The Effect of Ancient Greece on Modern Social Work Practice

           Every career path has a face, a legacy, and a story to tell.  Each has the potential to reshape a piece of the human experience.  Clinical social work is unique because the ability to change individuals' lives is not ancillary to its professional purpose but rather its very core.  In the therapy room perspectives of patient and clinician collide, creating a sense of relationship and situation that shifts and transforms over time.  While the therapist's perspective includes needed expertise that can, when communicated well, be effective in changing a person's long-standing habits, the philosophical predecessors to modern social work that subtly inform his practice can at times also threaten to undermine his patients' wellbeing.  No human-conceived methodology or way of thinking is perfect, and failing to acknowledge  that fact can be detrimental to the progress and general good of individuals and society.

Storytelling in Clinical Social Work

Forward

            Uniquely, the job of a clinical social worker is to tell the client's own story in a way that they haven't seen it before.  The reason a person goes to a therapist is to get a new perspective of their problems so that they can fix them.  By helping them to understand their own inner workings, the social worker shows them where their levers and pulleys are so they can take control of their own lives.  The key is explaining the story in a way that the patient will easily comprehend it.  The example I will give is the part of the repertoire of my advisor at Wasatch Mental Health that he uses to help people understand how long-standing mental habits can change in a positive way.

Example Story

            Your mind is like a hill made out of dirt.  When you are born, your hill is smooth and unblemished.  As time goes on, you have many thoughts and experiences that are like raindrops trickling down the hill.  When thought patterns are repeated over and over again, it is like streams of water frequently running down the same part of the hill:  tiny ruts become large trenches that are difficult to change.  However, by consciously changing your thought processes and consistently making them a part of your routine, you can re-carve the grooves of your mind and improve your functionality.

Analysis

            The persuasive power of this story is the straightforwardness of the analogy.  It translates the emotional complexity of a mental illness into a simple phenomenon that makes sense to the listener.  Even more, it transforms the overwhelming prospect of deep life change into one basic task that can be completed with some effort.  That idea persuades the listener that they can make meaningful shifts in lifestyle because the connection between the cause and effect of water running down a hill of dirt is so obvious.  It encourages them to believe that hope is on the horizon even though their previous attempts at improving their lives may have failed.

Retelling the Story

            Habits are difficult to change.  It is easy to feel that you are sliding back into the same habits without making any progress.  However, if you follow certain steps, I know that you can rise above your depression.  The process is difficult, but anyone who puts their mind to it can do it.  Let me explain how this is done:

            Your mind is like a hill made out of dirt.  When you are born, your hill is smooth and unblemished.  As time goes on, you have many thoughts and experiences that are like raindrops trickling down the hill.  At first, when you think negative thoughts about yourself it probably didn't make much of a difference, just like a single rivulet of water wouldn't do much to the mound of dirt.  Over time, however, the negative emotions that you return to again and again are like streams of water constantly running down the same part of the hill.  They begin to cut ruts into your mind that are difficult to escape from.  That is why thinking positively about yourself for a day or a week is not enough to change the way you feel overall.  However, by consciously changing your thought processes to make a positive self-image a consistent part of your routine, you can re-carve the grooves of your mind and have the relationship with yourself and your family that you have told me you wanted.

            I put this story in the context of a single person's situation, specifically a patient suffering from depression.  I connected the thought processes they are experiencing to elements of the story to bring them inside of it more deeply and help them see how it relates to what they have already expressed in therapy.

"King of the Hill," no changes made, by Russ Allison Loar. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode

Communication and Persuasion in Clinical Social Work

            There are many academic roads to therapy, and even more methods of helping people in life-altering ways.  But I chose to devote my life to social work because of its emphasis on the individual and the greater opportunity to influence others in spiritual as well as cognitive or physical ways.  In my subjective opinion, other fields such as Marriage and Family Therapy or Psychology focus more on the acquisition of knowledge to understand people, with less of an emphasis on actually helping them.

             I volunteer with Wasatch Mental Health, which means I spend a lot of time chatting with patients just before they go into therapy.  My advisor, who I meet with regularly, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with many years of experience in the field.  So although I have never actually seen therapy in action, piecing together these two perspectives has given me a clearer understanding of it.

