Our personalities, ethics, and morals are molded by the environment we were raised in and through our life experiences. Even when two different individuals have extremely similar experiences, the outcome of these experiences are affected by other factors such as: the individual’s support system, the lesson learned from the experience and the outcome of the situation. My experiences and life lessons have taught me that although you might not always be dealt the cards you feel you deserve, with the right perspective, you can always turn the game around. I grew up in California with foreign parents who were continuously taken advantage of because of their position and lack of knowledge on how to strive within their environment. My goal is to support others, foreign or not, which might be at a disadvantage due to their life circumstances and lack of resources.
The social work profession is an excellent tool to help accomplish the aforementioned goal, because the position has a primary goal of helping various individuals or groups to improve or change their current situation. This goal can be attained through teaching the individual or the group to effectively utilize their resources and the resources which can be found in their communities, therefore enhancing their wellbeing. The field of social work is based upon six vital core values: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity and competence. Through these values,
The National Association of Social Work (NASW) has identified a set of values that all social workers must consider during the course of their work (NASW, 2008). Social work values are broadly covered when you define social work as being a profession of aiding those in need and addressing oppression. Helping those in need directly relates to the value of supporting the needs of others. The definition also addresses the importance of bringing awareness to oppression. This relates to the values of addressing injustice, individuality and promoting harmony. On a broader perspective, all social workers are encouraged to continually pursue knowledge in their area and maintain ethical practices. Values have the purpose of ensuring that helpers always strive for what is best for the client. Manning (1997) points out that “the power to intervene in people’s lives carries
When people think of the social work the first thought that comes to mind are the individuals who take children from their homes, but that is not the core focus of this profession. Social work focuses on helping individuals, families, groups, and even communities improve their overall well-being. It also benefits those individuals to develop skills and tools to resolve problems in their personal lives or in the environment around them. In order to aid those individuals develop these skills and tools, the social worker must incorporate the six core values. Helping people who are in need and addressing social problems are the primary goals of a social worker and represents the core value of service. Another core value of social work is social justice. For this value, social workers challenge social injustices that are going on in the community. The areas of injustice that are primarily focused on are poverty, unemployment, and discriminations of the vulnerable and oppressed populations. While focusing on social justice, social workers must respect the dignity and worth of the person. Social workers must treat persons in a respectful and caring manner. They must be mindful of that person’s culture, socioeconomic status, and background differences. They want the person they are assisting to know they are there to help and not offend them. This is when human relationships come into play. It is ideal to build a relationship with that person and understand that others around can
Before beginning the Master of Social Work program at Laurier I figured I had a strong understanding of what social work was. However, I quickly learned that I had only scratched the surface. I knew oppression existed, but I never understood the depth of it. I now know that I was afraid of it. It was easy for me to stay silent, because it was such a comfortable position to be in. Doing nothing meant I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. This was influenced by the privilege I had.
This was a very eye opening class for me. Coming from a mental health counselling background I have to admit it is a major difference in how social workers operate versus therapist. In this essay I will reflected on how this social work class has genuinely affected me, my strengths and weaknesses, and what I have taken away from this class. I always gain a great deal of satisfaction from helping others. I remember from middle school on through adulthood I was the go to person. If a person had an issue or needed to talk. I was the voice of reasoning. I was the one able to grab hold of certain resources if someone was in need
The class SW 6030 Human Development and the Social Environment has brought new insights and makes me see some topics in a different perspective. The critical reflection paper number one will integrate different concepts that I learned so far in this class.
My understanding of the social work profession and its core values is that social workers are caregivers, they provide assistance to people in need, and they address social problems. The social worker goal is the improvement of society to ameliorate the lives of individuals in need. The social work profession mission is to enhance the well-being of people and to assist them in meeting their basic needs, with particular emphasis on the needs of the poor, and the vulnerable individual. The Social Work profession has six core values. These core values are the foundation of the social work profession. The social worker incorporates these core values into his daily practices. Service to others is one of the fundamental values of social work. Social workers goal is serving others and putting the needs of their clients ahead of their own. Social justice is another core value of social work. Social workers aim at improving the lives of the disadvantaged, vulnerable people who are less fortunate or unable to advocate for themselves. Social workers understand the essential value of every human life, regardless of ethnic background, cultural differences or religious beliefs. Their goal is to respect the dignity and worth of every person. Another key value of social work is integrity. The social workers conduct themselves in a trustworthy, honest, and responsible manner at all times. Competence is another important core value of the social work profession. The
The code is to be used by individuals, agencies, government organizations and other professional groups. The social work mission includes a set of core values with coinciding principles in which each social worker commits to uphold. The first social work value is service. The ethical principle is that it is the “primary goal to help people in need and to address social problems.” (NASW, 2008, p. 3). Confronting social injustice, valuing the dignity and worth of a person and recognizing the importance of human relationships is essential in this field. The fifth value is integrity, and social workers should behave in a trust worthy manner. Social workers must also “practice within their areas of competence and develop and enhance their professional expertise.” (NASW, 2008, p.
