Judith Holm Memorial Student Awards for 2011

Sponsored by The Center for Clinical Social Work

The Award: 
Named for Judith Holm, MSS, BCD, of Shaker Heights, Ohio, the first President of the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, these $2000 cash prizes are awarded to student authors of papers that best demonstrate mastery of the essentials of clinical social work and readiness to enter professional practice. This national competition is judged by faculty from many graduate schools of social work and by directors and staff of the Center and selected practitioners.

Deadline:
Paper received in Center office no later than February 18, 2011.

Eligibility: 
You must be in good standing in your final year of a master’s program in social work and scheduled to graduate in 2011.

Sponsorship:
Your paper must be read by both your field supervisor (“field sponsor“) and the faculty member who coordinated your final-year field placement (“faculty sponsor“). Both must endorse it in writing.

Your Paper and Indicators of Professional Development

Your paper should, in every section, show how you helped your client, and should reflect the actual process of an intervention, typically beginning with the initial meeting with the client(s). Demonstrate the perspective and role of a clinical social worker—and differentiate clinical social work from other professions providing the same service—starting with a discussion of the client(s)’s presenting problems and your assessment, evaluation, and differential diagnosis. Do not begin with theory, or use textbook descriptions; but do discuss the theoretical approaches you considered, why you chose one, and how you integrated theory in the intervention. Include all of the following.

  • Bio-psychosocial Assessment, Therapeutic Alliance
  • Differential Diagnosis
  • Consideration/Selection of Theory
  • Intervention/Treatment Plan
  • Intervention and Values
  • Intervention and Methods
  • Client Feedback, Outcomes Measurement
  • Use of Supervision
  • Adapting Theory
  • Structure, Text, and Sources of the Paper

  1. Bio-psychosocial Assessment, Therapeutic Alliance
    Discuss assessment and evaluation, relating it to clinical social work methods and normal/abnormal growth and development (human behavior in the social environment), as learned in the classroom and in the field setting.
  2. Differential Diagnosis
    Discuss the evaluation and differential diagnosis.  What diagnoses did you consider and reject and why?
  3. Selection of Theory
    There is no single best theory for a given intervention. Please discuss the following:  which theories you considered to guide your intervention and why; which theory or theories you applied; and the impact of clinical social work perspectives.
  4. Intervention/Treatment Plan
    Discuss your development of an intervention/treatment plan and the collaboration with the client in discussing problems and setting goals, agreeing upon interventions, showing how your plan integrates theory, client feedback, supervision, outcomes evaluations/measures, etc.  Use dialogue if helpful here.
  5. Intervention and Clinical Social Work Values
    Describe the intervention, discussing your use of clinical social work values 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.
  6. Intervention and 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; and how you dealt with barriers to service delivery, maximized opportunities for the client to benefit from resources, and advocated for the client’s right to receive competent care.
  7. Client Feedback, Outcomes Evaluation
    Discuss how you sought continuous client feedback and related it to the goals of the intervention/treatment plan; show how you adjusted the intervention in light of client disclosures, client needs, and client-related issues relating to safety, change of circumstance, decompensation, etc.  Show how you helped your client and how you evaluated/measured the progress of the intervention.  Use dialogue if helpful here.
  8. Use of Supervision
    Show how you sought advice from your supervisor(s), what issues you discussed and how you decided to make use of the advice, and how you changed the course of the intervention (if you did) as a result.
  9. Adapting Theory
    In discussing theory and how it affected the intervention with your client, why you changed theories (if you did) or did not, why using this theory helped your work with the client or why you might select a different theory(ies) to guide a similar intervention in future.  Show how you helped your client, and how you might have done better.
  10. Structure, Text, and Sources of the Paper
    Write a well-organized, logically structured, publication-quality paper, with a command of paragraph content, transitions, and grammar and spelling. Demonstrate a wide-ranging familiarity with current clinical literature through citations and reference list, drawing on clinical social work literature in particular.

 

Formatting

  1. 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.

  2. 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. Do not include any personal information on this page.

  3. Body of paper does not exceed 5500 words, roughly 20 pages double-spaced, with 12-point typeface and one-inch margins all around. References, tables, figures, and appendices are not included in page/word count.

  4. References & Citations are mandatory. Place citations within the body of the paper and list all references at the end. See examples below.

  5. Pages must be numbered. A running head (abbreviated version of title) must appear in the upper right corner of each page.

 

Editing

Case particulars (names of clients, agencies, etc.) must be disguised for confidentiality reasons.* Do not name your school or any cities or towns, agencies, or states.
     
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” or “Town B” or “State X”).

*Center personnel may edit, minimally, to mask location or identity of persons.

 

Submitting Your Paper

Papers may be submitted by email attachment (preferred), or by postal mail, and must be received in Center office by February 18, 2011 (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 978-825-9311 x 20 if you do not receive confirmation). Early submissions are encouraged.

 

Submission by Email:
Paper may be submitted by email attachment to Karen@abecsw.org (subject: 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.

 

Submission by Postal Mail:
Papers may be submitted by mail to be received in the Center office by February 18, 2011 (no exceptions). Use a traceable method for your own protection. Enclose letter of application from you and a letter 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.

Submit three complete copies, single-sided, unstapled, of your paper.

 

Sponsorship:
Before submitting your paper, arrange for a joint sponsoring letter from the faculty coordinator of your field placement and the supervisor at your field placement setting. The sponsor letter 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 2011
  • Signatures of both parties

Whether you submit your paper by postal mail or email, this letter must be mailed to the address at the end of this document or faxed to (978) 740-5395, Attn: Holm Awards.

*In place of a single letter signed by both sponsors, your sponsors may submit separate letters (on letterhead stationery) meeting all above criteria.

Examples of Citations/References

References must be listed at the end of your paper, in alphabetical order by last name of author. The following examples* are a guide:

  • 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. (2000) Ego-Psychology Perspective: A New Approach. Fictional Press: New York
  • Jones, W. (2000) 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, 1980).
  • Jones (1980) 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, 1980; Brown, 1970).
  • As illustrated in my work with G, “an ego-psychology perspective can be helpful in analyzing dreams” (Jones, 1980, p. #60). Interpreting underlying issues is an integral part of the dream-analysis process (Brown, 1970, 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., 1920). The analyzing model (pp. #138-145), applied to G’s dreams, helped in interpreting underlying issues.

*Standard APA format is also acceptable

  

Checklist

Do 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(s)?
    • 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.

 Download a copy of these guidelines in PDF format

 Download a copy of the poster in PDF format

Our Mailing Address:

Center for Clinical Social Work
Shetland Park
27 Congress St. #501
Salem, MA, 01970
Attn:  Holm Awards
   

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