11JuLY 2008
NO 1320
Thinking about child care worker training over twenty years ago ...
Worker preparation
Child care worker, social worker and psychologist have co-operated at Anchor Village, at St Philomena's Children's Home in Durban, in what can be termed a self-enhancement programme. The work programme was preceded by elaborate planning to arrive at the process and techniques which should form the basis of treatment for each of the inmates of the different cottages. After an introduction and discussion of the main aspects of planning, some sections of the case study will be presented.
Carkhuff and Berenson (1976) suggest a
paradigm for effective counselling as follows:
Effectiveness = Effective people + Effective programmes + Effective
organisation.
We have seen fit to alter this as follows:
Effective treatment = f(counsellor) + f(programme) + f(theory).
In our planning, the effectiveness of the worker was then our first consideration. It is important to remember that training in helping skills is one instance of interpersonal learning processes in general. Just as helping looks for a change or gain on the part of the person helped, so in initial sessions where preparation is primary, constructive gain in worker functioning should become apparent. Helping seeks to aid the child to become a more self-actualised person, and so training in the first instance does the same for the trainee.
Our purpose (and training seminars were arranged for this purpose) was to build the skills repertoire of the worker, irrespective of his educational background, but consonant with his level of understanding, to deal with change or crisis, and also to recognise other resource agencies who might be called in to assist where necessary. Some of the ideas about the worker, many given by workers themselves during sessions, follow.
Your effective worker would be a person who has his act together, with enough physical energy to do what he needs to do. He is comfortable in his task and not defensive about things he cannot do. He is courageous in the sense that whereas he might not know all the answers, he is prepared to seek help in finding the answers. He has a sense of community; he is optimistic about life and altruistic in his dealings with others. He maintains a critical problem-solving attitude and indeed encourages others to solve their problems. Last, but not least, he moves away from the idea of a static monolithic self-concept as the essence of child-being, to a belief in the creative potential of the child. That is, the self being able to become more than it is, or a possible self or selves arising out of commitment, discipline and the development of new social skills.
A substantial number of variables enter into the effective programme. One notes the personality of worker, personality of child, nature of the problem worked with, the extent of the motivation of the child, the hope and expectations that worker qualities arouse in the child, the child's own assets and liabilities, and possibly most important, the quality of the relationship between worker and child. Marmoor (1976) has suggested eight major factors which are present in all psychotherapeutic relationships:
Good counsellor-client relationship
Release of tension
Better understanding by client
Direct or indirect reinforcement
Effective suggestion and persuasion by the counsellor
Identification with the counsellor
Repeated reality testing
Continual emotional support during reality testing.
It was possible to sum up in another way, the planning aspects of our effective treatment programme. The John Hopkins University Group posited the following: Two interrelated goals emerge in psychotherapy and counselling – firstly, to combat destructive emotions and attitudes such as fear and despair, and secondly, to enhance the person's sense of mastery or control over himself and thereby over his environment (Frank et al., 1978).
Whilst much has already emerged as regards a theory for treatment, it is essential to emphasise briefly aspects of theory considered in the case study. A theory can be regarded as a map which is in the process of being filled in with greater detail. A theory might be better used in counselling if we are aware that the theory is held, and that it has its attractions and limitations. The theory implicit in this case study is one which focuses us on data about self – essentially a self moving to the future and not static in the past. We are concerned with self-enhancement and the possible self of the child. A child must be capable of evaluating an inner and an outer situation in his understanding of himself and move further in the direction of achievable goals for himself.
Much interest in the establishment of a programme of self-enhancement came from the work of Randolph and Howe. The panel of workers did exploration in different areas suggested by these authors to increase self-esteem. The following are some of the areas:
Problem-solving
Self-management
Changing negative reflections to positive images
Building bonds of trust
Setting limits and expectations
Freeing and channeling energy
Overcoming unproductive repetitive behaviour
Developing physical competencies
Making success inevitable
Self-evaluation.
O. NELL AND B. HADDEN
Nell, O. and Hadden, B. ((1988). Team participation in a self-enhancement programme. In Gannon, B. (Ed.). Today's Child Tomorrow's Adult: Proceedings of the sixth biennial national conference of the National Association of child care workers. Cape Town. NACCW. pp.105-106
REFERENCES
Carkhuff, R.R. and Berenson, B.G. (1976).Teaching as Treatment. Amherst, MA. Human Resource Development Press.
Frank, J.D. et al. (1978). Effective Ingredients of Successful Psychotherapy. New York. Brunner Mazel.
Marmoor, J. (1976). Common operational factors in diverse approaches to behaviour change. In Burton, A. (Ed.). What Makes Behaviour Change Possible? New York. Brunner Mazel.
Randolph, N. and Howe, W.A. (1966). A Program to Motivate Learners. Palo Alto. Education Development Corporation.
