How Social Work Affects The Social Services And Viewers Essay

the social worker in the Maria Colwell inquiry and the social worker in the Victoria Climbié both received criticism within the media for their lack of usage of the power that they had as social workers to prevent the incidents (Parton, 2004), however, it was only the social worker in the Climbié case that lost her job, where she has also been placed on the register, stating she is unable to work with children again (ibid,2004).

While the work of all human-service practitioners overlaps in numerous ways, the field of social work is unique because social workers are concerned about human behavior in the context of social environment.

The aim of this report is to give an insight on how social work is perceived and representated to the public through the mass media. How does the public understand the meaning of contemporary social work? This report looks into different cases like Baby P’s case and Victoria Climbe’s case and the blame towards the social workers involved. Looking at both positive and negative perceptions and representations of social work. How social work is presented through the media, and why is it a social norm for social work to be dominated by women?

At 12 years old Tabitha’s home life was miserable. Her parents were often neglectful to her basic needs. Instead of buying food and clothing for their daughter Tabitha 's parents would escape the heavy burden of parenthood through excessive drinking and other questionable behaviors. The neglect was so severe that teachers at school took notice and made a report. Soon after Tabitha was taken from her home and placed in foster care. Going from house to house she stayed in the system until she aged out at 18 years old. From there she went straight to college. Tabitha decided to take this path because she was inspired by her high school social worker that changed her life. While in high school she became depressed with her home life and it impacted her school performance. The school social worker stepped in and guided her to resources in the community. Thanks to the social worker 's aid Tabitha was able to overcome her depression and graduate high school. In was during this time that she decided she wanted to be a social worker and help someone else in need. To pursue this dream Tabitha knew college was a must.

Social work practice directly explains the purpose and functions of social work professionals. The function of social work includes the ability to effectively communicate with various groups facing struggles of all types. Homeless individuals are one such minority of the general population that face both stigmas and obstacles in their pursuit of satisfactory living. Among homeless individuals, mental and chemical health is a major focus because behaviors are a result of innate cognition which forms from experiences and susceptibilities. By visiting Emma Norton Residence in St. Paul after reading peer-reviewed articles about social work, the harm reduction framework, homelessness, and chemical dependence, I was able to apply social work foundations from class and outside research to a personal experience.

Setting boundaries is an important core value in the field of social work. According to the Social Work Code of Ethics, “Social workers should provide and represent themselves as competent only within the boundaries of their education, training, license, certification, consultation received, supervised experience, or other relevant professional experience” (Code of Ethics of the NASW). Professional social workers are generally compassionate people, but they also need to recognize the value of setting limits. This was the case when I worked as an adjunct instructor, which included providing individual tutoring. My relationship with Sara Towns (name changed), a student and distant cousin, evoked the possible clouding of boundaries. For new social workers, this kind of reflection may be helpful as they define their roles. Through a series of professional and personal experiences with Sara, I learned that boundaries must be maintained to foster a positive relationship and prevent potential conflicts.

Throughout our lives we experience many events that help to shape our development. Frequently, we are unaware of the developments taking place until we take time to reflect back on these events. Historically, many theorists have proposed various concepts that they feel best demonstrate the developments that people experience throughout their lifetime. Upon reflection of my personal life, I am able to connect some of the theories found in social work today with events that have happened in my life, particularly throughout my adolescence.

To be honest I was quite shocked that around 87% of “the variability in therapeutic outcomes is associated with client and external or situational factors” (Cournoyer, 2017, p.32). After reflecting on this I realized how embarrassed I was of my ignorance, for I feel as though it implies that I thought, albeit unconsciously, that I inherently had more power than my future clients. This conflicts with my enduring stance against the word “helping” when it comes to social work practice, because I feel as though this word implies that the social worker is better than the client, that the social worker is doing the client a favor. I prefer the words “working with” the client, because I believe this establishes a mutual, respectful relationship between the social worker and client, which in turn will provide better outcomes for both individuals involved. Therefore, I vow from this moment on to never ignore the person-in-environment principle when working with and on behalf of clients. Acknowledging and understanding the external environmental, both physical and social, that the client operates in is essential if we wish to bring about positive social change.

