations and constraints and challenges faced by them. as providers of housing is still seemingly an issue today as it was in the eighteenth century. White questions in (Grant 1992 pp.4-5) the role of Philanthropists and Semi-Philanthropists where he asked

“Was Philanthropic response a genuine response to housing need or a hard headed use of capital to quell working class unrest?

These cyclical issues bear a somewhat striking resemblance to the 1980s urban riots which emerged as a result of an attitude that silently assumed that problems would be resolved independent of state intervention or laissez faire on part of the government. (Malpass and Murie 1999) quote Tory argument who believed in personal responsibility and self -provision as opposed to what they felt Britain was a culture of dependency to: “State intervention as the cause of housing problems rather than the solution

Since New labours 1997 election, the notion of rights and responsibility have been at the forefront of the government agenda. Malpass and Murie 1999 further argue on pp 101-2, the Housing Act 1988 which included the provision of housing providers to give their tenants the right to choose their landlords. Local Authorities desire to maintain an influence on Housing associations but housing Associations want to maintain their autonomy, Central Government funding is sometimes insufficient to maintain existing programmes and initiatives. In some instances such as with CP estate, the negotiation of further funding has to take place in order to preserve the sustainable communities achieved via funding. Chief Executive for Clapham park describes the allocated funds as a “drop in the ocean” (Johnson. A 2006)

Arguments for Housing Associations

is the emphasis on them by the government to provide housing by investment via the NFHS (National Federation of Housing Societies) to provide loans for non-profit making organisations to provide new housing. Malpass and Murie 1999 p. 73-4) Local Authority increased its support to enable HA to rehabilitate and convert existing council properties and by the transference of completed estate sites for development and rehabilitation. (Balchin 1995 pp146-7) confirms that research by the Housing Corporation showed that Housing Associations had a better record than Local Authorities at helping the elderly, single people, unemployed families, minority groups. It seemed that government housing agenda of the day chief concerns was to re-house families as a household was considered or consisted of husband wife and two point four children. Demography in terms of mass urbanisation, or divorce was not taken into account that’s why the excluded groups as above mentioned were sidelined. www.nfpi.org.uk press release December 2005 speaks about how demography and new working patterns are affecting British households, for example, one in five children live in single parent homes. Housing associations were now seen as the “principle agents of urban renewal” Malpass and Murie 1999 pp.146-7. Neighbourhood management involve and integrated set of principles that involve Social Services and Education bodies. This ensures that all key players in regeneration are working jointly to reduce homelessness by dealing and communicating with each other to address issues of ASB Anti sociable behaviour, human economical and social capital. Malpass and Murie further encourage the holistic regenerative approach due to the synergy brought about as resources could focus on problems which usually had multiple origins.

Or furthermore goes as far as to question the term humanitarianism which Grant feels does not exclude self interest as the upper classes of the 1880s main interest was mainly focussed around the five percent profit that they made out of housing the poor.

Arguments for Housing Associations

The role of Housing Associations is to provide and run their properties economically, efficiently and effectively. Economically to ensure that rents are accessible to low-income households, efficiently in terms of repairs and adequate structures that allow for adequate ventilation and space effectively with the main beneficiaries being the tenants and their right to peaceable enjoyment of their homes. (P.1 grant 1992) Local Authorities were sidelined as providers of social housing by the private sector and were given the job of filling the large gap in provision. This was due to the fact that the Conservative parties cessation of new build social housing and placing the responsibility of housing upon the citizen and thus reduce state dependency.

Housing Associations should be more than housing providers as urban problems are multi-faceted. (Malpass 2005) suggests;

Housing Associations do not confine themselves to the sole position of providing housing as some are also involved in the provision of care homes. Metropolitan for example state that they go beyond bricks and mortar to provide the quality support that nurtures thriving communities”. www.mhp-online.co.uk.1 .the definition of regeneration can be described in terms of /as a comprehensive approach that tackles the socio-economic, environmental aspects of society. It is an integrated approach with a single vision through coordinated programmes. The fundamental principle that underpins sustainable communities is;

“that everyone should have the opportunity of a decent home at a price they can afford in a place which they want to live and work”. www.communites.gov.uk.

Regeneration

In order to make lasting change within communities, a detailed area gap analysis of specific area needs should be carried out that can target particular issues with precision. (Roberts and Sykes 2000). A detailed analysis will consider key factors and devise individually tailored packages to suit particular neighbourhoods. In other words the one size fits all philosophy should be non applicable as the true picture of community composition will vary greatly. Although some urban communities experience the same issues, their response and profile will vary according to race, age, employment status, social capital. (CHANGE THIS(

Regeneration can be defined as an interventionist an strategic method of bringing about lasting change by promoting sustainable communities to the physical, environmental and socio-economic status to areas stigmatised by ill health, high educational underachievement, high unemployment and crime. It seeks to bring about improving the fabric of areas through joined-up interdependent working with the private, public, voluntary and community sectors. In terms of regeneration of areas and estates, I will draw from an example from the Clapham Park Estate in South London. This particular estate was notorious for high crime, low educational attainment, structural disrepair, high levels of unemployment and drug dealing. Residents on this particular estate were very disillusioned about their estate and felt ignored by the government who had as quoted by Keith Hill MP “regeneration tourism” to describe the ad hoc approach hurriedly taken by previous governments to address issues on the estate. The Home is where the heart is DVD showcased CP residents accounts of their housing situations making mention of damp, disrepair and neglect of the estate. The turning point for CP came for Clapham ?56 million was invested by the DCLG department for Communities and local Government to regenerate the area by creating training and educational opportunities as well as partnership working with the PCT (Primary Care Trust) to tackle and address ill health, the metropolitan police to deal with crime and the establishment of residential and Board members and Stakeholders neighbourhood management and stock transference. MHP (Metropolitan Housing Partnership) became the SRL (Social Registered landlords) by vote of the CP (Clapham Park) residents. These homes are being renovated to the Decent Homes standard 2010. For example, Metropolitan Care and repair which was set up to help the most vulnerable such as the elderly and disabled by improving and adapting their homes to improve accessibility, installing anti-burglary devices and gardening schemes. In partnership with the NRU (Neighbourhood Renewal Unit) who aims to

“Improve the quality of life for those living in disadvantaged areas that experience poor job prospects, high crime levels, educational underachievement, poor health and problems with their local environment”. www.communites.gov.uk. In an interview conducted with Denise Adolphe 2006 Communications and marketing manager of the CPP (Clapham Park Project), the issue of the hard to reach was addressed. Since the stock transfer in 2005, MHP has attempted to increase social capital by the method of mixed tenure to help low income households own their homes through shared ownership. This enables the buyer to purchase their homes in increments of between twenty-five to a hundred percent shares by stair casing. This gives the tenant the choice of owning a percentage of their property and part renting, or stair casing until they own the property outright at one-hundred percent. Social capital can be achieved by Partnership with financial institutions such as The Credit Union helps low earners to have access to low interest loans and savings. These groups will other wise be overlooked by the major high street bank due to their income or the post code lottery.

