Reflection Paper On Social Work

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

Life experiences have shaped into wanting to help those who considered less fortunate and are oppressed by systematic rules and regulations. My personal philosophy of helping is that if individuals and groups in society are provided with the equal opportunities then everyone can become a productive member of society. If the necessary resources are provided to oppressed groups in society, then the result will be that individuals in those groups will work hard to become an effective citizen of society. It is my belief that everyone wants to be successful in life and with a little motivation and support from others they would have the ability to achieve certain goals. Equal Rights and Social Justice are concepts that I stand by and plan to

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.

Cornerstone Youth Center is where I am currently placed for my DFS, and it is an after-school drop-in center that caters to grade 6 to 9. Most of my clients are a mixture of at-risk and non-risk youth from the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, refugees and youth that have mental illnesses. On a daily basis, we served approximately 20-30 youth during programs; however, upon the completion of the program, this where I interact with my clients by implementing a less formal one-on-one with the youth. During my one-on-one interaction with my client, I continue to build rapport by asking what positive or negative situations occurred in their day; what they enjoyed at school or what they needed help with. Although many of my clients face difficulties in their life, my agency also emphasizes on the positive outcomes to promote balance.

Upon graduation from the University at Buffalo, there were several pictures painted in my mind about how hands on Social Work was carried out in the “real” world. Several family members warned me about high burnout and nearly discouraged the challenging journey I had worked so hard to begin. Fast forward several years and there has not been a more rewarding yet challenging experience in my life as waking up and going to work with those who sometimes are unable to help themselves or are in crisis. My experience in Social Work has been some of the most rewarding (and challenging) times in my life, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

This week in the field was productive. The tasks completed this week were some tasks I have completed throughout the semester interning at the Department of Social Services (DSS). Throughout this week I had the opportunity to complete more home visits outside of the clients I am familiar with on my supervisor’s caseload. This is that I was able to complete a home visit with one of her coworkers to experience working with different populations the agency works with. During the home visit with my supervisor’s coworker, she and I sat with the client to discuss information pertaining to her court orders. With the client’s children being classified as medically fragile, the client has been ordered by the court to report for parenting classes and

1). In the face of social justice issues, I show up not only as the activist social worker but as an ally to those who face such injustices. I show up ready to support those who need to be heard and held up so that their voices may be heard. I show up ready to echo the needs of the oppressed and marginalized. While I too feel excluded from various communities and often feel that I have little privilege to support those in need, I utilize what privileges I do have such as social position, and gender. In representing the issues of social justice in my professional life I turn to these privileges and seek the support of other allies with greater privilege and knowledge to enhance our strengths and efforts, while supporting and echoing the needs of the oppressed and marginalized. I attempt to educate others on the topics of

Lying on a school assignment is something I’ve never done until now. My thought process that lead me to lie on my field exercise assignment was the pressure of being a student who complete all work assignment on time and the pressure of dealing with family issues at the time when finals were approaching. I didn’t think about the outcome of my actions I just wanted to finish my work and be done with class work, so I could focus on my finals. When I received my paper back from Dr. Nsonwu I thought I was in the clear; when I flipped to the back page to see what grade I was given my heart sank when I saw a note that read “please see me”. Walking down to Dr. Nsonwu’s office my heart was racing and I feared the worst.

Social workers are those who care about those in their community, who want to make things better, help those suffering and who want to be great impact in the world. Those who do such things are counselors, community managers, probation officers and etc. whom help those in our society in need. Social workers are found in hospitals, schools, military offices, in community offices and other more locations. While helping society become healthier, social workers are always on the go: either having to go somewhere or to someone who needs guidance to a better life.

When working with women of color, as social workers, we have to be able to understand where they are coming from to help them. We will never fully comprehend what or where they come from, of the struggles they face on a daily basis. For me, a middle-aged white male, I most definitely will not be in a position to recognize those strains they face in their lives.

Throughout my progression through the social work curriculum, I have become interested in working in two different settings, hospitals or schools. I decided to pursue a service learning opportunity that would allow me to work with a population in one of these settings. Dream Outside the Box gives me this opportunity. Dream Outside the Box is an organization founded on the premise of going into “dream deserts”, schools where students are not likely to pursue higher education, to teach them about future careers in the hopes of sparking a desire to attend a four-year college or a technical college. Every Friday my role at Bells Hill Elementary School is to teach these students about different potential careers that they could pursue such as physics, chemistry, etc. This is an important program that I will continue to work with even after this assignment is completed.

If you are looking for an exciting and meaningful career working with people, social work could be the career for you. Social workers are people who care about people and who work to make things better in their environment. Social work as a profession is about helping people find solutions that enable them to function as best they can in the environment in which they live.

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.

The present in an Individual assessment interview. My group and I decided to do our SWOT assessment, focusing on the Social Work Program (SWK) at St. Augustine College (SAC). I had the opportunity to interview RC, she graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work (BSW) from St. Augustine College. RC is a Care Coordinator, she’s currently working with the elderly population at Catholic Charities, she has been working with this agency per a year now. I decided to interview RC, because she was the only alumni who responded to my emails and was willing to meet with me during her lunch time. RC and I met at a Diner closer to her work, she requested to meet there to make it back in time to her job. The interview process lasted about thirty minutes.

A helping profession is one that nurtures the growth of or addresses the problems of a person's physical, psychological, intellectual, emotional or spiritual well-being.