Discussion 2: Resiliency
Do you ever feel trapped by circumstances that you sense you are powerless to change? As a social worker, you can anticipate having to regularly address clients who feel trapped in adverse circumstances and have no clear direction on how to improve their situations. How do you address the needs of such a client?
Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, and Hessenauer (2019) define resiliency as “the ability of an individual, family, group, community, or organization to recover from adversity and resume functioning even when suffering serious trouble, confusion, or hardship” (p. 18). For this Discussion, you apply the concept of resiliency to the real life scenario of Talia Johnson.
To prepare for this Discussion, review the major concepts from your HSBE I course (Chapters 1–9 in Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, & Hessenauer). Then, view the media about Talia Johnson’s visit with her social worker. As you reflect on the readings this week, imagine you are Talia Johnson’s social worker and consider how you might apply the concept of resiliency to Talia’s case. Also, consider how you might apply the concept of resiliencyto social work practice in general.
By Day 3 APA Format using References from:
Zastrow, C. H., Kirst-Ashman, K. K. & Hessenauer, S. L. (2019). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
- Review Chapters 1–9
Case of Talia:
Johnson Family Episode 5 Program Transcript FEMALE SPEAKER: I don’t even know why I’m still coming to see you. It’s been months and nothing’s changed. You talk me to death. You got me writing in journals, going to group meetings. I’m as screwed up as I was when I first got here. FEMALE SPEAKER: I understand you’re under a lot of stress. Is there anything else going on that might be making it worse? At home, maybe? FEMALE SPEAKER: Are you kidding? FEMALE SPEAKER: Do you want to talk about it? FEMALE SPEAKER: Of course you want to talk about it. That’s all we do here, talk, do nothing. I feel like I’ve got a dog collar around my neck, and a change. My parents, they act like I’m 19 going on 11. [PHONE BUZZING] Speak of the devil. It’s my mom. That’s what else is going on. I can’t go an hour without my parents calling or texting. You ask me, they’re the ones with the anxiety problem. They make me a nervous wreck. Where am I? What am I doing? How do I feel? Is everything OK? Do I have plans? Do I want to come home? FEMALE SPEAKER: I’m sure they mean well. FEMALE SPEAKER: Of course they do. But they worry so much. I spend all my time telling them not to worry. But it’s a lie. Because I’m worried sick. And they’re just making it worse. [PHONE BUZZING] Johnson Family Episode 5 Additional Content Attribution
Post a Discussion that includes the following:
- An explanation about how you, as Talia’s social worker, might apply the concept of resiliency to Talia and her situation
- Examples from the case study of Talia and the resources to support your strategy
- An explanation of how you might apply the concept of resiliency to your social work practice
By Day 5 Provide 2 separate responses
Respond to at least two colleagues in one or more of the following ways:
- Add to your colleague’s suggestion for applying resiliency to Talia’s case by suggesting an adaptation of the strategy.
- Critique your colleague’s suggested application of resiliency to social work practice, stating whether you might use the strategy in your own practice, and why.
