Using Critical Incident Stress Debriefing to Mediate Organizational Crisis,Change and Loss

This article provides an overview of the development of critical incident stress debriefing and suggests its utility for both traditional and nontraditional purposes, by employee assistance practitioners. Both crises and traumas are defined and a brief history of the development of CISD is offered. The critical incident stress debriefing process is explicated and examples of how CISD's has been used by EAPs is shared. Case studies are then offered of both traditional and nontraditional situations where a CISD process was used by an internal EM, including a homicide, an operating room fire, an organizational change and multiple losses of employees by a work unit.     

The role of critical social work education in improving ethical practice with refugees and asylum seekers

ABSTRACT

This paper uses critical reflection as its primary methodology to research one Master of Social Work student’s former practice experiences as an Australian immigration officer. The paper contextualizes the study by offering a critical analysis of hegemonic constructions of asylum seekers in Australia, which are reflected in Australian law and policy, as well as potentially influencing social work practice. Critical reflection on one of the author’s practice provides a rich case study that reveals the tensions of government-employed social workers in restrictive environments, and the espoused social justice values of the profession. The findings hold implications for both social work education and practice, suggesting that critical social work education, and in particular, the use of critical analysis and reflection, can improve ethical practice with refugees and asylum seekers.     

Pulling together: building a community debriefing team.

1. Research shows that many emergency workers are affected physically and emotionally by critical incident stress. 2. Debriefings conducted by trained team members are an effective method to mitigate the impact of critical incident stress. A debriefing is a structured, time-limited group intervention. 3. Cooperation among community agencies is essential for the development and effective functioning of a critical incident stress debriefing team. 4. Several teams in Illinois have organized to form a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Network. The Illinois network is part of an international organization composed of critical incident stress debriefing providers.     

Teaching anti-oppressive social work

This article highlights critical elements for effective and culturally sensitive teaching when transferring educational programs from a Western country to another context. The Social Work Education Project (SWEP), a master's level professional education program, was developed to train social workers in the conflict-affected area of Mindanao in the Philippines. Designed to enhance the leadership capacity of local social workers and contribute to the peace process, SWEP represents collaboration between the National Catholic School of Social Service in Washington, DC; Community and Family Services International, a Philippines-based NGO; and other Philippine community and educational partners. Qualitative program evaluation findings reveal that students assessed their learning as culturally relevant and personally meaningful while also enhancing their capacities for effective social work practice. Grounded in these findings and the experiences of involved faculty, the article concludes with five key lessons for international education.     

Responding in Times of Crisis— An Exploratory Study of Employer Requests for Critical Incident Response Services

Summary

Increasingly, employers play an active role in assisting their employees in dealing with crisis. This exploratory study conducted analyses using a large national database to examine how companies representing various industry types differed in the frequency of requests for critical incident response services, the types of incidents that evoked the requests, the types of interventions utilized, and the delay time between the request and provision of services. Results demonstrated substantial variability in the types of incidents and frequency of service utilization. However, some consistent patterns were noted. For example, over half of all critical incident response services across industry types were delivered in response to a death impacting the workforce. A different pattern was evident for the Finance/Insurance/Real Estate industry, where robberies were most prevalent and the delay time between the incident and the critical incident response delivery date was shortest. There appeared to be an inverse relationship between the size of the company and the use of critical incident response services. This study has implications for further research regarding the training of practitioners administering critical incident response services and determining themost effective crisis interventions for the situation and recipient population.     

EAP Referral Training and Supervisor's Beliefs About Troubled Workers

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between EAP referral training and supervisors' interactions with troubled workers. Using a field survey, self-report, retrospective methodology, 224 industrial supervisors' beliefs about impaired employees were examined in connection with the former group's participation in constructive confrontation training and their attitudes toward EAPs. In general, based on Bayer and Gerstein's (1988a) Bystander-Equity Model of Supervisory Helping Behavior, it was predicted that supervisors who had attended training and/or held positive attitudes toward their EAP would report more welldeveloped beliefs about troubled workers than persons who had not received training and/or held negative attitudes toward their EAP. Overall, our results provided support for the idea that constructive confrontation training enhances supervisors' recognition of impaired employees. While we anticipated this finding, we did not expect supervisors to report that their attitudes toward their EAP were unrelated to their beliefs about troubled persons. Alternative explanations for why supervisors behaved differently from what we had anticipated are offered, as are suggestions for how to conduct research on other aspects of the supervisor-impaired worker identification process.     

