FINDING RESEARCH EVIDENCE STUDENT ACTIVITY 1 Describing Client System, Challenges, and Context Use this activity to brainstorm terms that describe a client system or situation that you face in your practicum. Be sure to also describe the challenges the client system faces, and the contextual factors. This brainstorming exercise will help to reveal the choice junctures that must be resolved in planning the client system intervention, as well as help to determine the parameters of the research to practice question. Keep these notes for future activities. Note: Case examples from Course Resources may be used for this activity if students do not have practicum case examples. Who is the client system? • An individual, family, group, or organization? • Gender and age? • Education level? • Family history? • Mental health history? • Strengths and capacities? • Outcomes to be achieved? Other descriptive characteristics of the client system:___________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ What challenges face the client system? • What problems face the client system? • Barriers to intervention? • System delivery challenges? Other challenges faced by the client system:__________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ What is the context of the intervention? • Where in the service continuum do you plan to intervene? • What is the setting of the intervention? • Are there time-limiting factors? • What resources are available? Other contextual factors for this situation:____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Some students may find the following table helpful as a guide.FINDING RESEARCH EVIDENCE STUDENT ACTIVITY 1 Who is the client system? Client System Factors Clinical: Gender, age, education level, family history, and mental health history Macro: Extended family kinship networks, organizational structure of client system, leadership of client system, and communication patterns for client system Both: Client strengths, capacities, and resources Client expectations and preferences for problems addressed, outcomes to be achieved, and modes of treatment Diversity and Cultural Factors Potential social inequality barriers, neighborhood and community factors What is the challenge they are facing? Core Challenge Presenting client issue Secondary Challenge Issues that complicate or exacerbate core challenge What is context of the intervention? Intervention Type Possible courses of action Setting variables Agency or setting