Personal Narrative: A Career In Social Work

The history of mental health in the United States show a robust movement towards the mental healthcare system we have today. Prior to the 19th century, individuals with mental health issues were widely considered to be demonically possessed, thus contributing to the stigmatization of mental illness and the proliferation of poor treatment conditions. However, in the 1800s, there was a dramatic change in mental healthcare in the U.S. The government took a proactive role in treating the mentally ill, leading to the dawn of state psychiatric facilities.

I am passionate on helping people and making changes in others’ lives. Like I stated before, my mother had been trapped herself in the apologetic emotion for years. The mental burden had made her down. Therefore, I decided to help my mother get rid of the self-accusation, by using the knowledge I learned in the Human Services major. To illustrate, I was telling her that it was not her fault of divorce, and she was not showing me the negative image of a marriage. Instead, I admire her braveness of ending a marriage when it was necessary, especially in the time when people were stereotyping divorced women and at the place where people were being judgmental. Now, her self-blameless has been reduced, and she told me that she was not felt as guilty

“I want to live.” She said. She lifted her feet off the small coffee table and set them gently on the floor as she continued to look through me, too interested on the inner workings of her own mind.

Occupational therapy is a form of therapy for people who are recuperating from physical or mental illness that encourages rehabilitation through the performance of activities that are required for daily life (World Federation of Occupational Therapists). Being an occupational therapist has many different kinds of duties. They review patients’ medical history, ask the patients’ questions, and observe them doing tasks, evaluate a patient’s condition and needs. After evaluating patients, develop treatment plans and help demonstrate exercises. In order to do all of these duties, a person must pass the national examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. Therapists must pass the board in order to have

As an aspiring occupational therapist, my essential goal is to provide services and opportunities to impaired individuals, specifically in under-developed communities, that may not have the proper resources and guidance. What made me want to dedicate my life to assisting individuals is from observing my grandmother take care of my great-grandmother until she passed away. While trying to maintain her own health, my grandmother helped her mother with tasks such as feeding, changing, and more all by herself. Watching her struggle with no support made me wish I could make life simpler for her. Also, I wished my great-grandmother had the utilities to help her interact with my family without dilemmas. Considering my great-grandmother and my future

The sharp scent of chlorine fills my nostrils as I crane over the microadjuster, determining whether my Platinum/Iridium wire tip is done reacting. Waving away the fumes, I observe the bubbles fizzling out, turn the voltage off, and twist the tip out of the machine. At 163 nanometers wide, it’s the sharpest tip I’ve etched this summer.

Other responsibilities included scheduling, verifying insurance, cash management, collecting copayments, registering patients, and scanning clinic records. New Patient Services Representatives (PSR) were trained, medical records were reorganized, and streamline processes improved patient flow. Work also entailed creating a wait list protocol and working with Rehab therapists to coordinate and handle scheduling issues, that may arise.

Nigeria, 2001, I awakened startled with people screaming indiscriminately. My dad's head was bleeding profusely, and my cousin, sitting in the passenger seat was bleeding from his neck. There were shards of shattered windshield everywhere. I was in the backseat uninjured but scared. This commotion was the aftermath of a car accident involving my dad, my cousin and me, while he was driving us to school. Next, we were rushed to the hospital, however, upon arrival, we were refused treatment until we paid an admissions fee. This practice was common in my country. Although the incident was disturbing, it drove me towards a career in healthcare, mainly working with patients who have a difficulty affording their medical care.

I am currently working as a Case Manager and doing my internship as a Clinician at Leake and Watts Services Inc. I need two wear two hats in one job, which make my responsibilities even greater and extensive. The population that I am working is the unaccompanied children, which are the children that are crossing the border to the United States.

Many personal and professional life experiences have been my motivation to pursue a degree in Social Work. Although I was unaware that this would later be my profession of interest, my personal life situations caused me to have to come into contact with a few social workers. The social workers that I have had the opportunity to meet have helped me with overcoming poverty, mental illness, child abuse, emotional instability, and domestic violence. My interest from pursuing a career as a parole officer, then a physical therapist to now a Social worker all shifted to this decision based on my life. Over the years I found myself enjoying helping others in need such as when I was employed as a Correctional officer and talking an offender from committing suicide causing me to question my future and whether I was in the wrong field.

When I was eighteen I worked for the Williams Lake Association for Community Living and a social worker visited my worksite. I was very curious about her profession and asked her questions about the field. At that moment I wanted to go to school to become a social worker. At twenty-one, I began my journey to get my Bachelors of Social Work; but I was diverted and started a family. As time went by and I matured, my wish to work in an area that allowed me to make an impact on people’s lives and help the vulnerable through a range of different approaches never diminished; social work was an obvious field through which I could develop these skills and passions. When my girls became teenagers, I felt it was time to finish my education and pursued

I started in the Human Services Program here at Columbia College with the goal of working in social services. I personally have been through the foster system and met many social service workers. It’s odd because as a foster child I extremely disliked these social workers I dealt with. I felt like they were individuals who were picking apart my life and ruining everything. What I didn’t realize was how much these individuals were really doing for me. Now as an adult I have realized that a career I once despised so deeply, I now want for myself. The purpose of this paper is to establish what being a social worker entails. Taking in to account a firsthand view from two individuals working in the field, Jill and Rae Lynn who are both social workers.

At the age of nine my mother would leave me and my two little sisters at home to go clean these offices in plants at Boardman, Oregon. She would only work Saturday morning for five to six hours. Alone with two little girls at a young age I had to learn to cook clean and take responsibility of them. My mother had four jobs at the time since she was recently separated and left with a number of medical bills and credit card bills to pay since my father did not want to help take part of our family anymore. My mother jobs were that she was a social worker Mondays through Fridays, she cleaned a bank two nights a week for two and a half hours, cleaning countless offices, and lastly she was a full-time mother.

Do you believe that your role as a therapist will end at the end of the day or will it be present in your personal life also?

Throughout my life, I have had a deep passion for being a social worker. I have always appreciated the impact the field has on people’s lives, especially in its ability to instill positivity into a discouraged person’s life. I have high hopes that this is the best decision I am making in my life because I feel I have a position in touching the lives of others. I anticipate realizing my dreams in having a fulfilling life experience, especially when I am through with my academic journey. Also, I expect that this is the right time for me to make up my mind on the career choice and decide in advance the type of life I want to lead in the coming years. I expect that by joining social work, I will transition easily and integrate seamlessly with the community because of the principles I treasure. I value a high opinion of humanity and respect for dignity, and I am thus looking forward to dedicating my life towards a service career that is life-changing. Because of the impression it leaves, on peoples’ lives, the flexibility it offers, and the positive growth anticipated from the career, I believe that being a social worker provides the smartest idea of my career dreams.