Artifact Reflection  

In Fall 2021, four members of my MSW cohort and I conducted a semester-long program  evaluation of The Oak Center for DBT & Counseling Services (TOC). This program evaluation was a requirement for Dr. Ashley Givens’ Evaluative Research in Social Work course. TOC, a private counseling  practice in Columbia, MO, was opened in January 2021 by four licensed therapists with the goal of  increasing access to comprehensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in central Missouri. DBT is an  evidence-based psychotherapy that aims to decrease clients’ self-harm and suicide urges by improving  their skills related to mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal  effectiveness. All four therapists provide comprehensive DBT, in addition to other clinical models, such  as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).  

Due to TOC being less than a year old when my group approached them about conducting a program evaluation, they had yet to formally evaluate their comprehensive DBT practice. However,  clients enrolled in this program complete daily “diary cards” that prompt them to rate the intensity of  their emotions, as well as their self-harm and suicide urges on a scale of 1-10. Diary cards also include a  place for clients to indicate whether they self-harmed, planned suicide, attempted suicide, and used specific DBT skills. Diary cards are intended to help providers evaluate their practice and allow clients to identify patterns in their emotions and behaviors, while encouraging the use of DBT skills.  

I chose my group’s final PowerPoint video presentation as my artifact because it provides  background information on TOC and the social issues relevant to their practice. It also details my group’s data collection process and explains our findings. Our results did not show a linear decrease in the  emotional distress reported by participants. However, no participant reported self-harm or suicide  related behaviors on the days we collected diary card data. This suggests that TOC’s comprehensive DBT  program helps clients cope with high levels of emotional distress without self-harm or suicide behaviors.  My initial role in this project involved reaching out to TOC, explaining the project goals to them,  discussing how to maintain client confidentiality during data collection and presentation, and  coordinating an interview to help my group understand how we could best benefit TOC’s practice. From  there, I collected demographic and diary card data from fourteen clients who completed at least three  months of comprehensive DBT at TOC. 

I participated in formulating my group’s research questions, which sought to answer whether  this program effectively decreases emotional distress, urges and behaviors related self-harm and  suicide, and the negative outcomes associated with barriers to mental health service access, such as  increased rates of hospitalizations and people dying by suicide. My group relied on teamwork and  problem-solving skills throughout the semester. We considered each team members’ strengths when  assigning roles and updated our approach to accommodate being in different locations, COVID-19 safety  protocols, and the limited data that was available for collection. I am including this artifact in my  ePortfolio because I demonstrated my ability to work on a team, while collecting research and  presenting our findings in accordance with the NASW Ethical Code.  

Competency Reflection

Prior to this program, my only experience with research came from taking Experimental  Psychology as a requirement for my undergraduate studies. This left me with some background  knowledge related to conducting literature reviews, operationalizing variables, and describing the  limitations of a study. However, I was not able to articulate how research would relate to my practice. I felt intimidated by the course objectives as I enrolled in both “Research Methods” and “Evaluative  Research.” My lack of mastery and interest caused me to view research as something that would never  be at the center of my social work practice. Now that I have completed the MSW curriculum, I  understand the various ways that my social work practice would be incomplete without the ability to  conduct, evaluate, and apply research. 

The MSW program curriculum, and specifically this program evaluation, shaped my  understanding of Competency 4 and what it looks like for me to engage in practice-informed research  and research-informed practice. I learned that research is essential to my advocacy efforts, as it allows me to demonstrate the current needs of a community to stakeholders and clearly measure program  outcomes. Evaluating TOC’s comprehensive DBT program meant first gathering data about mental  health access in Boone County and discussing any trends that providers noticed in through their work  with clients. My group did this to ensure we understood the relevant social problems before evaluating  how effectively TOC has addressed them thus far. We asked questions like, “What is the clearest  indicator that TOC’s program is effective?” and “What measurable outcomes will be the most  compelling to stakeholders?” 

I have been able to my research knowledge and skills as the Social Services Intern at The Bluffs,  which is a skilled nursing home in Columbia, MO. This semester, I utilized my own practice knowledge  and my supervisor’s expertise while selecting research topics for my Learning Plan. I have critically  reviewed research related to trauma-informed practices and memory care best practices so that I can  incorporate findings into my service delivery and advocacy efforts. This semester, I will be evaluating my  own practice by seeking out client feedback and tracking client outcomes. I anticipate that research will be essential aspect of my future practice. I will use what I learned in this program to identify aspects of  my service delivery that are not working for my clients and adopt a more person-centered approach.