Interview With A Social Worker

Social workers form relationships with people an assist them to live more successfully within their local communities by helping them find solutions to their problems. Social work involves engaging not only with clients but their friends and families. Social workers also work closely with organisations such as the police, local authority departments,

Social work can be a stressful career, you need to be well organised as there is a significant level of administrative work - and time management skills are crucial. A social worker is expected to assess, review and maintain

With a strong interest in child welfare, there was no question that my interview with a social worker would involve someone who is involved in this area of practice. I did a small amount of internet research and discovered the All Nations Coordinated Response Network (ANCR) in Winnipeg. I discovered that within the Child and Family Services system this agency is generally the first point of contact. With an interest in front line work, I decided to make contact with this agency in hopes of scheduling an interview. I made a phone call to ANCR and spoke to a receptionist with the agency about what I was looking to accomplish. I was more specific than I had originally planned and requested a recent graduate for the interview if possible.

“Diversity makes for a rich tapestry. We must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value, no matter their color; equal in importance no matter their texture,” by Maya Angelou. I met my interviewee, Bill Hemphill through a mutual relative in my family who was generous enough to provide his contact information. Although he was he was a busy man, he agreed to let me interview him at his office. At first, I thought he was very strict and sympathetic , as a social worker should .To become a qualified Medical Social Worker you must be hard working, educated and dedicated. Upon meeting him he seem very courteous to those around him; he came up to me and shook my hand and praised me from becoming a “fellow” social worker. My impressions of him were that he was a delightful man who would give the world to his patients. We walked to his office and he shut the door behind to give us privacy. He bluntly said “ask any question you like about me and my career.”

1. Why or what led you to become a social worker or select social work as a career.

For this paper, I chose one of my colleague Devin who works with me at our office. I chose him because he is a psychology major and I find him interesting in terms of his curiosity in the field of psychology. In terms of his education, he is currently in his senior year of school and is majoring in psychology with honors. When asked about a particular focus in the field of psychology, he said that he does not have a specific track, but enjoys learning about positive and community psychology. While interviewing Devin, I also learned these terms specifically about positive and community psychology and how he uses the same knowledge into his daily work. I learned that the term positive psychology refers to the strengths that allow communities and individual to thrive (Michael & Neuman, 2010). On the other hand, the term community psychology refers to how individuals relate to their community, and the reciprocal of how communities relate to the individuals (Anonymous, 2015).

For this assignment, my partner and I decided to interview a social worker whom led me to develop my aspiration for this career. Michelle Hayes is a private practice counselor, who has encountered much experience and knowledge through social work agencies, leading her to be very successful. For this assignment, I decided to interview Michelle Hayes, because not only did she counsel me, and positively impact my life, but I would be more than pleasured to be enlightened with knowing how she became so wise and successful, as well as why.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Health , “1 in 5 children ages 13-18 have, or will have a serious mental illness” and “50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 and 75% by age 24. Children are entering counseling and psychotherapeutic services at earlier ages than ever seen before. The role of social work has progressed from one of counseling to one that encompasses case management, discharge planning, psychotherapy, crisis intervention and even resource linkage. With the variety of child welfare programs existing, many social workers find themselves working with the community in an array of diverse settings. From the physical and emotional health services to vital assistance through their work with the government, the social worker has establish the capacity to help restore and preserve the lives of individuals who need their services. Many social workers take on the difficulty of working with children who are experiencing cognitive and conduct disorders to educate, advocate and alleviate symptoms.

All social worker come from a diverse of backgrounds. I come from a working lower class family. I was raised in a border town as a single child. I was indult the catholic religion with Mexican-American cultures. During my life spam I have come across with many struggles, personally and with close family members that have affected me, in which they have driven me to choose social work as a career. When starting my bachelor’s degree, I chose social work for one reason. All I wanted to be was a lawyer. I was obtaining my bachelor’s degree in social work for the pass to law school and the passion of making an impact to those who are in need. After a couple of classes in the social work program, volunteering, and doing research, I found out that this was meant to be for me. I continued with my desire of helping those in need and willing be helped.

This career is important to me because it allows me to connect to people in a different levels, as individuals and as families. Understanding the role of a social worker. Being a social worker is often a challenge, yet a rewarding career. Social workers are responsible for helping individuals, families, and groups of people to cope with problems they're facing to improve their patients' lives. The career I am most interested in is becoming a social worker because it allows me to be hands on with children at all times.

This made me realize that there are so many individuals who do not have someone looking out on their best behalf. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a motivator; I knew I wanted to protect those in trouble and set them on a better path. I also choose this career path because being a social worker grants you the privilege of working with all kinds of populations who struggle for rights (social justice) and resources, from poor and homeless, this would allow me to use my voice to advocate for their needs. Also, becoming a social worker, allows me to help these individuals, who have been abused emotionally, mentally, and physically at the hands of people who were supposed to protect them. I can be the voice for these individuals, I can put a smile on their face, and I can make their frown upside down.

I hope to find you in a good health. I will like to set up a meeting with you, if it possible. The reason is because I’m currently attending Bronx Community College pursuing my Associate in Human Services and one of my classes “Introduction to Social Work” required to interview a license social worker. This interview will be brief and can be done in person or over the phone. I will greatly appreciate your valuable

Social workers advise, mentor, and support many of those who need help in different aspects of life. Whether it’s a sentimental needs or a physical needs, social workers deal with all various situation depending on their type of social work. There are a wide variety of the different types of social works, but the seven types of social works that will be focused on what they do and some of their roles are hospice and palliative care, mental health and substance abuse, psychiatric social work, military and veteran social work, community social work, medical and health social work, and child family and school.

Along with never being bored, comes being diverse and challenging. Either Social Workers are in hospitals helping patients, homes, helping kids, or community centers helping others, since they are always seeing different dynamics of people. This can be quite challenging at times for Social Workers because there are so many emotional cases that tug at a person 's heart. For example, a Social Worker may be assigned a case to help a 5-year old boy in an abusive home, but if something pops up where the Social Worker cannot help him, this may cause some emotional pain on the person. While that may be hard at times, when a Social Worker does get to help (most of the time), there are feelings of satisfaction in their hearts.

After all the hard work and challenges I may face academically, I’ve learned that I may also face emotional challenges once I have my foot stepped into the career. Although I believe I have an emotionally strong personality, this career as a social worker still can be stressful. As my responsibility to make decisions about the welfare of the children and families, I may be faced with difficult situations such as not being able to help everyone in the way I hope. Some of my clients or cases may be stuck because of obstacles created by