Clinical and Medical Social Work Commons^™

Requisites For The Establishment, Implementation, And Evaluation Of Social Work Treatment Programs For Anti-Social Children, John S. Wodarski

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Requisites for the establishment, implementation and evaluation of social work treatment programs for anti-social children are reviewed. Specific items discussed are: how does one ascertain the level at which change efforts should be directed, i.e., individual, group, organizational, or societal; what is the appropriate context for behavioral change; who should act as the change agent; what characteristics should the worker possess; what are the rationale for service provided; how long should the treatment continue; how does one prepare for the termination of treatment and maintenance of behavior; what organizational factors of treatment contexts are pertinent to the constructive delivery of …

The Principles Of General Systems Theory Applied To The Medical Model: Who Benefits?, James T. Decker, John R. Redhorse

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The term "Medical Model", though frequently used by professionals, theoreticians and laymen in referring to certain aspects of the medical profession, or of the entire medical system, is rarely used with any degree of precision. The term, indeed, has been used as a shorthand expression, leaving it unnecessary to explicate descriptively the interrelated components of the medical arena. The theories, conceptual constructs, practice, and operating ideologies of the Medical Model, and their association with bi-cultural, economic, political and other concepts are left unspoken. These elements are simply assumed to be implicit in the use of the term. It is our …

The Educational Needs Of Social Work Faculty In Medical Schools, Richard M. Grinnell Jr., Nancy S. Kyte

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Despite a long-standing association and promise for a closer alliance in the future, considerable ambiguity surrounds the current participation of social workers in medical education. A nationwide study was conducted to obtain a comprehensive, up-todate profile of social work faculty employed by medical schools-- their total number, demographic characteristics, department affiliations, primary specialties, methods and content areas of academic instruction, etc. An accompanying study focused on the opinions of medical school Deans concerning the present and future status of social work faculty in medical education. Attention has been given to social work education in relation to health care practice. Another …

Elements Of The Perpetuation Of Dependency In A Psychiatric Halfway House, David R. Maines, Marilyn A. Markowitz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Halfway houses are intended as helping institutions for those who are attempting to make the transition from institutionalized mental health facilities to autonomous living in the community. In spite of the manifest goal to produce independence for its residents, however, the halfway house contributes to patterns of dependency. In addition to the network nature of mental health care, we identify three dependency-perpetuating elements: role commitments, language, and mixed messages. These elements are analyzed as both social organizational and social psychological processes, and their implications are discussed.

Informal Support Systems For The Aged: Limitations And Issues, Marjorie Buckholz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The need for community social services to enable older persons to remain in their homes has been well documented (Gold, 1974; Lohman, 1978; Atchley, 1977; Blenkner, 1977). Inspite of a growing service industry and professional corps of helpers, it does not reach the growing numbers of elderly, especially the older-elderly who are most likely to be frail (Gold, 1974; Lohmann, 1978; Heyman and Polansky, 1977). The aged share of the population has grown relative to the younger age group. In 1900, 6.4% of the U. S. population was 60 years or older; in 1975, it had increased to 14.8% (U. …

Preparing Social Work Practitioners To Work With And In Behalf Of Older Adults, Margaret E. Hartford

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Practice in the field of social gerontology is one of the developing frontiers in social work. Now and in the foreseeable future, services with a population that is growing older will be a rapidly expanding field of practice. Many of the programs for older adults are multidisciplinary and demand collaboration among several professions and services. In some instances social work is and will be the central organizing force assuming administrative responsibility. In other instances social workers are collateral with several professions, and in still others social work services are an adjunct to another service profession, such as medicine nursing, urban …

Differential Aspects Of Assessment And Intervention In Social Work Practice With The Elderly And Their Families, Barbara Silverstone

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

So much in our society separates the rest of us from the old that a discussion of the differential aspects of practice with the elderly and their families (many of whom are aging) runs the risk of being redundant as well as a concealed endorsement of the professional biases which afflict us all. The truth of the matter is that important differences do exist between social work practice with the old and with younger generations, differentials which emanate from a sound gerontological knowledge base. Although the similarities far out-weigh the discrepancies, failure to recognize or delineate these differences has resulted …

