Prepare a brief (3-5 pages) written summary of the population and technique being presented. Also, include a critique of the author’s research. In your review, address the following areas.

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Guidance for this assignment

1. Review the literature regarding your area of focus (social work major, anything in that area related) APA format , 5-8 pages

2. Read the resources and identify one technique or strategy that the author(s) suggests will be helpful in working with this population.

3. Identify at least two scholarly resources directly related to your topic of interests. At least one must be a journal article. Examples of scholarly resources are (journal articles, research based books, .gov websites based upon research, professional papers, etc.)

4. Prepare a brief (3-5 pages) written summary of the population and technique being presented. Also, include a critique of the author’s research. In your review, address the following areas.

a) What is the population, and what do you know about it after reviewing the literature?

  1. What do the authors suggests are the main clinical issues facing this population?
  2. Describe the approach suggested by the author(s).
  3. Do the authors cite any research or study that supports his/her suggestions?
  4. What are some of the limitations to using this approach, particularly for this population (e.g., is it appropriate? Might it reinforce stereotypes/oppression? Is it an evidence-based approach?)
  5. Are there any ethical considerations in using this approach?
  6. Would you be comfortable using this approach? Why or why not? Include in this any critique you might have of the approach based on your knowledge of the population, research methods, theory, etc., or any values conflicts you might have personally.
  7. What did you learn about this population? Did what you learn change any previously held beliefs, values, ideas, stereotypes etc. about this population? How?
  • Be sure to include a full citation of the articles used

· Explain at least one conclusion you drew or insight you gained as a result of your comparison related to your role as a current/future helping professional.

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The many different forensic settings such as prisons, jails, outpatient settings, community centers, residential treatment facilities, and specialized treatment centers provide many opportunities for working with forensic populations. Even within these settings, there are specific and differing programs that operate. For instance, a prison might operate an outpatient drug treatment program, a residential drug treatment program, and a sex offender program all in the same facility. In the outpatient setting, a helping professional might be called on to conduct sessions with anger management groups, domestic violence groups, substance abuse groups, and sex offenders after release.

As a forensic treatment professional, assessing and understanding various forensic settings before entering them is critical in developing your professional practice. One way of doing this is to consider the various settings, and compare them based on external resources for forensic populations. For example, how do the available resources compare between a maximum security juvenile correctional facility and a residential juvenile treatment facility? The distinction between these forensic settings and the available resources for each can help you better understand the potential challenges and opportunities in your professional practice.

To prepare for this Assignment:

· Select two forensic settings in your community to compare in this assignment.

· Consider the social support, available resources, and access to treatment for each forensic setting

The Assignment (1–2 pages):

· Identify the two forensic settings you selected from your community.

· Compare (similarities and differences) the settings in terms of social support, available resources, and access to treatment.

· Explain at least one conclusion you drew or insight you gained as a result of your comparison related to your role as a current/future helping professional.

Support your Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list only for those resources not included in the resources for this course.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Week 1: Introduction

Welcome to the first week of Treatment of Forensic Populations.

Helping professionals may work years in their professional settings and never think about treating forensic populations such as sex offenders, drug abusers and offenders, or violent offenders. In fact, some helping professionals shy away from such populations, choosing to believe that these people are best helped by remaining “locked up” or left to the resources of a prison treatment setting. Other professionals, however, see the benefits of working with challenging forensic populations. Not just for the person receiving services but also for the greater social good that can come from offering services to forensic populations. As a helping professional, understanding various forensic settings, crimes, and treatments can facilitate advocacy for positive social change as it affects forensic populations and society at large.

This week, you examine the fundamentals of treating forensic populations. You consider a variety of forensic settings that is, the factors outside of treatment that can affect practice such as social support, available resources, access to treatment, and other practice challenges.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

· Apply characteristics of forensic populations to professional practice goals

· Analyze similarities and differences among forensic settings

· Create treatment plans for forensic populations*

Note: This learning objective is introduced in this week and assessed in Week 10 of the course.

 

Learning Resources

Required Readings

Buchanan, S., & Nooe, R. M. (2017). Defining social work within holistic public defense: challenges and implications for practice. Social work, 62(4), 333-339.

Green, G., Thorpe, J., & Traupmann, M. (2005). The sprawling thicket: Knowledge and specialisation in forensic social work. Australian Social Work, 58(2), 142-153.

Pence, D. M. (2011). Trauma-informed forensic child maltreatment investigations. Child Welfare, 90(6), 49–68. 

Robbins, S. P., Vaughan-Eden, V., & Maschi, T. M. (2014). It’s not CSI: The importance of forensics for social work education. Journal of Forensic Social Work, 4(3), 171–175.

Sheehan, R. (2016). Forensic social work: Implementing specialist social work education. Journal of social work, 16(6), 726-741.