            From the patients I have learned that the effectiveness in communication is largely dependent on long-term relationships.  They express frustration and sadness when they change therapists because to them it feels like they have to start over again.  The kairos of an effective therapy must be built up deliberately over a long period of time for communication to be most effective.  At the same time, I have been surprised by the number of people who decide to open up about their problems to me, a volunteer in the waiting room who they have never met before.

            From the therapists I have gleaned some insight into the stress weighing on their shoulders.  Burnout is a real issue in social work, and sometimes the therapists need people to help them bear their burdens just as much as the patients do.  On the positive end, experienced therapists have had so much communication with people who have specific psychological difficulties that some of them can be 90% sure of a diagnosis within just a few minutes of talking to them.

            Therapy is the ultimate form of individualized verbal communication, including judicial journeys into the past to resolve deep-seated pain, epideictic evaluations of what is to blame for their difficulties in the present, and deliberative discussions about the best course of action for the future.  Each patient is their own context to which the therapist adapts within the perspective of their own discipline.  Both are at times speaker and audience, mentor and trainee, guide and follower, united in the common effort of bringing peace, functionality, and happiness to the inner confines of a single human soul.

Psychology Student, Huh?

Hey you! Yes, you! I can see it- you’re a people watcher. People fascinate you. It’s nothing to be ashamed about…as long as you’re not creepy about it. If you’re not creepy, you’ve picked the right field of study. Psychology and social work are right up your alley.  Hopefully this study will take you where you want to go, where you can people-watch to your heart’s content while you counsel and help people. There are some things that you should know before you get much further, though.

School and Experience

            Since you are at the beginning of your career exploration, there will likely be a lot of questions about requirements for classes and other school-related issues. Let’s start with the basics. Yes, you do have to take all the dreaded GEs. Trust me- they’ll be worth it. These classes will make you much more well-rounded, which will help you in talking to a variety of people. And those pesky pre-requisite classes will be helpful in their own ways, too. If they weren’t necessary, they wouldn’t be part of the curriculum. Pay close attention, too, because before you know it, you’ll be out in the real world, and a lot of the concepts you learn in class will be very applicable. What you don’t realize as you’re taking these classes is that every piece of information that you learn that seems more applicable to another field will help you relate more to people in general. If you know a little bit about civilization and anthropology and science, you’ll be able to converse with a larger population and build your credibility as a therapist. Even though they aren’t required, take some sociology classes, in addition to the psychology classes. These classes will help you understand human behavior and community dynamics that will be important to social work.

            Taking classes and going to school will not be enough to prepare you for real social work settings. Internships and research will give you the best understanding of the field. Real interactions with people will give you the most experience and give you the best perspective, so make sure you are looking for opportunities to broaden your horizons. I was lucky enough to find an amazing opportunity, interning at the Utah State Prison. In this setting, I get to work with a lesser-valued population, one on one, under the supervision of a license psychologist. There are also social workers in the prison that I get to shadow. I get to administer psychological tests and interact with inmates in a controlled, psychological setting. This opportunity has been invaluable to my learning. I have been able to apply concepts from classes directly to my internship, which has helped me get a better idea of the field.

It's about Character!

            One of the first things you will learn early on in this field is that it is not just about watching people. There will be countless social interactions with people of all ages, religions, cultures, and opinions. If you’re really in it for the right reasons, you aim to lessen people’s suffering, to understand why people do things, and to create a community that gives people opportunities for improvement. That being said, you’re going to be interacting with a lot of different people and it’s important that you don’t say the wrong thing and that you abide by a few rules.

            In medieval Catholic culture, social work evolved with the idea of almsgiving. In giving alms, people would give to those less fortunate to alleviate suffering. They would give food, money, service, and time to the poor and needy. This idea started with the Church commandment to act with charity and love. Today this same idea, of selfless service and giving, is central to social work and highly prized in many psychology settings as well. It is a long-standing practice that values respect. One way of showing respect to people is understanding their culture and talking with compassion, intent, and conscientiousness.

