Syeda Ali

Lori Klein- Shapiro

SW 4997
15 March 2015
Reflection 4: Discussion on the Smith Family and Sallys Saga
As I finished reading Substance Abuse as Problem or Symptom: The Smith Family, I
found it interesting that Mr. OHare came to the conclusion that Garys use and abuse of
substances were due to important and harsh life events such as his resentfulness toward his birth
mother giving him up for adoption and his gang affiliation. I also found it interesting that Mr.
OHare suspected that his focus on Gary as the primary client actually bolstered Garys selfconcept at least to the degree that he did not see himself as the only problem facing the Smith
family. I believe that Garys substance abuse was first looked at as a problem but as time went on
and more data was collected, his substance abuse turned out to be a symptom for him and his
family. Throughout Garys life and even into his adolescent years, he underwent a series of
escalating incidents that seemed to be an opportunity for him to drink alcohol and do drugs.
Though Gary went down the wrong path at a point in time, Mr. OHare brought him back to
where he needed to be: abstinent from alcohol and other mood-altering substances. Mr. OHare
helped him tremendously as it was obvious in the reading that he was no more dependent on
substances.
To answer the discussion questions after reading Sallys Saga in terms of what services I
could recommend relative to the physical spousal abuse, I would refer Joe and Sue to domestic
violence counseling, individual counseling, and family counseling. I may also want Sue to visit
The Family Violence Prevention and Services Program, a program that is dedicated to support
and provide assistance for victims of domestic violence and their children. I assumed that Joe
was doing the physical abuse because Joe was using alcohol and marijuana on a regular basis
which may in turn influence Sue to use alcohol and marijuana to temporarily reduce problems

regardless of her pregnancy. When Joe self-disclosed about his marijuana use, Sally could not
have considered any other alternatives as other alternatives may violate the Code of Ethics.
Considering the progress made by Joe and Sue, however, Sally could have ignored Joes selfdisclosure or could have talked to Joe privately to figure out possible solutions. Social work with
willing clients and those who are forced to see the social worker, as is the case with Joe, pose
many differences. Willing clients are engaged, cooperative, and open in conversation. They
want the help and services provided to them whereas clients who are forced to see the social
worker take time to open up and become comfortable. Initially, they lack trust in the workerclient relationship. Social workers who work in positions as agents of social control face
special challenges such as not only fighting for the client but having to maintain stability and
control for the greater good of the community. They have to be able to do more with less because
responsibilities increase with less support. Burnout is long-term exhaustion and diminished
interest in work. Workers in this particular setting might be more prone to this experience due to
heavy caseloads and continuous service delivery. Possible motivations Joe might have had for
disclosing the information on his drug use to Sally includes the positive outcomes Sally has
reached with Joe, Joes trust in Sally in leading him in the right direction, and Sallys continuous
support to positively transform Joe into a righteous individual.