Interview With a Social Worker, Interview Example

Introduction

Social work and human services personnel provide unique yet essential services for individuals and families across different settings. These efforts greatly impact the lives of these people in different ways and provide support to enable them to meet their specific goals and objectives. As a researcher, it is important and necessary to conduct interviews of selected personnel within these fields in order to identify their strategies for growth and their ability to achieve successful results for their clients. These indicators demonstrate that it is necessary for social workers and human service professionals to obtain expert knowledge and understanding of the field through the achievement of educational and licensure credentials. These credentials expand their qualifications to practice in their fields of choice and demonstrate the important impact of decision making and guidance for their clients in order to produce desirable results. In addition, field professionals must also embrace a number of key characteristics to achieve success, such as compassion, empathy, and sensitivity, amongst others. The following discussion will summarize an interview conducted with Dr. Elizabeth Osborne, a Licensed Psychologist in the State of New York and will evaluate her credentials and experiences in shaping the lives of her clients in different ways in order to improve their psychological health and wellbeing.

Interview Summary

Dr. Elizabeth Osborne is an experienced Licensed Psychologist in the State of New York. Dr. Osborne is employed by the Jewish Board of Family and Children Services in New York City, which provides comprehensive mental health and social services to the five boroughs and Westchester County. Specifically, Dr. Osborne works with the Ittleson Residential Treatment Facility, which provides child psychiatric services for boys and girls between the ages of 5-13. Dr. Osborne noted that the organization is primarily funded by Medicaid, self-payment, commercial insurance providers, ACS, and Medicare. She also stated that those seeking to work for the organization as case managers must possess a Bachelor’s degree in a human service field, and social workers must have a Master of Social Work degree. Throughout the organization, administrative and support staff members provide various services such as billing, physical placement, aftercare, case support, outpatient clinic treatment reporting, and other clerical duties. Dr. Osborne stated that currently, there are no identifiable gaps in the level of treatment that is provided to residents at the facility. In addition, the organization represents its clients well through nurturing and appropriate interactions between staff members and clients. Finally, the organization manages its client’s transportation needs very well and provides clients with access to transportation as it is necessary.

Dr. Osborne also provided some background regarding her own ambitions to be a licensed psychologist. To be specific, she entered the field because she was very passionate and had an intellectual interest in the human mind and in the inner workings of abnormal psychology. In this context, Dr. Osborne wanted to contribute to the field and explore her passion for human beings by providing help and guidance to others as much as possible. Dr. Osborne pursued her education in this field and earned her advanced degree and credentials because she wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. She wanted to perform meaningful work and to assist those who required psychological support and guidance in different ways. This was an important opportunity for Dr. Osborne to make a difference and to provide others with the type of support and attention that would enable them to be successful contributors to society within their own lives. Dr. Osborne’s ambitions as a Licensed Psychologist also allowed her to explore new insights into the human mind and to configure different solutions in order to accomplish the desired objectives in a reasonable and effective manner. This was an important ambition in her own career path and allowed her to develop a new level of interest in her field of choice to promote the creation of successful outcomes for her patients.

Dr. Osborne stated that there are five distinct and meaningful characteristics that are required to achieve success in the social work and human services fields: intelligence, empathy, perseverance, compassion, and sensitivity. These characteristics are significant because they allow professionals in these fields to tap into their own emotional frameworks and objectives in order to accomplish as much as possible with their patients, and this leads to successful outcomes and objectives in different ways. Dr. Osborne has made the most of her experiences as a Licensed Psychologist and has sought to convey her own ideas to enable her clients to achieve greater wellbeing and effective outcomes. She continuously strives to make each and every interaction with her clients as meaningful as possible, and strives to develop new strategies to approach her clients with an open mind and perspective regarding their needs.

Dr. Osborne has been widely successful in exploring a variety of psychological concerns with her patients and has sought to be a viable resource for her patients at all times, even when a formal session is not available. She is highly focused, dedicated to her work and to her patients, and strives to achieve maximum success with her patients in their time of need. This is an important indicator of success and achievement for Dr. Osborne; however, she has found that the single greatest reward that she has received from her work is the ability to put a smile on the faces of her clients and to get them through some very difficult periods in their lives. The efforts that she has made in this area have been very helpful to her clients and have provided her with personal rewards because she feels that if she can make even the slightest bit of difference in the lives of her clients, she has made a valuable contribution to her field.

Dr. Osborne represents positivity, ambition, commitment, dedication, and support in the best possible manner and takes the steps that are necessary to optimize the time that she spends with her clients. Dr. Osborne is cheerful and enthusiastic, but she also recognizes that her field is very hard work and requires her full commitment and dedication at all times. Therefore, she must continuously reflect upon balancing the needs of her clients with the options that are available to them to achieve greater support and recognition for their needs and concerns. Dr. Osborne’s unwavering dedication to her clients is perhaps her most endearing strength and has enabled her to achieve remarkable success in her field over time.

Comparison Report

The Ittleson Residential Treatment Facility is a 32-bed facility that provides children with treatment for “severe emotional disturbances, including psychosis, depression, bipolar disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Intensive clinical services include psychiatric treatment, individual, family, group, milieu, and ancillary therapies are provided” (UJA Federation of New York, 2012). This organization works with its younger clients on a daily basis in order to provide them with emotional and psychological support in order to manage their needs effectively and supports their continued treatment at all levels (UJA Federation of New York, 2012). In addition, this facility provides additional support to clients through a day treatment program for children between the ages of 5 and 13 who possess emotional and psychological concerns, yet are stable enough to live in the home environment (UJA Federation of New York, 2012).

Saint Christopher Ottilie also provides a variety of social services to meet the needs of its clients in the New York City area. For example, the Robert J. McMahon Children’s Center offers residential treatment for children with developmental disabilities, and the Madonna Heights Residential Treatment Facility provides comprehensive mental health services to its residents, who also attend Madonna Heights School to obtain education in a therapeutic and supportive environment (SCO Family of Services, 2013). In each state, there are different regulations regarding the provision of these types of services and the qualification to receive Medicare and/or Medicaid for treatment purposes (CMS.gov, 2013). Therefore, these facilities qualify under these regulations and work to provide the level of support and related services that are necessary to produce successful results for all clients.

Conclusion

The fields of social work and human services represent many opportunities to provide guidance and support to clients facing a variety of problems, such as mental or psychological concerns, as well as emotional issues. Employees within these fields possess specific knowledge and expertise in these fields and provide opportunities for clients to identify specific concerns and to treat these issues accordingly. Dr. Elizabeth Osborne, an experienced psychologist, provides exemplary service to her organization and continues to explore the dimensions of her field through specific interactions with her clients. Dr. Osborne has sought to create an environment for her clients that embraces change and progress, and also positively impacts their emotional and psychological health and wellbeing in different ways. Dr. Osborne’s success in a residential treatment facility has been instrumental in shaping the lives of her clients and in improving their wellbeing to enable them to conduct their lives in a positive manner. Dr. Osborne’s knowledge and experience in the field will continue to support her ability to engage her clients and to provide them with the resources that are necessary to improve their lives in a positive manner.

References

CMS.gov (2013). Psychiatric residential treatment facility providers. Retrieved from http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/CertificationandComplianc/PRTFs.html

UJA Federation of New York (2013). JBFCS – Henry Ittleson Center. Retrieved from http://www.ujafedny.org/view-agency-program/view/jbfcs-henry-ittleson-center/

SCO Family of Services (2013). Special Needs. Retrieved from http://sco.org/programs/special-needs/