Volunteer Support For The Institutionalized Elderly, Harold Zepelin, Janet Stutzman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A neglected topic in discussions of services for the institutionalized elderly seems to be the question of whether the residents of nursing homes are receiving adequate support from volunteers. Undoubtedly, voluntarism is playing an important part in the provision of services and emotional support for the aged population, among them the elderly that are institutionalized. But because of the child-centeredness and youth-orientation of American society, it is possible that work with the elderly may not be attracting volunteers in proportion to the needs of this population. This may be especially true of the elderly in institutions because work with this …

A Comparison Of Factors Associated With Past Use, Projected Use, And Perceived Community Need For Health And Social Services, Pat M. Keith

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Life change, political, and demographic factors associated with past use, projected use, and perceived community needs for services by the aged were examined. Data were derived from interviews conducted with men and women 65 or over in a midwestern community. Life changes were more useful in explaining relationships with health and social services among men than were demographic and political variables. But among women, there was less difference in the amount of variance explained by the three groups of variables. Although men and women differed little in the extent to which they had experienced life changes, discontinuity was differentially associated …

Conflict Theories And Social Work Education, Norman N. Goroff

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

How one defines the world has consequences for one's actions in the world. Sociology has attempted to utilize the scientific method to help human beings understand their social world. However, in the process of its development, sociology has reflected the ideological bias of its practitioners. (Mills, 1943). Irving Zeitlin (1968, pp. vii) claims "Much of classical sociology arose within the context of a debate - first with eighteenth-century thought of the Enlightenment, and later with its true heir of the nineteenth century, Karl Marx."

The central theme of this paper is that social work education makes extensive use of conflict …

Medical Social Work Faculty: Clinicians Or Educators?, Richard M. Grinnell Jr., Nancy S. Kyte

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Within the health care field, medical social work has expanded rapidly over the past few years. In the United States, medical social workers comprise approximately 1.5 percent of the total medical schools' faculty. And, there is empirical evidence that medical social work faculty will increase substantially over the years to come.

However, we as social work educators know very little about medical social work facultys' opinions on how they perceive their overall function within medical schools. More specifically, if medical social work faculty are to function effectively in medical settings, we as a profession must know: if they perceive themselves …

Systems Theory, Robert D. Leighninger Jr.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Systems Theory has generated a lot of excitement in the last decade. It has also spawned more than its share of pitchmen, enough so that it is in danger of being discredited before its genuine potential in many fields of practice has been fairly tested. Wearing the double halo of Science and Corporate Efficiency conferred by its association with the aerospace industry and the Pentagon, it has been enthusiastically offered to Federal and State governments (Chartrand, 1971; Hoos, 1969 & 1972) as well as private individuals and organizations as a way of solving complex social problems like mass transit, crime, …

Interactionist Theory, Human Behavior Social Work And Social Work Education, Ralph Segalman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Much explanation of human behavior is based on assumptions about animal behavior. Two major contemporary theories, Behaviorism and Freudianism place major emphasis upon the human being as animal. Many middle-level theories have no reference to man's distinctive social characteristics. However, social explanations of behavior do have a heuristic advantage in the study of human functioning and "social pathology."

Structural Functional Theory, Social Work Practice And Education, Joe Hudson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The theoretical framework of structural functionalism in sociological theory does not consist of a single, unified, and consistent exposition. Different writers make different emphases, use somewhat different terminolog, and include different phenomena under a variety of similar terms. Rather than attempt to deal superficially with a wide variety of theorists writing out of this perspective, we will focus primarily on the central concepts in the work of perhaps the most eminent proponent of this approach in current sociological work - Talcott Parsons - and, in turn, discuss the relevance of this framework for social work education and practice.

Assessment Of The Needs Of The Families Of The Hospitalized Mentally Ill, Jean Pelosi Audette, Phyllis J. Jossy

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the special needs of the families of hospitalized mental patients. The study focused upon the time prior to and including the decision to hospitalize a mentally ill family member. Particularly, the researchers wished to examine the stresses that the family encountered in attempting to deal with a disturbed member as well as their concerns regarding psychiatric hospitalization and the effect which it had upon the family.

