- Published: September 30, 2022
- Updated: September 30, 2022
- University / College: Brigham Young University
- Language: English
- Downloads: 4
First, recognizing the essence of service is one core value that psychiatrists need to posses. This is because psychiatry care is not often easy to access under normal circumstances compared to other forms of medical care. By virtue of Ms. Bichman’s poor socio-economic status, she is unable to access psychiatry care. Thus, the Pretrial Diversion Program has offered her an opportunity to access this important and basic service.
In essence, psychiatrists need to recognize the importance of their service to this unattended group of the patients who continue facing many disadvantages partly because the system does not recognize their plight. Schrete, Sharftein, ; Schreter (1997) assert that “ In fact, an occasional extended one or two session focuses therapy intervention with an open-door policy for return visits might be even better for certain patients with this configuration of symptoms and character traits (p. 303). By adopting an open door policy to the service, more victims like Ms Bichman who are unfairly labeled as social misfits will be able to access the service. The Pretrial Diversion Program aims at preventing future criminal acts; hence, by recognizing the essence of service, the psychiatrists who will attend to Ms. Bichman need to allow her to return for further care with no restrictions on number of visits.
Secondly, psychiatrists need to acknowledge the importance of human relationships, when offering psychiatric care. In the provided scenario, Ms. Bichman is an individual who most of the time lives under solitary conditions, which are contributed by her behavioral traits. As a result, people tend to avoid her even when she genuinely needs something. According to Stuart and Laraia (2005), “ therapy is complete, when the patient can establish satisfying human relationships, thereby meeting basic needs”(p. 53.
It is clear that part of Ms. Bichman’s frustrations arises from the lack of a friend or relative with whom she can share her problems. In addition, psychiatrists need to recognize that offering care is a dual role that requires significant input from the patient and health care professional. The patient plays an important role by sharing her concerns with the therapist, which enables her to participate fully in building a care relationship (Stuart & Laraia, 2005). After recovery, there is also a need for the psychiatrist to connect Ms. Bichman to an external support group, where she can get easy referrals back to the health care professional through coordinated effort of the group members.
Thus, Ms. Bichman will find a reliable partner to whom she can confide her problems without fearing any form of judgment or discrimination, which will enable her to recover mentally and emotionally.
Core Values of Social Work Profession
First, a social worker handling Ms. Bichman’s case should be able to recognize the dignity and worth of a person. The scenario reveals the manner in which the society was treating Ms.
Bichman prior to her arrest. She had been alienated and classified as a mental case without any recognition given to her circumstances, which were responsible for making her act that way. Thus, recognition of human worth enables service to be offered without self-interest motives while utilizing one’s value, knowledge, and skills to promote the needs of the people (Hepworth, Rooney, & Rooney, 2009). This way, a social worker will be able to enhance Ms. Bichman’s self-worth by enabling her to recognize her value in the society. Ms.
Bichman needs to see herself as a part of a coordinated effort in achieving the goals of prosperity and independence in every individual. Alienation from the functions off the society has made her to feel useless and unwanted. Every person is unique and has inherent worth; hence, social workers should aim at enhancing a person’s dignity and individuality (Hepworth, Rooney, & Rooney, 2009). To achieve this, it will be important for the social worker to ensure that Ms. Bichman is provided with every basic need, such as food, clothing, and shelter.
Even though she will be offered with temporary shelter while still in the Pretrial Program unit, efforts need to be made by the social worker to secure Ms. Bichman accommodation outside the unit once she is deemed fit. This will provide her with a suitable foundation to further enhance her personality. Secondly, a social worker handling Ms. Bichman’s case needs to recognize the essence of social justice. According to Hepworth, Rooney, & Rooney (2009), “ the values of the social work profession also reflect strongly held beliefs about the rights of people to free choice and opportunity”(p.
6). From the scenario provided, it is evident that Ms. Bichman is an individual lacking formal training in a trade that can enable her to fend for her livelihood. This has rendered her to become extremely dependent on the other members of the society for her needs. Thus, in order to guarantee Ms. Bichman some form of social justice, there is a need for the social workers to equip her with necessary skills, such as education, which will improve her ability to integrate with the other members of the society.
In addition, the social workers need to enable Ms. Bichman to access state supported programs, which can empower her to become a meaningful contributor to the society, such that when she is released from the program there will be less chances of her falling back to her former situation. In the end, social justice will be achieved and the problems of Ms. Bichman will be solved.