NFHA 1995 (National Federation of Housing associations) p.v.1 Housing associations should only manage estates were they can be integrated with the surrounding areas where basic facilities are provided and there are good transport links. These are important to avoid isolation of communities which works in total opposition to cohesiveness. This begs the question, or questions the methods and engagement strategies used to reach entire communities. To make lasting and effective change customers must be made aware of the choices available to them via capacity building, consultation and awareness. Key actors in regeneration need to be aware of barriers that may hinder resident participation such as language, race, religion, MHP for example work according to Audit commission |guidelines which stipulate the importance of resident participation. They provide a free phone service where residents could enquire about free capacity building workshops and various forms of training focussed around tenant participation. The Lorrimore Centre in Southwark South London experienced numerous failed attempts at reaching the black community. They realised that their traditional method of leafleting was not working so they adapted their outreach strategy by holding information stalls at local events where they actually engaged in one-to-one conversations with residents finding out their reasons why they were not utilising the service, conducting qualitative research. These strategies gained a positive response.

The role of Housing Association is to make areas and estates communities where people want to live and work and feel safe. There are various means of regenerating areas for example, by building shopping centres, improving transport links, positive press coverage to assist in the minimalisation of stigmatisation of particular areas, altering the fabric of areas by erecting trees, preserving nature and national heritage to help the area become attractive and inviting.

“People want to live in mixed communities which offer decent housing, jobs, good public services, transport and a local environment to be proud of” (Prescott 2004). Areas need to be inviting and opened up not closed off causing isolation. The benefits of urban regeneration should not only benefit the locals but should be far reaching nationwide. www.westhendon.com are regenerating a new housing scheme. in order to make the area accessible, around 680 homes were surrounded by the gyratory system along the A5. Traffic lights had to be relocated and additions made, more bus routes were introduced, as were pedestrian bridges to allow access to leisure and amenities as well as nature reserves and other public services. Thoughtful Planning and thorough investigation into the area must be taken into account when regenerating areas, local issues around suitability in relation to new build. As buildings alter the physical appearance of areas.

Parents serve an important role in the socialization of children by modeling important values, principles, ideals, attitudes, actions and behaviors that influence the physical, emotional and social development of the child. Fathers and mothers have unique differences that cause them to have different parenting roles, that when combined, provide the most comprehensive model to help the child develop successfully. For this reason, children need both parents to help them develop the skills to help them build successful social relations, engage in responsible behavior, develop the confidence and skills to be successful in school and to become well-rounded emotionally, physically and psychologically. Over the last two decades, researchers have begun to pay more attention to the idea that fathers make important contributions to child development (Parke, 2004; Davis & Perkins, 1996). Evan (1995) indicates, however, that while fathers have now become the subject of studies and review, this is a relatively new area of study. Given the potential role involved fathers have on the development of their children, it is important to understand how fathers perceive their fathering role and its impact on children. The goal of this paper is to examine the role of fathers in the lives of their children in the literature and to identify a gap in the literature in order to come up with a research question for a future study.

Review of the Literature

Schock and Gavazzi (2005) observe that despite the expansion of fatherhood literature over the last several decades, not much is understood about the role of fathers in their relationship with problematic adolescents. This has prompted researchers to examine father’s parental skills. For example, Nicholson, Howard and Borkowski (2008) investigated whether fathers were able to display metaparenting skills during the first two years of their children’s lives. Metaparenting refers to a mental plan that parents use when caring for their children across five domains: responding, preventing, monitoring, mentoring, and modeling. To determine how fathers think about and conceive of their parenting strategies, the researchers looked at the two main factors contributing to paternal identity: father absence and the availability of positive parenting role models. The participants included 87 fathers. Fathers were also evaluated for their metaparenting beliefs and behaviors, and assessed for parenting stress, parenting style, knowledge of child development and child abuse potential. The study revealed that positive parenting role models and intelligence were associated with working models of parenting based on the five components of metaparenting. Furthermore, authoritative parenting and a decrease in abuse potential were related to higher levels of metaparenting.

In a previous study, Schock and Gavazzi (2005) used a modified grounded theory approach (i.e., one based on the participants’ meaningful experiences) to examine the intra-psychic and interpersonal difficulties that fathers had with adolescent daughters who are involved in the court system. Fourteen fathers (mean age=46.6 yrs.) and their daughters (mean age=15.6 yrs) who participated in a family-based diversion program for their at-risk adolescent daughters took part in the study. The goal of the program was to help each family identify and support the developmental needs of their adolescents so that they can successfully move into adulthood. The fathers completed face-to-face semi-structured interviews with the questions addressing topics such as the fathers’ perception of their relationship with their adolescents, fathers’ unique skills to cope with the adolescent’s problematic behavior, and barriers/facilitators for participating in the program. The results indicate that fathers of female adolescents had feelings of uncertainty about their role as parents in four areas: poor understanding of their daughters’ female issues (e.g., dating, menstruation, etc.), communication barriers related to conversation topics and style of communication, limited involvement due to the absence of shared interests, and indecision about how to address their daughter’s problematic behavior. Based on the findings by Schock and Gavazzi (2005), it is possible that fathers have communication problems with their teenage daughters because they did not form secure attachments with their daughters during the first two years of their lives.