Communication is Key

            As a social worker, you have to be able to read the situation and react appropriately. There’s going to be a fine balance of informing people about what they need to hear and making them feel comfortable with what you are saying and building a thing called rapport. Rapport is a place of comfort when you build an attachment with someone and gain their trust and can easily talk to them. Gaining rapport means that you have to be gentle and understanding and show empathy to get people to trust you. Unfortunately, sometimes in this profession, you need to tell people things that they don’t want to hear and that can weaken the rapport. If you have built rapport first, your negative, but necessary messages will be taken better. This is why reading the situation and understanding circumstances and people is very important.

            Let me give you an example of a situation you could face. “Marie” is a woman with two children who were recently taken away because of her addiction to drugs. The goal of the social worker in this setting is to help her understand what she can do to get her kids back and sooth her anger and sadness. If Marie were to come into my office, I would start out by asking her to relay the situation to me to the best of her abilities. I would listen intently, ask questions when necessary, and tell her how much we care to see her family back together and to keep her family safe. All of these things would likely bring her comfort and build rapport without compromising my position to keep her kids safe. Originally, I would seem like the “bad guy” but after sitting down and understanding the situation from her point of view, hopefully she will see me as helpful and not harmful. The next step would be to tell her what she needs to hear. It would be helpful to understand laws and history to be able to tell her the things that she can be working on to get her family back. I would end the situation by asking if she had any questions or if there was anything that she would like help with. This would once again establish rapport and maintain the trust already established. Granted, not all situations will be this smooth- in this line of work; because we are “the bad guys,” we are likely to be met with a lot of opposition and anger. You will need to work on speaking with compassion, but neutrality; equality, but authority.

            Other situations when you’ll need to watch what you are communicating is in the case of written reports. In this situation, it is not as important to give compassion as it is to give truth. You will be doing a lot of paperwork, documenting interactions and requests. These need to be written very formally and honestly. Most of the time, these reports are sent to people with greater authority, allowing them to make decisions on behalf of clients. Because these higher authorities don’t always have contact with the clients, it is important to give an honest and unbiased account of the situation. For example, in writing notes about a client’s behavior, it would be more proper to write “Mr. Adams gave little eye-contact during our interaction, and only spoke once, and very quietly” instead of “Mr. Adams is shy and doesn’t care about therapy.” As you can see, the second report very well could be a correct interpretation, but the first is more accurate and unbiased. It is written in a way that allows for interpretation by multiple people, since no one can truly know another’s motivations and thought processes. It could be that Mr. Adams had a cold and didn’t want to speak and that he had been crying all day and was ashamed to make eye contact because his eyes were red and puffy. Of course, if they were red and puffy, those would be observational notes I would make, too. If Mr. Adams were going to court to determine his eligibility for clearance in his Alcoholics Anonymous program, if I had written the first report, the court may consider that Mr. Adams is not taking his program or therapy seriously.  What you write and portray could mean the difference between a positive or negative court decision for the client. This type of work is very common, so get used to writing objectively and without bias.

The Basics

            These examples showcase the importance of reading a situation, being educated in the history and practices behind social work and psychology, and knowing how to speak and write in a way that facilitates the desired results. I wouldn’t go into this field if you can’t speak eloquently and tactfully. I wouldn’t continue on this path if you were worried about being unbiased. Of course, there will be situations in which you have a very strong opinion, but these are not situations in which you can lose your professionalism. Good reading, writing, and speaking are all necessary to this field because it helps you to establish credibility and professionalism with your clients. No one is going to trust a therapist that they believe is uneducated, lacks compassion, and is biased.

            Hopefully, this account of the work you will be doing and the necessary components won’t scare you off too much. If you take your education seriously and really care to learn about people, you should be fine. 

