Emotional intelligence in social work practice

Discussion 1:

Social and Emotional Intelligence

What ideas or phrases come to mind when you hear the term intelligence? Prior to the current emphasis on emotional and social intelligence, individuals tended to associate intelligence with one measurement: intelligence quotient or the IQ. While the IQ focuses on intellectual abilities, emotional intelligence focuses on an individual's awareness of his or her feelings and the feelings of others, and social intelligence focuses on an individual's interpersonal skills (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2016, pp. 506-509).

To prepare for this Discussion, read "Working With People With Disabilities: The Case of Andres" on pages 28–31 in Social Work Case Studies: Foundation Year. Consider what you have learned about social and emotional intelligence in this week's resources as well as what you learn about the person and environment as it relates to young and middle adulthood.

Post a Discussion that includes the following:

o An explanation of how social and emotional intelligence are related to cultural factors

o An explanation about how you, as a social worker, might apply the concepts of emotional and/or social intelligence to the case of Andres

o An explanation of how social workers, in general, might apply social and emotional intelligence to social work practice. (Include a specific example in the explanation.)

Be sure to support your posts with specific references to the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.

References (use 2 or more)

Plummer, S. -B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].

Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Working With Clients With Disabilities: The Case of Andres

Andres is a 68-year-old male originally from Honduras. He is married and the father of two grown children: a daughter who is married with one child and a son who is unmarried. Andres lives with his wife in a brownstone in an upper-class urban neighborhood, and they are financially stable. He relies on Medicare for his health insurance. Andres is a retired child psychiatrist who completed medical school in Honduras and committed his career to working with Latino children and families in a major metropolitan area. Andres’ wife is a clinical psychologist who still maintains an active practice. Andres has a good relationship with his children, seeing them at least once a week for dinner, and his granddaughter is the light of his life.

Approximately 6 years ago, Andres was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor and Parkinson’s disease. Prior to his diagnosis, Andres was still on staff at a hospital, jogged daily, and had plans to travel with his wife. In a short time, Andres’ health deteriorated significantly. He now uses a cane and walker to ambulate. His speech is slow and soft. He requires assistance to get dressed and eat at times due to severe tremors and the loss of dexterity in his hands. Andres has fallen on multiple occasions and therefore cannot go out alone. He suffers from depression and anxiety and is currently on medication for these conditions. Andres spends a majority of time at home reading. He has lost contact with many of his friends and almost all of his professional colleagues.

Andres presented for treatment at an outpatient mental health setting. His daughter suggested it because she was concerned about her father’s worsening depression. Andres came into treatment stating his family thought he needed to talk to someone. He complied, but was unsure if treatment was really necessary. Andres agreed to weekly sessions and was escorted to each session by an aide who helped him at home.

While Andres had difficulty stating specific goals in the beginning, the focus of treatment became obvious to both of us early on, and we were able to agree to a treatment plan. Across multiple spheres of his life, Andres was struggling with accepting his illness and the resulting disabilities. In addition, he was extremely socially isolated despite the fact that he lived with his family and they were supportive of his medical needs. Finally, Andres’ role and identity had changed in his family and the world overall.

In a mere 6 years, Andres had lost his independence. He went from being a man who jogged every day to a man who could not carry a glass of water from one room to the next in his own home. Andres was trying valiantly to hold on to his independence. While his wife and his children were willing to provide any assistance he needed, Andres hated the idea of asking for help. As a result, he did things that compromised his balance, and he had several bad falls. In addition, Andres’ wife had assumed responsibility for all of the family’s affairs (i.e., financial, household, etc.), which had been Andres’ job before he got sick. Andres struggled as he saw his wife overwhelmed by all that she now had to take on. At the same time, he did not feel like he had the ability to reclaim any of what had been “taken” from him. Together, Andres and I identified the things he felt he was capable of doing independently and worked on how he could go about reclaiming some of the independence he had lost. We spoke about how he could communicate his needs, both for help and independence, to his family. We explored his resistance to asking for help. On many occasions Andres would say, “I was the one my children came to for help; now they have to help me. I can’t stand that.”

In addition to the struggles Andres faced in his everyday life, he also had to cope with the reality of his illness. Andres was well aware that his illness was degenerative, and with each change in his condition, this became a stronger reality. Andres frequently spoke of “a miracle cure.” He constantly researched new and experimental treatments in hopes that something new would be found. While I never attempted to strip Andres of his hope for a cure, we spent a considerable amount of effort getting Andres to accept his condition and work with what was possible now. For example, Andres had always been resistant to physical therapy (PT), but during our treatment, he began PT to work on maintaining his current balance rather than trying to cure his balance problems. Facing his illness meant facing his own mortality, and Andres knew his fate as much as he wanted to deny it. He often spoke of the things he would never experience, like his granddaughter graduating from high school and traveling through Europe with his wife.

