Analysing Abuse Of Migrant Domestic Worker Social Work Essay Essays

Analysing Abuse Of Migrant Domestic Worker Social Work Essay Essays Analysing Abuse Of Migrant Domestic Worker Social Work Essay Essay Analysing Abuse Of Migrant Domestic Worker Social Work Essay Essay In twelvemonth 2004, the first of all time recorded of the state worst abused and tortured of migratory worker, Nirmala Bonat. The intelligence has brought to illume the sad and painful incidents as a 19th twelvemonth old Indonesian amah told a disking narrative of how she was repeatedly burnt with an Fe and scalded with boiling H2O by her Malayan employer. The Malayan image of a lovingness state has been tarnished when images of abused Indonesian domestic workers were featured in major newspapers. The studies made great impact as it drew series of reaction from disgusted and angry Malaysians who could non believe the fact that members of our really ain community could perpetrate such barbarous Acts of the Apostless. I merely could non bear by looking at the images of Nirmala Bonat being brutalized by her employer. What has she done to merit such terrible penalty from her employer? If so, Nirmala Bonat is unqualified in her day-to-day modus operandis work, she should hold been returned to her agent for replacing. Manhandling a human being or psyche, who is here to gain a better life and life is like perpetrating a merciless offense. Five old ages subsequently in 2009, another similar Nirmala Bonat instance doing the headlines one time once more. An Indonesian amah by the name, Siti Hajar was tortured by an old Malayan lady without any sense of humanity at all towards her. Mistreating migratory domestic worker or assistant is no longer something new in the society. Siti Hajar s predicament made the Malayan and Indonesian media a headlines one time more. News says that she being allegedly scalded with boiling H2O, tortured and starved. The worst still she is merely fed with field rice and on occasion her employer have asked the amah who is a Muslim to digest porc meat is simply inexcusable at all. One after another, Siti Hajar instances has led to an alleged colza, physical maltreatment, denial of wages and basic rights of three Indonesian adult females by their employer in Sungai Siput, Perak. Such Acts of the Apostless are merely inhumane. Up to dated, statistics shows more than hundred of thousand Indonesian adult females are believed to work in Malayan places as trusting to gain a better life. Malaysia as the 2nd largest finish for Indonesian amah after Saudi Arabia besides Kuwait, Jordan, Hong Kong and some other states including amah working in the United States of America. There are few inquiry that I would wish to raise up here ; are the Indonesian amahs working aboard under a good status? Do they have the right for their wages or even acquiring a freedom of human right? Never, I do understand why the Philippines amahs were non abused or even being tortured physically. Is it due to the communicating dislocation between the amah and the employer? By holding a amah or migratory domestic assistant, would it do things much easier or hard for us? Not to bury, most amah from Indonesia which are brought into the state, simply are from a lower class. This is because a much more skilled and choice 1s would be sent to other states which offer a greater moneymaking amount of money, states like Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. This would take to Malaysian employer felt that they are being cheated as they have to be prepared to accept those lower classs migratory domestic worker. While the agents are allowed to capitalise on a moneymaking concern as they frequently wash their custodies off every bit shortly as the workers are delivered to the employers. Such state of affairs left no option for the employer as they would necessitate to develop the lower classs domestic worker in family direction from basic ; How to acquire the wash done? Cleaning up the bathrooms? Geting the rubbish out of the house? Baby-sitting? Helping our married womans in the kitchen or even thought of assisting you and your household with cookery? With all this state of affairss, the employer would stop up with tonss of load and wretchedness. Before I go any farther in discoursing the possible steps that can be taken as to control these issues efficaciously, allow us take a glimpse at the Malayan jurisprudence and policies on migratory workers. The system that is being pattern in Malaysia has put migratory domestic workers at complete disadvantage every bit far as seeking for justness is concerned. This is because the migratory domestic workers are at a bigger disadvantage as they are non even considered workers and as such do non fall under the commissariats of the Employment Act. Laws and policies are enforced with great velocity and efficiency when migratory workers violate these Torahs and the state of affairs is different when the employer does the same offenses. Even tough, migratory workers make ailments against their employers, they will be subjected to assorted signifier of maltreatments including verbal and physical menaces. This once more causes them to populate under terrible emphasis and fright. I have seen and heard many