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St. Catherine University

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

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Full-Text Articles in Social Work

Trauma-Informed Care: Training And Implementation In The Foster Care System, Danielle Norgren May 2018

Trauma-Informed Care: Training And Implementation In The Foster Care System, Danielle Norgren

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

In 2015, there were 14,680 children in out of home care, which was a 9% increase from 2014 (Minnesota Department of Human Services, 2016). All of the youth in the foster care system have experienced an Adverse Childhood Experience (Garcia et al., 2017), which makes them vulnerable to mental health illnesses and many different medical conditions. If a youth presents with behavioral issues and/or mental health illnesses, the common forms of interventions that they receive are medications and psychotherapy. Trauma-informed care (TIC) has been proven to be a beneficial approach when working with the youth in the foster care system. …


Psycho-Social Variables Contributing To Disparities Of Hmong Students In Postsecondary Education, Mai Yang Moua May 2017

Psycho-Social Variables Contributing To Disparities Of Hmong Students In Postsecondary Education, Mai Yang Moua

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Statistics show that only 14.4% of Hmong students age 25 and older held bachelor’s degrees ( US Census Bureau, 2012) and 27% of Hmong live in poverty in the United States (UNPO, 2014). These are alarming statistics when compared to other racial and ethnic groups. The following systematic review was conducted to answer the research question: What psycho-social variables contributing to disparities of Hmong students in postsecondary education? Previous research articles included peer reviews and dissertations that were published after the year 2000. The databases used to collect relevant research were EBSCOhost (Academic Search Premier), Google Scholars, and JSTOR using …


Creation Of The Myth The Lived Experience Of Native Americans In Schools, Michael Olson May 2017

Creation Of The Myth The Lived Experience Of Native Americans In Schools, Michael Olson

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Native Americans are one of the lowest preforming racial groups in the United States public education system. Native Americans have among the lowest graduation rates, low post-secondary attendance, and are overly represented in special education. A review of the literature provides insights on the dynamics of academic oppression. This research attempts to add to a great deal of quantitative research on different forces of oppression by providing the daily lived experience of Native American youth attending public schools in the United States, which has not been fully researched. The purpose of this study was to answer the question: what is …


View Of Self And Its Effects On Higher Educational Goals In Mexican-American Youth, Rebekah Simpson May 2017

View Of Self And Its Effects On Higher Educational Goals In Mexican-American Youth, Rebekah Simpson

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The Latino population is the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, with 276,000 people identifying as Hispanics in Minnesota (Gonzalez-Barrera & Lopez, 2013). As the population continues to grow in number, more Latino students will continue to fill classrooms across the state. However, in 2012, only 53% of Hispanic students in Minnesota graduated high school, in comparison to 84% of white students (Race, 2012). The Latino population is the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, with 276,000 people identifying as Latino in Minnesota (Gonzalez-Barrera & Lopez, 2013). As the population continues to grow in number, more …


Understanding And Treating Shame: The Role Of The Clinician, Jennifer Perez Aug 2016

Understanding And Treating Shame: The Role Of The Clinician, Jennifer Perez

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Shame is a powerful emotion and experience that impacts how individuals interpret a situation, and often their behavior. It correlates with a number of mental health conditions that are commonly treated by psychotherapists, and yet the explicit or implicit treatment of shame directly or simultaneous to the disorder is less common. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted in an attempt to gather insight regarding the conceptualization, observation, and treatment of shame in the context of psychotherapy by both generalists and specialists (those with and without explicit training in relation to shame and its treatment). Themes that emerged from the data …


Social Workers Treating The Whole Person: The Need For Holistic Therapy Coursework, Tracy A. Toner May 2016

Social Workers Treating The Whole Person: The Need For Holistic Therapy Coursework, Tracy A. Toner

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Holistic therapies have become an integral part of everyday life in the US. We use holistic therapies for many reasons, for exercising, relaxing, and healing alternatives to the traditional. This research survey explored the use of holistic therapies by social workers who are providing clinical social work to their clients primarily in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota. Using a quantitative design, the research measured the number of clinical social workers who are now or have previously provided mental health counseling services and are using holistic therapies in addition to standard interventions. This exploratory research additionally hoped to identify the …


Medical Social Worker’S Understandings Of Spirituality In Patient Care, Sarah Huiskes May 2016

Medical Social Worker’S Understandings Of Spirituality In Patient Care, Sarah Huiskes

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Spirituality is defined as “an individual’s connection or relationship with God or with some other kind of transcendent being or dimension (Hodge & Horvath, 2011, p. 307).” Based on past literature, a patient’s spiritual or faith belief has the potential to influence their healthcare outcomes, coping ability, decision-making surrounding their healthcare, as well as their quality of life (Puchalski, Ferrell, Otis-Green, & Handzo, 2015). As social workers in the medical setting aim to provide psychosocial support, the inclusion of a spiritual assessment to determine the spiritual and faith needs of each patient in order to deliver individual patient care seems …