Since I was 15 years old I knew that social work was the field that I wanted to pursue. As a lover of diversity, natural servant leader, and a caring person, this was the only career that fit my goals and values. Because of this, I always knew that I would be in contact with people from all walks of life. My college career definitely served as a time for me to develop relationships and understanding with individuals that I knew I would one day work with; interfaith dialogue, LGBTQ+ advocacy, internships, social justice clubs, and personal experiences as a minority served as a way for me to develop a foundation. However, as I reflect on what situations would be difficult for me to work with, I realize that working with mandated clients makes me the most apprehensive.

Initially, my view of social work was that the most impactful pillar of our work maintained dedication toward social justice. That was cultivated more specifically into what Heidemann, G., Fertig, R., Jansson, B., & Kim, H. (2011) stated “Social workers are mandated, through the profession's Code of Ethics, to challenge social injustice and pursue social change with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people” ( 37). Initially this seemed like an overwhelming undertaking, one that put me in a malaise because, where could I have impact that was impactful. Of the multiple levels of practice from which a social worker can focus, I was determined to make my mainstay on the micro level. Working with individuals and families impacted by oppression, the aim would be getting them to a better place in life or rather trying to improve their quality of life, as they defined and that seemed attainable. Selfishly, I believed the work would reward me a more rapidly with a sense of accomplishment that came from a short-term plan and goals. My interpretation of social work was supremely flawed, the scope of what was needed, to my embarrassment, was one dimensional.

The social work profession is aimed towards helping individuals, families, groups and communities reach their full potential, both collectively and individually. Through the experience I gained through my internships, volunteer placements, and work positions, I had the opportunity to witness first hand the many different environments that social workers serve in. Social workers work in a variety of different environments as they guide people through life’s trials and challenges. They do this by identifying client’s unique skills and abilities as well as utilizing the resources offered throughout the community.

Social work is my second decision. I had been going to Henry Ford Community College for four years and was not sure what University I wanted to attend. I always knew the profession, I chose would primarily be focused on helping others. I thought about going to culinary arts school. However, I kept hearing the Lord lead me to social work, I was sure that helping young people has always been my calling. Social specialists don 't just enable individuals to utilize their assets and insight to individuals utilizing different intercessions, and medications, yet social workers likewise work for social equity, which is one reason of numerous that the record of the issues individuals experience. I believe that being a social worker would mean I can

A social worker is a professional individual concerned for the wellbeing of others, from helping families to helping ex prisoners get reestablished in the everyday environment from being outside of prison. There are many different client groups that require social workers such as prisoners but the care that social workers provide does not stop at being in prison it is concluded through when the individual leaves prison and is back into everyday life this is called probation. An additional client group to this would be individuals suffering from mental health issues, social workers would be expected to arrange support for the client as they may be living with a variety of different conditions such as: depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.

According to Canadian Association of Social Workers one of the core values of a social worker is to uphold the dignity and worth of a person. Mental health service users have been discriminated and marginalized from the ‘sane’ counter parts for a long period of time. The mental health policies caused the service users to limit their freedom due to fears about their own and others safety. Thus, social worker’s role tends to focus on a difficult axiom of practice where the balance between risk factors and liberty. The power imbalance continues to contribute oppression of mental health service users. Social worker role in mental health practice has been significant since the introduction of mental health services in Canada (Towns and Schawartz, 2012). Although the initial social work practice in mental health was based on bio-medical reasoning social workers played a pivotal role in forming social psychiatry (Charlse & Bentley, 2016). Social psychiatry focused on environment and cultural aspects in mental health and well-being. This new branch supported by social workers treated people with mental health in a different way. Mental health issues were seen from a different perspective by connecting the issues of individuals to the environment. Consequently, the mental health services were shifted from institutionalized to community based services (Charlse & Bentley, 2016). There were several mental health consumer/survivor movements which forced

The basis of social work in the society at large trying to manage the effects of poverty and inequality. Social work has a complex connection with charity work. Charity has been practicing provision of social welfare dating back in the ancient times. Religion played a major role in providing poor relief long before the establishment welfare systems. However social work has modern and scientific origins form the nineteenth century.