| Course | SOWK 431 Social Work in Mental Health (SOWK431) |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 8 |
| Assignment | DB Forum 5 |
| Paper type | Discussion thread and replies |
| Length | about 515 words (thread and replies). Course guide: per the course guide, a thread of at least 300 words demonstrating course-related knowledge, with at least 2 peer-reviewed sources in addition to the course textbook and at least 1 biblical principle, and replies of at least 50 words to 2 classmates |
| Format | APA 7 citations and reference list |
| Points | 50 |
| School | Liberty University Online |
| Program | BSW |
| Where it sits | Module/Week 8 in Liberty's published SOWK 431 course guide; current sections can differ |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for SOWK 431 Week 8
Discussion Board Forum 5: Thread and Two Replies
SOWK 431 Social Work in Mental Health, Discussion Board Forum 5 (thread and two replies)
Thread by [Student Name]
The prompt, the client and the classmates' posts are composites standing in for the course's own forum; Scripture, the casebook, the manual and the journal articles are real and described from their published sources; the requirements follow Liberty's public course guide for SOWK 431.
Thread
Jordan Pike, a composite 24-year-old, arrived at the emergency department for the fifth time this year after cutting her arm following a breakup. As the social worker approached, she overheard a nurse say, "She's back, she's just manipulative." Jordan heard it too.
According to the DSM-5, borderline personality disorder is a long-standing pattern in which relationships, self-image and emotions are unstable and impulsivity is marked, starting by early adulthood, with a diagnosis requiring any five of its nine criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Jordan meets six: desperate attempts to avoid being abandoned, relationships that swing between idealizing and devaluing, a shifting sense of who she is, repeated self-harm, mood shifts that last hours and a chronic sense of emptiness.
The word manipulative misreads her. Self-harm, for Jordan, is a desperate way to survive emotional pain she has never learned to manage, not a strategy to control others. Stigma has real costs: when staff expect manipulation, they offer less care, and patients learn that asking for help brings contempt.
Research offers hope. Linehan et al. (2006) compared dialectical behavior therapy with care from experienced community therapists in a randomized trial of women who had the disorder and recent suicidal behavior, and the women in dialectical behavior therapy made suicide attempts at roughly half the rate of the comparison group, with fewer emergency visits and hospital stays for suicidal thinking. Over the longer term, Zanarini et al. (2012) followed patients for sixteen years and found that the large majority achieved sustained remission of symptoms, although full recovery, including good social and work functioning, was harder to reach and maintain. The disorder is not a life sentence.
Corcoran and Walsh (2014) urge us to find strengths in every case. Jordan paints murals, is fiercely protective of her younger brother and keeps returning to the emergency department rather than giving up, which suggests she wants to live. My plan would include safety planning before discharge, referral to an outpatient DBT team and a conversation with the nursing staff about how their words affect her.
How can a social worker challenge stigmatizing language among colleagues without damaging working relationships?
Reply to Hailey
Hailey, you suggested training for emergency staff, and I think research can make that training persuasive. Sharing findings like those of Zanarini et al. (2012), showing that most patients improve, can shift staff from hopelessness to patience. Language matters too: replacing manipulative with phrases such as overwhelmed or struggling to cope describes the same behavior while inviting compassion. A social worker can model that language in every handoff, which often changes a unit's culture more than a single workshop.
Reply to Brandon
Brandon, you pointed to Isaiah 42:3, which says the servant of the Lord will not break a bruised reed or snuff out a faintly burning wick (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016). Jordan is a bruised reed, and the nurse's comment was the kind of pressure that breaks. A Christian social worker can embody the opposite: steady patience that does not give up after the fifth visit. Dialectical behavior therapy itself pairs acceptance with change, a balance that reflects that kind of grace.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Corcoran, J., & Walsh, J. (2014). Mental health in social work: A casebook on diagnosis and strengths-based assessment (2nd ed.). Pearson.
English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)
Linehan, M. M., Comtois, K. A., Murray, A. M., Brown, M. Z., Gallop, R. J., Heard, H. L., Korslund, K. E., Tutek, D. A., Reynolds, S. K., & Lindenboim, N. (2006). Two-year randomized controlled trial and follow-up of dialectical behavior therapy vs therapy by experts for suicidal behaviors and borderline personality disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63(7), 757-766. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.63.7.757
Zanarini, M. C., Frankenburg, F. R., Reich, D. B., & Fitzmaurice, G. (2012). Attainment and stability of sustained symptomatic remission and recovery among patients with borderline personality disorder and Axis II comparison subjects: A 16-year prospective follow-up study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 169(5), 476-483. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.11101550
What the SOWK 431 Week 8 instructions ask
The fifth and final SOWK 431 forum, worth 50 points, comes in Module/Week 8 with Exam 3, after the casebook's Part 11, the manual's personality disorders chapter and a lecture. A first post that reaches 300 words answers the instructor's question, shows what the course has taught, draws on two or more refereed journal sources apart from the course textbook and works in a principle from Scripture, with every citation in current APA style. Each student then writes two replies to peers, each longer than 50 words. Because the final module covers personality disorders, the forum invites a thread on a diagnosis that carries heavy stigma in health care settings and on what research shows about treatment and long-term outcomes.
