Supporting Significant Life Events Sample Assignment
INTRODUCTION
The given assignment states about how individuals can be supported through transitions which are associated with the life cycle of human. With the help of this assignment the learners can get an idea about the ways in which the care services can contribute towards the maintenance of the reputation and dignity of those individuals who are suffering from any disease or trauma. The learner would also get to know about how the workers of care settings take care and support the individuals who are experiencing major life events. The given case study would help the learner to have a better understanding about managing individuals in the health and social care setting. The unit describes about the case of a 35 years old man called James, a heroin addict. He undergoes an addiction recovery programme and faces several challenges after his rehab. The learner has analysed the responses which are designed for supporting these individuals. The leaner has also given relevant recommendations have also been given for improvement of the conditions of the individuals. This unit is for those people are interested in working in advising agencies and counselling therapies. This assignment would encourage the learners to reflect on their personal experiences and skills that are required to support different individuals through their significant life events.
Task 1
1.1 With Reference to the case study; explain the impact of significant life events on individuals, namely James and Sarah.
In the given case, James is a 35 years old man who has a wife named Sarah. James had an addiction for heroin for two years and then his wife convinced him to go under a 28-day Addiction Recovery Programme. James faces the impact of withdrawal and after completion of the programme which he undertook; he suffers from the post effects as well. Sarah also faced trouble as James was not able to cope with the stress of his family life (Baldock, et al. 2011). The impact of this significant life event of James made it difficult for him to live a normal routine life. Life events are nothing but the changes that take place in a sudden or abrupt manner in an individual’s life. The individual might take time to deal with such events. The life events can be either positive or negative. It depends on how the individual is going to react to such situations. The life events can be of different type and the impacts of these events affect the individuals differently. The impact can be classified on the basis of how much stress one faces. According to the Holmes and Rahe stress scale model, the life events can into 43 different stressful life events. Like in the given case, even though James finishes his Addiction Recovery Programme, within a few hours after leaving the addiction centre, he started feeling uneasy and he could not cope with most of the things (Morgan and Bhugra, 2010). This made James irritated, anxious and he felt a lot pressure. Sarah realised that she never thought of the after effects of rehab and that James was not able to come back to his normal life situation. This life event had a considerable impact on his well being and social life. He started cutting off from his friends and family relatives. All this also affected the marriage life of James and Sarah. Later, Sarah decided to ask James to join the Focus Group, which is a local community centre, so she could prevent his addiction and save their marriage life. At Focus Group, people shared their own experiences and how they used to cope with different situations. James shared that during the time when he used to consume heroin, he had a disgruntled attitude because of which he lost friends and he lost confidence to work too. The leader of Focus Group was Nick who helped James and Sarah to overcome the problems. James went there for three months after which he felt more confident and he noticed the changes in his attitude. This helped him get back to his normal life and he also got his friends back (Storrie, et al. 2010, p.5).
1.2 Analyze possible group responses to significant life events that occur to one of its members (examine James and Sarah’s Friends’ and co-workers’ response to his addiction).
The group responses to the significant life events which occur to one of its members, the group people have different reactions to these events. The common behaviour of the group is to support the member who is supporting from a critical situation. They try to behave normally most of the time so that the member who is suffering does not feel awkward. In the given case of James, he has been facing a very undesirable life event and his wife Sarah has also been facing trouble to help him come out of this situation (Strang, et al. 2012, p.75). At first, the friends and co-workers of James and Sarah tried to empathise with their situation and suggested the ways in which they could recover and prevent the recurrence of James’s addiction. James’s co-workers also tried to conduct sessions to improve his psychological condition. His friends also tried to engage him in different activities so that his concentration could shift from consuming heroin to other activities. But James always felt irritated and discontented because of which he lost his friends. Even the co-workers stopped encouraging him as he did not reciprocate at all. Keith, one of James’s friends, who is also friends with Sarah, suggested them that they should opt for a more interactive way so that James can share what he feels about his condition and talk about the difficulties he faced. James and Sarah then joined Focus Group which was a local community centre where there are several people who go there to share their experiences. It is a known fact that sharing and talking about such events with a number of people helps to overcome the problems more easily (Mallinckrodt, 2010, p.265).. The people at Focus Group were very helpful and they helped James and Sarah to move forward in life. Later on, when James started behaving normally, his friends and co-workers came back to him and encouraged him to work again and involve in different activities.
