Social Work Capstone Reflection

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

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

This capstone course has helped me to tie together all the classes I have taken thus far in the program as well as helped me to identify what skills and knowledge I need to continue working on. The capstone presentation, as well as class, helped me to practice strength-based language and be conscious of how I describe my client’s when presenting. It can be a habit to use negative language to describe a problem-saturated story and unintentionally describe a patient’s story in a way that comes off as stigmatizing. This class helped me become conscious and tactful of how I word sensitive circumstances. It was a great experience to present my patient’s case to the class and practice being thoughtful on how I portrayed my patient’s presenting

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.

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.

I am applying for the School of Social Work Graduate program at Boise State, beginning in the summer of 2017. In the spring of 2017, I will graduate from Warner Pacific College in Portland Oregon with my BSSW and a minor in sociology

When the therapist checked in regards the client's symptoms and behaviors during the last week, the client reported that she felt happy because she is almost done with her assignments and homework for this year as well as her grades are As, Bs, and has one C- which she is happy that she achieved comparing to last year. Client reported that she is excited that she is going to Six Flags as a prize for the school party that she helped her colleagues and teacher to get it done. The client reported that she feels proud as she finished most of her assignments and projects for this semester as well as most of her tests as she has a goal to get straights As for this semester and she does not feel tired and overwhelmed anymore. When the therapist asked the client about her plans during the summer, the client reported that she will be in the summer program at school to finish as much as she can during the summer to be able to graduate next year, the client added that she is motivated to achieve more progress to build her future career, the client also mentioned that she will go to Florida on a trip with her grandfather because of the 18th birthday present.

As a Social Work student in VCU’s Masters in Social Work program, I have found that there is a similar friction between wisdom derived from experience and data produced by controlled research. I have noticed this tension in some classes more than others. For example, in my first research class I notice less friction concerning the two very important aspects of social work practice. My first research professor came from a social work background and therefore, understood the importance of both wisdom derived from experience and data produced by controlled research. However, my second research professor seemed to have more of a background in statistics and an interest in meta-analysis. Therefore, this incongruence between the two components of social work practice became more apparent to me. In regards to my practice classes, I have had a practice teacher who taught by emphasizing wisdom derived from experience. She taught using case studies and provided “what would I do” answers to questions rather than “why did I

Earlier this year I heard that there might be an opening at the High School Media Center this Fall and was very happy to see that that is the case. I am very interested in the Assistant's position and am hopeful that you will call me for an interview.

I have been productive. My first couple of weeks during my intern, my supervisor gave me a list of social work duties and I have been following that list. In the morning, I check on my clients that are on my case load and I read the dorm log to be aware of what happened during the hours I was not present. Those are only a few things on the list. I think it is important to put my best foot forward not only for the intern but for the people I am serving.

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.

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, and 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 group work and group process, working as a team, 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.

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.