instances where workers are instantly got their contract terminated and being repatriated back to their place state where they are loaded with immense debts and poorness. Therefore, domestic workers particularly would set up with the maltreatments and anguish instead than returning to their states empty handed. The following point that I would wish to include in this essay is the signifiers of maltreatments endured by migratory domestic workers in Malaysia. Press studies simply stated that the rewards to workers are non paid as per the contract even after they have fulfilled all the contract footings. Nevertheless, migratory domestic workers spend a batch of money to come to this state and most of the rewards earned are frequently used to pay up loans and debts, which they have secured and as to feed their households back place. When employers do non pay the rewards, the workers suffer the most. Beside that, migratory domestic workers are frequently forced to populate in cramped, dirty and severely equipped hovels or crowded into houses meant for a little household. Some even sleep on the kitchen floor with merely a piece of thin mattress. To be exact, domestic workers are non given a proper suites of their ain and such lodging installations that are non fit for populating would take to adv ance unhealthy conditions. The state of affairs, which I have pointed out, brought an environment where employers feel they have the immunity power . Hence migratory domestic workers are virtually at the clemency of their employers who are confident that they would be able to acquire away with about anything. Some employers are to the full cognizant that even if the affair is brought to the attending of the governments such as the civil tribunals or industrial tribunal, the immigrant policies in Malaysia would do it about impossible for the migratory worker to successfully seek justness or damages without first either running out of money or clip both which is wholly controlled the policies stipulated by the Immigration Department. It is non until the exclusive ground of Nirmala Bonat s instance received so much attending and speedy damages was given because the badness of her hurts doing the headlines of every local newspaper forepart page. Public call on her instance has prompted the Malayan governments to swing into immediate action. The responds show that Malayan can administrate justness fleetly and efficaciously when it chooses to make so. It is pertinent to observe that many instances go unreported in the media. High profile instances that drew attending has forced Malaysia taking up the steps to look into on amah maltreatments by inspecting on places, interviews of amahs and employers and besides by presenting a helpline. Therefore, as to control the jobs efficaciously, I call on the authorities to allow fleet action to migratory workers in seeking justness and protection. Employers who break the jurisprudence must be made accountable. The authorities should enforce heavier penalty to maid maltreaters. Law and policies that impede or detaining the justness system must be either amended or removed together. The Malayan authorities demand to guarantee that enforcement bureaus such as the Immigration Department, Civil or Industrial Court and the Police Force to implement the jurisprudence without prejudice and bias. Whereby there are instances been brought to my attending that migratory workers have frequently been subjected to extortion by enforcement forces. Enforcement forces have besides been known to take the employers side in haling workers to follow with unjust footings of employment. These allegations of extortion and gross misconduct by enforcement forces must be investigated. Enforcement must be carried out fleetly and impartially against employers who do non obey the jurisprudence. The governments must non wait boulder clay there is a public indignation as to acquire into action. In other words, all relevant governments are to halt all type of torment on migratory domestic workers instantly. I personally think that the authorities should put minimal work and life environment criterions that employers must adhere to. These can be achieved efficaciously as the authorities must sign the International Convention on Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1990 and guarantee its full execution. The cultural differences in Malaysia as for a domestic worker to work 24 hours, seven yearss a hebdomad with no off twenty-four hours while being paid rewards below the national poorness line. I would wish to press all migratory domestic workers who have been abused to courageously step frontward and expose their employers as to set a halt of maltreating them. The agents excessively should be accountable for their sloppiness and irresponsibleness as most Muslims amahs who work in non-Muslim places were required to bath Canis familiariss and handled porc. Such act would absolutely insensitive on the portion of the employers and the agents. The solution would be that non-Muslim employers should be allowed merely to engage non-Muslim amahs while Muslim employers to convey in Muslim amahs. The phrase Learn to populate without amahs struck my head as I was watching Nanny 911, a telecasting series of