Later studies found similar connection between children’s attachment with their fathers and father involvement. McDonald and Almeida (2004) used an ecological perspective to examine the differential impact of work experiences on fathering experiences at home in 290 fathers (mean age=40). The participants first completed a 30 to 40 minute telephone interview about their daily experiences after which they were mailed a written survey, which asked them questions about how their time was spent in the past 24 hours (e.g., cutbacks at work, and their daily work/family stressors. The authors found that fathers tend to report a greater likelihood of providing emotional support to their children on those days when they experience overloads on the job as well as on days when they cut back their workload. The amount of time that fathers spent with their children was found to be moderated by how much control or latitude they have at work. The authors conclude, however, quantity of time alone may not impact the quality of the fathering experience. This conclusion is supported by Newland, Coyl and Freeman (2008), who investigated the relationships between preschoolers’ attachment security, father’s involvement and fathering context in 102 culturally diverse U.S. fathers of preschoolers age 2-5. The results indicate that father’s secure attachments with other adults and their use of social support were related to parenting and co-parenting behaviors. These in turn, predict child attachment security. The use of rough housing play was considered the most important predicator of child attachment security, more important than fathers’ sensitivity and consistency. According to the authors, the findings suggest that fathers play an important role in their children’s attachment security, and that shared father-child activities, parenting consistency and co-parenting behaviors should be emphasized among fathers.

An important finding in the literature is that fathering strategies are related to paternal role identity. Maurer (2007) assessed caregiving identities, perceptions of partners expectations and the perceived caregiving behavior in 73 fathers (mean age 33.7 yrs). The researcher found that the perceived behaviors of other fathers were significant predictors of fathers’ behaviors toward their own children. Bronte-Tinkew, Carrano and Guzman (2006) argue that it is important to determine how fathers identify themselves as parents by examining their perceptions of themselves as fathers. As a result, they investigated the perceptions of resident fathers (i.e., fathers who live with their children) regarding their roles in the lives of their children and how this affect their involvement with infants in five areas: caregiving activities, paternal warmth, nurturing activities, physical care, and providing their child with cognitively stimulating activities. Most of the resident fathers believed that their role as fathers play an important part in their children’s development. The results further indicate that while most fathers were highly involved in providing physical care to their babies, they were not highly involved in cognitively stimulating activities such as reading with their children. The fathers’ sociodemographic characteristics (race, marital status, education, and socioeconomic status) impact their perceptions of fathering (e.g., Hispanics and other race fathers had significantly lower positive perceptions of their roles compared to other participants). Married fathers and fathers living above the poverty line had higher scores that unmarried fathers and fathers living below the poverty line. Fathers with infant sons had stronger belief in the importance of their roles and more paternal involvement than those with daughters. The latter finding is supported by Schock and Gavazzi (2005) who found that fathers of adolescent daughters face challenges when communicating with their adolescent daughters, which is a factor in their indecision about how to deal with the problematic behavior of their daughters.

A later study by Wilson, Dalberth and Koo (2010) support and expand the findings of Schock and Gavazzi (2005) and Bronte-Tinkew, Carrano and Guzman (2006) in terms of father’s involvement in their lives. The perspectives of 131 fathers on their role in protecting their pre-teenage children from sexual risk was investigated. The results indicated that while fathers take a strong role in keeping their children safe and successful, some did not talk openly and frequently with their children about sex. Though almost all the fathers agreed that fathers’ perspectives on the issue of sex are important for children to hear, the gender of their child determined how comfortable they were discussing sexual matters. Fathers felt that they were better suited to discuss topics such as male puberty than female topics such as menstruation. Race also played a factor, with Hispanic fathers reporting that they were more protective of their daughters than their sons. According to Gonzalez-Lopez (2004), Hispanic fathers believe that delaying sex and using protection are important for protecting their daughters from becoming pregnant and for increasing their opportunities to attend and graduate from college.

Gaps in the Literature

One area that is has not been fully explored in the literature is the relationship between paternal role identity and fathering outcomes. In other words, none of the studies identified looked at the relationship between how father’s perceive their roles (i.e. how they identify themselves as fathers) and how children actually percieve their relationship with their fathers (i.e., outcome of father’s involvement). Maurer (2007) suggests that father’s perception of societal fathering roles is a good predictor of fathers’ behaviors. Newland, Coyle and Freeman (2008) found that parenting and co-parenting behaviors in fathers were predictors of child attachment security. Schock and Gavazzi (2005) suggest that a lack of secure attachment between fathers and their daughters lead to communication barriers and indecision about how to address problematic behaviors in their teenage daughters. Bronte-Tinkew, Carrano and Guzman (2006) found that higher positive perception of fathering roles were associated with high father involvement in mentally stimulating activities with their children such as reading. These findings suggest that fathers who believe that they have an important place in their children’ development are more likely to achieve better fathering outcomes such as providing their children with caregiving activities, paternal warmth, nurturing activities and cognitively stimulating activities.

Research Question

The following research question can be used to address the gap in the literature regarding father role perception and fathering outcomes: What is the relationship between paternal role identity and fathering outcomes? The independent variables related to father involvement were cognitively stimulating activities, physical care, paternal warmth, nurturing activities, caregiving activities.

As a potter molds clay to form a beautiful creation, so does the strong family support and good values does. Family bonds are a link from the beginning and guide to future. Early influences are fundamental to individual development. Everyone wants to belong and feel accepted. A sense of belonging is derived from the strong bond of family. Family is where roots take hold and grow. We are molded within a unit, which prepares one for the experiences of the world and reactions to those experiences. A close family bond is like a safe harbor where one finds refuge. From trusting that someone will pick us up when we fall, as a toddler, to someone being there for us as we experience the storms in life. Family bonds help to instill trust, hope and belief in ourselves. The other hand if family doesn’t have attachment, poor relationship, insecurity and anger can lead to negative consequences like isolating, low self image, anger and pain inside them. If one isn’t loved as a child, they may later seek love and acceptance in a way that brings them harm. This not only affects the emotional, physical and social well-being. The poor self-image may be with the patients throughout life, causing inability to make positive choices or be close to others. Strong family bonds help us to thrive in all aspects of life. Lack of these bonds can lead to forever seeking that something which is missing and one should not take the value of family bonds for granted.

Along the farm duties, family usually faces burdens. Yip (2005) identified three types of burdens in family care giving of persons with mental illness. Objective burdens are financial burdens, time and effort in care giving of family caregivers. Subjective burdens are feelings of loss, shame, worry, anger, and hopelessness of family caregivers towards their relatives with mental illness. Finally, there are burdens in management of problem behaviors like assault, mood swing, unpredictability, and other negative symptoms due to mental illness of a family member.

