Reflection On Social Work

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 point view toward social workers before I started this class was that they were like superheroes. I think of social worker as superheroes because they fight for social injustice and they look for someone else well being .Everyone at one point in their life it gonna need a social worker. For example if your having problems at school you 're gonna get to see the school counselor. There are eight different types of social workers so whatever problems you might be having try to get a hold one of these superheroes.

Setting a boundary is an important core value in the field of social work. According to the Social Work Code of Ethics, “social workers should provide and represent themselves as competent only within the boundaries of their education, training, license, certification, consultation received, supervised experience, or other relevant professional experience” (Code of Ethics of the NASW). Professional helpers are generally compassionate people, but they also need to recognize the value of setting limits. This was the case when I worked as an adjunct instructor, which included providing individual tutoring. Sara Towns (name changed), a student and distant cousin, evoked the possible clouding of boundaries. For new social workers, this kind of reflection may be helpful as they define their roles. Through a series of professional and personal experiences with Sara, I learned that boundaries must be maintained to foster a positive relationship and prevent potential conflicts.

PER REPORTER: Kathy said one of her students by the name of (Shadavious) went to visit her father (David Lee) this weekend when she was told some disturbing information. According to Shandavious, there are four children living in the home with David Lee and one of them by the name of Staciera told her that David Lee makes her do things they should not be doing. Shandavious said Staciera told her David Lee threatened to taker her phone and tell her mother on her if she did not do what he told her to do. She also told her that at night David Lee comes and gets in the bed with her and makes her do unknown things to him. Shandavious said one of the other children (Kishona) living in the home told her that she sleeps on the top bump bed above Staciera,

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’ve always had good feelings toward Child Protective Services. I believe they are for the good and the good only. Coming into the social work class I was excited and very eager to learn. I truly wanted to know what social workers have to put up with day to day. I believe it takes a very passionate and motivated person to work with these children. So I was ready to meet the social workers that I would be shadowing. I wanted to know how they plan there day out and how they view each case. Social work is a very important job in my eyes but I also know it is a very busy one. I say this because my mom has to get off of work just to come home and work. Like early childhood teachers I don’t believe social workers gets enough credit as they should.

Growing up, I couldn’t imagine myself studying social work. Never pictured myself ever trying to work for Child Welfare especially. I didn’t like what social workers represented and I also didn’t like how they made my siblings and I feel. After many years later I am about to graduate with my bachelors in Social work and applying to the Calswec program. Studying social work here at Humboldt state really gave me a different perspective and a positive one too.

People always ask you the same question when they find out that you want to pursue becoming a social worker and it is often accompanied with an elaborate, somewhat frightened facial expression – “why?” But like most other passions, it is not an idea that randomly registers as you are examining eggs on aisle 14 at your local grocery store or appears as some sort of revolutionary epiphany. As a child, we hear young minds express their interest in becoming fire fighters, police officers, or even doctors but it is rare to hear a child exhale his or her curiosity about social work. Deciding to embark on the path to a profession that requires an individual to face real-world experiences that often lead to poor mental health, rare human behaviors,

I have always wanted to be a Social Worker because helping others has always been a calling of mine. Helping and doing for others especially those in need has brought me great joy. My work experience as Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) and a Residential Counselor for persons with intellectual disabilities has confirmed my desire to become a social worker. While in the social service field, I have learned to get rid of all biases which have made me value and understand others differences. I am ready to become a social worker because I understand that social work is an emotionally demanding career that expects a lot from the social worker, but the reward of the career is priceless. I have learned patience, compassion and the importance of being a team player. I

For me, social work is much more than helping people. It is more than being the middle person between the client and the agency; it is being a game changer in every aspect (community, families, oneself). When I think of social work, I think about being and impact into someone’s life in the most positive way possible. Growing up, I learned what it means to serve whole-heartedly at a young age; therefore, serving other is all I know how to do. For this reason, I have chosen to pursue a career that will give me the opportunity to serve and be a blessing into someone’s life.

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.

Boundaries are an important core value in social work. Social workers are generally compassionate people, but they also need to recognize that they have to set limits. They need to accept that they cannot be available to serve everyone’s needs and wants. This was the case when I worked as an adjunct instructor. One of my students took a couple of individual tutorial classes from me. She was a conscientious student, excelling in her school work and at times she would contact me about her academic and career goals. Over the course of her studies, we found out that we had mutual cousins and would share some our family experiences growing up. We called each other “cousin.” However, she had little contact with her nine siblings, which struck me as rather odd. As a social worker, she provided me an experience that was unique, and I learned some lessons from it.