SOCW-6090 & 6361-W1-Discussions

Discussion 1: Impact of Mainstream Focus on Psychopathology and Diagnosis

Diagnosis and the description of mental health issues have recently become ubiquitous in the media. One of the reasons for this new emergence of the topic of mental health in the mainstream media is because of worldwide traumatic events. Many tragic events covered in the media are centered on one or two individuals who have committed acts of violence. Unfortunately, most of these individuals have had a history of mental illness. This aspect of the tragedy then becomes the focus of analysis within the media. From this point of reference, reporters and journalists educate the public on mental health issues. However, these tragedies could be an opportunity to educate the public about the facts related to mental illness. Unfortunately, the media discussions about mental illness often result in attaching a stigma to mental illness and to the population suffering from mental illness.

As a clinical social worker, you need to be aware of the impact of the entry of psychopathology and diagnosis in mainstream public discourses. You also need to think about how the media could help eliminate or mitigate the stigma attached to mental illness in the mind of the general population.

·      Post an explanation of your thoughts on how psychopathology and diagnosis have entered mainstream public discourse.

·      Then explain the potential negative and positive impact of this mainstream discourse on those living with a psychiatric diagnosis.

·      Briefly explain the DSM-5’s organization and its dimensional approach to diagnosing and its possible impact on society’s view of mental disorders.

·      Be sure to include specific examples to the mainstream media (e.g., television or magazine reports, television shows) in your post.

Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

References (use 3 or more)

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

• “Preface” (pp. xli–xliv)

Krueger, R. F., & Bezdjian, S. (2009). Enhancing research and treatment of mental disorders with dimensional concepts: Toward DSM-V and ICS-11. World Psychiatry, 8(1), 3–6.

Discussion 2: 
Historical Divides and Ethical Obligations Within Social Work

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) specifies the ethics and values of the profession in their Code of Ethics. Section 6.04 of the Code of Ethics (1999) states:

Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully. Social workers should be aware of the impact of the political arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice.(Preamble, p. 8)

With the requirement of social and political action among social workers, there is little political activity among clinical social workers. Why? What barriers exist that prevent social workers from fulfilling this ethical obligation?

What does it mean to be a macro social worker? A micro social worker? Do these differentiations have any real meaning? If not, why is this language used when referring to the social work profession?

In this Discussion, you will look at the obligation of social workers to engage in political action in their practice and discuss why there appear to be different perceptions of the responsibility for political action among social work professionals.

·      Post an analysis of historical divides (such as the schism between Jane Addams and Mary Richmond) and historical influences on current social work practice with respect to policy advocacy and action.

·      Do such schisms exist in contemporary social work?

·      If you think these divides exist, how do they prevent social workers from fulfilling their ethical obligation(s)?

·      Are they important differentiations?

References (use 3 or more)

Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice. (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.

• Chapter 1, “Joining a Tradition of Social Reform” (pp. 3–31)

Community Toolbox. (2016). Chapter 5 Section 1: Strategies for community change and improvement: An overview. Retrieved from http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/promotion-strategies/overview/main

Hill, K. M., Ferguson, S. M., & Erickson, C. (2010). Sustaining and strengthening a macro identity: The association of macro practice social work. Journal of Community Practice, 18(4), 513–527. doi:10.1080/10705422.2010.519684

Jacobson, W. B. (2001). Beyond therapy: Bringing social work back to human services reform. Social Work, 46(1), 51–61.