1.3 Taking the case study in to consideration, analyze the impact for others in health and social care (Michael and Nick) when an individual experiences significant life events.
In the given case of James and Sarah, James went for a 28-day Addiction Recovery Programme, where the healthcare worker was Michael and after the completion of this programme, James went to a community centre called Focus Group, where the leader was Nick. James used to take heroin for two years and when he withdrew his intake, he had to suffer for months as he had to face the after effects (Taylor, et al. 2014, p.289). James started having blood pressure, running nose, dilated pupils, stomach cramps, muscle spasm and elevated heart rate. He did not have any other medical or psychological problem apart from all these problems. These problems made him irritated and his behaviour deteriorated every day. In the addiction centre, James was taken care of by Michael. However, Michael could not handle James’s tantrums after a point of time. Sarah felt that on the last day, when she went to pick up James, Michael was ecstatic to see James leave. Despite the Addiction Recovery Programme being successful, James did not reciprocate much and he could not coordinate well with his healthcare worker, Michael. Later on, when Sarah and James joined the Focus Group Community Centre, James responded in a better way and started recovering faster as the sessions at Focus group were interactive. The team leader Nick at Focus Group made sure everyone shared their experiences and spoke about how they recovered from their problems. It cannot be concluded whether Michael was wrong or right (Shaver and Mikulincer, 2010, p.168). The approach of both the care worker was different from each other. It depends on the perception of the care centre workers how they would like to treat their patients and help them improve their conditions. The way the patients react is also equally important (Gilbert and Powell, 2010, p20). The impact of these people from the Health Care organizations differs from each other. The main objective here is to understand the condition of the patients. One has to understand the concerned person carefully so that he or she can help out the person who is facing significant life event (Richardson and Storr, 2010, p.15). It can also be said that James responded differently towards both his treatment procedure. He used to feel irritated and dissatisfied at the addiction centre maybe because it was difficult for him to get over his habit of taking heroin. When James joined the community centre, it was easier for him to reciprocate to their curing procedure. He showed faster improvement and health growth as he found this approach more suitable for him (Barker, et al. 2011, p.698).
TASK 2
2.1 Looking at the case study, evaluate the effectiveness of organizational policies and procedures in supporting James and Sarah and their social networks affected by their significant life event.
The focus group has made several policies and procedures that help in supporting and reflecting their care values of the services that they offer. It has been observed that the Focus Group is mainly concerned about the competence, compassion and the integrity of their service values. The Focus group must be well aware of the fact that the services that they offer their patients help them to develop the current situation of their patients. The Focus Group mainly helps the patients and their family to develop their current situation so that they can help them to lead a healthy life in the rest of their life (Valsamakis, et al. 2017). As James is an addicted person, it is problematic for him to maintain his marriage life. The family has been encountering several issues in their life which is having a negative impact on both the husband and wife along with their children. The policies and the procedures that are developed by them would help them to develop the worst situation of the patients effectively so that they are able to make their life a good one. Moreover, the plans and procedures that are developed by the Focus Group can be altered based on the different needs and requirements of the patients to get well. Organizational policies in a health and social care setting can alter the process of handling the patients in a completely different way. It is essential for the professionals to understand and identify the essentiality and help them to recover with proper medication and support.
It has also been observed that the Focus Group not only leaves the patients after their recovery but they keep a regular monitoring of the patients so that based on their current situation the patients can be treated effectively. Due to the negative situation of James, Sarah has been feeling neglected and she has been trying to protect their marriage but was unable to do so. It has also been observed that the mental situation for both of them were also stressful. The policies that are developed by the Focus Groups have enabled the staffs to develop their skills which offer effective treatment to the patients (Piekos, et al. 2017). In this case, it can also be mentioned that the staffs also keep close contact with the family members of the patients so that they can constantly monitor the patients and their whereabouts. These are considered to be an effective step that the focus group has undertaken in order to develop the operations of the institutions.
