Introduction Ever wondered what social workers do? This brief introduction gives you some insight into social work practice and the theory which informs the practice. This unit is made up of a series of six extracts. You are introduced to the four components to good practice and will look at the importance of the following approaches to social work practice: Biography The social context of social work Responding to children’s needs
1.4 Type The ACSM recommends exercise that employs large muscle groups, is rhythmic or dynamic, can be maintained continuously and is aerobic in nature (ACSM, 2006; Pollock et al., 1998). This type of exercise results in larger increases in VO2max. Activities that would fit into this category include walking, running, swimming and cycling.
1.1.3 Time The recommended duration of an aerobic exercise session is dependent on several factors, such as the participant’s goals and fitness levels, and the intensity of exercise. Obviously, the higher the intensity of the exercise, the shorter will be its duration. As a general guide the ACSM recommends between twenty and sixty minutes of aerobic exercise, which can be undertaken either continuously – i.e. all at once – or intermittently – i.e. in shorter bouts accumulated during the day (AC
Learning outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: begin to recognise how elite sport is funded in the UK.
Introduction Some elite athletes in the United Kingdom are provided with financial support to allow them to train and prepare for competition. Where does the money come from to finance this? This unit will examine this question by looking at the funding of elite sport in the UK. This unit is an adapted extract from the Open University course Introduction to sport, fitness and management (E112)
3.5 Benzodiazepine tranquillisers, Prozac and the SSRIs One of the most significant ranges of drugs ever produced is the benzodiazepine tranquillisers (usually classed as ‘minor tranquillisers’ or ‘hypnotics’), often prescribed as a remedy for ‘minor’ disorders such as depression, sleeplessness and anxiety. In effect, they extended the range of conditions that could be treated by medication. The best-known example is probably Valium. 2.3 Community care, fear and the ‘high-risk’ service user So far in this unit you have seen how the concept of risk has come to suggest danger. This section explores in greater depth how the changes that have led to this situation have impacted on mental health policies and practice. The next activity involves reading an article to help you consider risk in the context of mental health services. 1.2.2 Boundaries of difference One of the things that language does is define and give a name to differences between people – to delineate the boundaries that separate them. In the mental health field, the ‘mad’ are at one end of the social divide that separates the ‘normal’ from the ‘abnormal’. They are ‘the other’, a point made in the article by Perkins (above): ‘To be mad is to be defined as “other”’. This is a recurring theme in the mental health field. In the following passage Abina Par Introduction This unit takes you on a journey of discovery where you are invited to challenge ideas, both new and old, in relation to mental health. It is made up of a series of three extracts. The first extract, ‘Boundaries of explanation’, sets out the theme of boundaries: boundaries within and between groups; within and between explanatory frameworks; and within and between experiences of mental health and distress. The second extract, ‘Whose risk is it anyway?’, considers a critical account of 3.6 Ethical practice and accountability: the role and function of professional bodies The UK's medical profession is regulated by the General Medical Council (GMC). One of the main ways in which the GMC, and other regulatory bodies, influences its members is through its code of ethics. This sets out broad principles, rather than detailed guidance, for how practitioners should behave in specific circumstances. This is necessary because a practitioner retains individual accountability and ultimate responsibility for decisions taken during professional practice. Not all br 3.5 The principles underlying ethical practice
Box 3 describes four principles that are central to an understanding of acting ethically. 3.4.3 Respecting autonomy is the foremost ethical principle in health care Some commentators believe the pendulum has swung so far in favour of respecting autonomy that it leaves little scope for users to be passive recipients of healing. The desire to make each user an active participant in their own healing process can make it hard, or even impossible, for a user to refuse to engage in active decision making, and leave the decision to the benevolent practitioner. In this case, the user may waive his or her rights, by choosing not to be kept informed about changes 2.12.1 Integration One factor which is already influencing the nature of the therapeutic relationship is the move towards greater integration with orthodox medicine. Whether or not CAM practitioners welcome this development, it is inevitable. The impetus for this is partly about providing health care that gives patient satisfaction, and also stemming the tide of the spiralling costs of hi-tech, orthodox medicine and medical litigation. Stacey (1988) points out that, when the state funds parts of the nati 2.12 The future of the therapeutic relationship As discussed earlier in this extract, therapeutic relationships are subject to constant review and reinterpretation. As the culture changed, the predominant shift in health care was away from paternalistic forms of relationships based on professional expertise towards partnership models in which the patient has more rights but also more responsibilities. This final section looks to the future and considers some of the factors that can impact on therapeutic relationships in CAM. 2.5 The therapeutic relationship as a placebo Mitchell and Cormack propose that the relationship aspect of a therapeutic encounter can be as important as the technical dimensions of healing (Mitchell and Cormack, 1998). CAM practitioners argue that the therapeutic relationship itself may be an important tool in healing. Critics of CAM turn this argument on its head, suggesting that CAM is, in fact, no more than a powerful form of placebo. What they generally mean is that it is not the specific treatments used that evoke a healing respons 2.3.3 CAM and the ‘tyranny of health’ Some commentators criticise the very idea of the ‘therapy culture’. The issue for them is not how to get people more involved with their health and the therapeutic relationship, but the unhealthy attitude many people have towards seeking perfect health in the first place. How healthy is it for people to constantly turn to professionals or therapists for advice on health care and lifestyle? Should people believe that being in the best of health is the main concern in their lives? The cultu 2.3.2 Responsibility for the causes of ill health Doyal and Pennell (1979) write from the perspective of political economy and argue that there is a continual state of conflict hidden within health experiences and health care relationships. Society produces ill health through an unrelenting drive towards profit and a failure to put the health and wellbeing of individuals first. Work and everyday social life are bound up with taking risks. Many workers experience stress and some occupations involve the risk of physical injury. Social class gr 1.12 Conclusion to Extract 1 The biomedical model that dominated health professional–user interactions for the past 100 years or so marginalised and appeared to devalue certain aspects of the individual and personal experience of illness. However, health care provision is now more user-centred in the prevailing biopsychosocial model. Despite the diversity of health beliefs, the edifice of modern medicine is built on a dominant scientific perspective, which promotes a certain world view at the expense of other cosmologi 1.10 Concepts of healing: philosophies underpinning CAM practice Read the following accounts by individual CAM practitioners of four different modalities. These are personal perspectives, which may vary 1.3 Components and origins of health beliefs Health beliefs, like other personal beliefs, are learned. Knowledge about health and illness is built up from childhood onwards, from diverse sources including family, social networks, community and religion, and through ‘official’ government health messages. Individual health beliefs, while rarely ‘scientific’ in themselves, none the less are grounded in experience, modified over time in the light of that experience, and rational in the light of people's wider belief systems and worl
Box 3 The principles of acting ethically
Activity 5: Health beliefs in CAM
