Reflection On Social Work

In my future social work career, it is imperative to be cognizant of my personal experiences and preconceptions regarding mental illness. As I participant in evaluation and diagnosis of mental illness, I will utilize a blank slate mentality. I will strive to prevent previous clients’ behavior, the individual’s current diagnoses, and personal judgments to cloud my diagnosis or interactions.

I spent endless hours studying psychology books and learning about biochemistry. I discovered that the makeup of an individual was a result of a complex combination of one’s social environment and the composition of one’s brain. All of this self-taught knowledge now only distracted me from the disastrous circumstances around me gave me a clear picture of where my place was in the world; to pursue a career in Mental Health. As unfortunate as the circumstances were, this was the time in my life where I had the opportunity to communicate with families of ailing loved ones and the patients themselves. My passion for interacting and understanding stemmed from my early childhood exposures to people in these types of settings. Instead of isolating myself from the world, these observations didn’t diminish my dream of being a Mental Health Counselor but strengthened it. I instantly gravitated towards listening to other people 's problems and offered suggestions on how to deal. More importantly, I discovered the immense feeling of satisfaction garnered when I was able to support others in need. Considering the positive feedback I received, I was certain that being a Therapist of some kind was what I am suited to do with my life and that it is my calling. Whether it is close friends, family, or just peers, I am constantly willing to lend an ear, now and then. Even if I did not feel adequate proposing

I am a mental health counselor working towards licensure in the state of Washington. I have a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Antioch University Seattle. In my current counseling practice, I work with individual adults (over 18). I take a humanistic approach to therapy; in our sessions together, we will focus on the here-and-now of your experience, while also exploring your past and social context to the extent they are relevant to your present concerns. Our first meeting will be a time for you to tell your story; then, together, we will assess your concerns and issues, and decide on the goals toward which you would like to move (Hilton, 2016). As we continue through the therapy process, we

Growing up I witnessed my sister and grandmother deal with serious mental illness. My sister and grandmother both were diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It has always been my passion to help them manages their episodes. Growing up witnessing these episodes I always knew that I wanted to help those who are struggling to cope with mental health issues. Social work is not just a passion of mine, but a solution to the struggles many people face every day. I learned my “caring and compassion” for others, from my mother. My early experiences were a driving force for me pursuing my master’s in social work. As a child, my mother took in adults, children, and families within our neighborhood and afar to aid them in difficult times. Whether it was for a meal, a night, or longer, she has spent her life caring for others. The passion my mother possessed for helping others has become my

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.

I had an honor to interview Donna Portnoy, who is in her early 30’s. She fluently speaks both English and Russian. She attended Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York from 2011-2013. She achieved her Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling in 2013. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies/Political Science at Hofstra University 2002-2005. She is in the process of achieving her license, after completion of 3000 hours. She currently works at Independent Living as a Mental Health Counselor with individuals that are functioning within various ranges of Intellectual Disorder. Majority of her clients are diagnosed with a Psychiatric Disorder and needs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Psychotherapy. She works

Psychology is the study of mind and behavior, and it embraces all of the different aspects of the conscious and unconscious experiences as well as thoughts. I didn’t personal know anyone that worked in the Mental Health profession. I decided that I would do a quick google search to see the list of Mental Health professionals in my area. I was surprised to find that there are a lot of Mental Health professionals in my local area. I scrolled through the different people in my area on a website called Psychology Today. Out of the many different people, Dr. Paul Leslie stood out to me. So I got some his information and phone number from the website and gave him a call. He picked up and I told him that I was giving him a call to ask him some questions

As a DSP, I supported complex range of people, from those with mental health diagnoses like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, to those who needed additional assistance due to greater cognitive needs. Working in this area meant that

While there are many facets of Social Work I have yet to explore, the ability to be flexible in working in this field has allowed me the insight to higher education. With higher education comes greater responsibility while simultaneously allowing for greater opportunities to help others beginning in the field learn the same lessons learned early in my career, whether it be with adolescents in a school setting or those who have been recently diagnosed with HIV in a health clinic. There is a different level of flexibility that comes with being a Social Worker, and I’d like to ultimately share that with not only coworkers, but one day my team of workers and even greater the leaders and organizations that dictate our practice. Additional graduate level education and experience will allow me to advance my abilities to help those in need as well as help those working alongside me.

Shortly after meeting with her, I was diagnosed with severe depression and trauma. At that point, it was surprisingly easy for me to accept that I was affected by a mental health disease, most likely because I had exhausted every other possibility out there and finally succumbed to the fact that, yes, even I was susceptible to mental illness. And once I overcame that mental block, the path to better days became clearer. I embarked on a journey of healing and clung to Alice’s words and advice like a palm tree clings to the earth during a storm. Our weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) meetings in her office became - and will continue to remain - a safe space. It is a place where I feel no judgement. I do not recall ever hesitating to share any of my deepest thoughts with my therapist; the confidence I have in Alice has been one of the greatest factors in allowing me to successfully address my depression and trauma. I’ve learned that being honest with others is important, but being honest to yourself is paramount. Alice gave me the courage to be open with my family - something I was unable to do previously. During one of our earlier meetings, Alice and I rehearsed ways to effectively communicate with my mother and develop a stronger relationship based on honesty and trust. Through Alice, I was able to nurture a relationship of understanding

Overall, this issue revolves around someone’s comfort in seeking help from the services present. Another way this can be done, and the staff at Cornell have been making strides in this area, is being present in the communities that they serve, and making the physical spaces the services are in more welcoming by holding events in the offices or attending events held by student organizations not necessarily related to mental

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.