An Analysis Of Sex Role Bias In Clinician's Evaluations Of Client Behavior, Shari Paula Greenberg

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the effects of sex differences on clinical judgements. It was hypothesized that: l) clinicians will respond differently to aggressive, self-assertive, or dependent behavior, depending upon whether this behavior was performed by a man or a woman; 2) clinicians will have different treatment goals for a man and a woman who behaved in the same manner; 3) clinicians will describe the client engaged in aggressive, self-assertive, or dependent behavior differently, depending on the sex of the client; 4) clinicians will have different feelings towards men and women behaving in exactly the: same manner, and; 5) clinicians will rate …

Living And Acting In An Altered Body: A Phenomenological Description Of Amputation, Mary Jo Deegan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Adults with recent amputations are often perceived as suffering from post-operative depression and phantom limbs. These states are frequently seen as failures in "adjustment" since there are often few physiological involvements which curtail daily functioning. This perspective is seen as compatible with major American values of pragmatism, individualism, and a mechanistic medical model. We suggest here that problems in daily living and the phantom limb are not "mental" aberrations but rather reflections of a radically altered lived experience. The performance of the actor is significantly changed and can be discussed as a function of changed experience, and style. This persppctivedraws …

The Application Of Behavior Modification Technology To The Alleviation Of Selected Social Problems, John S. Wodarski

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The application of behavior modification technology to the alleviation of various social problems is reviewed. Specific items discussed are: energy consumption, pollution control, token economies, architectural control of behavior, welfare, worker performance, social action, crime, and social integration. Where relevant, specific studies are summarized. Future developments and implications for social work practice are reviewed briefly.

Introducing New Approaches Into Social Agencies: The Case Of Behavior Modification, Harvey L. Gochros, Joel Fischer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper explores the issues involved in introducing behavior modification procedures into social work agencies, sane of the common problems encountered in using this approach, and suggestions for dealing with these problems.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 4, No. 7 (September 1977)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Planning Radical Change at the Grass Roots: The Story of New Communities, Inc. - SHIMON S. GOTTSCHALK - p. 980
• Reactions To The Stigmata Of Inner City Living - JEROME KRASE - p. 997
• Accountability Crises: Consequences of Professionalization - ROBERT W. WEINBACH - p. 1011
• Discourse Management: Key to Policy Development - JOSEPH R. STEINER - p. 1025
• Public Perceptions Of Rural County Social Service Agencies - ROBERT W. BILBY & ROBERT BENSON - p. 1033
• The Application Of Behavior Modification Technology To The Alleviation Of Selected Social Problems - JOHN S. WODARSKI - p. 1055 …

The Role Of The Female Mental Health Professional In A Male Correctional Setting, Cheryl E. Biemer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

There are increasing numbers of women psychologists and other professionals working within predominately male correctional settings. One finds, however, nothing in the literature on how they are viewed by the system or what it is like to be a woman working within this traditionally male dominated sphere. The dearth of written material on the subject became apparent in a search through the National Clearinghouse of Mental Health and the Criminal Justice Reference Service. The Psychological Abstracts, Social Science Citation Index and the Criminology Index also have no references that shed any light on this issue. There is one particularly good …

A Perspective On The Psychotherapist's Response To The Women's Movement, Harold S. Bernard

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The women's movement constitutes one of the most powerful sociological phenomena of modern times. Like any important movement, it has elicited reactions from every stratum within our society. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the response to the women's movement on the part of women, men, and man-woman relationships. It will then describe in detail an actual clinical case in which the issues involved were directly related to the concerns addressed by the women's movement, and it will offer a recommended attitudinal stance on the part of the psychotherapist to such concerns.

Depression And Physical Rehabilitation, Mary Jo Deegan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Depression is often expected in our society during physical rehabilitation. This and similar expectations structure the experience of a physical disability. Contradictions in expectations and demands by providers to conform to this paradigm create barriers in the rehabilitation process. Changes in the physical rehabilitation paradigm are briefly suggested.