Psychology or Social Work is for YOU: A Writing Plan

Audience Profile

The typical psychology student that wishes to go into social work is very analytical. Oftentimes, they enjoy people-watching (in a non-creepy way) and thinking about the structure of society and how it shapes the individual. Psych students and aspiring social workers love people, especially helping them. They see someone struggling and either want to study them (to better understand how to generalize the situation to others, as to help the most people by learning about the situation) or they want to go over and talk it through with the person to ease others’ discomfort. They are likely to take classes about cultures and communities, classes about human behavior, and classes on counseling. It would be helpful for them to take a history of psychology class, as well, as it can help mold ideas about why certain counseling techniques formed and which ones worked (or didn’t). Of course, most of these psychology and sociology classes will help the student to understand what is appropriate and inappropriate to say and how to best verbally communicate with others (to create ease and rapport). Written communication is taught in psychological writing classes, which teach about APA styles for papers and resumes, and how to effectively write down observational and professional notes. This class is crucial, because otherwise, you won’t look like a professional and people won’t take you seriously. Psych students shouldn’t fret about all the classes, though, since a lot of the things learned for this field come naturally… otherwise they probably wouldn’t have picked it.

Most students will find that simply taking the classes is not enough. To understand and help people, one must get “real-world” experience, communicating and counseling individuals. Internships working with disadvantaged people (elderly, poor, delinquent) will give them the most experience with what social work is all about. Psych and social work students should also be mindful of getting research experience and service hours, or it is unlikely to get into graduate school, which is almost essential for any person trying to get a job in these fields.

Context:

If I were writing to a student, I would make sure to include information from my blog post “Communication and Persuasion in Psychology” as this emphasizes the different contexts and situations a counselor (psychologist or social worker) could be counseling in- groups or individuals. It also emphasizes the importance in understanding your clients and the situations in which you are counseling because this adds a dimension that could either create or dissolve tension, blaming, or peace. I would note the differences and similarities of ancient and modern social work by referencing my blog titled “Medieval Catholic Almsgiving and Modern Social Work.” This would give a good context to the prospective students about why social work is important and the central values of social work. I would add in information about why these values are important in today’s society be doing some more historical research on the benefits of social work.

Rhetoric:

I would start out by creating a realistic conversation with two forms of the same phrase- one said like a peer without filtering what they said (and often distressing the person), and another said like a psychologist (one with ambiguous language, aiming to give the client time to come up with his or her own conclusion while analyzing their own behavior). This would emphasize to the student the importance of a certain way of talking in a psychological or social work setting. One of the most important aspects to this work is that you can effectively communicate with people to ease their troubles and dissolve tension. Ultimately, this work is aimed at helping people help themselves, and if you can’t communicate that effectively, there will be no lasting change. I would address the strategies listed in my post “Style and Delivery in Psychology and Social Work,” especially the part about observational/unbiased notes. Using the beginning technique of creating a realistic scenario, would help to solidify the idea, without the jargon. The concept would be understood, by sharing that sometimes listening and communicating to others in a way that is familiar to them is the best option. Getting used to not using technical terms is important, since most of the people they counsel will not be psychologists.

History:

Like I said in the audience profile, sharing the history of psychology with people going into this field will give them an idea of what techniques worked (and didn’t work) and why some theories are so popular. Each person is going to counsel differently, so knowing the history will give them a good basis for deciding how they will counsel.

Development Plan:

I mentioned above which parts of my blogs I would use (because I figured it’d be more coherent to address it in each section). I think that a little more research could be done into why this field is beneficial, how marketable the qualities of a psychologist or social worker are, and the key features of these professionals- what characteristics clients found positive and negative in their counselor’s way of speaking, behaving, and counseling.

I will probably spend the most time talking about the importance of wording (rhetoric) because to create lasting change in the clients (a main goal to this field), one must be able to address problems in an acceptable, understanding, and compassionate way, without permitting negative behaviors. There is a fine line (in language) in condoning behavior and consoling someone. The way things are spoken, and the notes that are written about clients need to be very direct and unassuming.

I would probably spend the least amount of time on the history, because most of what is needed to know comes from modern understanding. People are drawn to this field because they see a social or individual problem and want to help. Knowing the history of why this field is important isn’t vital to convincing someone to join the efforts. Knowing about past successes and failures in psychology may prep an individual, but I think that this type of history is fairly manifest in society in general and doesn’t need to be restated.