a Nanny assigned to places as to assist out American twosomes in managing and pull offing their households. I would wish to province that work forces and kids should besides make housekeeping. House jobs are non every bit easy as you think it would be. We Malayan are a lucky batch as we can afford to hold amahs with low-cost rates and yet there are ailments of Indonesian amahs now are inquiring for a small more. Therefore, I would state we should make the day-to-day jobs, place and outside ourselves. I have seen how typical it can be as merely the adult females do everything at place as the work forces and kids merely laze about. Mind you there are tones of work to be done in the house besides caring for the kids. There is the sweeping and swabbing, cleaning the lavatories, rinsing dishes, the wash, the ironing, the cookery, dusting the Windowss and cabinets and the list go es on. This is non just to adult females particularly, we should hold a balance and as for the work forces and kids should impart a assisting custodies in helping with the family jobs. I think it is about clip for us to larn to make something ourselves as this is something that we should chew over over. I would wish to propose that we should non entirely depend on amahs from aboard. We could develop our local adult females particularly the individual female parents or strictly a fulltime homemaker. We could hold them to come over on day-to-day footing or even by the hours as another option in controling the jobs. This will take to a cost effectual and less hazard of domestic assistant or amah being abuse as they are non necessitate to remain with the employer. Career adult females with households to take attention of should alter their mentality as puting the whole duty of the family works entirely to the amah as their retainer. Therefore to ease their concerns particularly those holding kids could direct them to a nursing or a child care centre during the yearss and pick them up after work. The facets of pull offing clip with work and family responsibilities are truly difficult to pull off. I would state, why non we do it ourselves as life has become much more easy with new innovations with the latest engineering of electrical contraptions in making family plants. Childs are really much a fast gait scholar in everything if they were taught on how to make manage family jobs. We should develop our kids to be more subject and independent from a younger age as to acquire rid off the exclusive hope on amahs. Parents can get down by stating them how to maintain their infinite clean and tidy, like make up their beds as they got up from slumber, wash their ain home bases or even acquire the rubbish out of the house. I would love to Live a life without the amah , the married woman should inquire the male partner for aid, cooperation and portions the duty in pull offing the house and their kids. In most develop states particularly the westerner, we could see that the male gender does non experience ashamed when semen to household plants. The hubby and married woman would take bends and portion equal duties in raising and taking attention of the household. It is approximately clip as the long-standing issue on the supply of amahs is eventually approaching a decision between Malaysia and Indonesia with the sign language of the Letter of Intent ( Lol ) on amendments to the Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU ) on the Recruitment and Placement of Maids from Indonesia on the 18th May 2010. The Indonesian authorities is expected to raise its prohibition since June last twelvemonth as to let its citizen to work in Malaysia once more. Both authorities functionaries have been keeping meetings to decide issues in relation to the amahs issue. Among the issues agreed to is that amahs in Malaysia will be given one twenty-four hours off hebdomadal and their right to keep on to their passports. However, employer and the amah concern could hold to predate the twenty-four hours off in stead of compensation and an employer could besides keep onto a amah s passport if both parties agreed. The lone issue that is still pending is the pay paid to migrant dom estic workers as it requires more treatments. Finally, I hope the authorities would acknowledge Migrant Domestic Workers as workers and allow them all the rights that come with the position. This hopefully will decide the job. Possibly the employers should besides be required to subscribe an project non to physically mistreat the amah and if they are unhappy, the amahs are to be returned to the bureau for farther preparation or acquiring a new replacing. BIBLIOGRAFI 1. Prof Datuk Dr. Nik Safiah Karim, Head of PERTIWI ( 2009 ) . The Maids: Ease V Burden. Pertubuhan Tindakan Wanita Islam ( PERTIWI ) . 2. Prof Madya Dr. Rusinah Siron, Social Analysis. ( 2009 ) . Get the better of your life without Indonesian amah. Universiti Tenaga Malaysia ( UNITEN ) , Kuala Lumpur. 3. Article Maid trade shortly , The Star, 19th May 2010. 4. Article Learn to populate without amahs , The Star, 24th May 2010. 5. Immigration Department of Malaysia. 6. Malayan Employment Act. 7. hypertext transfer protocol: //thestar.com.my/news/story/ Nirmala Bonat instance: Housewife found guilty, 18 old ages gaol.

