ANZA THOMAS-JIMENEZ

• Developed positive and productive relationships with children, parents and staff.
• Receive and respond to general information requests from public.
• Supervise activities for various recreational activities for children aged between 5-12, e.g., game and activity room, outdoor sports and aquatics activities.
• Lead and supervise groups including children engaged in recreational activities.
• Assist in preparation and operation and special events of the City of Oakland Park as directed.
• Check facilities for safety factors and report broken or damaged equipment/facilities to appropriate staff.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external customers and general public
• Communicate with co-workers, management, citizens, and others in a courteous and professional manner

• Carrying out assessments, Case work, Support plans and discharge planning
• Developing outcome focused support plans which promote independence of vulnerable residents
• Identifying strengths and social capital and supporting residents to enhance family and social network
• Negotiating with residents, their families and carers to enable their needs to be positively met within available resources
• Attending Multi-Disciplinary meetings with GP's and other professionals
• Undertaking Section 42 Safeguarding cases and minute taking during safeguarding in the capacity of Safeguarding Enquiry Officer
• Preparing, attending and presenting reports for case conference, panels, tribunals, review meetings and the court
• Working with vulnerable residents, their families and carers using a range of therapeutic approaches to enhance coping skills, independence, choice and control
• Home visits to conduct needs assessment, reviews and attend to safeguarding cases
• Working closely with the hospital social worker to bring a robust protection plan during hospital discharge
• Chairing Team meetings and minutes taking
• Conducting plans that meet assessed eligible needs, service standards and to make sure that plans are undertaken within statutory timeframes
• Undertaking Mental Capacity assessments, referring to an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate as per the Care Act 2014 or organizing a Best Interests meeting under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
• Attending and contributing in Continuing Health Care Assessments with the NHS trust
• Referring residents to appropriate services in the community
• Placement of vulnerable residents in care homes, sheltered accommodation and Nursing Homes and conduct follow up visits
• Conducting 6 weeks reviews following Hospital discharge of resident.

Psychiatric Social Worker in a project under the National Institute of Mental Health and NeuroSciences and the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India and the Pratiksha Trust, titled Accelerator Program for Discovery of Brain Disorders using Stem cells (ADBS).

The ADBS program is creating a cohort of young adults from families where there appears to be a high incidence of mental illness. The plan is to follow these families and individuals into the future to understand how and in whom mental illness develops. These families will be examined in detail by clinicians using modern medical technology. Genetic analysis of individuals from these families will provide an insight into the genetic basis of mental illness. The study focuses on five major mental illnesses namely Schizophrenia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Bipolar Affective Disorder (BPAD), Dementia and Substance Abuse Disorders.

• Recruitment of subjects for the study
• Administration of clinical scales on subjects
• Reviewing and recording assessments of patients and their families under my care
• Offering and arranging counseling, appropriate psychoeducation or support to patients who participate in the study & their families
• Case manager
• Keeping both manual and electronic records and databases up to date.

During the coursework of 2 years, 9 months I worked exclusively in the Adult Psychiatry units and 15 months in units such as Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Family Therapy, Behaviour Therapy, Addiction Medicine, Community Mental Health, Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatric and Neurological Rehabilitation which are all departments functioning within NIMHANS.

During the Adult Psychiatry and the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry postings, as a psychiatric social worker my responsibilities were as follows;

• Liaisons with different professionals such as psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, rehabilitation experts, nursing staff according to the needs of the patient thus following a multi-disciplinary approach so as to provide and formulate comprehensive treatment plan
• Facilitated rehabilitation of a few in-patients without family members with chronic mental health issues to external rehabilitation organizations and kept the cases on regular follow-up
• Met with patients, availing both in-patient and out-patient care, for regular therapeutic intervention
• Interviewed and evaluated clients, including conducting safety and risk assessments
• Offered therapeutic services and crisis intervention to emotionally disturbed children, adolescents, and adults
• Conducted group therapy sessions with patients
• Conducted group therapy sessions with the caregivers of people living with mental health issues focusing on caregiver burden, importance of treatment compliance, recognizing relapse, etcetera
• Maintained regular contact with clients, including visiting clients' homes
• Helped each patient understand his or her illness and the contributing personal, social and economic factors and provided short-term therapy for coping, compliance, and relief
• Solicited advice and guidance from senior personnel, professors, and other experts when difficult or atypical situations developed
• Assessing disability of patients caused by psychiatric conditions using the Indian Disability Evaluation Assessment Scale (IDEAS) so as to assist them in securing financial aid from the government
• Conducted financial assessment of patients for qualification of financial aid
• Assist the patients and their families to formulate a safe plan after discharge from in-patient care.