Medieval Catholic Almsgiving and Modern Social Work

In ancient (and modern) Catholic practice, almsgiving is used to support the poor and needy. It is a selfless offer that is expected by most of its members. This almsgiving is associated with both physical needs and emotional needs. In ancient times, people were asked to give money and food to those in need. It was also expected that those of the faith would give of their time and abilities to ensure that their citizens were being taken care of. In the Catholic faith at this time, it was important to use this almsgiving to forget one’s own troubles. The almsgiving was used to focus outward, even when it was a burden to do. The Catholics believed that by doing this, they would be “storing up treasure in Heaven” (Hays).

This practice is similar to the main goals of social work. In the National Association of Social Worker’s manual, the main goals of a social worker include giving service, pushing for social justice, accepting the dignity and worth of all people, seeing the importance in human relationships, working with integrity, and showing competence in the field (NASW Code of Ethics). All of these aspects are used to ensure that those that need help the most are getting the help they need, whether monetarily, physically, emotionally, or socially. These core values dictate everything that social workers do. Another central element to social work is that the work should be done to help all people, regardless of their situation. Oftentimes, this includes the sad fact that many people cannot financially support themselves and can often not pay for counseling, social programs, or provide for basic needs. Many social workers that aim to help do so with little to no financial compensation because of that.

It is the goal of the social worker, as it is for the ancient Catholic almsgivers, to care for their neighbor and assist in no only existing, but thriving in the community. This is the same value that the social workers find. If I did not know better, I would think that this ancient Catholic way was a strong influence for modern-day social work. The Christ-like virtues of charity and selflessness guide the Catholic almsgivers, while an understanding and empathy for others guides social workers today. Either way, the values, morals, and actions of these two groups heavily relate to each other.

"Catholic Culture : Lent : Workshop : Lenten Program - Almsgiving." Catholic Culture : Lent : Workshop : Lenten Program - Almsgiving. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

Hays, C. M. (2012, Provision for the poor and the mission of the church: Ancient appeals and contemporary viability.(original research)(conference notes). HTS Teologiese Studies, 68

National Association of Social Workers. (1999). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC.  NASW Press.

Style and Delivery in Psychology and Social Work

Dr. Bahr is a psychologist at the Utah State Prison. Her style in this setting is always very professional. She dresses in professional work attire, calls people by “Mr.” and “Mrs.” and tries to refrain from sharing anything personal. She works with inmates and then has to type up observational and behavioral notes on the inmates as documentation of the interaction. In her notes, she has to be very careful not to make any biased remarks that could color other professional’s decisions about the inmate, as these notes will likely go to the Board of Pardons, other therapists and case workers. These notes could impact future decisions about the inmate- whether his completion of therapy assignments shows progress and empathy, or whether he will serve the full ten years of his five-to-ten year sentence. Everything about the observational notes needs to be descriptive and thorough. The whole interaction is very professional and structured.

            Mr._____ was very vocal in therapy today. When another inmate read his assignment about the person he victimized, Mr. _____ asked how he thinks his victim is feeling now, after the fact. This is in line with the assignment Mr. _____ is working on, which is victim empathy. He made several other comments that showed insight into the assignments and was able to adequately explain concepts to the other men in the group. He showed initiative by commenting without being prompted too. Outside of group, he has completed every assignment, stayed out of fights, and has obeyed all rules.

This letter is very direct, with observational notes and without biased statements, such as “I think it’s doing well” and “he seemed confused.” This type of writing is very characteristic of psychologists because it gives facts instead of assertions.

In conversation, Dr. Bahr would be likely to be very general in her statements, as to not lead certain answers. She would guide conversation with questions to generate thought, without prompting the clients. She would build rapport by validating statements, being unbiased, and rephrasing the client’s words to show she was listening. Here is an example of a person-to-person conversation:

Client: When I committed my crime, I was just thinking that it wasn’t so bad. I grew up with this kind of treatment, so it seemed normal to me. I didn’t really think I was harming anyone.

Psychologist: So, you didn’t realize it was wrong? What do you think now? How do you think what you did actually affected the person you victimized? What do you think (spoken to other clients in the group)?

This type of language aims to stay away from accusations, belittling people, and fault-finding. Its goal is to create a comfortable environment that helps the individual think about situations on their own. It is most beneficial for a person to gain answers on their own- it provides more solidified learning and helps to establish empathy for others. Using this conversational tone, the psychologist can help clients to truly understand prompts and feel comfortable confiding information.