buy custom What Makes a Top 100 Hospital essay

buy custom What Makes a Top 100 Hospital essay In 2009-2010 period, several hospitals were ranked at the top hundred positions in the United States of America. In that ranking, Ronald Reagan UCLA medical centre came as one of the top five American hospitals ranking at position three. It also became the best medical centre in the western United States of America for the twenty-first time in consecutive years. For this hospital to achieve such success, for a long time it must have engaged itself in certain plans and quality maintenance issues. The hospital is located in Los Angeles in the university of California campus. The hospital commenced in 1953 but was destroyed by the Northridge earthquake in 1994. The new hospital started operating in 2008, replacing the old one. The hospital has an affiliation with the University of California and assists in the training of medical doctors in David Geffen School of medicine at UCLA. The hospital is owned by the government, and receives budgetary allocations from the federal government besides its internal funding. Ronald Reagan functions as part of a network of UCLA health system. The government appoints senior managers on merit. The hospital receives various ratings from patient surveys and media ratings. First, Ronald Reagan UCLA medical centre ensured that it put patients as the most significant part of their services. Hospitals exist and operate because their sole responsibility involves treating patients. A hospital fails in its mandate to provide services to patients if it does not provide adequate care and attention. As doctor, David Feinberg who works as the chief executive officer and associate vice chancellor of the UCLA hospital system stated, they put patients as the core of everything that happened in the hospital. They considered that as their ultimate standard. This made the hospital provide excellent patient-centered care. Therefore, the hospital provided high-quality services to patients. This helped them rank highly (Moster, 2010). Secondly, Ronald Reagan has a team of gifted and dedicated medical and support personnel, in the entire UCLA health system. It has more than seven hundred employees. It has a representation of all types of doctors. The hospital has ensured that it has maintained a motivated team of professionals. The workers perform their duties without discrimination or favoritism. They go an extra mile to sav lives of patents that come to the hospital to receive medical help. The team has a remarkable working relationship that helps them to work together and coordinate their work to ensure that they offer high standardized services. All members of the hospital team posses relevant qualifications in their area of specialization that helps them to deliver quality services. The hospital has doctors, nurses, researchers, physicians, pharmacists and other staff that help in undertaking various duties at the hospital. The hospital has also ensured that it pays its employees attractive salaries that make them happy to work at the hospital. These makes the personnel at the hospital work with determination and love their work. It has helped the personnel concentrate on their work and give the best that they can offer. The working environment at the hospital also encourages the teams to work effectively. The hospital has a friendly working environment that encourages employees to work together and give the best of what they can offer (Moster, 2010). The hospital specializes in most of the specialties covered in medicine ranging from surgery, child-care, neurology and many more. It has been recognized for its cancer treatment specialty. Ronald Reagan UCLA hospital provides latest in medical technology to people in Los Angeles and the entire world. It has ensured that it reviews its medical services and outputs to fit with modern medical discoveries and technology. New technology offers new ways of discovering and treating diseases. Ronald Reagan hospital has tried as much as possible to keep its medical personnel up-to-date with current medical technologies through researches in and out of the hospital. Constant research has helped the hospital remain relevant in this age where new diseases come up, and old ones regenerate into new ones. For instance, researchers from Ronald Reagan UCLA medical centre were among the teams that could receive NIH funds to carry out further research, to find a cure for HIV. This shows the dedication and determination that Ronald Reagan UCLA medical centre has in its services (Moster, 2010). Ronald Reagan UCLA hospital has facilities that enable it to achieve success in all its undertakings. The hospital has ensured that it acquires the best and modern facilities that help the medical practitioners perform their duties and provide remarkable services to patients. The hospital has modern facilities in all its areas of specialty that has helped it provide quality services. It has ensured that it acquires the best facilities it can get in the market. It has done this to ensure that it does not limit its personnel in their work or compromise the services that the hospital provides. For a hospital to operate in the required manner, it must have all the facilities that must aid its operations. Therefore, Ronald Reagan hospital achieves success with its facilities. The leadership at Ronald Reagan UCLA hospital also contributed to the hospital ranking at the third position out of one hundred. The leadership at the hospital comprises of learned people who practice high qualified leadership. They have led helped the hospital become organised in its undertakings. They have ensured that different departments at the hospital work together to achieve a common goal. The leadership has ensured that the hospital possesses high qualified workers and has a friendly working environment filled with facilities. They have helped the hospital to aim at its best by ensuring that all departments provide high-quality services to patients and to the society. They coordinate and work with departmental heads and other personnel, to ensure that the hospital runs smoothly. The relationship between the management and the employees has also helped the hospital offer quality services (Moster, 2010). The hospital has been able to perform highly because of the availability of funds. The availability of funds has enabled the hospital to purchase quality facilities, employ qualified and enough personnel buy medicine and other resources that have contributed to the success of the hospital. The funds have also helped the hospital carry out research that has helped in the treatment of diseases and offering better services to patients. Currently, the hospital offers positions for volunteers, and it has many job openings ranging from administration, executive, nursing, pharmacy, clinical laboratory, radiology and respiratory therapy among many more. In conclusion, Ronald Reagan UCLA hospital has earned the third position out of one hundred positions because of its value on patients, employees, the facilities and funds it has among other factors as discussed. These have enabled the hospital achieve success. Buy custom What Makes a Top 100 Hospital essay