2.2 Explain how others in social networks may provide support to James and Sarah.
As James has been suffering from stress after returning from the Health institution for 28 days, it was observed that Sarah was unable to handle him in an effective manner. For this very reason, she sought the help of the Focus Group so that they can help her out to enhance the health conditions and behavioral change of James. In this case, Sarah was alone with two of her children and so she wanted to protect her marriage life. But she was unable to do so. Due to the issues Sarah felt that she has been behaving like the scorned wife for whom she was regretful to James bit she cannot control her emotions. Sarah has also mentioned to the Focus Group that Michael who was being appointed for James by the Health care Institution was frustrated due to the tantrums of James. With the passage of days, James has become more frustrated and this has been affecting his health internally as well (Roe, 2017). She did not have any other social network that would be able to help James out of the issues that are being faced by James. Therefore, she sought the help of the focus group so that they can appoint them with a person who can deliver an effective service to her husband. The services that are offered by Focus group would help him to develop the health condition of James. The most important thing that the Focus group involves within their working policy and procedures states that they keep a close relationship with the patient’s family or relatives so that they are able to develop the condition of the patients. This will indirectly help Sarah as well to protect her married life and in turn would help her to live a peaceful life onwards. Moreover, due to the addiction which James had was the only result that he lost his friends who have affected him more in his life. In this case, the case study suggested the fact that the Focus Group has consoled Sarah that they will be helping James to get back to his previous life standards and he will be healthy after their services and he would also get his friends back that will help him to live is original and healthy life that he used to live before he got addicted towards heroine and other drugs. Social networks are considered to be a place where an individual can express their feelings to a certain group of friends or group. Under such situations, James and Sarah have to understand the situation and must involve in this process as it will help them to release their pain. Through this process, the possibility of regaining the former patterns can help them to recover at a steady flow. Instant decisions and pressure won’t help them in becoming normal. With the help of social network, the chance of recovering is considered to be high as they can interact with people whom they feel comfortable with.
2.3 Evaluate the suitability of external sources of support for those affected by significant life events with reference to the case study.
The main operation of Focus Group is to help the addicted people to get back to their normal life that they used to lead before the addictions. There around thousands of people in every country who have been suffering from addictions. It has also been noticed that people wants to overcome their addiction but are unable to do so. In this case it can be evaluated that there are several institutions all around the world that helps in overcoming the addiction and helps to return to the normal life again. Addiction services are an institution that helps in treating the addicted people in an effective manner in order to help them to recover their original life that they used to lead before the addiction (Malmgren and Edelvik, 2017). It is a division of the Nova Scotia Department of Health Promotion and Protection which help the addicted people and their family. Canada Drug and alcohol rehab programs is an online source that helps individuals to secretly leave their addictions and live a normal life. The Health Canada, the Deal.Org and the National Anti-Drug strategy also helps the people who are suffering from addiction.
TASK 3
3.1 Analyze possible organizational responses to the need to support James and Sarah who are experiencing a significant life event.
The organizations which have people who are facing significant life event should be more concerned towards helping and curing the patients in each and every stage. The addiction centre and community centre responded differently towards the condition of James. The approach of both the care centres was different. It is known that a person who is through such a life event often has the habit of losing out his or her normal life balance (Luong, et al. 2011, p.21). They need constant support and aid to get back to normal life. In case of James, he started suffering a lot after reducing his intake of heroin. He also was very stressed out and his condition kept on deteriorating which reflected on his working capability. The rehab centre focused on preventing James from consuming heroin whereas the community centre focused on letting James share about his problems with others. In the community centre, there are more people who talk about their problems and experience of recovering, which helps the other patients in understanding the ways in which they can also come out of their undesirable life event. The Focus Group made sure that James gains back the confidence to work again and lead a normal life like before. It is responsibility of the care organizations to understand the patient carefully and select the right approach to treat them. The addiction centre should have considered the after effects of their programme on James. They had provided Sarah with self-help leaflets which had guidelines on how to support James and prevent him from recurrence (Tew, et al. 2011, p.72). The decision taken by Sarah of going to the community centre was successful. Nick, leader of Focus Group, understood that interaction help the patients to overcome the after effects of any significant life event. The organizational policies and procedures play an important role in supporting the concerned people. They should make a proper care plan for their patients by investigating the case of the patients. This would help the organization to help the concerned person in the needed manner (Burton, et al. 1958).
