Case Study : Elaine's Challenge

Social workers are professionals who seek help for individuals and families. Workers team together to enhance society for a better world. In a journal, “There is no greater joy nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone's life” (McGeady). Showing kindness is like lifting the world off society shoulder. In the past, the government provided workers with a higher income, but suddenly there has been sudden decline. Too many woman were involved in the profession, quote Maxwell, “This woman's work, this woman's world” (Maxwell). Women were more involved in gender-based occupation fields, and making the men more powerful which made them to earn more wages.

I have often exaggerated the workplace and lifestyle of a social worker. After meeting with a fellow social worker, I am now able to understand their busy lifestyle. A social worker has to consider the struggles clients have experienced and hear their narratives. At the same time, these social workers need to keep their life in order in a professional and healthy way. A social worker I had the chance to meet, has endured four years of training at Thompson Rivers University: he received a bachelor degree off social work with a child welfare specialization, and two practicums, as well as regular training introduced by the government; that broadened his understanding on domestic violence, child welfare, and interview training. He stated six particular duties: provide child safety, child welfare, family care, community development, assisting individuals and being a go-to person to fellow clients (personal communication, January 27, 2016).

It is clear that social workers play an important role in society; it would therefore make sense to ensure that the working conditions of social workers are kept to a high standard. Without these good working standards it is likely that social workers might be affected by the job related stresses that are inherent to jobs dealing with troubled people. These high job stresses may lead to greater turn over and unwillingness amongst students to become social workers. Consequently the methods by which social workers and their respective employers have been discussed in this essay and include things like being given greater autonomy over their own scheduling and how they choose to deal with clients. Social workers may also be able to improve their

Social Work is a helping profession that strives to help the community on micro, mezzo, and macro levels. It is an investment of self to offer services and help to those in need. Areas of service can include, but are not limited to, traumatic situations, family situations, and child protection. As in most social service professions, the field of social work can often times take a toll on the emotional and physical stability of a social worker. One side effect from working in a helping profession is compassion fatigue. As a result, the National Association of Social Workers stresses the importance of self-care and its vitality in ensuring the social worker does not get burnt out by the profession.

James is a thirteen-year old Caucasian child who is being physically and verbally abused in his home by his two parents. James suffers from multiple disorders that have not been diagnosed by a doctor. He has been removed from his home that he shares with his two younger sisters. James presently is in his Uncle Patrick’s kinship foster care where he is living. James’s case seems that he is suffering from three of the 12 core concepts. Working with children who suffer with more stress related trauma is a more challenging case for the social workers. Sometimes these cases affect the social worker, and they experience vicarious trauma. A social worker works closely with their patients and form a significant relationship

I have yet to encounter a social worker who entered the profession for acclaim or prestige. It is a demanding career with long hours and ceaseless paperwork. Social workers are frequently overburdened in addition to being underpaid. Occasionally, they witness agonizing tragedy, fundamentally changing them. Having worked in social services for a number of years, I have had these experiences.

Social workers deal with intense situations daily. It is important that social workers are aware of how they are affected by these interactions. Priscilla Dass-Brailsford explains in her book, that countertransference, vicarious trauma (VT), secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue and satisfaction, and burnout are all different ways that counselors can be affected (Dass-Brailsford, 2007). This is where it is important for social workers to have a plan of self-care and stress management resources to use.

Social work is a professional and academic discipline that works to improve the quality of life and enhance the wellbeing of individuals, families, couples, groups, and communities. Heather Holland is a Social Worker at Uniontown Hospital who has over 12 years’ experience in the field. She explains that a typical day on the job is far from easy. “Days in this career are crazy, busy, and mostly, undetermined” Holland explains of her days on the job. Social work is a very important job. Social workers work with clients who are vulnerable and in need of serious help. It is so extremely important that social workers are properly trained and are always giving their best in their work because client’s lives often depend on it. Social workers are

Another study suggests that social workers are susceptible to burnout due to poor working conditions, copious amounts of paperwork, long work weeks, few opportunities for promotions and

What becomes vicarious trauma is when new experiences and information are unable to integrate into existing schemas. The experience of working with traumatic materials nullifies current schemas causing distress; the schemas must be adapted to absorb new information (Cohen & Collens, 2013; McCann & Pearlman, 1990). When a social workers experiences VT, these schemas have been altered negatively which causes distress and hyper-awareness to the traumatic materials which support the altered schemas (Cohen & Collens, 2013; McCann & Pearlman, 1990). Therefore, our beliefs of control and power we have over our environment are linked to how we experience and manage traumatic materials (Michalopoulos & Aparicip,

Maurice William’s understands that social workers get tired because of their relentless job responsibilities, therefore, she makes sure they don’t experience burn out since it is her responsibility to keep the families intact (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Since she is not out in the field visiting the homes, she puts her faith in her upper management team to be able to listen and pay attention to any problems or potential future problems (Laureate Education, Inc. 2011). Since she is unable to be out in the field, Williams uses her supervisory skills to train her staff to be able to identify potential problems and also to report back to her what the problems are. If there were problems out in the field (i.e., foster parents, foster children), she shoulders the full responsibility to make sure that the problems are addressed and resolved, or modify changes that are in the best interest of the children.

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a national association of educational programs and individuals that confirms and improves the quality of social work education to become a professional job. CSWE puts in a countless amount of effort to strive for this mission by setting up a bachelor's and master’s degree programs in social work. On the other hand, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with approximately 132,000 members. To be more specific, NASW has a determination to intensify the maturity and developmental process of its members. The main goal is to retain professional standards and to create fair social policies. NASW progresses

“The unique contribution of the social work practice is the duality of the professions person and environment mandate: social workers must help society work better for the people and help people function better within society.” (Segal, Gerdes, and Steiner, 2016, p. 3).

Social Work is a discipline that can be a very rewarding experience for both the worker and the client. The practice involves working with individuals, families, or groups who are struggling to cope with life`s challenges. The social worker must combine his or her personal qualities, creative abilities, and social concerns with the professional knowledge in order to help client’s social functioning or prevent social problems from developing (Bradford W. Sheafor, 2008, p. 34). Social work practice seeks to promote human well-being, while addressing the processes by which individuals and groups are marginalized or diminished in their capacity to participate as citizens (Ian O'Connor, 2006, p. 1).

For this reflective journal, I have decided to draw parallels between approaches to social work that I have learned in my placement, and what I have learned during my academic career at Carleton University. Placement thus far, has been an eye-opening and rich experience, which has taught me about the profession that I aspire to be a part of. I am a third year student, and much of my time spent at Carleton, has been studying theories, and becoming exposed to different schools of thought. Theories are incredibly beneficial, to teach and inform the practice of the next generation of social workers. However, placement has provided me with the opportunity to apply theoretical ideals, to real life social work practice.