International Marketing and Business Operations Essay - 1

International Marketing and Business Operations - Essay Example The GDP of Hong Kong was recorded at $369.4 billion and it showed a 5 year compound annual growth of 2.5%. The picture above shows some of the factors which have contributed to making Hong Kong number 1 in the world in the economic freedom index (The Heritage Foundation, 2014). It has fiscal freedom, regulatory efficiency, market openness and rule of law, making it the perfect place for direct investment. This is also evident by looking at the FDI inflow into Hong Kong which stands at a staggering $74.6 billion (The Heritage Foundation, 2014). The growth in the tourism industry of Hong Kong has led to an increase in the numbers of mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong. The stable job market has also increased local positive spending with the retail industry increasing by 11% in current value terms in 2012 (Colliers International, 2013). In 2012, there was an increase in the number of international brands opening their stores in Hong Kong, an act which is a testament to the confidence in the market. There has been an increase in the number of retail outlets in Hong Kong which has attracted even more shoppers from mainland China. The total value of retail sales growth was recorded at an 8.5% YoY growth in November (Colliers International, 2013). Inbound visitors support the retail sector and the figures from the Hong Kong tourism board shows that Hong Kong received a total of 13.5 million inbound visitors during 2013 (Euromonitor International, 2013). This influx of tourists means that there are a lot more potential shoppers in the market than the existing population figures show. The market is ideal for retailing as tourists shoppers are likely to shop and indulge in positive local spending. Another aspect worth noting is the fact that retail rents of shops in key shopping districts and expected to decline by 5% over the next year (Euromonitor

Death penalty for specifically identified egregious crimes Essay

Death penalty for specifically identified egregious crimes - Essay Example Retreat From the Death Penalty†, it was revealed that more criminal justice practitioners and scholars have expressed increasing opposing arguments in terms of the effectiveness of capital punishment in servicing the paramount purpose for its imposition: deterrence and retribution. As emphasized, â€Å"a distinguished committee of scholars convened by the National Research Council found that there is no useful evidence to determine if the death penalty deters serious crimes† (America’s Retreat From the Death Penalty par. 2). The result was an apparent decline in the number of executions, from a high of 98 executions in 1999 up to only 43 executions in 2012 (Facts About Death Penalty). There are still a reported number of 33 states which were noted to concur on capital punishment; and only 17 were identified as non-death penalty states (Facts About Death Penalty). At the rate that the number of executions have apparently been manifested to be on a declining trend, only confirms that the national consensus against its continued implementation has been openly relayed. One strongly believes that capital punishment is not the most effective means for crime deterrence; since it only perpetuates a system of revenge through taking the life of the perpetuator. The preservation of life has been regarded as paramount to human values and beliefs and thus, killing and taking another person’s life, to replace one that was unjustly lost, does not justify the wrong that has been done.

Who came to the front Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Who came to the front - Research Paper Example And Craig strongly criticized the world of men in excluding the important role played by women during war time. Perhaps, this leads Bonney to â€Å"go forth alone† since women are perceived as weak and fragile to face the war. As a consequence, Bonney, Luce, and Craig fought the battle in two fronts: war and men. On the other side of the scale, the three women greatly differ in their approach of combating the struggle in finding the truth. For example, Bonney employed her camera to capture the images of war. Although Luce and Craig utilized pen and paper, still, they both differ in their specialty in or perception about writing. Luce sees the war-correspondent writing style merely as a â€Å"time off† in contrast to her playwright vocation. Craig, however, views the correspondent type of writing as a vocation in itself. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that Luce attempted to convince her fellow literary writers to avoid isolationism. Furthermore, the three women largely differ in their location as they struggle to get the truth. Europe is for Luce and Washington is for Craig as their participatory place of war. And Bonney’s target location is the countryside full of danger and conflict. Nevertheless, these three brave women did what they could to expose the evils of war and

Personal Reflections On Case Discussion Group Nursing Essay

