Humanities Homework Help

In Chapter 4, the topic of difficult transitions is addressed, and how preventive outreach to distressed and marginalized clients can not only provide support, but also prevent a crisis.

For this discussion:

• Describe the four factors that characterize people who can successfully adapt to difficult conditions
• Discuss two of the models of outreach programs that community counselors can create to serve clients and families undergoing transitions from the text OR other models from specific groups that might be in the process of undergoing transitions, such as members of the LGBTQI community and others (these can be found online or from your own experience.(300 words minimum)

Please reply to the following posts, (200 words minimum each post)

Post 1

Researchers have identified several factors that characterize people who have successfully adapt to difficult times. The first factor is that successful persons tend to have strong social support systems. The availability of supportive associates serves as a buffer against the effects of stressful situations. These relationships provide both personal validation and practical assitance. The second factor is that successful copers tend to have a sense of control over the enviornment. People use the terms self-efficacy and internal locus of control for people that we know can cope effectively do so because they believe their actions can have an effect on the world. Individuals differ in their general belief systems concerning their ability to exert power and control when needed. The sense of control can also be in a specific situation can be affected by their appraisal of the stressor and the presence or absence of adaquate personal and environmental resources. The third factor is that successful copers have the information and tools needed for effective problem solving. The individuals with success in coping at least have the ability to solve immediate problems and develop appropriate new behaviors in both general life and situation specific knowledge. The last factor is that successful copers tend to be confident that they can adapt to new situations. All these factors are interrelated.

There will be two models of outreach programs I will discuss in my post. The first one being helping adults cope with martial disruption. Martial separation and divorce are the most stressful parts of an adult’s life. Program participants are to take part in career planning and employment, legal and financial issues, child rearing and single parenting, housing and homemaking and socialization and self-esteem. The program results show significantly fewer physical fewer physical and mental health problems and geenral psychological problems across time along with a decrease in distress, maladjustment and anxiety. The second program is a program with stepfamilies. There are stressors when people remarry and go into a new family. New family members need to make new family roles. In this program this is how blended families can be helped. Counselors can help destroy myths about remarriage families. Counselors can help new families find their new system and how different it is from their previous systems. Communication skills can be taught. Counselors can make a forum that these family members can work out their relationships. These type of tasks can help make a model for preventive outreach.

Post 2

Individuals who successfully adapt to difficult conditions share four factors that allow them to adjust better:

• First, they have a strong support system. Help from family members, friends, and the community during tough times make them more bearable. Knowing that we are not alone during time of crisis is therapeutic.
• Second, individuals with healthy coping mechanism are better at having a sense of control over the environment. You can see even if you call it “self-efficacy” or “internal locus of control”.
• Third, they detect or have a clear picture of the even or situation and have the valid tools to overcome the situation. Even if these individuals do not have the tools or have not confront similar situations in their life, they have enough flexibility or capacity to adapt. Here, we are talking about life competencies and situation-specific knowledge.
• Fourth, they are positive about adapting to new situations. Objective sources of confidence are personal, financial, as well as from confronting similar situations before. Example, you may be divorcing for the first time, but probably the person was successful before in the arena of dating. Looking the situation from this angle: you had been dating successfully in the past, which take away the unrealistic thinking of negative people, “It will be very difficult to find a partner again.”

Models of outreach programs that community counselors can create to serve clients and families undergoing transitions:

Helping Adults Cope with Marital Disruption: Divorce is one of the most difficult and stress provoking events that can happen to individuals, many times its recovering process is compare with the mourning of a love one passing away. Having experienced a divorce in my life, I can assure the adapting process is very demanding, mentally, physically, and financially as well.
Community counselors in conjunction with other members of the society; like educators, lawyers, social workers, divorce mediators, financial advisors, can develop a program tailored to help couples going through a divorce process, making it less painful.
Divorce is a disrupting event not just emotionally, which records the end of a cycle and the beginning of another one. It is painful for all members of the family, the nuclear and the extended ones.
Teaching and coaching families going through a divorce to communicate better, to learn healthy ways of sharing time with children, to improve individual’s self-esteem, to learn new vocational skills to have more employment opportunities, to acquire social skills to build new relations, and to learn parenting skills are just a few examples of elements that can be the focus of this kind of outreach program that counselors can promote.

The Family Development Project: Helping Pregnant Adolescents is another outreach program counselors can develop.
This program can be aim to prevent the negative consequences of adolescent women waiting for a new child. There are enough evidence showing that the way these individuals assume their new roles and responsibilities affect their future and child future for good or for bad.
Creating a multi-faceted community team aim to help these females to encounter this situation and its nuances is a very important illustration of what a community counselor can do. Beginning with helping them to avoid dropping out from school, supporting the care of their babies while studying, assisting them with social and government economical help, giving psycho-education to the new mothers and their parents, advice and prevent become abuse by their partners and taking steps to prevent unexpected future pregnancy are just a few of the many goals a program like this can address. This outreach type of programs cannot be possible without the effort and unity of multiple members in the community.