Week 9: Termination

Important Note: Please use the media player below to hear an audio course introduction that will give you more background information about the course topic. Also provided is a transcript for you to download and print out.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013). Termination [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Note:  The approximate length of this media piece is 1 minute.

Accessible player –Downloads–Download AudioDownload Transcript

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Apply termination in field education experience
• Develop case presentations
• Create action plan for professional social work

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Garthwait, C. L. (2017). The social work practicum: A guide and workbook for students (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Chapter 11, “Professional Social Work” (pp. 125-135)
Chapter 17, “Leadership for Social Justice” (pp. 199-206)

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013). Termination [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Note: This audio introduction is located in the Introduction section. The approximate length of this media piece is 1 minute.

Optional Resources

Click this link to access the MSW home page, which provides resources for your social work program:
MSW home page

Assignment 1: Week 9 Blog

Refer to the topics covered in this week’s resources, and incorporate them into your blog.

By Day 3

Post a blog post that includes:

• An explanation of how you have addressed termination or how you might address termination during your field education experience

By Day 4

Respond to the blog post of three colleagues in one or more of the following ways:

• Validate an idea in your colleague’s posting with your own experience.
• Expand on your colleague’s posting.

You will be assigned to author regular blog entries as well as make comments on each other’s blog postings.

Submission and Grading Information

To post your blog, do the following:

• To post your blog, click on the Create Blog Entry button. Create your blog with the Title “Week 9 Blog First Name Last Name”. Type your post in the Entry Message using the Text Editor or by copying from your Word document. Submit your blog by clicking on the Post Entry button.

To submit your blog response, do the following:

• Select the blog entry from your colleagues by selecting their Week 9 Blogs. Select Comment button below their Week 9 Blogs. Type your response in the box. Submit your response by clicking on the Add button.

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:
Week 9 Assignment 1 Rubric

Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 4

To create your Blog post:
Week 9 Assignment 1

 Emily Worley  at Wednesday, January 22, 2020 7:26:51 AM

Termination 

Termination is an ongoing process that should be started at the beginning of treatment. Termination is always hard especially as an intern. Our time may come up before the client’s time, and we have to seperate ourselves from the individual and transition them into treatment without us. Therapeutic relationships can be difficult to end, when working with individuals in their time of crisis, can be a challenging thing to disengage from. I am currently working with an individual and have been doing individual sessions with her, but as my time is ending as an intern, I am transitioning her into the group setting. Myself and the client will meet with the group once next week and once the following week to get her adjusted to the group setting.  

Fundamentally, the practice of social work is about the process of planned change including termination (Garthwait, 2017). My action plan for termination is to start the transition now, discuss the process with my supervisor, and notify the client’s of the agency. Several other reasons for termination are a predetermined length of service, the client may have wished to terminate early, or needed to do so for various reasons. Ideally, termination will have been anticipated and structured in a positive way (Garthwait, 2017).

Reference: 

Garthwait, C. L. (2017). The social work practicum: A guide and workbook for students (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Response 2

 Noelia Antonio  at Tuesday, January 21, 2020 10:12:40 AM

Termination is when it is time to end your services with a client, whether it was planned or voluntarily done by the client. I have not yet addressed termination in my field education experience. However, when the moment comes for termination, I think it is important to create a plan for termination and a general timeline of when it may occur (Garthwait, 2017). Having a plan creates an expectation for the client and what they should expect. Termination should be done in a way that is structured and effective for the client and does not become a negative experience for the client. Clients should always be notified especially as the time comes closer to termination. By having open communication with the client, termination can be a smooth transition.

References:

Garthwait, C. L. (2017). The social work practicum: A guide and workbook for students (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Response 3

 Surnita Warner  at Monday, January 20, 2020 6:37:40 PM

An explanation of how you have addressed termination or how you might address termination during your field education experience

Garthwait (2016) references that  termination occurs for multiple reasons, however, upon termination, interventions need to be evaluated for effectiveness.  (pp. 166-167) I believe that the agency I intern, addresses intervention prior to terminating services, although the services are provided via phone. As the caller is speaking and I recognize that they have returned to a normal state, I make them aware that the call will need to end in the next 2 to 3 minutes. Usually, they either accept the statement or ask if they can call back because they want to continue talking. However, I inform the caller that they are welcome to call us at anytime. I also review the coping strategies explored throughout the call (i.e. deep breaths, taking a walk, and or calling the hotline). The caller accepts the strategies and the call is usually terminated.

References

Garthwait, C.  (20160222). The Social Work Practicum,  7th Edition [VitalSource Bookshelf version].  Retrieved from vbk://9780133948554

Assignment 2: Case Presentation

During your field education experience, you will interact with multiple clients. As you interact with clients and review your process recordings, you might discover that one client stands out. This may be due to the services needed or a potential case history that interests you.

As a future social worker, preparing a case presentation allows you to present social work practice skills demonstrated in addressing client needs to your colleagues.

For this Assignment, you will submit a case presentation of a client you encountered during your field education experience. Review your field education experience notes and your previous process recordings.

The Assignment: (4–5 pages)

Create a Case Presentation that includes the following:

• An explanation of your agency and the services offered
• A description of your client to include demographics, presenting problem, goal, legal/ethical considerations, assessment, and proposed treatment/social services delivery plan and the inclusion of termination plans if applicable
• An explanation of whether interacting with your client demonstrated social work practice skills
• Identification of potential social work skills not demonstrated in your agency or field placement to include a proposed professional development plan
• An explanation of how preparing and engaging in a formal case presentation represents a component of professional social work