Along with the burdens, there are benefits when family stay with mentally ill person. Often patients listen to their family because they are close to each other and every disease needs cure and family is the major support. They can help their family member to involve in the social and family activities, by involving them in rehabilitation program, encouraging other family members and friends to invite the ill family member to join them in activities and by respecting the need of solitude.

Scenario:

My patient was a 17 years old female, forth among seven siblings, with the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Her pre morbid personality was that she was always a different child, quite and always thinking. She had no friends and was never interested to talk to her sisters as well. She never took part in household chores and when asked to help, she used to get angry, and never participated. She had a jealousy component in her as the mother always admired her elder sister and degraded her. Before hospitalization she even had hallucinations and delusions. While talking to the patient, she verbalized that “I don’t like my sisters because everyone compares them with me.” Patient’s mother also accepted that she had always given importance to the elder sister and pointed out the client that she is the laziest person of the family. May be this could be a reason of patients anger, frustration and not having a caring attitude towards family.

Significance of family support in Pakistani context:

Family support is a very important part of our entire Pakistani nation. Family support is given a lot of importance in terms of family bonding, love and affection. On the other hand there are few families which do not pay attention to this important issue. The family support is important because it effects on physical, psychological and social well being of an individual. In the Pakistani context no such study is been done on family’s role in one’s life. According to Mansoor (2008) “Family system in Pakistan” states that “each member of a Pakistani family has respect for the older family members. The parents feel responsible for teaching their children the basic beliefs of the chosen religion.” Looking at the scenario mentioned above the family has paid less attention to the child because of huge family, house hold responsibilities and low socio-economic system. According to my understanding when a child grows in a close kit family they learn to appreciate all the members of family and never hesitate to accompany their elders or younger’s in public. I believe that strong family bond serves as catalysis for everyone’s joy. This is because the family has its rules and regulations and when these rules and regulations are strictly followed it brings joy to the whole family and helps in community building. There is always the belief that good families can make a good society. Strong family bonds create an atmosphere of interference in the affairs of one another. For example a strong and united family the elders do not abandon the family, but they keep taking care of their parents and their younger ones in times of troubles.

Significance of family support in western world is on appendix 1.

Analysis of concept in the light of literature:

During the 1950s, Murray Bowen gave family system theory. Theory affirms that the individual can change behavior if aware of the impact of current and historical family behavior. It works on family as well as on the emotional health of an individual. Bowen summarized his theory using seven interlocking concepts. First three concepts apply to overall family and other four are related to family characteristics.

Differentiation of self

The concept of differentiation of self measures all human functioning on a continuum from the greatest emotional fusion of self boundaries to the highest degree of differentiation or autonomy. In my patients scenario “self” was suppressed from the childhood in the result of that her family relationship were not strong. A lot of family criticism was there. Children were not allowed to take their own decision; instead they have to do whatever parents asked. The example is secular studies were compromised and the client was put in Madrasa to learn and recite Quran. As a result the family bonding went down. Her issue were not given importance and taken as a least important person of the family. She was never paid attention for whatever she did; the reason could be huge family, less differences between children and poverty.

The continuum of differentiation of self is discussed more in detail in appendix 2.

Triangles

Triangle is a predictable emotional process that takes place when difficulty exists in a significant relationship, and the third entity is included. In my patient’s scenario, the triangle has three ends. One is father, another mother and the third is the patient. The conflicts between parents have a great impact on child and that can leave lifelong effects on one’s life. In my clients scenario the parents had conflicts between them and research indicates that the longer parental conflict continue, greater the tension between the parents, the greater the likelihood that psychological difficulties will result for children such as emotional and behavior problems, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, low self-esteem, school problems and a number of other difficulties.

The example of family triangle is on appendix 3.

Nuclear Family Emotional System

These are patterns of interaction between family members and the degree to which these patterns promote emotional fusion. In my clients picture she was always projected that she never participates in house hold chores and is the laziest person of the family. This indeed led to low self esteem and hopelessness. Most of the patients develop hopelessness because of shame and guilt of being poor. According to Patel & Kleinman (2003) stated that “hopelessness is a core experience: it is associated with spouse and family abuse, forced marriages, limited educational and work prospects, stigma for failing to produce a son, and the migration of husbands to urban areas for employment.”

The family projection process

It is the projection of spouses’ problem onto one or more children to avoid intense emotional fusion between the spouses. This also fits into the clients scenario that because of poverty and low socio economic status parent and child were not able to create bond between them. “The economic stressors such as unemployment, low income, and lack of affordable housing, are more likely to precede mental illness.”(Hudson, 2005 )

Multigenerational Transmission Process

This refers to the transmission of a family projection process. The nature and degree of intensity of emotional responses are passed down from generation to generation. Levels of differentiation are affected through generations based on levels of differentiation of partners as they marry. This was not exactly explored during the interaction but it could be a part of patient’s illness.

Emotional cutoff

The concept of emotional cutoff describes people managing their unresolved emotional issues with parents, siblings, and other family members by reducing or totally cutting off emotional contact with them. In my patients case she became isolated from the family. This could be because she has some concerns from the family but they were never addressed and she got emotionally cutoff from it.

Sibling’s position

There is an impact of sibling position on development and behavior. Most of the time it is practiced that older child is the leader and the younger’s are the followers. My patient follows exactly in this category. She is forth among seven siblings. She never liked her mother to say that “be like your elder sister” and never liked to follow her elder sisters. (Stuart, 2001)

See appendices 4 for the factors left.

Intervention:

At individual level, a mental health nurse can take time for the patient and encourage them to ventilate their feelings. Moreover, while giving teaching to the patients, nurse can discuss the coping strategies. She can provide holistic care and address the problems and concerns accordingly, as the need of the individual. The nurse can provide the most important information’s to the patient that is the need for the understanding their own responsibility. Make them aware of the importance of family support which is necessary for them. The interventions done on the client includes family teaching on dealing with hallucination and delusions that was informal. Mother was given teaching on stress management and coping mechanism. Client was involved in occupational therapy example making sit upon, coloring, drawing, collage work, making bands and so on to see the concentration level and keep the patient busy and asked the family to keep patient involved.

At group level family can also involved with patient, to be aware of patient’s condition and involve them actively in patient’s care. The individual can be involved in group therapies for example milieu and occupational therapy. Moreover, in Pakistan, organizations should be made which can involve families who have clients with mental illness so that they can share their concerns, ventilate their feeling and reform solutions to problems. Some organization can also work to reduce the poverty and socio-economic instability, which is one of the leading factors of mental illness.

