My Placement Learning Opportunity ( Plo )

In this paper, the role of a social worker will be addressed. A Human Service professional has, in its hands, the responsibilities in the life of the clients and families they meet. The tremendous and arduous responsibilities they take on include, but are not limited to, the well-being and care of people and their communities. Such roles can be helping others manage the care of a family member, assisting individuals experiencing problems with family relations and conflicts, dealing with changes that come with growing old, aiding those suffering mental illness and or those individuals struggling with addictions. Briefly

Throughout this assessment I will analyse a critical incident of an interaction between a worker and a service user or carer during my statutory observation experience. I will conclude my own assessment of the situation and demonstrate my understanding of the use of self, context in which social work takes place and the knowledge and methods of practice. I will not use any of the service users, carers or agencies names in this essay due to the data protection act 1998. I will also adhere to the GSCC codes of conduct that respect and relate to the service users

As part of our preparation for placement, we were required to make a role play on a given scenario in pairs. Each of us had to play the role of the social work student and the service user. We chose to use Miss Allen’s scenario, because we both had experience of working the adults. In preparation for this task, we met twice to clarify our roles and discussed the scenario as we understood it. We also discussed how we were going to assess Miss Allen, and what help we would offer her. The preparation was an important part of our task because it challenged us to think of the interview within its widest context, taking into account the particular needs of Miss Allen, agency policy and procedure and ourselves as student social

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).

In the professional field of Social Work, there are many terminologies that individuals outside of this group may not understand. During the process of assessing a problem in a family, there are different theoretical perspectives that helps social workers understand different aspects of family situations. There are eight theoretical perspectives that helps social workers understand family’s dynamic and situations. These theoretical perspectives are; system perspective, conflict perspective, exchange and choice perspective, social constructionist perspective, psychodynamic perspective, developmental perspective, social behavior perspective and humanistic perspective.

As social workers, it is our responsibility to use the most effective method of practice to engage our clients, assess their situation, and help them create goals that will produce positive outcomes. Every client will present a unique set of challenges; therefore, the social worker must be careful in choosing an approach that will meet the client’s needs, compliment the skills of the therapist and are in line with the agency’s mission. According to Robert and Watkins (2009), psychotherapy is a therapeutic interaction between a trained therapist and a client that is

With a master 's level education in social work, I see myself envisioning clients’ health and well-being. As a student, I will study and practice techniques, beyond a generalist perspective, that will allow me to give clients hope and the ability to see something greater than what they are facing. Upon completion of a Master of Social Work direct practice degree and certificates in gerontology and mental health programs, I intend to become a licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I will competently incorporate specialized skills in different professional settings while developing my knowledge of a wide range of social issues and professional standards. With commitment, I wish to develop skills that will enable me to create or find hidden resources and services for my future clients, create platforms through counselling for victims of trauma.

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.

Social care values are highly important to take into account when working with this family. A value can be described as; our views and beliefs about what we feel is important to us, useful and are of worth, we hold our values in high regard. Focusing on non-discriminatory practice will be important, to show equality and diversity to the whole family. This can be achieved by portraying a non-judgmental attitude towards each individual family member taking into consideration their background or circumstances. It would be easy for someone without a care background of knowledge and experience, to pre-judge this family by making a negative pre-conceived judgement about them as there has been history of drugs and alcohol abuse, violence, learning disabilities (autism) and mental health problems. (Bingham E, 2009, P.20)

In the field of social work, workers are constantly faced with practice issues, ethical conundrums, lack of needed supervision, and personal feelings regarding the work they do. When supervision is limited or nonexistent, one course of action could be to form a consultation group of one or more peers or mentors. This allows the social worker to receive supportive feedback and critical advice when needed. The construction of peer consultation groups can provide an opportunity to meet informally with peers to converse about issues regarding practice in a helpful and confidential setting. For this paper, I met with Latisha White on Tuesday, September 15th, in order to form a small peer consultation group to discuss the benefits and conflicts of working with Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs). We met at the Social Work Building and then, for almost one hour, we conversed at South Union. When a fire drill was conducted, Latisha and I fled from South Union and finished our discussion at the Engineering Hall for another hour.

The authors of this study choose to perform a qualitative study because of the small number of participants. The sample was collected purposefully to focus on what social workers experienced when working with

Within the department of Social Services all the roles are in a hierarchy system. At the bottom of the system is where a service user would make first contact with the department. This is where the service user would be assessed to deem whether the potential user is eligible to receive help and to which department would offer the service user the most appropriate help, for instance whether they would benefit from being referred to the mental health team or another relevant department. It is important that the first assessment is carried out thoroughly in order for the service user to get the help they need if they are vulnerable and if there are any safeguarding issues. The structure of a social services department is organised in such a way that there are specialist teams available to deal with various issues that affect service users. If someone has a mental health problem they will be able to receive specialist help from the mental health team, who will liaise with other professionals within the mental health sector such as psychiatrists and community mental health nurses, so that the service user can access all the available resources available and receive a positive outcome to their experience. The children and family’s department will be able to offer specialist help in supporting parents and children to stay together or if needs be intervention and safeguarding. These social workers will have specialist knowledge of how to interact with children and their families to

These needs are addressed by individual work in the Centre, family homes and other settings, Co-Working on a multi-agency basis, and specific groups and courses to address particular needs, e.g. Parenting Courses and Young Parents Groups. A tailored package of support is available to the Service User. The Initial Assessment Team Social Worker made a request for Family Support work to help Tommy (names have been changed) and his family, under Section 17 CA1989, which states that a child shall be considered to be a Child in Need if: a) He is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining a reasonable standard of health and development without the provision for him of such services by the local authority b)

For this end of module assessment I will be looking at the case study of Safia Nazir, her husband Nazir Rashid and their 3 children Taqi, Asif and Amina who live in Scotland and have been bought to the attention of social services for various reasons. I will be demonstrating my understanding of what the social workers role would be in relation to this family, including the skills and knowledge needed to meet the family’s individual needs. The social worker in this case study is called Shona and what I have read of her and her initial steps to work with the family come across as appropriate and professional. I will go into more detail about Shona’s work and my understanding of her role later in the assignment and make potential comparisons or reflect on what I may or may not do differently. I will consider issues in relation to my personal and professional values and will also refer to policy and practice from English legislation; as this is my country of practice. I will be focusing on early intervention and the initial steps in social work, such as making contact, meeting and the initial assessment.

When working with Florence, I will use a strengths approach, which will focus on Florence’s strengths. I need to have the belief that everyone has strengths. I will need to find strengths in Florence and help her discover those strengths, so she can find more effective ways of parenting and be able to regain custody of her daughter. I will have the belief that everyone has worth, no matter what they have done. I also need to believe that people have the capacity to change. I will focus on Florence’s abilities and assets, not her problems. It is important that social workers do not judge their clients, no matter what they do, or have done. It will be important that I not judge Florence for abusing her daughter. I will be an enabler, and supportive, and not tell Florence what she should do. She said that the police were very kind to her the night that Dave died, and it sounded like she appreciated their kindness. I will need to show her kindness and respect as well. That will help foster a trusting relationship between us. I will need to be her advocate as I work with other agencies, especially when working with the child welfare agency to do all I can to help her regain custody of Crystal. I will need to start where Florence is, recognizing that she is the expert of her life. I need to listen carefully during our first interview, and allow Florence to tell me as much about herself as possible, so I can get the best overall picture of her.