What Ever the Chapter Is

Issues that you can show empathy about (p.64)
1 Not making enough money to take care of her children.
2 No one seems to want to help her. She has to deal with her problems on her own.
3 She might feel that her mother is being judgmental of her partner, hence the reason why she wants them to move out of the house.
4 She is tired after working long hours and has no patience in working with her own issues.
5 She probably wants concrete solutions to her woes.
6 She is probably wishing for her significant other to snap out of his bad habits and finally step up to fulfill his responsibilities.
7 She is probably questioning what sort of mistake she has done in her life that made her "deserve" these hardships in life as punishment.
8 She probably has low self-worth and may not see that she deserves a better life.
Empathetic Responses To Issues (p.65)
1 Enable the client to speak as much as they need, without being judged. The client needs someone to listen and mirror back their own emotions so that they can sift through the confusing clutter of their emotional life and find the solutions based on what they think they are cable of doing.
2 It is also important for the social worker to show his/her client that he/she is listening attentively. To do this, one can reflect back what the client has said, as well as give feedback on one’s emotional reaction to what the client has said. Of course, it is important to keep focus that the conversation about the client’s emotions and not the social worker’s.
3 Empathy is a two-way street. The client gets a sense of the social worker’s empathetic capabilities when the social worker is capable sharing his/her own experiences and how it has affected decisions he/she has made in the past. This becomes a take-off point for asking questions about the client’s possible decisions, and brings to the surface the client’s thought patterns that could help or worsen the condition.
4 Depending on the level of relationship between the client and the social worker, some form of physical affection can be shared. For example, a simple tap on the shoulder, a slight touch on the hand, or a hug enables the client to feel that someone is willing to listen, and be vulnerable in helping him/her overcome his/her problems.
Consequences of Alice’s Decisions (p. 67)
Positives

Negatives

1. She will finally be able to stand up on her own, without the help of her mother.

1. She will not be able to take care of her children and provide them the care of a mother which they need.

2. She and her partner can finally explore a life where they are in command, and learn to work together.

2. There is no guarantee that he will change. He might go back to his old ways, and he might not be able to care for the children in the way that a mother would.

3. Perhaps her significant other will realize the need for him to step up and share in the responsibilities of the household

3. She will expose her children to possible physical abuse since she is not there to look after them.

Skills and tools used to assist clients to see consequences (p.68)
Often, a simple ...