Part 1
Duties of Human Service Worker
The major duties of the human service worker are to assist the individuals and community in functioning effectively through the key domains of life. The human service professional may work in diverse areas such as rehabilitation, support for families and social work. They work to assist the clients in identifying and obtaining certain available benefits in society. They also work to help the members of the community in preventing and solving social problems such as substance abuse and family violence. The human service professional therefore requires that one develop a strong desire to help others as it is the most important thing within this service ( Wood, 201 3). The human service professionals have a duty to work with the members of the community in helping them solve various problems that arise in society. Through support and care, the professionals have a duty to ensure people have a better living away from social problems and depression. They provide guidance and counseling to the members of the community who are faced with certain issues such as family violence and substance abuse. They also work with other professionals such as nurses and psychologists to identify and solve various social problems that affect the members of the community.
Characteristics of Human Service Workers
The social work can be very challenging but also a rewarding profession. Various skills and characteristics are therefore necessary to ensure that one becomes successful in the human service profession. Training and acquiring the right kind of education is the first essential characteristic of a human service professional. To achieve the right career development, one should have the right skills and education. Degree in social work and also Ph. D can help provide the necessary knowledge and skills that promote success in this profession. Courage is another feature of social work that is necessary to have a successful career ( Fanning , 2019). Because social work takes place in the highly stressful and complex environments, courage and determination is an essential tool in realizing success in the profession. A human service worker also needs to have empathy. Because it involves working with others, one needs to show an understanding of the feelings and emotions of others. Diversity is also an essential feature that is necessary for the human service profession. Social workers work and interact with people of different races, religions, and cultures. Keeping an open mind and respecting diversity can, therefore, help promote successful career development.
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Human service profession also requires one to be ethical and responsible. Social workers handle such tasks that could lead to legal issues if one fails to be responsible and ethical. One, therefore, needs to act with due diligence and care while also remaining within the constraints of the law. Flexibility is a significant characteristic of the human service profession. It requires one to work during odd hours and therefore the need to be flexible.
Purpose of a case study
The purpose of a case study is to provide the social workers with the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to analyze and evaluate the use of social work interventions within the community, individual or family. Through analysis of the case studies, the social workers are able to reflect on the model used and how it can be applied in the life situations within the profession ( Baldwin, 2016 ). It offers an assessment and understanding of the appropriate intervention that is required for a particular situation. Case studies act as a reference point to the social workers where they relate similar situations and assess the most appropriate intervention method to use in the solution of a social problem in the community.
Part 2
Presenting Issues
The major issue present in the case study is the depression oppression to women that comes as a result of the family issues and polygamy. Life situations can sometimes be traumatizing making people live a life full of regrets and depression. If left unhandled, depression and regrets can lead to suicidal thoughts and loss of life. People undergoing depression and feeling of deprivation require rehabilitation which comes in the form of guidance and counseling. The role of a social worker in such a situation is to provide the individual with both emotional and social support so that the person can develop positive thinking and a stable state of mind. Providing social and emotional support is an essential role of a social worker. Family-related depression is a major social problem in many societies and thus prompting social workers to play such a role in providing a solution to the problem.
Background information
Individual circumstances
The main character in the film, “Escape from Polygamy” is Julina, a 17-year old lady living with her widowed mother. They leave in a community where polygamy is a norm even though her father only had one wife. After the death of Julina’s father, her mother is ordered by Ervil, a prophet within the community, to get married as the fourth wife to Merril where she moves into the compound ( Escape From Polygamy, 2013 ). Julina is not used to polygamous marriage, and she feels unpleased with it. However, she meets a handsome young man known as Ryder within the compound. The two falls in love and Julina begins to feel happy. Her happiness is however short-lived. The prophet, who is the father to Ryder, proposes to marry her as a second wife, something that she does not like. In the community, the prophet plays a role in choosing for people the wives to marry and no one can refuse. The prophet at any time can choose a woman of her choice or even rape any woman as was in the case of Esther.