At institutional level different groups of health care professional can be train for the risk assessment, can conduct the educational session on importance and role of family in one’s life. Moreover, seminars can be held for general public regarding awareness of mental illness, coping skills to reduce stress and to ventilate their feeling. Hence, I would like to recommend that health care workers should be more vigilant towards client’s health.

At governmental level, organizations should be made to teach skills to clients for earning and to feel them self-empower. In addition, it is role of a nurse to identify the concerns in clients, spend time with the clients for their ventilation of feelings, should not be judgmental regarding clients complains and try to resolve their issues collaboratively with clients, families and other health care providers.

My own learning & Reflection:

Through this paper writing my horizon of thinking about family role has more broaden. I always had a thought that mental illness occurs more often with parental conflicts but it has many other dimensions to look at. Going through different researches I came to know that love and affection are the important aspects which can help a mentally ill patient to live a normal life and when one is deprived from it can end into many other issues. The misconceptions I had before about mentally ill patients were that they are harmful and attacking but now I realized that they are only looking for love and someone to listen them. Mentally ill patients are also human and they should be treated as human beings, this is their right and they should get it.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, low family sociability, the extent to which family members derive and seek gratification from social interaction with others along with a lack of cohesion explicitly, the extent to which family members have bonding towards one another is important. Conflicts between family members, authoritarian family styles, the extent to which parents dominate the locus of rule making and low family sociability play’s a significant role in one’s life. Importance of Family lies in the fact that one can discuss matters with the other family members and search solution from discussions. At times, conflict appears in a family but enough space should be provided to their opinions and views. In modern days, we have seen that joint families have broken up into nuclear families and a nuclear family consists of a couple and their children. In western countries, nuclear families are the norm but in many eastern countries, joint families still exist. Children receive guidance from the family as to what they should do or what they should not do. The Importance of Family lies in the fact that it determines to a large extent the social roles that the children will perform. Family support and bond can help an individual to come out from stressors, mental illness and other health problems.

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Appendices 1:

Significance of family support in western context:

According to Sven.D. 1998 “There are regions where traditionally the family group has priority over the individual and others are opposite, with the individual and there values having priority over everything else. The geography of these family systems suggests that North America, center and northern Europe has been characterized having relatively weak family links. There are indications that these differences have deep historical roots. There is little to suggest that they are diminishing today in any fundamental manner. The way in which the relationship between the family group and its members manifest itself has implications for the way society itself functions.” According to my thinking, in western world, families have less importance, may be because of their fantasy world, interference they don’t like or freedom they are fond of. In the west, kids are allowed to leave parents at the age of 18 as they are mature and can take their own decisions and responsibility and parents don’t mind it because it’s their trend, as a result single parent family comes into existence. According to Jill Francis, of the National Children’s Bureau, “There are four main reasons why teen age unmarried girls in Britain become pregnant. “The likelihood becoming pregnant as a teen increased if one had parents who were inattentive, unloving, or failed to instill moral values with no family bonding. Girls whose mothers were teenage mums are more likely to do the same”. Here the question arises that if this situation will continue, will there be family bonding in upcoming years? It is important for the family to understand the importance of family role in order to save the generation from mental illness, as families role is one of the biggest factors contributing towards mental disorder. The concept of family is somewhere far but those who belief in family bonding are still holding their hands together.

Appendix 2:

High differentiation

Low differentiation

Fusion with others. Personal autonomy

Blends thoughts and feelings. Distinguish between thoughts

Emotionally reactive when stressed. and feelings. Retains objectively

when stressed.

Interrelationship can be defined as a “mutual or reciprocal relation” (Oxford University Press, 2012). A theory in social work is a “framework for understanding” (Thompson, 2000a, p. 22). It provides the practitioner with an understanding of client behaviour and emotions. Where theory enables understanding the client and the situation they are encountering, practice is how the practitioner interprets this ‘knowledge’ and uses it. It is the process of interviewing, accessing and assisting the client. Thompson (2000a) states “the relationship between theory and practice can be seen as a direct parallel with that between thinking and doing” (p. 4).

Social work practitioners learn theories so they can be more competent and professional in their practice. Without theory and a solid knowledge base, the social work practitioner inadvertently becomes less effective (Thompson, 2000a). Howe states (as cited in Collingwood, Emond, & Woodward, 2008) some social work practitioners “believe that theory is not required and that the best decisions are based on pragmatism and common sense” (p. 72). However, according to Fisher and Somerton (as cited in Collingwood et al., 2008) “theory may not be explicitly articulated, and it may not be used well, but there is no such thing as ‘theory-less’ practice” (p. 72).

An example of a how theory interrelates with practice is what Connolly and Healy (2011) call mountain-moving theories (p. 28). These are “approaches that aim to shift oppressive structures and/or dominant discourses so that we can move towards a more equitable society” (Connolly & Healy, 2011, p. 28). Social work practitioners are considered to have power and influence, therefore they need a practice that does not discriminate, oppress or show prejudice in terms of “sexism, racism, ageism and disablism” (Thompson, 2006, p. 40). Anti-oppressive practice is the practice in which a social work practitioner strives to “reduce, undermine or eliminate discrimination and oppression” (Thompson, 2006). When working with a person with a disability, a social work practitioner must be careful not to oppress the client themselves, therefore social work practitioners follow the “principle of minimal intervention” (Connolly & Healy, 2011, p. 29). They need to use skills that involve empowerment which means “believing that people are capable of making their own choices and decisions” (Connolly & Healy, 2011, p. 28). The social work practitioner would use their knowledge, access to resources, and power to enable the client to feel powerful and supported. They would not make decisions for the client but would let them decide for themselves, giving the client the tools necessary to “realise their potential” (Connolly & Healy, 2011, p. 28). By using the right theory in their practice the social work practitioner has enabled the client to feel validated, giving them greater control of their lives, therefore building up their confidence and allowing them to be valued members of society (Connolly & Healy, 2011). Connolly and Healy state “anti-oppressive practice provides a theoretical explanation, guidance in terms of approach, and techniques for responding to the needs of people” (Connolly & Healy, 2011, p. 28).

