Social Work Commons^™

Clinician Support To Caregivers Of Children With A Mental Health Disorder, Lauren Gavin

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The type of support clinicians’ offer and provide to caregivers whose children have mental health disorder is an important topic for mental health professionals to consider in their own practice. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to gain insight in to how clinicians’ support caregivers of children with mental health needs initially and over the course of their child’s treatment. The researcher audio recorded a semi-structured interview with four mental health professionals. The researcher transcribed the interviews and conducted a qualitative analysis on the results. The researcher and research chair identified five major themes from the data analysis: …

Foster Youth Transitioning To Adulthood, Jaclyn Jones

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe ways foster care caseworkers help foster youth transition to adulthood successfully. Data was collected using qualitative interviews, with four professionals who have experience with foster youth aging out of the foster care system. A number of themes emerged from this data, including: the need to start harm reduction services early, the importance of services in general, the need for permanent connections, and the importance of relationships between foster youth and social workers. Findings suggest a lack of support for foster youth aging out of the system, and that the support …

Identifying Postpartum Mood Disorders In Men, Melissa Larson

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

According to the American Psychological Association (2016), one in seven women are diagnosed with a postpartum mood disorder. Postpartum mood disorders have recently received an increasing amount of attention in the news and in the media. More recently, however, researchers have been questioning whether fathers are also experiencing increased mood disorders such as anxiety and depression during the postpartum period. A review of literature yielded that this assumption is accurate, and that factors such as the female partner’s mental health, role transition and delayed bond with child put new fathers at risk for developing postpartum mood disorders. The literature also …

Support For Mental Health Workers After Client Suicide: A Systematic Review, Nicole Arndt-Wenger

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. Often, a person who has committed suicide had suffered from some sort of mental illness. Mental health workers are at risk for experiencing a client death by suicide at some point in their career. This systematic review was designed to explore what supports are available for mental health workers after a client suicide, and how effective those supports are. The review used peer-reviewed articles from databases Social Work Abstracts, PsycNet, SocIndex and GoogleScholar. These databases were systematically searched and 10 articles met criteria. From these articles, seven themes …

Mental Health Social Workers: The State Of Their Well-Being And Support, Laura Conway

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The mental health social worker experiences unique challenges on a daily basis. A social worker’s well-being affects not only the social worker at the individual level; but also directly affects agency and client outcomes, which in turn impacts the mental health system. Adequate support is crucial in maintaining social workers’ positive well-being (Graham & Shier, 2014).

Current rates of burnout among mental health professionals range from 21-61% (Morse, Salyers, Rollins, Monroe- DeVita & Pfahler, 2012). This suggests that there are gaps in adequate support for mental health social workers. A blend of systems theory, the strengths perspective and an empowerment …

Support For Women Who Experience Infertility: Providers’ Perspectives, Mackenzie Landbloom

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to explore how providers can support women who are experiencing infertility. Seven licensed professionals including social workers, family and marriage therapists, psychologists and doctors with experience working directly with women experiencing infertility participated in this study. Using a qualitative design, participants were interviewed regarding their experience working with women going through infertility. Content analysis was used to analyze the recordings of the interviews and to identify themes that emerged throughout the data. Three major themes emerged from the data including the need for support, education, and continued care. The themes found in this study …

Systematic Review: Coping And Supports Of Family Caregivers For Adults With Serious Mental Illness, Sheryl A. Cotton

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Caring for a loved one with serious mental illness is a challenging role to be in. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to integrate the current literature which values the viewpoint of the caregiver regarding their own strength perspective of discovering what coping skills and support systems they have found to be beneficial. The studies included in the review were peer reviewed empirical, qualitative and quantitative studies, representing several countries and age groups. Inclusionary terms for this study included: “chronic mental illness” or “mental illness”, some version of the word caregiver, family, related, adapt, cope and long-term. Exclusionary …

The Experiences Of Social Workers With Organizational Support For Professional Burnout And Vicarious Trauma, Halaina I. Howard

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Social workers and therapists have been experiencing professional burnout and vicarious trauma for quite some time. However, the preventative measures, interventions, and responses of organizations to slow down or limit the symptoms of professional burnout and vicarious trauma seem deficient. The purpose of this research study was to explore the experiences of social workers with organizational support related to professional burnout and vicarious trauma. This qualitative study gained insight into the personal experiences of social workers. Eight social workers were interviewed, two of the participants were licensed independent clinical social workers (LICSW), one was a licensed independent social worker (LISW), …

The Caregiver Experience: Raising A Child With A Mental Health Condition, Kelly Mwei

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Caring for a child with a diagnosed mental health condition not only affects the child, but impacts the caregivers of these children in a variety of ways. The purpose of this project was to explore caregivers’ experiences raising a child with a diagnosed mental health condition, specifically looking at what supports and services are available to them, how these services and supports are utilized, and what challenges and barriers they encounter. Using a qualitative design, six participants (five professional and one familiar caregiver) were interviewed regarding their experience assisting in or raising a child with a mental health condition. Data …

Lgbt Community Members Experiences Of Support During Family Formation And Parenting, Serena A. Vruno

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This study explores how members of the LGBT community experience support systemically during family formation and parenting. Six Caucasian women, who identified as lesbians, were interviewed in relation to their perceptions of support during family formation and parenting. The researcher asked 12 semi-structured questions to capture the level of support LGBT members receive by family, friends, general public and professionals (i.e., social workers). The majority of the respondents felt supported systemically in part because of the intentional environment they chose to live in and the family of choice chosen as a support system. Although the participants felt supported by the …

Social Work And Chaplain Perspectives In Offering Long Term Care Bereavement Support, Laura S. Tvedt

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Currently, more than 1.4 million people are considered long term care residents in the United States and one in five deaths happen in long term care facilities (Nursing Home Statistics, 2013). The purpose of this study will be to understand the types of grief and loss experienced by family members, as well as gain awareness of bereavement support systems in long term care facilities, what the support systems entail and what, if any, the barriers are to providing support. The research design was qualitative research with interviews. This design was chosen due to the exploratory nature of the research question. …

Ethical Implications: End Of Life Planning For Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities, Kylie Otte

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities need to engage in end of life planning, however it is essential to determine how their support networks fit into the process. As individuals with Intellectual Disabilities require support to live their daily lives, they too need support when making decisions surrounding medical treatments and end of life planning. The purpose of this study was to identify ethical implications for social workers, when working with Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities when engaging in end of life planning. Seven respondents participated in this study consisting of qualitative interviews. Each of the interviewees responded to similar question lists, written …

The Use Of Support And Coping Skills Among Emerging Adults Following Parental Loss, Christina S. Newton

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Experiencing the death of a parent is often a life changing event, regardless of the age at which the loss is experienced. This research explored the experiences of adults who lost a parent during emerging adulthood, between the ages of 18 and 26. Using a qualitative method, 10 adults were interviewed regarding the support that was available and that they utilized following their loss, as well as the coping skills and mechanisms which they employed to assist with their grief. The resulting data from interview transcriptions were analyzed and themes were developed. The themes that developed included participant views of …