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

In this essay I will discuss what learning from K216 materials has been useful to me whilst working with vulnerable and/or disadvantaged service users in my student placement, and what learning I have applied to my practice. Throughout I will look at how my learning informed what I decided to do, how I went about doing this and my understanding of the practice. I will discuss learning in respect of two areas of social work, which are ‘Communication’ and ‘Working collaboratively’. For ‘Communication’ I will focus on communication with service users with disabilities and/ or additional needs and I will explore a case of a mother who I had a telephone call with who was in crisis and in a highly emotional state. With ‘Working collaboratively’,

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.

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

When an individual reaches the point where they believe they have found all the answers, they have stunted the ability to grow personally and professionally. There never ceases to be opportunity for reflection, constructive feedback, and areas of improvement in an individual’s life, especially when it comes to professional development. An important piece to this idea is knowing when and how to identify these needed skills, understanding how their development will align with accepted professional standards, and developing an action plan to attain identified skills.

The goals for this counseling session involve establishing a worker-client relationship and beginning the assessment process. Walborn (1996) reports that a vital early step in the engagement process involves familiarizing the client with what to expect from therapy. Sommers-Flanagan and Sommers-Flanagan (2007) upholds the position that counseling does not work with teenagers, because it is often not offered to them. Counselors often attempt to mold them into miniature adults and implement techniques that work well with adults and not children.

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

This internship has been a significant experience for me so far during my education journey; to progress and develop skills to become a dedicated professional social worker. Learning the theory of social work and its application in the real world; combining classroom work, with actual cases. I have a better understanding of how to apply the theoretical and practical skills I learned. Gaining this experience of working in private practice, gives me an opportunity to understand the mechanisms of a mental health office environment. By expanding my theoretical knowledge to work in other fields of social work practicum.

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.

I graduated from college with a degree in philosophy and psychology with no idea where I was headed in life. I moved back home and found a job working at Mendota Mental Health Institute (MMHI). After almost two years I was beginning to feel stagnant and restless. I believed that there was more I could be doing with my life. Despite my pessimistic outlook on life, I truly believed (still do) that I could accomplish something meaningful that would leave a lasting impact on another life. The driving force behind this desire for change was the idea of one day being a therapist, but I was unsure how to accomplish this goal.

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.

At the beginning of the term, I signed up to work with Nova Vita as part of my Community Service Learning project (CSL). Throughout this paper, I will talk about the agency I worked with, the history, the mandate, the project date, hours worked, the project scope, the population I worked with, and my role with Nova Vita and with completing the shoe box project. The social justice addressed by Nova Vita, Nova Vita’s response to the CSL, and course concepts that apply to working with Nova Vita. My expectations when working with Nova Vita, what I anticipated might happen when going to Nova Vita and what happened when I went to Nova Vita. The team process of the group, any conflicts and what I learned from those conflicts and teamwork. The CSL increasing my awareness of my own social location, values, biases, assumptions, privileges and oppression. The benefits and the limitations of the CSL project. Finally, the lessons I learned from the CSL project to apply to my BSW placement next year, and how the CSL has shaped my thoughts, ideas, and feelings about my future activism, teamwork, and social work practice.

The course, Developing the Professional, has assisted me immensely in developing cognitive, analytical, communication skills. Earlier self-assessment showed great contrast to present ideology. Progressive and sequential professional and personal assessment allowed for gradual deviation from cemented traits and practices. Previous academic pieces showed where I identified mostly with the “square” shape, my level of emotional intelligence ranked below mastery in areas of social awareness, self-management, and relationship management, and the need to master the respectable and ethical mind. The assigned group work tested the knowledge acquired from these assessments. Thereon, I was able to redefine personal ideals to adapt to the needs of a group

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.