Personal Reflections On Case Discussion Group Nursing Essay It seems an almost impossible task to me to be able to encapsulate all my reflections on the past year of our CDG in this report. At this point in writing I am wondering whether this thought is a reflection of feeling overwhelmed by my memories of the past year. Therefore, I have decided to break up certain aspects of the group in order to help me make sense of my experiences and reflect on what was learnt. Diversity and difference within the group There are seven trainee members in our group (one male and six females) and we had a male facilitator. We quickly noticed the abundance of similarities between members of the group. All the trainee members of our group live in London and we all had our adult mental health placement in the same trust in London. Interestingly, we also discovered that our facilitator was based in London on his clinical days and lived in the same area as two of the trainees in the group. All the trainee members are also relatively close in age (25-32 years).Our group members come from a range of social and cultural backgrounds, which was illustrated when we completed cultural genograms in one CDG session. One could consider our group to be racially, ethnically and culturally diverse, with members coming from a variety of different social economic backgrounds, countries and cultural influences. Several of our group members had also spent a number years living in African and Asian continents and some speak a number of different languages. Structure of the group Reflecting back I realise the way in which our sessions were structured was very original and added a depth to our experience of the Case Discussion group (CDG). Each week two trainees would present a case to the rest of the group, with one presentation lasting slightly longer than the other (depending on whether it was a major or minor case). Many of the cases that our group members presented were not individual client cases, but more systemic situations which we were struggling with. Once the trainee had presented their case they left the group and sat in a different part of the room. This left the remaining group members to discuss their ideas about the case in the style of a reflecting circle. I found this experience invaluable as it as it gave me insight into how it must feel to have a reflecting team with you when working as a therapist. Reflecting teams have been used since the 1980s (Anderson, 1987) and are now to be considered a form of therapy in itself. The primary focus of the reflecting team is to generate multiple perspectives (White Epston, 1990) for the therapist and client. Without the generation of alternate knowledges, people are perhaps stuck or standing still and cannot move forward with their lives (Dawson et al, 2003; p2). Indeed, when I presented a client who was very stuck in her unusual beliefs, I realised that I too was stuck in how I was working with her. Listening to the other trainees discuss her case made me realise that I needed to be more flexible in my approach to working with her and think creatively. What was interesting was how incredibly frustrating it felt being sat away from the group and being unable to verbally defend aspects of your work. This made me reflect on how clients may feel when decisions about their care are made without them being present. For example, I was recently invited to attend an Assertive Outreach team meeting which involved sixteen other mental health professionals. The purpose was to review a young man who had complex mental health problems and was not complying with his medication routine. It was only at the end of the meeting that I asked why he had not been invited and it became clear that no-one had taken responsibility for communicating with him so he had not even been asked. Reflecting back on this had made me strongly aware of the need to work collaboratively with clients, particularly with regards to keeping them informed about decisions or changes in their care. The group process The model which I feel best encapsulates the process of our CDG is Manors phase-model of group development: Figure 1 Model of group development (Manor, 2000) Forming the group and engagement phase Authority crisis and the empowerment phase Intimacy crisis and the mutuality phase Separation crisis and the termination phase In the first few CDG sessions we were primarily concerned with defining the purpose of the group (i.e. what is the group for?), allocating roles (e.g. chair and scribe responsibilities) and defining the leadership position of the facilitator (i.e. Will he tell us what to do?). This is defined as phase 1 in the model and seems to be a perfect account of the confusing and somewhat frustrating formation period of the group. Each of the subsequent stages of the group involves a crisis period. The second crisis (authority) seems similar to the storming stage in Tuckman and Jensens model of group development (1965) which I identified as a relevant model in my PBL reflective account. In our early CDG sessions there was a power struggle between the facilitator and the trainee group members, in as much as the facilitator seemed to make suggestions in the sessions (e.g. styles of presentation for the PBL, topics we should cover) which were opposite to the ideas we had produced. I felt that he was a bit patronising towards us today, he seemed to go against every suggestion that ****** made (3rd CDG session entry) Reflecting back on this entry I wonder whether we ousted him in an attempt to make our cohesion as a trainee group stronger. I also wonder whether we subsequently attempted to create a group away from the group, by arranging social outings for our CDG trainee members and discussing the CDG sessions on the train journey home. Admittedly there were two strong characters in our group who led these discussions and some who just sat there quietly. It is only with hindsight that I realise we were experiencing an authority crisis and our way of regaining power was to reform and bond as a trainee group. The next phase in Manors model is concerned with the intimacy of the group and their ability to open up personal conversations. For our CDG I dont think this happened until about 7 months in. Until this time we were very restrained as a group in discussing personal issues and I noticed we never discussed our own feelings in the CDG sessions. Our strong use of humour may have also been a defence for protecting the group from reaching this phase. I recall one of the stronger members of the group joking that we were not a group who