Young, D. (2014). Social workers’ perspectives on effective practice in criminal justice settings. Journal of Forensic Social Work, 4(2), 104–122. 

For this assignment, you must interview two people and compare their experiences. You may either do a comparison of older-old (75+) and younger-old (60-75) or a comparison of a man’s experiences with aging to a woman’s experiences (make sure they are of a similar age).

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Interview paper

For this assignment, you must interview two people and compare their experiences. You may either do a comparison of older-old (75+) and younger-old (60-75) or a comparison of a man’s experiences with aging to a woman’s experiences (make sure they are of a similar age).

The people may be family members or someone you are otherwise acquainted with. Do not provide identifying information about your interview subject in your paper – the subject’s identity should remain confidential. You can just use the person’s first name. Your interview should be conducted in-person. If this is impossible, you may conduct a series of phone interviews. Do NOT interview them together.

The primary focus of your reflection paper should be the connection of interviewee’s responses to course themes, issues, and terminology from the book. Your paper should clearly and knowledgably reflect at least 7 major topics from the course (please see attached syllabus under weekly course outline, topic section), making it a truly “comprehensive” project. When writing your paper, do not rewrite the interview word-for-word. Summarize what was said and use relevant quotes to support your ideas.

I strongly recommend that you approach your case study paper early. You will want to carefully prepare questions in advance to ensure that all relevant topics are covered. When interviewing your participants, be sure to discuss how they are living their lives on psychological (how they are feeling – emotionally), social (friendships, lovers…), cognitive (memory, disorientation…), and physical (physical ailments) levels. For most subjects, the interview process will take about an hour.

Projects must be typed with the following specs: 1,300 to 1,950 words, 1” margins, 12 pt. font, double- spaced. The last page of your paper will be your interview questions. Always spell-check and read it out loud for grammatical errors (helpful hint). Grade points may have been LOST due to poor writing and/or editing – lack of focus and/or organization.

Discuss some of the methodological approaches that can be used to examine the influence of multiple genes on behavior.Then discuss what transgenic animals are and how they are produced.

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Answer the questions below completely and fully. This requires a minimum of two substantive paragraphs for each answer with a minimum total of 300 words for the combined paragraphs (not including the references). Use learning resources and outside academic references (not Wikipedia!) to answer the questions completely. Support your answers with source credits (citations and references). Use APA formatting for all your work.

  1. Describe the recent finds on the “Nature-Nurture Controversy.”  How do evolutionary theory (evolutionary biology and evolutionary psychology) and the study of genetics fit into this discussion? What are the implications for the biopsychologist? And finally, is there a controversy at all?
  2. Describe the process of action potential conduction and neurotransmission from one neuron to another, both electrically (including saltatory conduction) and chemically. Describe how a cell fires an action potential and be sure to address which structures are involved in neurotransmission. Discuss reuptake and enzymatic degradation (breakdown) in the context of the appropriate neurotransmitters.
  3. Trace in detail the structure and function of the visual system from the physical stimuli (light waves), to the structure of the eye and through the corresponding brain structures until it is processed as visual information. You will need to compare photoreceptors in darkness to photoreceptors receiving light and describe how light energy is transduced into neural signals. Describe how the trichromatic and opponent-process theory explain how light of different wavelengths is converted into color information.    
  4. Discuss some of the methodological approaches that can be used to examine the influence of multiple genes on behavior.Then discuss what transgenic animals are and how they are produced.
  5. What is the medial forebrain bundle?Discuss the evidence for and against its involvement in reward.In addition, review the evidence showing that the brain’s dopamine pathways are critically involved in pleasure and reward.
  6. What is the monoamine theory of depression?What evidence supports this hypothesis as a cause of affective disorder?It generally takes 2-3 weeks of chronic treatment before an antidepressant begins to have a clinical benefit, yet the drug’s pharmacological effect (for example, its inhibition ofMOA, or reuptake) is immediate.What synaptic mechanisms may underlie this time lag?
  7. Critically evaluate the roles of the lateral hypothalamus and ventromedial hypothalamus in hunger and satiety. What other brain sites are known to be involved in eating behavior? Can this be explained in terms of a homeostatic model? What evidence shows that non- homeostatic mechanisms also contribute to feeding?
  8. Describe the brain structures and anatomical pathways that make up the extrapyramidal and pyramidal motor systems.What are the main functions of these two systems?What regions in the cerebral cortex are known to be involved in movement?How do these areas contribute to the production of motor behavior?
  9. Describe the dorsal and ventral streams. Describe two theories of their functional difference and the evidence on which each theory is based.
  10. Describe the main structures of the brain stem, the midbrain, and forebrain, including the basal ganglia, the limbic system and the cerebral cortex.What functions and behaviors are these regions known to control?