Child welfare workers use of knowledge in their daily work

The debate continues on what constitutes core knowledge in professional work in child welfare and child protection. The aims of this article are to examine what different sources of knowledge social workers report to use in their daily work and to determine the importance of different knowledge sources in relation to their work experience, educational background and type of employment (caseworker/manager). Data were obtained from a survey completed by 390 social workers in municipal child welfare services in Western Norway. Social workers answered questions regarding their use of different knowledge sources in their daily work. The information they obtained in a particular case and their personal experiences were the most frequently used sources. Factor analysis revealed four subgroups of knowledge sources: The most frequently used were: (a) Colleagues and Supervision and (b) Personal Experience, followed by (c) Social Work Education, Courses and Municipal and State Documents, with (d) Journal Articles, Textbooks and External Sources being the least frequently used. The most important source for social workers with less work experience was Colleagues and Supervision, whereas the factor Journal Articles, Textbooks and External Sources was more often important for social workers with a master’s degree than for those without this level of education. Overall, social workers seem to rely mostly on personal experience and their colleagues as sources of knowledge in their work.     

Integrating Critical Consciousness into Direct Social Work Practice: A Pedagogical View

An unnecessary and unfortunate divide has existed historically within social work both in the United States and also in the United Kingdom between social reform or anti-oppressive practice, and direct social work practice or social care. In this article, the limitations of such a dichotomy will be explored, and ways that social work educators may more effectively integrate critical reflection approaches into their pedagogical practices will be identified. Building upon Denzin's methodological elaboration of C. Wright Mills' concept of private troubles–public issues, this article will discuss the usefulness of applying methods from critical, interpretive qualitative research to help social workers achieve critical consciousness in social work education and practice. This article will also address ways to help social work students overcome impediments to achieving critical consciousness, including the anxiety attendant upon changing one's belief systems. Finally, this article will describe the development of a concentration-year MSW elective, Transformative Social Work Practice, which sought to assist social work students in becoming more critically reflexive in their clinical work.     

Profession and Workplace Expectations of Social Workers: Implications for Social Worker Subjective Well-Being

The expectations people have of social workers, and those that social workers hold of themselves, can negatively affect social worker's perceived well-being, via work stress and strain and other negative workplace experiences. This qualitative research presents findings that help to better understand what aspects of these expectations have the greatest impact on the well-being of a sample (n = 19) of social workers with reported low levels of workplace and profession satisfaction. Our data support a conceptual framework of social worker's expectations that relate to outcomes of practice, social worker roles, the perceived functioning by other health-related professionals, conflict in direct practice with social worker identity and having to work in adverse situations, as all contributing to the well-being of social workers. Findings are discussed in relation to social work practice and the role and function of professional associations and educational programmes in addressing these issues that emerge in practice.     

Supervision and mentoring in child and family social work: The role of the first-line manager in the implementation of the post-qualifying framework

This article examines how the support needs of candidates undertaking CCETSW's Post-qualifying awards may impact on traditional supervision as provided to child and family social workers. Based on pilot research which underpinned the University of Leicester's 'Post Graduate Certificate in Supervision and Mentorship (Child Care) by Distance Learning', this article describes how a small sample of social workers, first-line managers, staff development officers and senior managers, view the functions of supervision in their agencies, and what they think about the involvement of line managers in the process of mentoring and assessing staff working towards further qualifications. It is suggested that there may be difficulties associated with line managers acting as mentors, such as conflict of interest, lack of objectivity and inadequate preparation and training, but that such difficulties should not obscure the potential benefits. A key benefit involves line managers having an opportunity to refocus on the developmental and supportive aspects of supervision that may have been eroded over recent years in favour of a narrower, more managerial approach. The article concludes that, although the implementation of the PQ framework presents many challenges in relation to the role of the first-line manager, it has the potential to create work-place cultures of a more developmental and professional nature, which ultimately works to the advantage of those who use social work services.     

