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.

The journey towards the attainment of the Bachelor of the social work degree has been an enlightening and educational experience, as the individual is exposed to the realities of many social and political issues in the society. As a student, I ventured into the degree, with minimal insight as to how the degree can influence and shape the way I perceive the social world, and the way I relate these matters to myself. However, throughout my endeavour, which encompasses years of theoretical studies, and two intensive placements at two drastically different organisations, I believe I have accumulated the bare minimal knowledge to possess a solid foundation about the unfairness and inequality that people in disadvantaged conditions face. Social workers are predominantly found in welfare organisations which Howe (as cited in Limber, 2015) suggested largely influences the practice, direction and values of the social worker, and impacts on their ability to act autonomously (Lymbery, 2015). During my placements, there was a dominant theme that frequently stood out and enticed my attention. This was the accepted practice of focusing on the individual’s problem, as opposed to the social problems that existed and the lack of acknowledgement about the social restrictions of the human agency that limited self-determination. The realization that organisations were managed this way was important in ensuring that I made a proactive effort to understand and untangle the reasons behind such

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.

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.

Social work is a profession that promotes social change, assisting individuals to reach their full potential by connecting them to resources to meet their basic needs and advocating for the vulnerable and those that are oppressed. (Miley, Omelia, DuBois, 2017) As a practitioner in the social work field, it is important to engage in 5 different steps such as engage with a specific population to assess challenges, connect individuals with services, advocate for the needs of your client, participate in social policy, engage and contribute to evidence-based practice. (Miley, Omelia, DuBois, 2017) In the profession of social work the core values that are stated by the National Association of Social work to consume are Service, Social justice, Dignity and worth of the persons, Importance of human relationships, integrity and competence. Subscribing to the specific core values will help with the client and practitioner relationship with the process of successfully helping our clients to reach their full potential and empower themselves to overcome their struggles. (CSWE, 2014)

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,

I have almost 18 years of full time experience as a Youth Outreach Worker I and working with at-risk high impacted gang-intentional youth in proving intervention services starting in 1998 with the City of San Jose Mayor’s Intervention Project PRIDE Programs. I provided mobile street Outreach and provided citywide gang mediation and intervention services to all the City of San Jose schools and gang impacted neighborhoods citywide. My service target was at risk gang impacted /intentional youth to try to deter them from taking part in delinquent/gang behavior and lifestyles. I also facilitated gang awareness presentations to Community groups, parent groups and service provider programs. Attended school safety meetings and receive individual referrals from law enforcement, schools, and community-based organizations.

This class/semester is halfway through, and I started to make plans to continue my education at Aurora University. I applied for the Advanced Master program of Social Work at Aurora University; I was accepted first by a notification of an email from the school. Then I attended the Master Program for Social Work orientation. I registered as a new student and received my paperwork making myself eligible to register for my classes that will be starting in January 2018. I can’t express the feeling of accomplishment and joy I felt after completing the next step in my journey.

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.

Social work as a whole incorporates several theories and practices that deal with empowering and liberating individuals to improve well-being. Using these theoretical approaches has been helpful in addressing the social systems and providing interventions that allow individuals to interact with their environment. It has been a year and a half since I have been engaged in the process of growth and change. This semester has been a great learning experience, but in every semester, I learned new ways of working with clients, how to navigate the social systems, and the impact of power structure on individuals, groups, and society. When I started the MSW program, I had a vague understanding of what social work is. Through the coursework and

Arman was able to give us an in-depth perspective on how to be a good social worker as he worked for Child Protective Services for eight years and was able to bring home fifty children. That alone is a good career, yet Arman continues to keep on helping. He is a prime example of what a good social worker is. The main lesson he pushed is to always help the child first and to never feel like the bad guy. In the Indigenous social work 377 classes, Arman stated “As social workers it is our job to put ourselves in the shoes of the person we are helping” (personal communication, Arman Kitchemonia, October 2nd, 2017). This means that we must also help the family of the child too. It will also help if we get to know the community and Elders. He also told the class that when an Elder corrects you to always take it as a lesson. We will never know everything, so we have to respect each other’s ways of doing things. The biggest lesson I learned from that presentation was that in life if you do not pray, you will not receive any blessings. Since that class I started praying and it helps a lot with easing the mind.

In the first few weeks of my practicum at the Carroll County School District, I have already experienced numerous activities that are relevant to my future social work career. One of the initial experiences was a orientation training called “SafeSchools” that Carroll County requires all employees of the district to complete in order to engage with the children (of all ages) effectively. This was a full day training that I found to be informative, yet challenging. The material given covered the following topics: suicide, bullying, cyber bullying, child abuse, emotional abuse, dating violence, school violence, drugs and alcohol, sexual harassment, and restraint/seclusion in regards to children and teens. Although the items discussed were

Social workers can have an impact in people’s lives even though their connection is brief. In some social work settings, people may contact agency or hospital intake departments and have no more than brief contacts. This is why social workers, on the front line, need to be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide effective screening and referral with the intention of a positive outcome. This was the case early in my career as a drug counseling coordinator at an addiction council. This reflection may be helpful to social work students or new practitioners. While on telephone intake, social workers need to utilize techniques to create positive outcomes.

I have always enjoyed reflections and discussions in online learning. I find that I do more reading and researching when I have to defend my opinions and stands on subjects. This can be seen in my postings. One theme I identified was the central focus I have developed, not only in this course, but throughout my journey in the Masters of Social Work program. This is the importance of self-reflection in my identity as a social worker and in my practice. My postings also illuminate my desire to further my knowledge base and have an ongoing quest for a greater understanding of the correlation between structural forces and individual agency through research and peer-reviewed sources to reinforce my opinions and stances.