need to cry over things. I think it was comments like this that made us feel cohesive as a group; however it also meant at times I felt unable to disclose my true feelings about an issue for fear of going against the essence of our group. Interestingly, this recently changed when we completed personal cultural genograms in a CDG session. This was a pinnacle point in our group process as it seemed to break all the intimacy boundaries we had created and allowed certain members to express their feelings of frustration when discussing certain cases or clinical situations. Our relationship with the facilitator also changed after this point and became more mutual. A major advantage of this model is that it accounts for the group changes over time, particularly with regards to the ending of our group. Reading about the final separation crisis and termination phase reminded me of our last CDG session in July to which only three trainees were present. I recall a strong sense of fear and despair in the session, and we spent over half of the session talking about the initial problems of the group. This is referred to as re-capitulation in the model and is seen as an attempt to prolong the life of the group. Given that we knew the group was not truly ending, why did we go through the process of separation crisis? Despite knowing there would be a continuation of our group in the second year of training I think we struggled with being separated from our facilitator. This made me think about how clients must feel when they are about to finish a therapeutic group and the anxiety it must generate. Yalom eloquently describes the benefits from this crisis: Learning that I must take ultimate responsibility for the way I live my life no matter how much guidance and support I get from others (Yalom, 1995; p88) With hindsight it is clear that experiencing the termination of a group process is one of the most valuable stages as it essentially installs a sense of hope and facilitates a handover of responsibility. Understanding this model has been an important learning stage for me as I have been able to use my personal learning of the CDG process and transfer it to my clinical work with groups. At present I am just finishing with three recovery groups for clients on inpatient wards and have used Manors model to help them understand their own group dynamics. Personal and Professional Development Personally, I really valued the opportunity to learn about the different models that other group members were working with as it has helped me broaden my clinical approach. Our facilitator brought systemic thinking to our sessions, which essentially shaped the discussions we had about clinical cases. Given that most of our lectures and placements were guided by a CBT approach, it felt new and somewhat daunting to be asked questions from a systemic perspective. In my first case presentation regarding a lady who had been emotionally and physically abused as a teenager. I recall the facilitator opening up a discussion with the other trainees about her attachments and role in the family structure. It was fascinating listening to how this changed the content of the conversation. At first I noticed that the other trainees were trying to problem-solve my case, but this immediately changed and they were generating more thoughtful and curious conversation which delved into areas I had not eve n considered. It made me realise the value of thinking about and understanding systems as part of the therapeutic process. Indeed, I have since discovered the benefit of using systemic tools such as Genograms and ecomaps when helping clients talk about and make links to their past. Interestingly, I was initially quite resistant to thinking in a systemic way and realise I was clutching on to the model which was used in my placement. Writing this report has made me wonder whether the resistance I showed is a parallel to the resistance often present in multi-disciplinary teams when change is imminent. For example, the service where my placement is has recently adopted the Recovery model (Repper Perkins, 2003) as a framework for mental health care delivery. After attending many of their team meetings I realised just how defensive many of the team members felt about this, and they constructed it as just another new fad in the system. It made me realise how resistance can be important in telling us something about the underlying feelings and fears people hold. Similarly, there is evidence to suggest that the role many Psychologists and therapists hold in teams stirs resistance from other health care professionals. Hook (2001) discusses the fear which some staff have regarding the notion of psychological processes, as it can be perceived as a threat to their knowledge. Hook (2001) describes this as mind science versus brain science. True enough; the issue of Psychologists integration in teams is one which attracts much attention in current health policy literature: Stakeholders showed an overwhelming preference for the integration of psychologists within teams but only if psychologists retained their unique identity and contribution (e.g. offering an authoritative and constructive counter-balance to the medical model) (Department of Health, 2007; p2) With the fast-changing climate of the NHS I realise that the roles of health care professionals are continually adapting and I wonder how resistance and institutional defences will be part of that. These are issues which evolved for me after reflecting on the CDG process, and ones which I will continue to grapple with throughout my training. Another valuable experience for me was learning more about diversity issues and how they can affect the therapeutic relationship. This topic arose after we spent two CDG sessions completing cultural genograms individually and then presented them to the rest of the group. Not only was this an introduction to a useful clinical tool, but it enabled me to think about what culture really means and how it is different to ethnicity and race. These terms had caused great confusion in our initial group discussion about culture, and I did not even realise that they meant different things until our facilitator kindly defined them for us. Thinking about my own cultural identity also made me aware and sensitive to my clients different