Social Worker And Teacher Perceptions Of The Achievement Gap In Minnesota, Paul W. Collier May 2014

Social Worker And Teacher Perceptions Of The Achievement Gap In Minnesota, Paul W. Collier

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Narrowing the achievement gap has become an increasing issue in Minnesota. The purpose of this research project was to explore the attitudes of school social workers and teachers to see if there were any significant differences in the perception of the professionals who work with children directly affected by the gap. Using quantitative data analysis, 51 respondents, including 13 licensed social workers and 38 licensed teachers, were surveyed electronically, via Qualtrics, a survey creation and distribution website. All of the questions were created based on findings in the research. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). …


Strength – Based Education, Kathleen Eaves May 2014

Strength – Based Education, Kathleen Eaves

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This research study was interested in assessing school social workers’ attitudes towards strength – based education. It was hypothesized that school social workers would demonstrate favorability towards strength – based educational principles, but not without some initial hesitations. Identifying these attitudes would highlight receptivity of social work professionals within the school systems towards strength – based education. An informed consent letter along with a research questionnaire was emailed out to 140 school social workers within the Minneapolis School District. The questionnaire included inclusionary and demographic questions in addition to nine strength – based questions that attempted to assess for the …


How Does Education And Experience Impact Therapist Self-Disclosure Among Clinical Social Workers?, Ashley J. Grahek May 2014

How Does Education And Experience Impact Therapist Self-Disclosure Among Clinical Social Workers?, Ashley J. Grahek

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This mixed methods study asks clinical social workers about their experience with therapist self-disclosure. Clinical social workers (n=86) completed an online survey asking them about their understanding and use of self-disclosure, their comfort and competence in using self-disclosure, their experience and education regarding self-disclosure, and how education, licensure, training, and supervision might be strengthened or expanded to address the use of self-disclosure in clinical practice. Findings suggested that clinical social workers are comfortable and confident in their use of therapist self-disclosure. The majority of respondents believed education, training, and supervision could be strengthened or expanded to better address the use …


Experiences Of Lgsws In Working With Sex Workers, Megan A. Week May 2014

Experiences Of Lgsws In Working With Sex Workers, Megan A. Week

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

There are various factors that influence the lives of sex workers, especially as they are trying to exit sex work. Frequently these factors lead these women to interact with social workers. The purpose of this project was to examine the experiences and preparedness/comfort level of LGSWs in working with sex workers. It also examined the perceived barriers to exiting sex work. Using a mixed methods survey, 61 LGSWs in Minnesota were surveyed about their preparedness to work with this population and their beliefs about the barriers to exiting. Data were analyzed using both descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The findings …


Analyzing Alternative Learning Centers: Challenges And Opportunities For Maintaining Student Retention, Princess Cramer-Drazkowski May 2013

Analyzing Alternative Learning Centers: Challenges And Opportunities For Maintaining Student Retention, Princess Cramer-Drazkowski

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to examine what strategies alternative learning centers utilize for student retention. A case study was used to learn about the ways one public school located in the Upper Midwest provided resources and developed relationships with students in an alternative learning center setting. Students attending alternative learning centers are typically high-risk high-need students who do not have many social supports in their educational settings. The participant in this study is a high-level administrator who has over 30 years of experience in the public school system, including participation in the creation of the modern alternative learning …


Linking Ebd Student Achievement To Attachment: Exploring The Role Of Relationship In Encouraging School Success, Jennifer Braaten Apr 2013

Linking Ebd Student Achievement To Attachment: Exploring The Role Of Relationship In Encouraging School Success, Jennifer Braaten

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Less than one half of students educationally labeled Emotionally or Behaviorally Disordered (EBD) graduate. Previous research findings suggest some reasons for this lack of success including: lack of educator training, mental health issues of students, the effect of poverty and how the nature of early childhood attachment impacts learning. Specific attention has been given to early childhood attachment patterns form the neurological pathways upon which a student may base future interactions. This qualitative study focused on the nature of the student-educator relationship and how that relationship can impact the learning of EBD students. There were ten participants interviewed for this …


Substance Abuse Education In Master's Of Social Work Programs: A Content Analysis, Alex Johnson May 2012

Substance Abuse Education In Master's Of Social Work Programs: A Content Analysis, Alex Johnson

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Prior research suggests that inadequate substance abuse education in social work programs contributes to misdiagnosis, bias, and produces students who are unprepared to work with substance abuse. This study assessed for the presence of substance abuse education in Minnesota MSW programs’ core curriculum. Using 19 educational objectives based on Minnesota statute for Alcohol and Drug Counseling licensure, this study sought to determine if current graduates are adequately prepared to work with substance abusing and dependent people and their families. Five of six MSW programs were assessed. This study found that only 4 of 19 objectives were met by all schools, …