According to Thompson “a paradigm is a theoretical approach which encompasses a number of related theories” (2000, p. 27). Theoretical paradigms play an important role in social work as they guide the practitioner on what may be happening in the client’s world. Social work practitioners can choose which approach to take by which paradigm they deem more appropriate to the situation (Thompson, 2000b). They can choose to focus their practice on a particular or singular paradigm or use multiple paradigms, in an eclectic manner (Poulter, 2005). Poulter states “eclectic workers argue that not being locked into one particular paradigm frees practitioners to determine what actually works best in practice” (2005, p. 1999). Although there are many theoretical paradigms of social work one main one is systems theory.

An understanding of systems theory involves looking at the sociological effects of society on the client and how they are being affected by them (Thompson, 2000b). With Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, the social work practitioner takes the client’s current environment into account. This theory includes microsystems, mesosystems, ecosystems and macrosystems (Connolly & Healy, 2011). It is a valuable theory because it allows the practitioner to look at the whole picture. For example if there was a problem with a child, the social work practitioner would firstly look at the microsystem surrounding them. This includes the child’s family, school, peers and neighbourhood which interact daily with them (Santrock, 2011). The social work practitioner would then look at the mesosystems that impact the client’s life; this is the relationship between the child’s microsystems and how they affect each other (Santrock, 2011). The ecosystem “consists of links between a social setting in which the individual does not have an active role” (Santrock, 2011, p. 29), examples of this are parents work places and social welfare services. Here, the social work practitioner looks at how the parents’ work place or hours of work affect the child or how social welfare is influencing the family’s life (Payne, 2005). The macrosystem “involves the culture in which individuals live” (Payne, 2005, p. 29). This is the family’s values and beliefs and how this affects the child. By looking at the whole picture the social work practitioner can obtain a true picture of the child and his / her environment. By using a theoretical paradigm the practitioner has managed to fully comprehend the client’s situation and what its influences are; now they can use their knowledge of practice to provide assistance to the child and family.

As theory and practice are interrelated, it is accurate to say that they shape one another as well. Sheafor and Horejsi determine that, not only is it hard to separate theory and practice but “practice is the process of using knowledge and applying theory in order to bring about specific change” (2008, p. 46). During the process of time and practice, a practitioner’s knowledge base develops, changes, and becomes more comprehensive. To help recognise when change is needed, part of the social work practitioner’s role is to “constantly reflect upon what they do and what they think about what they have done” (Dominelli, 2004, p. 250). Reflexivity practice is cyclic, and begins with the experience of the task, reviewing what has happened, conceptualising and trying to understand relationships and finishing by predicting what to do next, thus giving the practitioner a new idea of how to proceed next time (Chenoweth & McAuliffe, 2012). Reflexivity “provides an opportunity to understand the way in which the worker’s personal views and interpretation intersect with practice-in-situation” (Harms & Connolly, 2011, p. 6). Reflexivity leads to praxis when an ideology is added; this is the process of strengthening our practice and a form of continual growth for the practitioner (Harms & Connolly, 2011). During this time theories will also grow and change, leading to a change in practice. As most social work practitioners want to bring about change and ‘help people’, they are more inclined to promote social action (Shaefor & Horejsi, 2008). Examining social injustices and inequalities in society is just part of the social work practitioner’s role (Payne, 2005). According to Payne (2005) “this has led to the development of perspectives that broaden the range of factors that lead to inequality and injustice” (p. 230).

Culturally sensitive practice in New Zealand was developed in order to promote perspectives that encompassed MA?ori value and beliefs. Social work practitioners saw the need to treat MA?ori within the context of their culture, not the dominant culture of the Pakeha. MA?ori well-being is viewed as holistic, containing characteristics from the spiritual, mental, physical and extended family (Durie, 1994). Where a psychodynamic theory might work with a Pakeha, the one to one dynamics and required openness of the dialogue, does not encompass the culture of MA?ori. This led to the development of mA?ori models like the ‘whare tapa whA?’ model, Te Wheke and NgA? Pou Mana” (Durie, 1994). The whare tapa whA? model was formed from the findings that MA?ori health was suffering due to the westernised treatment of them while sick (Durie, 1994). The standard dominant Pakeha model of health was not allowing MA?ori to follow their cultural beliefs; therefore a new theory or models were developed to encompass MA?ori culture. This in turn led to improved practice. Social work practitioners now understand when working with Maori that it is not just the individual that needs to be considered but the collective (Durie, 1994).

In conclusion, the interrelationship between theory and practice denotes that they are reliant on one another for the social work practitioner to develop their professional selves. For quality practice, a social work practitioner must have a sound knowledge base of theory and practice. The developments of new perspectives enhance the ability of the social work practitioner to have an ethical practice. Thompson states (as cited in Thompson, 2000a) “practice which does not take into account of oppression and discrimination cannot be seen as good practice” (p. 10). The use of theoretical paradigms in social work practice provides the practitioner with an understanding of ‘where the client is at’ in their situation, what they will do to assist the client and how they will do it. Theory shapes practice in the way that what the practitioner learns will affect the way they practice. Similarly how the practice is developed, is based not only on theory but also experience, so this shapes theory in that it may be modified to suit. The process of reflection helps the practitioners ability to look back on their practice and the theories they have used, allowing them to review their thoughts and feelings. A change in theory and practice has enabled MA?ori to be treated in a way that is more in line with their culture, making the practitioner more sensitive and well-rounded which leads to an improved practice.

For my essay I have chosen to look at the role of a mental health social worker (MHSW). MHSWs may be incorporated into a multi-disciplinary community mental health team or they may work as part of a generic team and I have chosen to focus on the former. Many MHSWs although formally employed by a local authority are often permanently seconded by health and work in health and social care trusts that are partnerships between health and local authority employers. (Wilson, Ruch, Lymbery and Cooper, 2008). Community mental health teams (CMHTs) work to help people with complex mental health disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. They provide day-to-day support that allows service users to remain in the community. The Care Programme Approach (CPA) used by CMHTs has been central to government policy since 1991. It was crucial to ensure that, following the closure of the old, long stay, hospitals, people with mental health problems received the care they needed, rather than lose contact with services and end up homeless or exploited. The Care Programme Approach (CPA) requires that everyone accepted for treatment or care by mental health services should have their needs assessed, a care plan to meet those needs, a named mental health worker and regular review of their needs and their care plan (Department of Health (DOH) 2010).