3.2 Reflect on own personal contributions to the support of individuals experiencing significant life events. Have you ever helped someone experiencing a significant life event?
In a health care environment, contributions are considered to be a vital factor towards life events. I have personally experienced various individual experiences that have occurred over the time. Based on my experiences, I have encountered a number of patients over the time and have helped a lot of people in recovering from drug abuse. As there have been instances of many individuals suffering from serious diseases, many individuals require the attention of professionals who can help them to recover from their illness. Over the time, I have helped people by motivating them and encouraging them for a better lifestyle. It is crucial for me to understand their problem and I have used my skills to understand them. Since communication is the most essential factor in any communication, I have managed to listen to the problems of the individuals. This has helped me in gaining their trust because many individuals report of not getting attention from other professional. In addition to this, I approached them empathetically to ensure that their problems are heard appropriately. In addition to this, I used my education and experience in these matters to ensure that I am able to provide them with appropriate resolution so that they will be able to make the required changes timely. Rushing to solutions won’t be helpful as it is time consuming and requires concentration. In all, I have contributed towards the welfare of these people and have helped them in giving a proper direction without any medication as I personally believe in the concept of will power and motivation.
3.3 Make recommendations for improving the support available in a health and social care organization for individuals and their social networks when affected by Heroin Addiction as in the case study.
An individual, who was suffering from the addiction of heroin intake, takes a lot of time to withdraw his or her addiction. In this assignment, the case is about a 35 years old man called James who suffers from the withdrawal symptom of heroin addiction. It was difficult for him to face the after effects of reducing the amount of heroin intake. James had to face difficulties to cope up with his work and maintain his relationship with his wife and children. His body did not allow him to have a stable mental health with which he could think correctly. His wife Sarah made him go under a recovery of drug addiction programme which was designed for 28 days. Sarah did not think about the after effects of the program, so when James was done with it, he faced a lot of issues after it (Brunero, et al. 2010, p.72). The rehab centre should have provided proper instructions to the James and Sarah about the positive and negative effects of this programme so that it would have been easier for both of them to decide whether they should let James join this program or not. These rehab centres only focus on reducing the drug intake level of the patients. They should conduct sessions like community centres, where the patients can talk about how they feel after going under programme and whether they feel better about themselves or not. This would help the patients recover faster and the make the outcome of the patients more effective. Even the co-workers and friends of James should have been more supportive and kept more patience to help James recover from this situation (McDougall, et al. 2010, p.128). These significant life events sometimes can become very critical for the person who is facing it. It is also very challenging for the patient’s family members to stay calm and handle such situations. The family members should realise that it becomes difficult for the concerned person to think normally and have the ability to balance his or her life normally. There are several other complications which need to be dealt with. The choices of the kind of treatment are very important decision, so the patient and the family members should be very careful and should consult people before taking any crucial decisions. Heroin addiction not only deteriorates the health of an individual but it also affects their mental health. The individuals must take counselling sessions
CONCLUSION
The assignment focuses on stating about the importance of health and social care. The tasks have given description about how care settings try to analyse the situation of their patients and make appropriate care plan for them. The assignment evaluates the effectiveness of the policies and procedures of the health care organizations. The leaner has also gets an idea about how the friends and co-workers of the patient react to this life event. Description about how the health care workers try to handle the situation of the patient has also been given. By understanding the case of James and Sarah, it can be observed that it is difficult for the person and his or her family to handle the effects of these significant life events. The addiction of heroin took a toll over James and reducing the intake of it also affected him poorly. He suffered from both health and mental problems. It can be concluded that this assignment is helpful for those who would like to understand the kind of treatment that should be provided to the people who are going through significant life events and how they should be supported to recover from the after effects of such events.
REFERENCE LIST
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