Chapters 1 & 2

  Chapter 9 discusses mental health diagnoses. I haven’t seen it so much lately, but a few years ago, I would consistently see children on my caseload be diagnosed with ODD. I absolutely despise that diagnosis. It left the child with this stigma that they can’t be fixed. It labels children as not being able to function like their peers. It makes me think about how professionals in the helping field continue to do the same thing over and again expecting a new outcome. I don’t understand how professionals continue to treat people without knowing the full story of that person. Chapter 9 also talks about incest. I can’t imagine the life long impact something like that does to children. My niece was sexually abused by her older half-brother. She is doing ok now and has successfully completed individual therapy. But I wonder as she gets older how her trauma will be revealed in other ways. Chapter 10 discusses eugenics. The expression of genes passed down for generations and how those g...

 Chapters 7 & 8 were distressing for me. I found that the information provided was extremely helpful since my job entails keeping children safe. I wish information regarding child abuse and how impacts the children as they grow were readily available. I wish that other professionals had the opportunity to have the knowledge about how child abuse impacts the emotional well-being of children.  With any job, you develop a set pattern about how you approach issues. With child welfare, there are so many dynamics that come into play. The law dictates how we deal with child abuse as well as policy and code within the helping agency. Policy and law don't always line up with one another. When that happens it can delay permanency for the child. I find that law and policy end up catering to parents instead of looking at the best interest and overall well-being of a child and that becomes frustrating.  When reading the chapters, I became conflicted in how I'm going to proceed wit...

 I find it fascinating that we have had the knowledge that our minds and our bodies are connected. This is in reference to the discoveries and documentation that Darwin made years ago. Since we had that basic knowledge, I question why we ignored that concept. If we would have put more merit into that concept, then perhaps we would be further into our studies regarding how our minds and bodies have a symbiotic relationship. Chapter 5 talks about how humans are social beings. We make adjustments to facial expressions made by other people. This has made me think how this increasingly becomes hard in my job since we have to wear masks during my interactions with families. I have been trying to read more into people's eyes and really focus on what they are saying. In undergraduate studies, we learn that we must have cultural competency. I believe we can take that concept and apply to even families with out a specific cultural. We can learn about their own culture in terms of what their ...