A mental health social worker’s contribution to a CMHT ‘is ideally found in a combination of systematic, psychodynamic and broadly relationship-based skills and perspectives’ (Wilson, Ruch, Lymbery and Cooper, 2008:586). A MHSW performs roles that can be divided into three broad categories: advocacy role, direct change agent role and executive role (Beckett 2009). Very often these roles are performed simultaneously and this may cause conflict. Advocacy can be defined as ‘the exclusive and mutual representation of a client(s) or a cause in a forum, attempting to systematically influence decision making in an unjust or unresponsive system(s)’ (Schneider and Lester, 2001:65 cited in Beckett 2009:118). Advocacy is a very important role played by social workers especially as mental health service users are a group ‘marginalised in some way by society’ and it is ‘about redressing the balance and helping voices to be heard, which otherwise would have gone unheard’ (Beckett 2009:122). People with mental health problems experience discrimination in many areas of life. Social workers by virtue of their professional status possess a lot of power and need to be aware of this when they are trying to build a relationship with a service user group that has been effectively disempowered by society. As advocates social workers can use their power to challenge the oppression faced by mental health service users. A mental health social worker can act as either a ‘direct advocate’ or an ‘indirect advocate’. As a direct advocate they would speak on behalf of a service user. As part of a multi-disciplinary team social workers are expected to work with other professionals such as psychiatrists, nurses and occupational therapists. In recent years the primary agency responsibility for mental health work has shifted decisively towards the health sector and there are those that argue that ‘operating within the medicalized paradigm of practice reduces human potential to the confines of drugs and mental patient role reproducing programs, thus short-circuiting social development and reproducing the conditions of oppression’ (Rose and Black, 1985:58/9). This has had a big impact on social workers as difficulties arise from a clash in values of the medical model and social models of mental health care. In addition competing demands of the various professionals working in the team faced by limited resources may lead to further difficulty. A MHSW may have to advocate for a service user when dealing with other professionals and must be skilled in diplomacy and communication in order to achieve the best possible result for the service user when dealing with other professionals. As an indirect advocate a MHSW helps service users speak on their own behalf. Social workers are frequently in a position which makes it impossible for them to be truly independent and represent only the service users’ wishes. For example, when a social worker needs to act on behalf of more than one family member who have conflicting wishes or interests, when service user’s wishes conflict with the social worker’s assessment of what is in the best interests of the service user, and when conflict arises because social workers have a responsibility to manage public funds and prioritise limited resources and this may conflict with the service user’s wishes/needs. Advocacy skills are important to social workers, but they must also have the knowledge required to advise service users to find independent advocacy appropriate to their needs.

In the direct change agent role a MHSW through interaction with individual service users or groups of service users can work to bring about change. Bringing about change will require assessment of the service user’s needs and looking at ways in which their circumstances may be improved and this will involve significant skills in problem solving. Social workers in a CMHT may borrow from therapeutic/counseling techniques and ‘past’ or ‘present’ oriented approaches (Beckett 2009:47) such as psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural theories can be used to help the service users bring about change in their lives. ‘Mental health problems are intensely personal experiences for the person who is directly affected, but also for those close to them’ (Wilson, Ruch, Lymbery and Cooper 2008:566). Working with a service user to bring about change may involve working with carers and/or family members as a mediator to resolve conflict or as an educator. This can be very useful as service user problems can sometimes be linked to those around them and part of bringing about change would require change from them. Some of the skills required by a MHSW in a direct change agent role would be communication, negotiation and counseling.

The executive role deals with the practical side of being a mental health social worker. As a care co-coordinator the MHSW would be the first point of contact between the service user and various professionals involved in their care. A social worker acting in this role should be able to explain to the service user how different services are responding to their different needs, while at the same time relaying any of the service user’s concerns to the appropriate professionals. Part of the executive role includes the social worker acting as a control agent. This role ‘regulates and enforces boundaries of behaviour in order to protect vulnerable people either from being harmed themselves or from harming others’ (Beckett 2009: 12). Under the Mental Health Act (MHA) 1983 Approved Mental Health Practitioners (AMHPs) have a ‘statutory role in arranging compulsory admission to hospital’ (Brammer 2010: 446). This role creates an ethical dilemma for the MHSW as they are expected to balance the rights and welfare of the individual against public welfare and this may mean compulsory detention for assessment or treatment. AMHPs work closely with medical practitioners who are required to first recommend compulsory detention for assessment or treatment, ultimately the final decision lies with the AMHP. The AMHP must also consult the service user’s nearest relative (Family member, spouse, civil partner, or someone who has resided with the service user for five years) before an application for treatment or guardianship is made (Brammer 2010:448/9). The role of control agent poses an ethical dilemma as the social worker ‘ sees herself as facing a choice between two equally unwelcome alternatives, which may involve a conflict of moral values’ (Banks 2010:13).

A MHSW can apply various theoretical perspectives in their area of work. I have chosen to briefly explain the person-centred approach, cognitive behavioural therapy and the strengths perspective. Following this I will describe in detail how the strengths perspective can be applied in a CMHT.

The origins of the person-centred approach can be traced back to Carl Rogers in the 1950s and 60s. Rogers placed immense value on the therapeutic relationship and identified six conditions ‘”necessary” and “sufficient” for therapeutic change to occur’ (Dykes 2010:114/5). These conditions are psychological contact between client and therapist; client’s state of incongruence; therapist’s congruency or integration in the relationship; the therapist’s unconditional positive regard for the client; the therapist’s empathic understanding of the client and communication of empathic understanding; and positive regard achieved to a minimal degree. To use this approach successfully social workers do not ‘claim to have superior expertise to their client and they do not claim to be able to explain or interpret their clients to themselves, they simply help their clients to draw on their own expertise and their own problem-solving capacity’ (Beckett 2009: 66). This approach empowers service users and gives them confidence to come up with their own solutions. In this process the helper grows personally while helping the service user to do the same. In order to help the service user the social worker needs to ‘already being the place where the client needs to get in order to deal with his own problems in his own way’ (Beckett 2009: 69). This approach comes with some difficulties as social workers can be expected to play different roles at the same time. When a social worker acts as a control agent it is virtually impossible to offer the “acceptance” that the approach requires. The social worker cannot just accept the ‘client’s world’ without ‘evaluating and judging’ especially when there is risk of harm to the service user or others. In some situations it is also possible that a social worker may have to disclose information revealed by a service user to other professionals or agencies. A social worker cannot just accept what a service user has divulged and may be required to act on the information whether or not the service user wants them to. This may not foster the type of trusting therapeutic relationship that Rogers envisioned.