Conflict Issues and Special Topics of Invention in Psychology and Social Work.

Point of Conflict in Psychology and Social Work:

            A typical conflict in psychology and social work, especially in my job at the prison, is determining “blame” or reasons behind events and conflicts of openness. There is a sort of battle between what the client thinks (which is often unhealthy or irrational, especially when dealing with the inmate population) and what the therapist is trying to convey.

           

Topics of Invention in Psychology and Social Work:

            When thinking over situations and circumstances, it is common for people to blame the victim, circumstances, or their past for their problems instead of being proactive and open about their roles in the situation. As psychologists and social workers, our goal is to empower the client and help them recognize that they have a lot of power in their lives. Here is a good example of a typical conversations:

Therapist: Tell me about your crime- what you did and why you did it.
Inmate: Well, I abused _____, and I think it was because of the I was abused when I was younger and ____ was asking for it the way that she/he did ______ and I was just trying to teach (or many other excuses).
Therapist: Many other people were abused, but did not become abusers. Can you tell me why you chose to victimize ____?

Analysis:
Almost every interaction between the therapist and the inmate involves persuasion in trying to get the inmate to think in a different way and accept some sort of reality. We, as therapists and social workers also try to get the inmate to search for empathetic feelings. Here, the therapist is trying to get the inmate to accept the vice in the situation, whereas the inmate is trying to point out the virtue in his or her actions.

The therapist may use several topics of invention (such as morality) to emphasize the inmate's affect on the situation.

Communication and Persuasion in Psychology and Social Work

As far back as I can remember, I have loved people-watching and counseling. Even as a seventh grader, I had friends coming to me for advice and a listening ear. I have always found comfort in be confided in and love the satisfaction of easing people's’ burdens a little.         
As one would suspect, talking and communication is an essential part to my field. Not only does the client need to be able to communicate and talk out their problems, but the psychologist or social workers need to be able to effectively communicate advice and facilitate understanding.

At the prison, I get to see this every day at work. Because this is the work in psychology and social work that I have experience with, I will be focusing most of my essay on this aspect of psychology.

            At work, there are two circumstances in which I communicate with inmates. The first is in an individual setting, testing. Here, communication is very structured. The words are very formal and consistent among all the tests. We, as psychiatric technicians are supposed to read from the testing manuals and instructions word for word. Most of these tests are administered in a small room, with the inmates sitting in a hard, chair with a desk attached. This isn’t the most comfortable of situations and this one-on-one interaction can often feel intimidating to the inmates. In this situation, it is very important for us to be able to build rapport and ease the inmates into cooperation and full disclosure.
            The other circumstance in which I interact with inmates on a psychological level is in a group setting, in a large room. Here, the psychologist or social worker encourages the inmates to talk about their offenses openly and learn to feel empathy for the people they victimized. Therapy sessions are primarily used for discussions and hearing how the inmates are interacting outside of the group setting. They are also used to go over the assignments that are required. For this reason, most of the acts of persuasion in this field are verbal, with a small portion of the persuasion conducted in a written form.

            In the Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) therapy, each inmate is given a set of assignments to help them better communicate their thoughts and help to encourage them to think about their offenses in a different way. One of the assignments asks the inmates to take a look at the thoughts and actions surrounding their offense. They are asked to examine what types of things they thought they needed and how they thought those “needs” were being accomplished by their crime. The inmates communicate their thoughts and then the therapists help them identify thinking errors and help them rework their ideas.

            People in psychology and social work, as a general rule, are very interested in helping people. Anything that would encourage equality and happiness is likely to persuade them. For this reason, rapport, kind words, and emotional openness are valued by them. They act this way, as well as encourage their clients to act this way.

            Many of the inmates, on the other hand, are more self-serving and concerned with their own well-being. They participate and are open because they know in the long run that it will be good for their appeal to the Board of Pardons. Luckily, they are able to gain something out of therapy, even if in the beginning they are only going through the motions. This kind of persuasion relates to deliberative oratory, as we are encouraging future change. Psychology in general, however deals with all forms of oratory. Clients are asked to look at their past and present to be able to plan a better future.