Judith Holm Memorial Student Awards Program 2009-10

Sponsored by The Center for Clinical Social Work

The Award: 
$1,000 cash prize for each of the best five papers demonstrating the author’s 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 of the Center and selected practitioners.

Deadline:
Paper received in Center office no later than February 19, 2010.

Eligibility: 
You must be in good standing in your final year of a master’s program in social work and scheduled to graduate in 2010.

Topic/Criteria: 
Submit an original paper based on a clinical case or cases from your final-year practicum demonstrating practice proficiency. Papers will be rated on the following (for more detailed information see "Indicators of Professional Development" below):

  • Practice Knowledge
  • Practice Skills and Approach
  • Use of Theory
  • Clinical Social Work Values
  • Professional Use of Self
  • Disciplined Approach to the Practice Environment
  • Structure, Text, and Sources of the Paper

Sponsorship:
Your paper must be endorsed in writing by the faculty member who coordinated your final-year field placement (“faculty sponsor”) and by your field supervisor (“field sponsor”).

Indicators of Professional Development

A competitive paper will reflect the actual process of an intervention, typically beginning with initial meeting with client. Do not begin with theory or dwell on textbook descriptions of theory; but show why you selected a theoretical approach or approaches, and how you integrated theory in the intervention. Include all of the following.

  1. Practice Knowledge                                                                                                            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. Practice Skills & Approach                                                                                                Discuss diagnosis, treatment planning, intervention/treatment, and outcome evaluation. Discuss three areas—client feedback, exchanges with the clinical supervisor, and peer discussions—in terms of (a) clinical social work perspective and (b) how they affected the approach to the client(s).
  3. Use of Theory                                                                                                            Discuss the theory-related aspects of the intervention, which theories you considered and why, and which theory or theories you applied and how you integrated them into practice. Discuss how clinical social work perspectives may conflict with or support the theory.
  4. Clinical Social Work Values                                                                                                Clearly show clinical social work values at work, including: primacy of client needs; person-in-environment; contributing to a just society; ethical concerns; strengthening human relationships, especially within the family; respect for diversity and dignity; support for the client’s rights to self-determination, privacy and confidentiality, and informed choice. You must have a clinical social worker’s perspective, not that of a generic clinician.
  5. Professional Use of Self                                                                                                Discuss awareness of one’s self—culture, relationships, personal meanings—and how this increases understanding of the client(s). Discuss the limitations and difficulties inherent in the self, and how they were minimized or overcome.
  6. Disciplined Approach to the Practice Environment                                     Discuss the environment or setting in which the intervention was conducted, 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. Structure, Text, and Sources of the Paper                                                                        Draft 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 the reference list and citations, illustrating theory and drawing on clinical social work literature in particular.

 

Formatting

  • Cover page has title of paper, student 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. Do not include any personal information on this page.
  • Body of paper does not exceed 20 pages (reference pages excluded), with 12-point typeface, double-spaced, with one-inch margins all around. Tables, figures, and appendices are not included in page count.
  • References & Citations are mandatory. 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

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 may edit, minimally, to mask location and/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 19, 2010 (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 (subject: Awards).
Body of 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 19, 2010 (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 Holm 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 2010
  • 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
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.

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

*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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