Present day cognitive-behavioural therapy represents an evolutionary merging of behaviour therapy and cognitive therapy (Dykes 2010). It is an approach supported by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), the body set up to review the effectiveness of clinical treatments for the National Health Service (Wilson, Ruch, Lymbery and Cooper 2008). It is the method of choice in mental health services due to empirical evidence of its effectiveness and its overall cost-effectiveness as it can be offered on a short term basis. The underlying theory of the cognitive-behavioural approach is that behaviour and mood are largely the result of the cognitive processes with which we interpret the environment that surrounds us. From his early research Aaron Beck realised the need for theory that ‘drew together meaning and behaviour in both normal and abnormal emotions’ (Salkovskis 2010:146). Beck’s cognitive theory of emotion is integral to the understanding of mental health problems from a cognitive-behavioural perspective. The cognitive theory of emotion suggests that it is the meanings that individuals take from a situation that create emotional responses. If the meaning is negative, the emotional response will be negative and vice versa. Particular emotions are typically linked to particular meanings. For example anxiety and fear are usually linked to personal threat and danger (physical, social or role-related)These meanings are not always conscious and may require a social worker to carefully question an individual so that they can be identified, therefore communication and counselling skills would be essential. The cognitive theory identifies that normal emotions become disordered when an individual continually takes certain meanings out of situations with persistant negative responses. A practitioner using the cognitive-behavioural approach offers, a safe environment, acceptance and congruence, actively challenging self-destructive and negative thought processes that may be destructive. The practitioner seeks to facilitate the client’s own understanding of their behaviour and feelings and thus effect a change of view of the way in which they see the world and how it impacts on them. Seeking to alter irrational into rational beliefs, which are less likely to result in poorly adapted behaviour and disorders such as depression. It is very important for the practitioner to assist the individual in making clear both the problems they want help with and the goals they want to work towards.

The strengths perspective originates in North America from the works of Saleebey, Rapp, Weick and others. They advocated for professionals to challenge key concepts in biomedical and psychiatric discourses that focussed on deficits. The ideas behind the strengths perspective are an effort to correct a strained and often destructive prominence of what is absent, wrong and abnormal. Practicing from this perspective does not ask social workers to ignore the real problems that impact people and their sense of future possibility as in ‘the lexicon of strengths, it is as wrong to deny the possible as it is to deny the problem’ (Saleeby, 1996:297). The strengths perspective is strongly aligned with solution-focussed and empowerment approaches. Features of the strengths perspective are consistent with the empowerment approach as the aim for both is to build service user confidence in their own abilities. The empowerment perspective ‘can be seen as a bridge between the strengths perspective and anti-oppressive approaches in that it combines core elements of both practice perspectives’ (Healey, 2005:157) The perspective draws on theoretical knowledge and empirical research in social sciences and social work. The perspective assumes that all people have strengths, are resilient, have the ability to determine what is best for them and that professionals tend to focus on the clients’ problems and deficits and shy away from collaborative partnerships with service users because they want to protect their professional power (Healey 2005). The key practice principles of the strengths perspective are adopting an optimistic attitude, focussing primarily on assets, partnership with the service user, working towards long-term empowerment of service users, and creating community.

According to Rapp (1998) mental health workers must have a belief in people and the capacity to better their lives and that the ‘practice perspective must reek of “can do” in every stage of the helping process’ (Rapp, 1998:54). The strengths perspective embodies social work values of respect and service user self-determination (Healey 2005). Optimism is essential if a social worker is to build on the service user’s strengths and ‘social workers have a professional duty to assume a positive and optimistic attitude towards service users’ (Healey 2005: 158). A MHSW will need to acknowledge their client’s strengths and respect the direction in which clients want to apply them. This may require a MHSW to challenge themselves and others to question approaches that focus on the problem or deficit that the service user has. Instead the MHSW would look for strengths that the service user possesses and focus on these as ‘we can build only on strengths, not on deficits’ (Healy 2005:159). It is also important to focus on the strengths of the service users families and community as inherent in the perspective is the belief that all people, families and communities possess strengths that can be called on to improve the quality of their life. The social worker must be able to convey their belief in the service user and vital to this would be their use of language. Instead of referring to a service user as a schizophrenic, they would be referred to as a person with schizophrenia (Healy 2005). Separating the service user from the problem that has brought them to the agency is an integral part of the approach. Listening and identifying strengths and resourcefulness that a service user has is an important part of the strengths perspective. A social worker must be able to listen to a client’s account of a situation and identify the service users’ capacity to make positive changes. For example, when dealing with a service user that suffers from severe anxiety the social worker can help the service user to identify periods when they are not anxious. Service users then realise that they are not in a permanent state of anxiety and identify what it is that helps then remain in a state of non-anxiety. Client goals and visions then become the base for intervention plans.

The strengths approach requires that the service user and social worker have a collaborative partnership and this is consistent with social work values. Working in partnership increases the likelihood of a positive outcome as the service user is involved from start to finish. A MHSW would have to use their listening skills and it would be essential for the partnership that the service user feels that their views are being listened to. It would be important for the MHSW to ‘create opportunities for the alienated and distressed to seize some control over their lives and the decisions that are critical to their lives’ (Rappaport cited in Healey 2005: 163/4). Empowering service users to make changes would be a key role for a MHSW.

The strengths perspective demands that workers regard their practice from a different viewpoint. Service users and those who surround them need to be seen for their capacities, abilities, competencies, ideas, values, and hopes, however affected they are by situation and oppression. There are those that criticise the approach because it ignores real problems, however, the perspective does not downplay or ignore real problems. Problems are what bring the service user to the agency and they are compelled to talk about them. They need opportunities to express themselves, and recount the barriers to their expression and value. How a MHSW would relate to these problems is pivotal in the strengths perspective.

Social work is a diverse role that requires many varying skills. These skills are used to support members of society who have been marginalised and disempowered and social workers attempt to correct these inequalities in the many different agencies that they work. In order to make decisions social workers require a firm understanding of theory and their ability to use the appropriate theories for a given situation or to be able to select different principles from varying theories and use them in combination for the benefit of the service user is equally important.