A Classification Scheme For Medical Expenditures, James Veney, Arnold Kaluzny

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Medical care represents a significant portion of society's response to problems affecting social welfare. While the problems surrounding medical care are complex, a major part of these problems can be attributed to the fact that medical care expenditures are viewed indiscriminately without regard for the nature of the expenditures themselves. This paper presents a framework to differentiate various types of medical care expenditures. The paper argues that medical care expenditures can be classified as either instrumental-consummatory or as external-internal relative to the medical care system. The consequences of this classification and some conclusions which may be drawn from it are …

Social Wolk In Relief And Rehabilitation After Wars, At Home Aid Abroad, Walter A. Friedlander

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In the United States after the wars of the 19th. century, particularly after the Civil War, no professional social workers existed who could have cared for the wounded soldiers and civilians or for the disabled veterans. But in Europe, during the war of France and Italy against Austria, in 1859, the foundation of some services for the wounded soldiers of the three involved nations were laid by a Swiss banker, Henry Dunant of Geneva who arrived by accident on the evening of the bloody battle in Solferino (Italy) and started to help bandaging some of the bleeding victims of this …

A Study In Self-Defeat: The Public Health Venereal Disease Clinic, Joseph F. Sheley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper relates the results of three months of participant observation and interviews in a public venereal disease clinic. The research was directed toward assessment of the relationship of clinic efficiency (a smoothly operating bureaucratic clinic) and clinic effectiveness (a major reduction of illness within a community). The venereal disease clinic is described as an efficient and well planned health unit with three major objectives: a) checking the increase of V.D. through preventive medicine; b) detection and treatment of V.D. within the community; and c) provision of health services to lower S.E.S. segments of the population. Research results indicate that …

Upward Mobility Potential Attitudes Toward Mental Illness And Working-Class Youth, Gary Rosenberg, Honey A. Mendelson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The investigators were interested in assessing the relationship between upward mobility potential and attitudes toward mental illness. For the 147 male adolescents studied, it was hypothesized that those working-class youth who demonstrated a high predictability of future upward social mobility would score more liberally on the five factors of the Opinions about Mental Illness Scale than those working-class youth who demonstrated a low predictability of future upward social mobility. Through the use of the aforementioned scale, the Otis Quick Scoring Mental Ability Test and Zero Order Correlations, the hypothesized relationship was confirmed; i.e., the upwardly mobile group was significantly more …

An Examination Of "Right To Treatment" Standards: Mental Health Policy Within The Context Of The State Hospital System, Kathryn Glass

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper discusses the use of court-imposed standards for public mental hospitals as a method of improving public mental health services. The standards set out in Wyatt v. Stickney are examined, and the author concludes that if implemented nationally such standards would transform the public hospitals. In addition, implementation would alter the power structure of mental health workers, effect the allocation of state and federal funds, and influence the larger system of mental health services. Socio-economic characteristics of public mental hospital patients, and an assessment of present care in this system are presented as central issues in mental health policy …

The Living Together Arrangement: Social Work And The Lost Client, Robert W. Weinbach, Anne C. Blankenship, Sarah M. Friedman, Judy C. Rutledge, Claudia A. Thompson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A recent research study suggests that persons living together outside of marriage do not view social work services as a potential source of help for problems brought into the living together arrangement, those common to all intimate long-range dyadic relationships or those directly related to choice of lifestyle. A multi-faceted approach is suggested which would aim at reaching this potential client group in a climate which will neither stigmatize or judge the alternate lifestyle or the persons who practice it.

A Study Of Requests For Voluntary Admission To Oregon State Hospital, Julie Kern, Jeanne Miller, Alice Plummer

Dissertations and Theses

This study was undertaken in February and March of 1975 in order to provide in depth analysis of those seeking hospital admission. It is a descriptive study of requests for voluntary admission to Oregon State Hospital. Special care was taken to incorporate the study in such a way that the current admitting procedures would not be rearranged or changed in any way.

Essentially the study asks the questions:

• Who makes self-requests for hospitalization?
• Where do they come from? When? How do they get there? Why do they come?
• What is the history of their contact with other community agencies for …