Final engagement paper

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Feb 20, 2024

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Laura Hammouda SOWK-6323 Practice with Individuals Across Lifespan Dr . Rose Perez October 29, 2023 Assignment 2 The current agency that I have my field placement at is called Rising Ground . Our agency intakes referrals from multiple sources . The case I will be speaking about today was referred to us by her therapist for our Circle of Security Program . The Circle of Security Program is a group that is held once a week for 8 weeks . This program teaches parents the concept of parenting with wisdom and growth . Parents will learn how to protect and nurture their children while also encouraging their independence . Doing so, the parent also gets to learn about their child’s different developmental stages . The client, Jane Doe, was able to have her records shared with us through our medical documentation program called IMA . IMA is where all clinicians can share previous medical documents to give information on the client’s history . As a newly hired intern, I do not have access to the IMA program therefore, I was led to rely on her therapist notes that was shared into our COSP excel spreadsheet with all patients referred to the COSP group . Furthermore, this was also my first encounter with any

client at my field agency . Therefore, I felt that I was overwhelmed from the lack of resources I was given . Her therapist fortunately, was able to leave key comments about the patient’s history that therapist thought was vital to know in order to create a positive treatment plan . These key comments consisted of Jane’s strengths and difficulties that may hinder the type of care that she needs to receive . For Jane’s notes, it stated that she is a previous victim of domestic abuse with two children, one under the age of 6 years old . It also stated that her preferred way of communication was through email as her phone had no data . She can only be contacted via phone when she is under WIFI . Some strengths that were listed from Jane was that although she is hard to contact, she always replies to services . Another strength that Jane has was persistence, as she has been connected with her therapist for a very long time . The role I had for this case, was to conduct the first session of COSP . The first sessions are called the introductory session and it where we can have the opportunity to explain to the client what the group is all about and what they can expect in the future sessions . In order to create a rough draft of the agenda for the meeting, I needed to get more information on the client’s history . The preparation process for me was a difficult as I was not given the full access to documentation as stated

previously . This was my biggest weakness as I was not able to gather as much information from previous medical charts that other therapists/ medical professionals may have added . Therefore, I had to engage in the skill or preparatory exploring . Preparatory exploring involves asking questions and seeking information about a prospective client prior to the meetings . Other workers in an agency such as, receptionist and intake workers can withhold useful information that can improve the quality of the first contact . From talking with my supervisor, I was able to gain connections with a former mental health clinician that had connected with Jane before . This is the process of preparatory consultation . Preparatory consultation involves seeking advice from a professional colleague within your institution and was one of my biggest strengths to prepare for this case . From talking with the clinician, I was able to gain more of an understanding of Jane’s history and major stressors . The clinician started off by sharing her perspective of Jane as a person stating that she is very bubbly and easy to talk to . From further speaking about her history, I was able to note that she is a single mother who is struggling to reach ends meet . I learned that although she struggles to pay her bills, she ensures that her children’s needs are somewhat met . However, Jane is having difficultly dealing with behavioral issues of her children and how to cope with stressful situations lately . Therefore, she

was referred to the Circle of Security Group as a way to learn a new perspective on parenting . Throughout the preparation process, I learned that it can be extremely helpful to talking with other individuals within your agency prior to the meeting of your client . Colleagues in an agency can provide you with valuable insight on many different things . For example, I felt nervous and unprepared that I still did not have access to IMA . However, with collaboration, I was able to create notes for myself that can be helpful to keep in mind when meeting my client for the first time . I also felt that connecting with colleagues, I got to hear about their own approaches to introductory session . This provided me with more guidance and was able to receive feedback on my own approach to the introductory session . Prior to the meeting, I sent Jane and email with the zoom link, and was able to confirm her attendance . About 10 minutes before the meeting, I read over my notes and tried to keep the key points at the back of my mind . When I logged onto the zoom, I see that Jane is having difficult connecting to the camera . She also is in the presence of her two children which can be a distraction for her . This is where the notes and preparation tactic prior were at use . I was able to remind myself that she is a single mother and can be hard for her to have alone time . To start of

the meeting, I made sure to seek out for proper engagement from Jane . I started off with a simple introduction of my name, profession, and agency that I intern for . For many individuals, names tend to hold special significance (Couryner, 2017), therefore, I wanted to give the space for the client to introduce themselves as well . I also was able to learn from her own worlds her family dynamics and why she may think her therapist recommended her to join COSP . Establish rapport during the initial interview is extremely important . Creating a warm welcoming environment can promote a better client - worker relationship . I noticed however, that Jane was frequently going on mute in order to scold or speak to her children . However, I remembered some of the core social worker values such as to have empathy . In this case, I wanted to make sure that I showed empathy by acknowledging Jane’s efforts and determination to show up to the session regardless of her circumstances . Although she was distracted at times throughout the session, with empathy in mind, I thanked her multiple times for her efforts and determination to coming to her services . Research demonstrates that a practitioner’s level of empathy is correlated with positive client outcome (Gerdes,2011) . Empathy helps social workers connect more empathically with clients from a wider range of sociocultural backgrounds while making them less vulnerable to becoming overwhelmed or out of sight

(Gerdes,2011) . Empathy for me, helps me keep in mind the different stressors, opinions, biases and emotions state of the other person . Unfortunately, I failed to perform preparatory empathy . Preparatory empathy involves “envisioning the world and the current circumstances from another person or group’s perspective and experience” (Couryner, 2017, pg. 259) . Putting yourself in your clients’ shoes can help you anticipate different aspects of your clients . If I performed preparatory empathy, I may have already anticipated a more distracted setting from me knowing that she is a single mother as well as anticipating that she would have connection issues knowing that he did not have data and the WIFI can be unstable . Furthermore, the agenda of the session was as followed: introduce the Circle of Security, watch animation, introduce key points, and hear some feedback from the client . Throughout the meeting, I made sure to actively listen to any concerns, comments and questions made from the client . After the introductions are out of the way, I wanted to also share the agenda with client in order to have full transparency . This process is called summarizing the contract or service agreement . This involves a “concise review of the essential elements of the service agreement as endorsed by both the client and social worker” (Couryner, 2017, pg. 436) . Having full transparency on the schedule and service can help the client understand more about why they may be receiving it .

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