It is typical of me to preface my reflective assignments with my social location so you, the reader, may better understand my perspective before I begin with the details of the assignment. I do not plan to reflect on aspects of my social location until I analyze my values, deriving from aspects of my upbringing. I was born, and raised, in Saskatoon Saskatchewan Treaty Six, in the early era of 1990’s. In my infancy there were Residential Schools still active and the Sixties Scoop was still in effect (Niessen, 2017, p. 42). I am from a Ukrainian ancestry, my status was middle-class, and I was from a nuclear family with very loving and supportive parents. The values instilled in me by my upbringing has influenced my current job as a Youth Care Worker (YCW) for a residential program for youth in Saskatoon. My responsibilities of this job are to support youth in their holistic health, and most importantly, maintain their safety. The individuals I work with have had traumatic upbringings and are vulnerable to be re-traumatized with “high-risk” behaviours. High-risk behaviours will be defined in this piece as being drug use, gang affiliation, running, sexual abuse, suicide ideation, and suicidal behaviours. I work with six girls who I perceive as suffering from generational trauma. Like me, these girls are influenced by colonialism, and could be confused about their identity. They will often run from the safety of the …show more content…
I believe each person has the ability to obtain self-actualization and be successful in a purpose for life. Furthermore, I find the CASW Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Ethical Practice seems to support my personal values. I am not condemning individuals who take their own lives, mental illness is not a persons fault, and blame is unnecessary. However, I want to encourage purpose to life, an alternative to
To begin with Anna Leah King’s presentation to the class on her personal experience of her parents attending residential schools makes it feel very real. As we go through school as aspiring educators we learn a lot about the residential schools, truth and reconciliation, etc, because we need to be aware of Canada’s past and need to be able to lead the future as we are the ones transferring information into young minds. Now Anna’s story I found was very strong and truthful as she gave two different experiences in these schools. She said her father was older and bigger when he attended the school so things like physical abuse did not affect him as he just worked on carpentry the whole time. Where as her mother’s experience was very different because her
As a support worker, it is necessary that organisation would need to have a foundational understanding of how to identify trauma associated responses. Similarly, there needs to be understanding when initiating treatment interventions for trauma-related symptoms, it is aimed to be conducive and empowering to the individual (Trauma-Informed Care: A Sociocultural Perspective, 2014). Also, all support workers should be skilled in identifying the symptoms of trauma, as well as not disregarding the probability of substance abuse and co-occurring disorders (Trauma-Informed Care: A Sociocultural Perspective, 2014). Hence, when creating an individual treatment plan, all likelihoods of self-medicating and individualised coping mechanisms should be reflected
My social location a 43-year-old Latino man, born and raised in a Pentecostal family in Puerto Rico (United States of America Territory or kind of Colony). The first and oldest child of Puertorrican mother and immigrant catholic Mexican father. Even though I am the "second” of 6 children of my father and a younger sister from my mother side. In between of this complexity and my Christian leaders’ family, my opinion on family decisions is important, my advice in different matters and I am valued for the oldest I am. My social position as middle class defines my life as a Spanish-Latino educated and experienced in United States. Although as Puertorrican with a B.A. in Administration, I grew-up thinking as American but when I came to U.S.A in 2006 to live, here I realized Latino in
Incidents like abuse from family members, bullying, neglect, and sexual abuse are the most common. Repeated abuse can lead to psychological damage and emotional scarring. Not only are traumatic psychological experiences causing these juveniles to commit violent crimes. Situations, where children have poor education, a household without discipline, peer pressure, inadequate role models, low income, and substance abuse coupled with the wrong environment, can lead to a life of crime. These negative influences guide these juveniles on the wrong path towards crime. However, it does not mean these juveniles cannot succeed; it is however up to the juvenile to make the correct choices in their
The way in which my social location can impact my relationship with Asif is my gender and perceived age. In the case study, Asif stated that he feels shy and uncomfortable speaking to women his age. If he is feeling uncomfortable, that could hinder the communication process while counseling (Walsh, 2013). The fact that I am both a woman and close to his age could magnify the feelings that he has expressed. Even though I am twenty-five years old, I do appear much younger than my age. When counseling with Asif, he may experience difficulty communicating with me because I look to be close to his age. Asif has strong emotional reactions, and it may be difficult to get him to see how his thoughts are the root of the fear that he is experiencing.
The social issue that I would like to address as a social worker is the epidemic of indigenous youth suicide in Canada. On the macro level, I believe this issue can be understood through two fundamental components: the residual effects of colonization trauma passed through generations and the effects of current colonial-based, neo-liberal institutional actions on indigenous youth.