How this SOWK 431 Week 8 example is built
The thread opens with Jordan Pike, a composite 24-year-old whose fifth emergency room visit for self-harm in a year left staff calling her manipulative within her hearing. It applies the DSM-5 criteria for borderline personality disorder, counting six of nine. It names the stigma and argues that the behaviors staff resent are expressions of intense distress. Linehan and colleagues' trial supports dialectical behavior therapy, and Zanarini and colleagues' long-term follow-up challenges the belief that the disorder is permanent. Corcoran and Walsh's strengths lens finds resources in Jordan's art and her bond with a younger brother. One reply addresses staff language and training, and the other develops Isaiah 42:3 into a stance of patient care.
SOWK 431 Week 8 grading rubric: where the points go
Grading for the last forum weighs a main post above 300 words that applies the personality disorders chapters accurately, two or more refereed articles in APA style besides the casebook, a scriptural principle that informs the analysis and a pair of responses longer than 50 words that engage what classmates wrote. Strong threads apply DSM-5 criteria to a case precisely, recognize the stigma that affects people with this diagnosis and support claims about treatment and prognosis with well-described research. Replies should offer a practical idea or a further source. The biblical principle should shape how the social worker sees and treats the client. Because the topic involves self-harm, language should be careful and avoid graphic detail.
SOWK 431 Week 8 help: mistakes that cost points
Borderline personality disorder is often discussed in judgmental terms, even by professionals, so pay attention to your own language: describe behaviors and the distress behind them rather than labeling the person. State the DSM-5 requirement of five of nine criteria and show which ones the case meets. Use research on treatment and long-term course, since many students are surprised to learn how often people improve. Avoid detailed descriptions of self-harm. Choose a biblical principle that speaks to patience, dignity or hope. With Exam 3 in the same week and the course ending, draft the thread early and leave time for thoughtful replies.
Related SOWK 431 sample papers
Other SOWK 431 weeks
- SOWK 431 Week 1: Forum 1: Diagnosis and Strengths
- SOWK 431 Week 2: Case Study 1: ADHD in a Third Grader
- SOWK 431 Week 3: Forum 2: Grief or Depression?
- SOWK 431 Week 4: Case Study 2: PTSD in a Veteran
- SOWK 431 Week 5: Forum 3: Anorexia and Family Care
- SOWK 431 Week 6: Forum 4: Conduct Disorder
- SOWK 431 Week 7: Diagnosis Paper: Alcohol Use
More BSW sample papers
- SOWK 250 Week 8: Forum 4 Replies: Sleep and Lament
- SOWK 410 Week 1: Forum 1: Modes of Macro Practice
- SOWK 425 Week 8: Forum 4: Rights and Culture
SOWK 431 Week 8 questions, answered
What is SOWK 431 DB Forum 5?
The closing SOWK 431 discussion in Module/Week 8, worth 50 points and submitted during the Exam 3 week, where students examine a personality disorder case with research and Scripture before answering two peers.
Where can I find a free SOWK 431 Week 8 sample paper?
The full SOWK 431 Week 8 forum on borderline personality disorder, stigma in emergency care and the evidence for recovery, along with both replies, is reproduced here.
What are the DSM-5 criteria for borderline personality disorder?
A long-standing pattern in which relationships, self-image and emotions are unstable and impulsivity is marked, beginning by early adulthood; any five of nine listed features, such as fear of abandonment and recurrent self-harm, are needed.
Does dialectical behavior therapy work for borderline personality disorder?
In Linehan and colleagues' 2006 trial, women receiving dialectical behavior therapy made suicide attempts at roughly half the rate of women treated by experienced community therapists and needed fewer hospital stays for suicidal thinking.
Can people with borderline personality disorder recover?
Zanarini and colleagues followed patients for sixteen years and found that the large majority achieved lasting remission of symptoms, and many also reached good social and work functioning.
Use it as a model, or ask for your own
This paper is an original model written by our desk for study. It is not a submitted student paper and not an official Liberty University document. Read it for structure and reasoning, then write your own to the instructions in your Canvas course. If you want a version built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
Ask for a custom SOWK 431 Week 8 sample · All SOWK 431 weeks · All courses