Social workers are caregivers, they provide assistance to people in need, and they address social problems. The social worker’s goal is the improvement of society to better the lives of individuals in need. The social work professional mission is to enhance the well-being of people and to assist them in meeting their basic needs, with particular emphasis on the needs of the poor, and the vulnerable individual. The Social Work profession has six core values. Social workers incorporate these core values into their daily practices. Service to others, the social workers’ goals are to serve others and to put the needs of their clients ahead of their own. Social justice, social workers aim to improve the lives of the disadvantaged, vulnerable and oppressed populations. Social workers understand the essential value of every human life, regardless of an individual’s ethnic background, cultural difference or religious belief. Their goal is to respect the dignity and worth of every person. Integrity, social workers strive to conduct themselves in a trustworthy, honest, and responsible manner at all times. Competence, the social workers practice their profession within their areas of expertise and that they regularly seek to improve and develop their knowledge.
Social workers are caregivers, they provide assistance to people in need, and they address social problems. The social worker’s goal is the improvement of society to improve the lives of individuals in need. The social work professional mission is to enhance the well-being of people and to assist them in meeting their basic needs, with particular emphasis on the needs of the poor, and the vulnerable individual. The Social Work profession has six core values. These core values are the foundation of the social work profession. Social workers incorporate these core values into their daily practices. Service to others is one of the fundamental values of social work. Social workers’ goals are to serve others and to put the needs of their clients
The six core values of social work are integrity, social justice, competence, dignity and worth of the individual, service, and importance of human relationships. It is vital that a social worker shows that they have integrity, meaning that they should have trustworthy tendencies. Social workers must entice social justice. They should assure that social change is okay and be there for those who are considered oppressed. Social workers should always remain competent and be willing to expand their knowledge and use it to the best of their abilities. Having dignity and knowing the worth of the clients is very important. Social workers should always remain respectful no matter the situation. The goal of a social worker is to provide service
“The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well being and help meet the basic human needs of all people with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty.” (1)
Every worthwhile journey begins with one step. My social work journey began when I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Utah in 2003. I thought my next step would be to immediately pursue a graduate degree. In my undergraduate career I had taken numerous classes from the College of Social and Behavioral Science and had done well in those classes. In my Social Work as a Profession course I had an assignment to shadow a social worker and write a paper about my experience. I chose to shadow my father-in-law, a social worker with over 30 years of experience, and in my paper I expressed my desire to go into the social work field. I knew I liked helping people. I knew I liked problem solving and critical thinking. I thought my 22 year-old self was ready to embark on that journey, but I wasn’t. I realize now that what I lacked at graduation was one crucial step… perspective. Over the past twelve years I have gained that much needed perspective and have taken many steps forward in my journey, and with those steps and that increased perspective, I now feel more fully prepared to begin my social work career.
In this reflection essay, I will demonstrate my learning experience in this counseling session. I will talk about my strength, weakness, verbal, nonverbal expression, including improvements needed to become more efficient in the social work profession. I will also speak about a learning tool called process recording in Social work profession. This process recording was done with the help, with my fantastic Daughter Kendra Shelton as the client and my incredible husband Michael McVay as Video Recorder /producer.
The social work profession consists of the six core values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. These core values are portrayed within the roles of this profession by assessing and evaluating client’s needs, advocating for improving community resources, managing crisis situations, providing therapeutic support, and referring client’s to beneficial services. As well as, developing a dual client relationship to strengthen the helping process and treating each client ethically. Social workers are constantly progressing their professional expertise. They do this
When speaking with Cindy, the first thing I wanted to know was what she had originally wanted to do as a career and what training she had received. As I am aspiring to work within the counseling field, I always find it interesting to learn about the different ways to achieve this. Cindy expressed to me she had always known she wanted to do something within the helping profession. When she found out blood was not for her, she discovered social work. During her undergraduate training, Cindy majored in psychology and human services. After she completed this, she continued for her master’s degree in social work. After Cindy acquired all her necessary training, she began her many different career aspirations.