Addressing Gaps in the Life Model: Alternative Theories for Immigrant Integration and Resilience Building

Enhancing the Life Model for Older Adults: Bridging Gaps with Resiliency Theory and Practical Solutions

Respond to two colleagues:

• Identify other potential gaps in the life model as applied to the population your colleague identified.
• Offer another potential theory for filling the gaps of the life model when working with the population identified.

1POR-

• Identify and describe the diverse population and the unique characteristics and/or the distinctive needs of the population in 3-4 brief sentences.

The diverse population of America differs from that of other countries in terms of ethnicity, beliefs, cultures, and values. It can be difficult for a diverse people to adjust to their new nation after leaving their home country, particularly if they speak a language other than English. The inability of some immigrant families to integrate the cultural capital from the world left behind with the demands of the new society creates a gulf of experience between immigrants and their children that can undermine the parental relationship (Piedra & Engstrom, 2009).

• Explain how you would use the life model to help the client understand and describe their challenges.

Social workers help their different clients by using the life model to collect self-reflection and help them figure out how to adapt to life in a new country by making sure they have the support and resources they need. The goal is to enable a varied population that has just relocated to create and sustain a new existence in this setting. Social workers assist individuals in managing the stress associated with relocating and adjusting to an unfamiliar environment. Inspired by the idea that social work practice should be modeled on life itself, the life model places particular emphasis on the normal life processes of growth, development, and decline (Bandler, 1963; Germain & Gitterman, 1996, Gitterman & Germain, 1976, 2008).

• Explain how the problem-solving model can help the client address their challenges.

By evaluating the circumstances and identifying the best course of action that would benefit the client, social workers may assist clients in addressing their problems by using the problem-solving model as a guide. Perlman’s (1957) problem-solving method was a critical and timely alternative for understanding the help-seeking process.

• How is the client using defense mechanisms, and how is that impeding the ability to problem solve and move forward in the life model?

A defense mechanism is an emotional diversion or unpleasant feeling that gets in the way of problem-solving and postpones getting assistance. By talking to the client about their behavior and encouraging them to concentrate on the issue at hand, we can discover a way to solve it. If the client is under stress as a result of their defensive mechanism or changes, they are going through, the social worker can offer counseling services to help them manage their behavior and emotions.

• Identify where the gaps are in applying the life model for this population.

One of the gaps that exist is the lack of motivation and empowerment to inspire individuals. This may be challenging at first, but it will take time to overcome. By inspiring them, they may improve their self-worth and self-esteem, and they will strive to perform better, as the life model demonstrates.

• When looking at the gaps, explain which theory might be helpful in filling the gaps of the life model when working with this population.

The resiliency theory would help with the life model because it motivates and encourages people not to give up and overcome their situation. Resilience as it relates to social work may broadly be understood as “doing better” than expected in the face of adversity (Turner, 2017).

2AMB-

• Identify and describe the diverse population and the unique characteristics and/or the distinctive needs of the population in 3–4 brief sentences.

In my internship, I am working with the older adult population. While the population is generalized to older adults, the whole is as diverse as they come. We serve people from 60 and up from every walk of life. A very common need in this population is insufficient income. Most of the people we work with are living on Social Security Income (SSI) and have no means to earn more. With the high cost of living in Colorado Springs that just keeps rising, they are faced with not being able to pay their bills and buy food.

• Explain how you would use the life model to help the client understand and describe their challenges.

I was apparently using the Life Model before I knew what it was. With every client, we sit them down and look at their income and expenses and create a budget. We find resources in the community to help them fill the gaps their income cannot cover. We help them apply for SNAP if they need it, connect them with food pantries near them, set them up with transportation (either through Silver Key or other agencies) and help them find their voice and speak up for what they need to survive.

• Explain how the problem-solving model can help the client address their challenges.

The problem-solving model helps clients address their challenges by first helping them identify their needs/challenges and then helps them understand how to solve the problems which leads to helping them solve the problem. Once a client has admitted they have a problem, they realize that they must find a solution to the problem. The problem-solving model help them find that solution.

• How is the client using defense mechanisms, and how is that impeding the ability to problem solve and move forward in the life model?

Very Well Mind has one of the best, easiest to understand definitions of Defense Mechanism. According to Very Well Mind Defense Mechanism is defined as “an unconscious psychological response that protects people from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings” (MSEd, 2024). In the population I work with, most of the time I find that the client uses denial and suppression when faced with problems. They either deny there is a problem and ignore it completely or they just don’t let themselves think about the problem until they can no longer ignore it. We have many clients that come to us at the very last minute asking for help with paying their utility bill because they are fixing to be disconnected. This impedes the ability for us to help because the main utility company our clients have is Colorado Springs Utilities and for the assistance program they require a 20% contingency payment of the total bill and by the time the client comes to us they can’t even afford the contingency.

• Identify where the gaps are in applying the life model for this population.

One of the largest gaps with working with this population is their pride. Most of the clients were raised in the era where it was frowned upon to ask for help, that asking for help somehow made you less of a person.

• When looking at the gaps, explain which theory might be helpful in filling the gaps of the life model when working with this population.

I believe that the Resiliency Theory is one of the best ones for this population. When I listen to their life stories and what led them to my office asking for help, I can’t help but hear how much they have overcome in life, and I can’t help but tell them how motivated I am by their story. I use what they have told me to help keep them motivated and encouraged explaining that this is just a small bump in the road of a long life that we are their to help with the bumps and they will overcome this as well.