cultural affiliations. Indeed, Hardy Laszloffy (1995) argues that: Trainees are rarely challenged to examine how their respective cultural identities influence understanding and acceptance of those who are both culturally similar and dissimilar (Hardy Laszloffy, 1995, p227) Most of my current clients come from very different backgrounds to me and some have strong religious attachments which influence the way they understand and cope with their mental health difficulty. After completing the genogram in our CDG I reflected in my supervision sessions on how areas of difference may interplay with the therapeutic relationship. For example, one client I was seeing described herself as a contemporary Christian and her faith meant she constructed her mental health difficulty to be a punishment from God. After reflecting on this in supervision, I realised that there was a big difference in our religious affiliations (I would consider myself to be an atheist), which was affecting my acceptance of her construction. Once I understood this our sessions suddenly shifted and we were able to progress with her treatment. Furthermore, I now routinely acknowledge any areas of difference when I first see a client individually and feel this had always had a positive impact on the therapeutic alliance. On a more personal level, writing this account has enabled me to think about what role I played in the group and what this tells me about my role as a professional in training. As I am writing I am aware that it has been easier for me to write about the group process than think about my own involvement and contributions to it. Upon closer inspection I am curious as to whether my narrative of the group process reflects the position of the follower. This role has been well-documented in leadership literature, and the title encapsulates a person who can sometimes be pushed aside by others with regards to leadership decisions (Dvir Shamir, 2003). Certainly my behaviour in the CDG this year fits with this description, and has made me think about how I present myself to my professional network. Whilst this is useful for me to realise, it also feels slightly uncomfortable to acknowledge this, as acknowledgement for me means action should be taken. I refer here to the eloquent words from Bo lton (2001): Reflection is not a cosy process of quiet contemplation. It is an active, dynamic, often threatening process which demands total involvement of the self and a commitment to action. In reflective practice there is nowhere to hide. In many ways the characteristics of the follower mirrors that in Yaloms (2005) description of the silent client in group therapy. Yalom stipulates that such clients trigger feelings of frustration in other group members but can also be valuable for the group as, silence is never silent (Yalom, 2005). Yalom (2005) asserts that you can find meaning in the here-and-now of their behaviour which informs you about their way of relating with others in the outside world. Learning this made me think about a client whom I used to see who was silent for much of our sessions. I wonder now whether her silence was the most useful piece of information that was available to me, yet I did not recognise that at the time. This is something I will make a conscious effort to think about in future clinical work. Final thoughts One of my final thoughts is around the name chosen to represent the group experience. I wonder whether it would be more fitting to call the groups, Reflective Practice Groups rather than Case Discussion Groups? The latter name projects an expectation of a more formal and typical structure to the group where one would expect presentation and discussion to be the crux of it. In fact, my experience of the CDG sessions challenges this expectation as the actual time spent focusing on cases was minimal. I personally think that Reflective Practice incorporates thinking about other areas of clinical work which are important and may impact upon our work with clients. For example, thinking systemically about working with staff or critically about organisational stress and the effects this has on clinical work. Reflecting back I realise such issues are pertinent to our development as first years and the groups would be a perfect opportunity to explore and contain them. By changing the name of t he groups it would embrace such explorations and consequently add a reflective element to our practice which simply cannot be satisfied by supervision alone. Finally I feel that the group has added an expansive dimension to my thinking as a trainee psychologist. My expectations of the CDG were continually challenged by my actual experience of it. I found that it enabled me to be more open, more honest and far more curious in my clinical work, and for that I am extremely grateful.

Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment Essay -- essays research papers

In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov concocts a theory: All men are divided into ‘ordinary’ and ‘extraordinary’. The extraordinary man should have the right to eliminate a few people in order to make his idea known to all humanity; however, the ordinary man has no right to transgress the law. Because he believes this theory is an idea that must be known to all humanity, he considers himself extraordinary; however, there is a legion of events that prove that Raskolnikov is not extraordinary.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One can be sure that Raskolnikov believes himself to be extraordinary when Porfiry says, “...surely you couldn’t have helped...fancying yourself...an ‘extraordinary’ man, uttering a new word in your sense.... That’s so, isn’t it?'; to which Raskolnikov replies, “Quite possibly'; (247). Raskolnikov was strongly prompted to murder Alyona when he recalled a conversation that took place between two ordinary men in a bar. One declared: I could kill that damned old woman and make off with her money without the faintest conscious-prick.... For one life, thousands would be saved from corruption and decay.... Besides, what value has the life of that sickly, stupid, ill-natured old woman in the balance of existence? (63) Raskolnikov reasoned that it would be honorable to kill Alyona since it would supposedly benefit humanity, but the fact that “...