Emotional Themes in Cross-Faith Encounters Among MSW Students

Abstract

Shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, graduate students in an elective course on “Spirituality & Social Work” were given an optional assignment to attend services at another faith for three weeks and keep a journal of their experiences. Most allowed the author to conduct a content analysis of these journals for emotional themes. The most common themes were anxiety, surprise, and appreciation for the assignment. Lesser themes included excitement, empathy for minorities, anger, and embarrassment. These findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for social work education. Recommendations include better preparation through requiring research and clarification of the student's role, debriefing students about counter-transference issues, and achieving spiritual empathy through the recognition of spiritual similarities despite religious differences.     

Effects of suicidal behavior on a psychiatric unit nursing team

1. Suicide of a psychiatric inpatient can have significant, although diverse, effects on the emotions and behavior of both individual nurses and team functioning. 2. The majority of participants in this study felt there was a need for formal debriefing or counseling for themselves and their colleagues after a critical incident, although there was less consensus about the timing and structure of such an intervention. 3. This research highlights the need for advanced training of critical incident stress management team members and for flexibility in the application of critical incident stress management techniques.     

Gender,Organizational Cultures and the Practices of Manager‐Academics in UK Universities

The article explores gendered management in UK universities in the context of moves to introduce new managerialism to higher education. Qualitative data are drawn from an Economic and Social Research Council funded project (R00023 7661) in which interviews were conducted with 137 male and female manager‐academics, from Heads of Department to Vice Chancellors, in 16 universities. The career trajectories of female and male manager‐academics are analysed to see if gender power relations, expectations and discrimination have affected their careers and organizational experiences. Also examined are whether and how gender relations and cultures are perceived to be relevant to management, the practices of women and men manager‐academics and the extent to which the differential value and status attached to teaching, research and management are gender‐related. It is suggested that women's participation in management roles, their perceptions of their practices and the expectations others hold of them are still marked by gender, even though some women have benefited, through promotion, from the greater emphasis on management now evident in UK universities.     

My Parents Are Getting Older

Abstract

The present article explores the question of what Northern Territory (NT) social workers want from the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). In a dynamic social work landscape, this question is a critical one for our professional association. Using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, data were obtained from 49 social workers with the primary aim of understanding their views about the AASW and what they wanted from their professional association. The findings indicate that, in general, social workers agreed with the AASW's stated objectives. Participant concerns centred on the urgent need for professional registration, access to quality Continuing Professional Education (CPE), the pursuit of social justice activities, and for the AASW to better articulate its overall role and purpose. Problematically, social workers expect the AASW to fulfil many roles and further research is required to provide a clearer, national picture.     

Dressing the Part? The Significance of Dress in Social Work

This paper explores practice educators' views about the significance of dress for social work in the context of UK social work education. The findings, drawn from three focus group discussions, suggest that practice educators regard dress as an important way in which social workers demonstrate values in action. Dress is also seen to play a part in the development and maintenance of a professional social work identity, and is relevant to the physical and bodily experiences of ‘doing’ social work. Social workers should be aware of the significance of dress and self-presentation, and where student social workers fail to demonstrate such awareness, practice educators may have questions about their understanding of the complexity of practice. The paper notes that while participants expressed similar views about the meaning and impact of dress, these are based on the observation and experience of practice, and there is little research evidence specifically concerning dress in social work. The study contributes to an understanding of why practice educators consider that dress may be relevant in the assessment of a student's practice readiness, and suggests areas for further research about this everyday yet significant aspect of a social worker's working life.     

ETHNOGRAPHIES OF PRACTICE—PRACTISING ETHNOGRAPHY

This paper argues that acquiring competencies in different approaches and procedures in qualitative or interpretative social research provides a strong foundation for case analysis in professional social work practice. When students of social work become familiar with such research and are encouraged to engage in their own supervised projects they develop skills for a circumspect and sensitive practice with clients. The paper reports on work with students of social work in Germany, which can be described as an attempt to help them to become self‐reflective ethnographers in their own affairs, of their own emergent social work practice. It spells out different phases of a process in which they learn to make their own practice strange. This process consists of developing different competencies in observing, analysing and writing, and requires a setting in which students' written observations and reflections can be shared and discussed by their peers in a critical, egalitarian and supportive manner. The author thinks that such a critical and self‐critical discourse which addresses professional issues in general, as well as the individual student's (or practioner's) experiences and reflections, can have important implications for the collective development of social work and its relationship with other professions.     

