| Course | MSW 512 Direct Practice II |
|---|---|
| Week | 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion post |
| Length | About 400 words |
| Format | Discussion post with APA 7 citations |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSW 512 Week 1
Week 1 Discussion: Initial Post
Committing to Motivational Interviewing for M., 44, a Long-Haul Driver Referred After a DUI Arrest: Why This Approach Fits What Is Holding the Problem in Place, What I Am Giving Up by Not Choosing CBT First and a Question for Classmates
The Client System
M., 44, drives long-haul freight and was arrested for driving under the influence on a weekend at home. M. was referred to our outpatient agency by the court's pretrial program. At intake M. said, "I drink like everybody I know drinks. The problem is I got caught." M.'s spouse has said M. drinks most nights at home and is "short with the kids." M.'s commercial license is suspended pending the case.
The Commitment
I will start with motivational interviewing. What appears to hold the problem in place is not a lack of skills but ambivalence: M. sees costs from drinking, the arrest, the license, the spouse's anger, and also sees drinking as normal and as M.'s way to unwind after weeks on the road. Motivational interviewing is built for exactly that position, helping a person explore and resolve ambivalence through their own reasons for change (Miller & Rollnick, 2013).
Why Not the Alternatives First
Cognitive behavioral relapse prevention would teach M. to identify triggers and plan for high-risk situations. It assumes M. wants to change drinking. M. does not yet, and teaching coping skills to someone who has not decided to use them tends to produce agreement in the room and no change at home. A family approach could help later, but M. currently frames the problem as getting caught, and a joint session now could become a hearing on M.'s guilt.
What the Evidence Supports
A meta-analysis of motivational interviewing across 119 studies found small but significant effects for substance use and other outcomes, with effects that held over time and that held up against other active treatments, often in fewer sessions (Lundahl et al., 2010). That supports a short first phase, not a whole course of treatment built on it.
What I Am Giving Up
If M. reaches a decision quickly, staying in motivational interviewing too long would waste time M. could spend learning skills. I will watch for that.
A Question for the Thread
For those who chose a skills-based approach: what in your client's words told you they had already decided to change?
References
Lundahl, B. W., Kunz, C., Brownell, C., Tollefson, D., & Burke, B. L. (2010). A meta-analysis of motivational interviewing: Twenty-five years of empirical studies. Research on Social Work Practice, 20(2), 137-160. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731509347850
Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
What the MSW 512 Week 1 assignment asks for
The first discussion asks you to commit to one approach for a described client system, not to admire several. Describe the client system briefly, in its own words where possible. Name the force that keeps the trouble going, then show why your approach targets that. Explain why the alternatives come later or not at all. Use evidence to support the choice and to limit it. Say what you give up by choosing it. Arguing for a combination is acceptable only if you say which comes first and why. You can use the same case in later assignments. Close with a question that invites classmates who chose differently to explain their reasoning.
Inside the MSW 512 Week 1 example
The client section introduces M., 44, referred by a pretrial program, who says everyone drinks and the problem was getting caught, while the spouse reports nightly drinking. The commitment section names motivational interviewing because ambivalence, costs against habits and identity, holds the problem in place, citing Miller and Rollnick (2013). A section explains that relapse prevention assumes a decision M. has not made and that joint sessions could become a hearing on guilt. The evidence section uses Lundahl et al. (2010) on 119 studies to support a short first phase. A section names the cost: staying too long if M. decides quickly. The question asks classmates what told them their client had already decided.
MSW 512 Week 1 rubric: what full points look like
The opening post is graded on commitment and defense. A post that surveys three approaches and likes all of them earns little. Naming what holds the problem in place carries a large share, because the choice must target it. Faculty weigh the treatment of alternatives: saying why they come later shows judgment. Evidence should support and limit the claim. Naming what the choice gives up is credited as honesty. A closing question that invites a different view rounds out the post.APA style applies to every source used. Using the same case in later weeks is allowed and often helps.
MSW 512 Week 1 help: mistakes that cost points
Opening posts in this course commonly describe several models in textbook terms and say each has strengths. Another frequent gap is choosing an approach without saying what in the client's situation it targets. Some posts also overstate the evidence for a favored model. If your client system is different, such as a family in conflict or a group of caregivers, send a short description; we would commit to one approach, name the mechanism it targets, explain why alternatives wait, use evidence to support and limit the choice and close with a question for classmates. If your section sets a word limit for initial posts, the argument would be cut to fit it rather than the evidence.
Get a MSW-512 Week 1 example written to your instructions
Give us the discussion prompt and the rubric your section posted, plus any case material you were handed. A custom MSW-512 Week 1 discussion post gets written against those requirements, comes back in 24-48h, and costs nothing the first time. Read it beside your own draft rather than submitting it.
More MSW 512 papers and MSW samples
- MSW 512 Week 2: Intervention Model Write-up
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- MSW 512 Week 4: Case Assessment
- MSW 512 Week 5: Group Session Write-up
- MSW 512 Week 6: Crisis Intervention Plan
- MSW 512 Week 7: Treatment Plan
- MSW 512 Week 8: Practice Reflection
- MSW 511 Week 1: Cultural Self-Location Post
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MSW 512 Week 1 questions, answered
Does the post have to name one approach, or can it argue for combining two?
Combining is allowed and often realistic, but it raises the bar rather than lowering it. A post that blends two approaches has to say which components of each it is keeping, why those components fit this presentation, and what it gives up by not running either model as designed. Blending named to avoid choosing reads as indecision and is marked that way.
How long should the initial post be?
Sections set their own limits and the published one governs. What matters more is the ratio inside it. A post that spends most of its length describing the situation and two lines on the reasoning scores below one that describes briefly and argues at length, because the rubric here is weighted toward analysis rather than toward recall of the case.
Can the same case be used for later assignments in the course?
Many sections encourage it, since the course builds toward a case that gets assessed, planned and evaluated across the term. Check what your section published, because a few require variety. Where continuity is allowed, choosing a situation with genuine complexity in Week 1 pays off later, when the planning assignment needs something with more than one problem in it.
Where can I find a free MSW 512 Week 1 sample paper?
This page holds a complete MSW 512 Week 1 post committing to motivational interviewing for a client referred after a DUI arrest.
Why does the MSW 512 Week 1 sample not start with relapse prevention?
Because relapse prevention assumes the client has decided to change drinking, and the client still describes the problem as getting caught.