Field Learning Experience : Professional Social Worker

While practicing social work it is important to understand how an individual’s system and environment can

Social workers must strive “for a full understanding of the complex interactions between the client and all levels of the social and physical system as well as meaning that the client assigns to each of these interactions” (Andreae, 1996, p. 605).

Social work professions need to understand the importance of how individuals interact both with other people and their environment, to have an understanding how individuals are affected by these interactions (Rogers, p. 2). According to Rogers (2016), “Social workers are knowledgeable about human behavior across the life course; the range of social systems in which people live; and the ways social systems promote or deter people in maintaining or achieving health and well-being. Social workers apply theories and knowledge from the liberal arts to understand biological, social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual development (p. 2). Their work with clients begins with assessments to evaluations of intervention and is based in and supports of the core value system of the profession.

Taken as an integrated portion of the ecological perspective, in terms of the person-in-environment, the strengths perspective can nest comfortably in the practice of macro, mezzo, and micro social work. Furthermore, the strengths perspective with its Aristotelian roots encourages self-determination, independence, and accountability (Grey, 2009). Taken as a whole however, the strengths perspective tries to harmonize the client social worker relationship, which is likely improbable in

According to Gardiner and Kosmitzki (2008), most recently the ecological perspective has become a leading approach towards addressing the relationships among persons and environment. In Essentials of Human Behavior, Hutchinson (2013) uses a multidimensional approach to better understand social work practice. Using this approach, one can analyze the connection between a client’s person, such as psychologically or biologically, a client’s environment, such as families or communities, and a client’s time, such as their linear time in past, present, or future. Specifically analyzing the environmental component, Uri Bronfenbrenner’s (1999) ecological perspective identifies four levels of systems a client may be associated with: microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems, and macrosystems.

A social worker’s field placement and internship experience are the uttermost integral component of his or her social work education. This experience can vary in both quantity and quality depending on the type of leadership and guidance the social worker is receiving. Supervisors play a fundamental role in the guidance and training of a new social worker during his or her internship. Having similar work styles as your supervisor can lead to a satisfying field placement experience.

The social worker explores the issues that currently affect the client system. This identifies key issues, family history, cultural identities and values (Brew & Kottler 2008, p. 75). In collaboration, the social worker and the client system to prepare a plan of action. This includes outlining strengths, resources, goals, objectives, and targets for change (Miley, O’Melia & Dubois 2013, p. 119). Tools can be used to gather more information such as genograms and eco-maps. The genogram is utilised to identify the client system’s family and explore the

Social Work practitioners every day interact with individuals who are challenged by personal, societal, environmental barriers to life, and in amidst this face inequities and injustice as part of life (Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers, 2011). It is the role of the social worker to use their therapeutic and facilitation skills to assess the clients risk and then work with the appropriate interventions in order to help promote social change for the individual and their family.

One of the most useful models for social workers to implement is the generalist model. Since the goal of social work is to work with individuals and assist them in solving their problems, the generalist model seeks to create three levels of practice to better aide the individuals in direct practice service (Farley, Smith, & Boyle, 2011). These three levels are the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. The micro level refers to the systems that directly impact a single individual, whereas the mezzo level refers to the small groups (such as marriages and families) that impact the individual. Furthermore, the macro level refers to the large systems, such as cultures and large organizations, which can influence the person. With the establishment of the generalist model, the social worker can better aide the client and work directly with him to help him solve any problems or concerns he may have, and this model has become the most common operational model in social work, though it does have both advantages and disadvantages.

It is likely that some professional practitioners will focus their attention primarily in one area than the other, however all social worker experience situations in which macro-level interventions are usually the right action to respond to certain need or problem. Perhaps, macro practice can be define as professional guided interventions which is designed to bring about change in organization, community and or policy areas. Macro practice is meant to prepare social worker for full time agency administration, program planning, community organizing, or policy analysis position. In the event of taking full time macro roles, the worker will need a more advanced skill than what was stated above. It is imperative that all student of social work will be confronted with different roles after graduation, they will still be involved in macro activities, some students are currently working as a social worker with whom work directly with clients and some are coordinators, planners, managers, administrators, organizers and policy analyst in various capacities. This brought about differences between students expectations of social service work practice and the actual experiences ones they are working in the field. As an

This has provided me with an added insight into what interventions may be beneficial when working with clients. My aptitude for ¨thinking outside the box¨ has facilitated effective problem solving in situations that had no single or clear-cut solution. I hope to enhance this attribute during my time in field placement by refining my critical thinking skills and increasing my knowledge of community resources, so that I can gain a strengthened awareness of how to best advocate for and support clients. My ability to integrate personal goals, values, culture and socioeconomic background into treatment planning and in the treatment process has allowed me to develop realistic and attainable goals that are relevant to each individual. This strength stems from the steadfast belief that cultural relevance is essential to provide effective services. My social work experience has refined my organization and planning skills and I have fine-tuned my ability to manage a chaotic schedule. When I have encountered challenges in the field, I have overcome them by seeking supervision and consulting with more experienced colleagues. I also dedicate extra time to learning about cultures, concepts, and practices that I may have a difficult time understanding or am not familiar with. A final strength I believe will be an asset when working as a professional social worker is my dedication to the social work mission and

This approach views client problems within the environment context in which they occur and it is a cornerstone of social work practice. It also looks at the way client’s problems can occur at the individual or environmental level or in the relationship between the two. When looking at the person in environment lens, I prefer to use a micro-mezzo-macro approach. In this approach, looking at the individual as the micro level, the family as the mezzo level, and society or the community the individual lives in as the macro level. Many times, change at one level leads to change in another. I continue to focus on the individual and the environment, but I look at strength such as the comprehensive approach to problems, useful assessment of client problems, dynamic interactions between person and environment, and obvious causes of problems at the individual and environmental levels that are more evident when using this holistic approach. Unfortunately, when there are strengths they are also limitations like, the approach may be too broad to predict behavior, difficult to define and test constructs empirically, the absence of a consistent set of concepts that can be applied to client situations. As Rogers stated, both development and environment are always changing. People are born with both negative and positive tendencies, and they are

To begin with, the macro-level of social work practice is a professional intervention that is intended to lead to change in the organizational, community and policy areas. Macro practice comprises of many skilled professionals and disciplines that operate within the NASAW’s code of ethical boundaries. Thus, this type of intervention is mostly determined by needs and problems that are identified while working with those who are receiving services. In fact, since social workers are centered largely on concerns in the community, the macro-level practice will help me as a rising practitioner to understand how the actions of a group of people can positively or negatively affect the health of the community together with its members (Homan, pg.33).

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

I was in grade 10 when I thought of becoming a social worker. As social worker practitioner the fields that interest me to work in is domestic violence and child abuse because I want to make change to the society. Also Mahatma Gandhi was my major inspiration through this quote “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. Than an idea came to me, why not involve my contribution to the wide variety of communities. My communication with school counsellors and social workers has impacted my choice of desiring to study social work. I realised that if I have had a chance of seeing a social worker when I was young, things would have been much easier and less stressful. I want to provide opportunities that I did not encounter to other people. This essay will reflect my past experience, motivation and why I want to be a social worker, values, beliefs and theory of practice.