As the preparation for the marriage between Julina and the prophet goes on, a severely stressed Julina gets imprisoned in a room where she cannot see anything. She undergoes a lot of depression while in her wedding gown waiting for the wedding. She is attempted to strip her gown and use it to commit suicide due to lack of freedom and issues in the polygamous family. Because she wants to escape from the polygamous family that she has never been used to, she together with her mother fakes suicide to cheat the prophet that she is dead. She cannot bear the kind of problems at the polygamous family, and she still loves Ryder ( Escape From Polygamy, 2013 ). This case study presents a woman undergoing depression due to the issues that exist in the polygamous family and a community where one is not allowed to marry the person she chooses. She is depressed because she cannot get married to a man of her choice and instead of being forced to get married to an old man. It portrays the depression and lack of freedom as the key social problem in this polygamous family. It demonstrates the kind of oppression that women are subjected to while in polygamous communities where men decide everything for them.
Family and Support
This film presents a community in which polygamy is the norm. It consists of three families both living in the breakaway of the Mormon Church that still promotes polygamy. The first family is that of Julina and her mother, Leann. Julina’s father had just died of a heart attack, and her mother has to get married to another man as the fourth wife, a move that Julina does not like because her father was never a polygamous man. The second family is that of Ervil, the prophet in the church who has a role in deciding the marriages in the community. She has a son known as Ryder, but his wife had disappeared years back ( Escape From Polygamy, 2013 ). The prophet can choose any women he wants and even rape women. Despite leaving without a wife, he can make love to any women. The prophet orders Leann to get married a fourth wife to Merril. He also decides to marry Julina forcefully even though she does not like it. The third family presented in the film is that of Merril, the man who marries Leann as a fourth wife. Throughout the film, the families are presented as being marred into polygamy and lack of freedom of choice for women. Women are presented to be people who take orders from men and who should not turn down any decision that has been made by the prophet. Women in these families are subjected to a lot of depression and psychological torture.
Assessment
According to the ecological theory, the family and environment play a key role in influencing the development and psychological well-being of a child. Family and environmental factors include the relationship and integration within the family. Families usually need support, both formal and informal from the members of the community. The environment is mainly impacted by the culture that exists and how it is practiced. A significant change in the family could cause psychological problems to the family members (Loynes, 2016). For example, the absence of one parent could lead to changes in the family in a way that can affect the children. The culture and absence of parents act as the environmental factors that can affect the behavior and psychological well-being of children.
The main problem that presents itself in the film is family problems that have developed due to culture. In a culture that allows polygamy and limits the rights of women to make choices, the psychological well-being of girls gets affected. Julina, who is a 17-year old girl, undergoes psychological torture after the death of her father. She is in a culture where women do not make decisions about their love life. She is forced to get married into a polygamous family, something she hates. This puts her at the risks of developing depression and even having suicidal thoughts. Children brought up in an environment where there is polygamy and oppression of women are more likely to get depressed, increase the rates of suicides or even lead to social deviance. The problem that needs to be solved is, therefore, the oppression of women.
Summary
The solution to this problem requires that the community members provided with education on the importance of women rights. The major problem that increases the risks that women are exposed to in the film is the oppression of women in the polygamous family. Support and education can help develop a positive mind change. This could, in the long run, make the community change their view about women. Also, providing rehabilitation and guidance to the affected family members can help them avoid the risks of depression and suicidal thoughts. Such programs in the community can help build a strong and stable piece of mind.
References
Wood, S. (2019). What is Human Services?. Retrieved from https://www.nationalhumanservices.org/what-is-human-services
Fanning, J. (2019). Top Eight Characteristics of a Successful Social Worker | MSWOnlinePrograms.org. Retrieved from https://mswonlineprograms.org/2012/top-eight-characteristics-of-a-successful-social-worker/
Baldwin, M. (2016). Social work, critical reflection and the learning organization . Routledge.
Loynes, N. (2016). Assessing needs & risks 2: family and environmental factors [Power Point Slides]. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/NathanLoynes/assessing-needs-risks-2 ecological-theory-family-environmental-factors
Escape From Polygamy 2013. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLBOr_k6VCA
