PART 2 – REVIEWING THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE, AVAILABILITY, AND CULTURAL RELEVANCE OF 3 POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS (5 pages)
• As Millie’s social worker it is your job to help her locate the best possible resources, supports and interventions that she and others can use to help her achieve her recovery goals. Ideally, these interventions are evidence-based, culturally relevant, and readily available. But in today’s social service world, this is not always the case. You and your client then have to work together to find the best available options and engage in shared decision-making in deciding which interventions to use. Considering the assessment that you conducted in Part 1 and Millie’s goal for her recovery, use the course readings and outside research to identify and compare 3 potentially appropriate interventions that could help Millie get closer to achieving her recovery goal.
• Conduct a review of the empirical evidence, local availability, and cultural relevance of these interventions. Is there a resource, support, or treatment modality that is most effective or “best practice” for getting Millie closer to her identified goal?
What does the empirical research show about this intervention’s effectiveness and use with people with serious mental illness and with people of Millie’s cultural background? Is this support/intervention available in your community and how would you go about linking or referring Millie to this support?
• Remember, effective interventions can include biological (e.g. psychotropic medications), psychological (e.g. psychotherapies), or social (e.g. housing, employment) interventions. They can involve peer support, natural/community supports, or self-directed activities. But they should always be appropriately matched to the person’s own goal and their particular stage of change. A minimum of 10 empirical sources, outside of the course readings and websites, should be used to support this review.