Judith Holm Memorial Student Awards for 2012
Sponsored by The Center for Clinical
Social Work
The Award:
$2000 cash prizes are awarded to final-year students in social-work master’s
programs who write the best papers demonstrating their mastery of the essentials
of clinical social work and readiness to enter professional practice. The
program is named for Judith Holm, MSS, BCD, of Shaker Heights, Ohio, the first President of the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work
(predecessor of the Center for Clinical Social Work and now an operating unit
thereof). This national competition is judged by faculty from graduate schools
of social work, by practitioners, and by directors and staff of the Center.
To print the guidelines below in PDF format, click here.
A Winning Paper
Write a well-organized, logically structured, publication-quality
paper. The paper should be your recounting of the process of an actual
intervention. Literary merit is not important; but you should show clearly how
you helped the client, or tried to, and should discuss your consideration
of relevant theories, the selection of a theory to guide the intervention, and
the extent to which it produced a successful result. If you did not consider
several possible theories in the intervention, do not submit a paper. Keep
the description of theories brief and focused on how the chosen theory met the
criteria identified in the assessment and diagnosis.
Your paper should track the development of the intervention from
start to finish. Start by presenting the client’s
problems, followed by assessment, differential diagnosis, theory selection,
treatment planning, therapeutic alliance, progress toward amelioration
(including values and methods, client feedback, adjustments to the plan), and
conclusions. Demonstrate the unique perspective of a clinical social worker,
different from other professions; and show how you used supervision to inform
your choices throughout the intervention. Demonstrate a wide-ranging
familiarity with current clinical literature through citations and reference list.
Finish the paper with brief conclusions—what you learned, how well you helped
your client (or did not), what you would change.
Indicators of Professional Development
All of the following should be evident in the paper:
Bio-psychosocial Assessment, Therapeutic Alliance Introduce
yourself (use the personal “I”) and your client, describing your client’s
presenting problems and the bio-psychosocial assessment of the client, relating
it to normal-abnormal growth and development (human behavior in the social environment),
as learned in the classroom and in the field setting. Discuss what steps
were taken to form a therapeutic alliance, with what result.
Differential Diagnosis In light of the
assessment and special circumstances of the client, discuss your research into
diagnosis, which diagnoses were considered, which were rejected, and why one
(or more) was chosen.
Selection of Theory. There is no single best
theory for a given intervention. Discuss the following: research into
theories relevant to the diagnosis; which theories you considered to guide the
intervention and why; and which theory or theories you applied (recognizing
that the theoretical orientation might need to be changed during the
intervention).
Treatment Plan. Discuss how you created a treatment
plan in collaboration with the client. Discuss problems, overcoming
them, and setting realistic goals. Show how your plan integrates theory,
supervision, client feedback, and measures to tell you how well you are
doing.
Intervention: Clinical Social Work Values.
Describe your use of clinical social work values in this intervention (do
not generalize), such as primacy of client needs; contributing to a just
society; ethical concerns; strengthening human relationships, especially within
the family; respect for diversity and dignity; client’s rights to
self-determination, privacy and confidentiality, and informed choice.
Intervention: Clinical Social Work Methods.
Discuss the intervention in terms of techniques and methods, including a
person-in-environment approach; professional use of self; the influence of the
practice setting; overcoming barriers to service delivery, maximizing
opportunities for the client to benefit from resources, and advocacy for the
client’s right to receive competent care.
Intervention: Client Feedback, Outcomes Evaluation.
Discuss continuous client feedback and relate it to goals of treatment plan;
show adjustments to intervention in light of client disclosures, client needs,
and client-related issues relating to safety, change of circumstance,
decompensation, etc.; show how client was helped and how progress was
measured.
Intervention: Use of Supervision. Throughout
the paper, when relevant, show how you discussed issues with supervisor(s) and
made use of the advice (or not, and why), and changed aspects of the
intervention (if you did).
Intervention: Adapting Theory.
Discuss the negatives and positives of applying your chosen theory or theories,
show how it affected the intervention, show how/why you changed theories or did
not, discuss why you might choose a different theory(ies) in future.
Formatting
- Cover page has title of paper, author’s name, home address and phone number, school, school address, faculty sponsor name and phone number, field sponsor name and phone number, and total number of pages including reference pages.
- Abstract page has the title of the paper and an abstract of content (150 words or less), omitting any reference to the student author or school. No personal information on this page.
- Body of paper does not exceed 4000 words (list word count on abstract
page), double-spaced, with 12-point typeface and at least one-inch margins all
around. Use sub-heads as appropriate. References, tables, appendices, etc. are
not included in word count.
- References & Citations Place citations within the body of the paper and list all
references at the end. See examples below.
- Pages must be numbered. A running head (abbreviated version of title) must appear in the upper right corner of each page.
Editing
Proper Nounsmust be disguised for confidentialityreasons.
Persons: Replace all names with a letter of the alphabet or a
relationship title (e.g. G., Mother, Friend). Use letters other than the
person’s actual initial(s). If two persons share the same title, use formations
like Sister A or Child 2.
