The research effort is an outgrowth of the authors exposure to the field of drug treatment in general, and therapeutic communities in particular. Both were acquainted with people who were graduates of therapeutic communities, and had been involved in m.any discussions concerning the relative merit of therapeutic communities as opposed to other methods of drug treatment.

Syftet med vår studie var att öka förståelsen för vilka kunskapsbehov yrkesverksamma socionomer upplever i arbetet med suicid och bygger på en kvalitativ intervjustudie med sex yrkesverksamma socionomer som arbetar inom olika områden inom socialt arbete och med varierande lång yrkeserfarenhet. Resultatet visar att yrkesverksamma socionomer anser att det råder en kunskapsbrist gällande ämnet suicid i socionomutbildningen men att utbildningen tillfört andra kunskaper som kan anses behjälpliga i arbetet med suicid. Ytterligare redogör resultatet för ett behov av utbildning i suicid för samtliga människobehandlande yrken. Med avsikt att kunna uppmärksamma riskfaktorer och avstigmatisera, samt att få kunskap om arbetssätt som förebygger suicid. Vidare presenteras en analys av vilken sorts kunskap yrkesverksamma socionomer använder sig av i sitt arbete med suicid samt hur det skiljer sig baserat på läng av yrkeserfarenhet och yrkesroll. Med resultat att erfarenhetsbaserad kunskap samt tyst kunskap visar sig mest förberedande för yrkesverksamma socionomer i arbetet med individer i suicidrisk. Resultatet analyserades utifrån de teoretiska begreppen stigma, kunskapsformer och salutogenes. / The purpose of our study was to increase the understanding of what knowledge professionals with a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree experience is needed working with suicide through interviews with six individuals with a MSW degree who work in different areas and with varying lengths of professional experience. The results shows that professionals with a MSW degree deem there to be a lack of knowledge regarding suicide education in the MSW program, they do however agree that the education have contributed other sources of knowledge thats been helpful in working with individuals with suicide risk. The result also shows the need for education in suicide for all human treatment proffessions. With the intention of being able to draw attention to risk factors and stigma regarding suicide, as well as increasing the knowledge about methods of suicide prevention. The study also presents an assessment of what kind of knowledge professionals with a MSW degree use in their work with suicide and how it differs based on lenght of professional experiance and professional role. That shows the result that experience-based and tacit knowledge prove to be most preparatory for professionals with a MSW degree in the work with individuals at risk of suicide. The results were analyzed on the basis of the theoretical concepts of stigma, forms of knowledge and salutogenesis.

With the growth of the Latino population in the United States on the rise and the limited number of bilingual Spanish social workers, it is critical to explore the Master of Social Work student’s self-perceived competency in Spanish skills and the support they receive. These are the emerging professionals that will be interacting and providing services for Latinos in our communities. Exploring and understanding the challenges students encounter, their self-perceived competency, and how students can be supported, will be beneficial not only to them but also to Latino clients seeking services in Spanish. Providing appropriate services in Spanish may alleviate the language barrier that many Latinos are concerned about when seeking services. This research utilized a mixed methods design with self-administered surveys and interviews conducted and analyzed with SPSS and transcriptions. The study findings suggest that bilingual Spanish-speaking Masters of Social Work students are not provided with adequate training, resources, and support from their MSW program or their field placements in order to provide high quality services to the Latino population. The study findings also suggest that not all bilingual individuals are comfortable with working with monolingual Spanish-speaking clients.

Mindfulness meditation (MM) has been used as an intervention tool for mental health diagnosis in the field of social work for some time and there are numerous empirical literature and research about the benefits of MM in practice. Despite the evidence and the use of MM in the field, there is very limited incorporation or MM programs and courses in the Master of Social Work (MSW) education and curricula. This study aimed to explore MSW students’ perspectives on mindfulness meditation and whether they would find it beneficial in their curricula. The study collected qualitative data through interviews MSW graduates at a Southern California University. The data collected was analyzed through ATLAS software. The findings of the study give way for future research to help note the interest of MM within MSW students and how it can help benefit MSW students personally and professionally by providing education and practice in the MSW education field. Participants expressed desire to learn more about MM, as they did not feel equipped to confidently practice it in the field. Including MM practice and education could help fortify the field of social work by creating better MSW professionals due to its benefits.