Teaching critical self-reflection through the lens of cultural humility: an assignment in a social work diversity course

Social workers engage with marginalized groups in society. However, many social workers are of privileged groups and have not personally experienced social exclusions. This study explored social work graduate students’ evaluation of an assignment designed to encourage critical self-reflection as part of a required diversity course. The assignment approaches diversity using a cultural humility lens, which seeks to remove historical, unidimensional approaches to teaching about diverse populations. Data were collected from 47 MSW students enrolled at an urban, Midwestern university in the United States. Thematic analyses of students’ critical self-reflections revealed positive experiences regarding the influence of personal histories, development of professional identity, and importance of cultural humility.     

Case Studies of Federal Occupational Health's EAP Responses to Natural Disasters

Summary

Employee assistance professionals have increasingly been called upon to address the emotional and mental health needs of customer organizations and their employees in response to large-scale natural or man-made disasters. In doing so, employee assistance program (EAP) professionals must use a repertoire of responses that encompasses a broad range of interventions, generally anchored in an understanding of and focus on the organization and its culture, mission, management and labor concerns, and other critical characteristics. The EAP's fallback response to a crisis affecting the workplace is often a critical incident stress debriefing or close variant of it. However, EAPs can best serve their customers at all levels with interventions attuned to an understanding of the workplace culture gained through a consultative relationship with management, while factoring in the nature of the disaster, the length of time and characteristics of the disaster's aftermath, and the nuances of the employees' physical and emotional needs throughout the entire disaster response and recovery process.

This article highlights these issues through the presentation of two case studies, gained from the hurricane response activities of the Federal Occupational Health (FOH) EAP. FOH, a service unit within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Program Support Center, has 60 years of experience working in partnership with its federal agency customers to deliver comprehensive occupational health services to improve the health, safety, and productivity of the federal workforce. FOH's EAP contracts with vendor organizations to provide direct employee assistance, work/life, and related services to more than 1.3 million federal employees. The first case study describes (from the first person perspective) an on-site, multi-focused EAP intervention at a federal facility. The second case study describes management consultation with the U.S. Postal Service in response to major hurricane activity.     

Dating and Sexuality among Minority Adolescents with Disabilities: An Application of Sociocultural Theory

Adolescents with disabilities, American Indians, Hispanics, and African Americans are more likely to experience victimization and pregnancy as teens. This study explored ethnic and racial minority youth with disabilities’ dating and sexual experiences from the perspectives of social workers using Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. Thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted with master’s degree–holding high school social work practitioners. Social workers described family beliefs and practices, socioeconomic status, special education, historical influences, and resiliency as aspects of adolescents’ lives that impacted their dating and sexuality. Social workers’ dialogue concerning family beliefs and attitudes toward abusive relationships were interpreted as internally oriented signs used by adolescents with disabilities to navigate their dating and sexuality. Socioeconomic status, family practices, and special education were interpreted as externally oriented meditational tools. Social workers reported that many adolescents experienced a history of violence, but that some adolescents adapted their cultural heritage by creating new values for themselves and engaged in healthier dating and sexual behaviors than their peers. Finally, although social workers were a source of support to adolescents with disabilities, they were also at times a portal for ethnocentric discourse.     

Exploring Minority Youths’ Police Encounters: A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-synthesis

Recent deaths by police of unarmed minority youth have raised important questions about the nature and outcomes of involuntary minority youth-police encounters. Youth are the most surveilled group of Americans and minority youth frequently live in neighborhoods disproportionately targeted for proactive policing (i.e., using broad police discretion to “target” those most likely to be engaged in criminal activity before criminal acts become apparent). Understanding the experiences of minority youth who encounter police officers is of critical concern for social workers in many practice and research areas. Social workers must examine how a minority person’s perceptions are formed through repeated, frequent, involuntary encounters with the police. The purpose of this qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis was to capture these experiences through the voices of minority youth in recounting their contacts with the police. Four themes were identified: dangerous, controlling, prejudiced, and ineffective. Further reduction of these themes resulted in an overarching theme that captures the essences of these youth’s experiences: dehumanization. These results enhance understanding of minority youth experience with police officers and, thus, inform social work advocacy efforts around this issue in both practice and research arenas.