Places: Replace names of all locations or agencies with a letter (e.g. Z
Clinic, Town B, State X). Do not name your school or any cities or
towns, agencies, or states.
Submitting Your Paper
Submit your paper by email attachment (preferred), or by postal
mail, so that it arrives at our office by Friday, February 24, 2012 (no
exceptions, regardless of postmark). If you submit via postal mail, use a traceable
method of shipping. Email submissions will receive a receipt within three
business days (add Karen@abecsw.org to your allowed senders
list; call 781 639-5270 x 20 if you do not receive confirmation). Early submissions
are encouraged.
By Email:
Paper may be submitted by email attachment to Karen@abecsw.org (subject: Holms Awards).
Body of cover message must include:
- Your name
- Your personal contact information (also on paper’s cover page)
- Name of graduate school you attend
- The title of your paper
- Statement that you are applying for the Holm Award
- Affirmation that you followed guidelines (see checklist below)
- Affirmation that you obtained a sponsorship letter(s) (see Sponsorship below)
- Your complete paper as an attachment, drafted in MSWord only.
Do not submit a paper in pieces—cover page through reference list must be one document.
By Postal Mail:
If you submit your paper in hard copy, please use a traceable method of
delivery for your own protection. Enclose letter of application from you and letters
from your sponsors. Your letter must include:
- Your name
- The name of the school you attend
- Your personal contact information (also included on cover page of paper)
- The title of your paper
- Statement that you are applying for the award
- Affirmation that you followed guidelines (see checklist below)
- Affirmation that you obtained a sponsorship letter(s) (see Sponsorship below)
Submit three complete copies, single-sided, unstapled, of your paper.
Sponsor Letter(s):
Before submitting your paper, arrange for us to receive letters
from the faculty coordinator of your field placement and the supervisor at your
field setting (they can both sign the same letter, or send separate letters).
The sponsor letter(s) must be on school letterhead* and include:
- Affirmation that both parties support the submission of your paper
- Title of the paper
- Confirmation that paper is based on your final-year field placement
- Confirmation that you are in good academic standing, scheduled to graduate in 2012
- Signatures of both parties
This letter must be mailed to ABE, 241 Humphrey Street, Marblehead, MA 01945,
or faxed to (781) 639-5278, Attn: Holm Awards.
Examples of Citations/References
References
must be listed at the end of your paper, alphabetically by author surname. The following examples are a guide (you may
also use standard American Psychological Association format):
- Doe, J. (2005) Dreams Revealed. The Ego-Psychology Journal, 14, (pp. #12-17)
- Doe, J., Jones, E., Smith A. (2007) Chapter 3 Underlying Issues Revealed. Dreams Analysis (pp. #83-84, 97) Fictional Press: New York
- Jones, W. (2010) Ego-Psychology Perspective: A New Approach. Fictional Press: New York
- Jones, W. (2009) Ego-Psychology Perspective: A New Approach. (pp.#40-62) Fictional Press: New York
Citations:
appear within the body of the paper. The following examples are a guide:
- G’s dreams may be analyzed from an ego-psychology perspective
(Jones, 2005).
- Jones (2007) states, “an ego-psychology perspective can be helpful in analyzing dreams”
(pp. #60-62), and this has proven to be true in my work with G.
- Dreams may be analyzed from an ego-psychology perspective,
which may aid in understanding and interpreting underlying issues
(Jones, 1999; Brown, 2008).
- As illustrated in my work with G, “an ego-psychology perspective
can be helpful in analyzing dreams” (Jones, 2009, p. #60). Interpreting
underlying issues is an integral part of the dream-analysis process
(Brown, 2011, pp.#14-15).
- I used an ego-psychology perspective, often helpful in dream-analysis,
in my work with G (Jones, E., Smith A., Doe, J., 2010). The model (pp. #138-145), applied to G’s dreams,
helped to overcome anxieties.
Checklist
Have you made sure that your paper and sponsor letters meet the
Holm Awards criteria? Include this filled-out checklist in your cover letter or
email (many otherwise excellent papers are disqualified each year for failure
to follow guidelines):
- Did you follow the formatting guidelines throughout your
paper?
- Did you follow the instructions for editing throughout your
entire paper?
- Did you follow the instructions for citations and references?
- Is your sponsorship letter (or letters) from your faculty and field liaisons on
official letterhead stationery?
- Does the cover page on your paper list all the required information?
- Did you omit any reference to your name on the abstract page?
- If you are mailing your paper, have you included three copies?
Have you enclosed your application letter and your sponsors’ letters?
- If you are submitting by email attachment, have you drafted your paper
in MSWord with all parts in a single document file? Have you added
Karen@abecsw.org to your "allowed senders" list?
- Have you compared your paper with this Checklist and noted that in your cover letter or email? Does your cover letter or email include the required information?
We wish you the best of luck in this competition, and in your career as a
Clinical Social Worker.
Our Mailing Address:
Center for Clinical Social Work
241 Humphrey Street
Marblehead, MA 01945
Attn: Holm Awards
|