Paige and Alex are recent cases of two Indigenous youth dying while in care. Paige was an Aboriginal girl who was treated with professional indifference and in return led to her death (Representative of Children and Youth (RYC), 2015). “Paige’s story reveals the massive gap between our understanding of the effects of trauma and the systems at the front line” (RYC, 2015, p.9). The CFCSA was not used by professionals in this case, where social workers and MCFD mishandled her file and failed to adequately assess risk to her as a young child. This can also be seen in the case of Alex, where another Aboriginal child in care lost his life. The constant “effects of early and continual trauma in Alex’s life due to abuse, instability, and constantly
Additionally, my parent’s substantial economic and social capital was a great asset in my career path of finding a better education outside of my community. Professor Abrego explains that one’s social location shapes an individual’s identity and how one experiences how the world treats them (Abrego, Lecture 01/06/16). In my case, there were not as many resources that my social location offered, for this reason, my mother was determined to find another high school for me to attend, away from South Central. To emphasize, my local high school carried a bad reputation of teen pregnancy, gang violence, and lacked many resources, therefore, due to my mother’s strong social capital she managed to obtain a fake address in order for me to attend a better
America has a staggering problem among its youths and is in desperate need of help. Every day, young, innocent children are being abused. Unfortunately, this rate only seems to be growing as the foster care system is becoming flooded with children who need help. According to the website, Foster Club, a child is entered into the foster care system every two minutes. The reasoning for a child being placed in foster care can range, but mostly it is because of abuse. These traumatizing experiences and memories can hinder a person for the rest of their life. These kids find themselves in a terrible situation and learn ways to cope with the pain. It can be easy to judge their behaviors but for somebody with a normal life we can never understand the trials that they have had to live through. Fortunately, the psychological damage that is done can be reversed but in order to understand this fully we first need to know the negative psychological affects abuse can have on a person.
By learning about what happened during the time of the residential school system, Canadians can prevent further injustice to be done towards people of different ethnicities. An example of this is when the last residential school was closed in 1996. This event shows how Canadians were able to realize the negative effects of the residential school system, and correct the mistake. Moreover, learning about the residential school system also helps Canadians of different ethnicity coexist in this multicultural country. Through hearing the thoughts of the Aboriginal people and understanding how they were mistreated, Canadians gain sympathy towards them and become more open minded to the lives of people of different ethnicity.
Many people come to social workers with a victim mentality, feeling helpless and without a future based on their past. They have been discouraged, beat down and made to feel broken. Being a victim of abuse, trauma, toxic relationships or a victim of assault are all unfortunate circumstances, but they can be overcome. It may seem like a challenge, but it is possible with assistance and God. As social workers we are to provide client’s who have experienced repeated trauma with support and resources to assist them in their journey to a hopeful life. Painful experiences seem to get the best of us at times, but focusing on the client’s ability to survive these horrific events can give the client just the push they need to see that they are a survivor. Helping the client to realize their own strengths and skills used to overcome their trauma, instead of focusing on the trauma itself, is a powerful way to help clients achieve a positive outcome. Kisthardt (1992) states “intervention will work best when there is “an orientation to, and appreciation of, the uniqueness, skills, interests, hopes, and desires of each consumer, rather than a categorical litany of deficits” (p. 60-61). Kaplan and Girard (1994) state “people will be motivated to change and grow when their strengths are
An estimated 9.2 million to 15.8 million children are considered "at-risk" in this country encompassing all ages from 13 to 19 years old. These youth are at-risk because they are at a crossroad: one leads to successful transition to adulthood, the other to dependency and negative long-term consequences. Youth typically considered or identified as at-risk are more likely to become pregnant, use drugs and/or alcohol, drop out of school, be unemployed, engage in violence and face an increased likelihood of a host of mental health problems, which in turn places them at high risk for entering the juvenile and criminal justice system.
Born in California and raised in the deep south, I grew up in two conflicting societies. The cultural geography of both areas differs on a magnitude of levels and complicated my development into the cultures around me, however in retrospect influenced me to be a multidimensional and considerate person. At a young age my parents introduced me to progressive values. During the developmental toddler stages, I immersed myself in two different cultures: what I experienced at school and what I experienced at home. Charleston, South Carolina embodies small-town society though the Greater Charleston Area expands rapidly each year, pulling migrants, including my family, to the growing city. The overwhelmingly conservative views of Traditional Charleston
The argument by those who are against using the term suicide believe that in contrast to those patients with impaired judgment, patients who are terminally ill and request medication under the act possess the ability to make a reasonable, autonomous decision to terminate their lives (Chin, Hedberg, Higginson, & Fleming, 1999). Therefore a person’s mental capacity or judgment has not been affected and they are deemed suitable to make this decision (Chin, Hedberg, Higginson, & Fleming, 1999). Proving that a person is capable of making this decision on their own without any outside help is most critical part of this whole entire process (Chin, Hedberg, Higginson, & Fleming, 1999). .
Often victims of child abuse suffer from posttraumatic disorder, which according to Mayo Clinic a nonprofit medical practice and medical research group posttraumatic disorder is defined as “A mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event either experiencing or witnessing (Mayo clinic staff 2014). Victims who deal with psychological disorder not always commit violent crimes but instead victims tend to depend on drugs, alcohol to try to live their lives day by day, as time goes on these individuals tend to be classified as drug addicts or alcoholics. The fact that individuals depend on alcohol and drugs can lead them to ended up living in the streets and becoming what we know as the “homeless” often these individuals the lack of resources to buy drugs or alcohol lead them to commit property crimes and lead them to be processed into the criminal justice system as offenders. According to Exploring the Role of Child Abuse in Later Drug Abuse “As many as two-thirds of all people in treatment for drug abuse report that they were physically, sexually, or emotionally abuse, and witnessing or being threatened with violence or other abuse”. (Neil Swan 1998). As has been noted individuals who abuse substances and alcohol are not regular people