Andres’ treatment lasted a little bit more than a year. He demonstrated significant improvement in his ability to communicate with his wife and children. Andres continued to struggle with asking for help, repeatedly putting himself in compromising situations and having several more falls. After the fact, he was able to evaluate his actions and see how he could have asked for limited assistance, but in the moment it was very difficult for him to take the active step of asking for help. Andres was also able to reconnect with an old friend who he had avoided as a result of his physical disabilities and feelings of inadequacy. We were forced to terminate when I left my position to relocate out of state.

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Discussion 2: The Impact of Social Policy

Social policies can have a significant impact on individuals and families, as well as the organizations and agencies that implement the policies. In some cases, the policy, as written, appears comprehensive and effective. Yet, despite appearances, the policy might fail to be effective as a result of improper implementation, interpretation, and/or application of the policy. As a social worker, how might you reduce the potential negative impact faulty social policies might have on organizations and agencies, as well as the populations you serve?

For this Discussion, review this week’s resources, including cases “Working with Immigrants and Refugees: The Case of Luisa” and “Social Work Policy: Benefit Administration and Provision.” Then, select either of the cases and consider how the social welfare policies presented in the case influenced the problems facing Luisa or Tessa. Finally, think about how policies affect social agencies and how social workers work with clients such as Tessa or Luisa.

· Post an explanation of the effects of the social welfare policies presented in the case study you selected on Luisa or Tessa.

· Be specific and reference the case study you selected in your post.

· Finally, explain how policies affect social agencies and how social workers work with clients, such as Tessa or Luisa.

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

References (use 2 or more)

Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore: MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].

Popple, P. R., & Leighninger, L. (2015). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social welfare policy analysis for social workers. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2011). Policy basics: Introduction to the federal budget process. Retrieved from www.cbpp.org/files/3-7-03bud.pdf

Working With Immigrants and Refugees: The Case of Luisa

Luisa is a 36-year-old, married, Latino female who immigrated to the United States from Colombia. She speaks only Spanish, so a translator must be used for communication. She came to the United States on a visa, but remained beyond the allotted time. While in the United States, she met and married Hugo, who was in the country with documentation. Once Luisa married Hugo, she became pregnant with a daughter, who is now 3 years old.

Luisa has a 10-year-old son named Juan in Colombia. Luisa has always had the desire to reunite with Juan and bring him to the United States to live with her. After her marriage and status change, she began the process of sponsoring Juan. She has been advised that in order for sponsorship to be achieved, she cannot receive welfare benefits because she needs to prove that she can support herself and her child.

Luisa came to the local welfare agency after she and her daughter entered the domestic violence shelter. She reported that Hugo had a history of violence, which was exacerbated when he drank alcohol. Hugo had been drinking more frequently, and the episodes of violence had increased in severity. The domestic violence program requires all residents to apply for any available benefits in order to remain enrolled in their services.

In one particular episode, Hugo almost fractured her orbital bones. She had extensive facial bruising and blood pooled in one eye. Luisa is quite fearful of Hugo. She is also financially dependent on him. She is reluctant to apply for benefits because she fears that this will compromise her ability to sponsor her son in Colombia. She is tearful and tells me that she cannot sacrifice her son’s opportunity to come to the United States.

Luisa is socially isolated because she has no family in the United States, and Hugo has restricted her ability to socialize and establish friendships. However, she is a practicing Catholic and does belong to a church that offers bilingual services.

Luisa began to discuss returning to Hugo because she felt that this was her only viable option. I advised her that under the new federal changes in immigration laws she might be allowed to apply for benefits and still sponsor her son because she is experiencing domestic violence. I explained that we would need to speak to an immigration lawyer to verify this, but it could possibly be an alternative to returning to Hugo.

Luisa reported that she had given money to lawyers in the past who had been unhelpful. She was suspicious of the law’s ability to protect her. Hugo had also threatened to report her to the authorities, stating that he would tell them she only married him to remain in the country. Although this is not true, she feared that he would do this, and she would never see her daughter again.

I offered to speak with someone at the domestic violence program and advocate that they allow her some time to research her options. I told Luisa that these were difficult decisions to make and that she would be supported in her decision. I told her that she knew what was best for her family. I offered to research the options that she might have under this new federal program. I also asked for permission to contact the priest at her church so that she might be able to review her situation with a religious leader in the community. Luisa agreed.

Two weeks later, Luisa applied for services on behalf of her daughter and herself. She has decided not to return to Hugo.