To successfully engage a client system the social worker must be able to establish rapport. I started off on the right foot by introducing myself in a warm and friendly manner. I smiled, leaned in towards the client and initiated a handshake. Unfortunately, I quickly wound up on the wrong foot. While I knew the client’s name, I neglected to ask the client how she would like to be addressed and I never used her name throughout the whole interview. Respect is an important component to establishing rapport and my client may have found my actions to be disrespectful. Also, I should have engaged in a brief warm-up period with some small talk but instead, I sat back in my chair and jumped right into finding out what brought her in to see me. I continued by saying, “but before we do that, I just have to set some ground rules.” I don’t like my choice of words. Ground rules are usually set to avoid potential conflict. Using this phrase may make a client feel uncomfortable. Instead, I should have engaged in some small talk and then went right to the topic of confidentiality starting with, “Before we begin, I want you to know that everything we talk about during our sessions is confidential…” A good time to ask, “What brings you here today?” would be immediately after the discussion of confidentiality. Although it was a rough start, I was pleased with the rest of the session for the most part. I used many active listening skills during our session while attending to my client’s
For this paper, I have decided to research two social work theories and how those theories apply to residents in long term care facilities. The primary focus will be those residents who are alert, oriented, and showing minimal symptoms of dementia.
In addition to this, I will be attaining feedback from my client after discussing each stage of the therapeutic process in detail to help me understand what worked well for the client and gain more insight into what I need to improve in order for my future sessions to be more successful. Before the beginning of the session, I made sure I place the chairs in an appropriate position to promote equality and decrease the power dynamic between myself and the
This section of the paper will discuss the definition of social work, values associated with social work and arguments for and against the use of systems theory in social work practice. Social work can be described as a field of study that encompasses individuals and their environment. Social work can be defined as work trained professionals do to elevate stressors of individuals so they may become more self-sufficient and empowered to live to their fullest potential.
A typical day for a social worker consists of helping those that are in need, providing appropriate resources, and empowering their clients. Before a social worker can help their clients, they will need to do an assessment. An assessment consists of learning about the individual and their everyday lives. According to Timberlake, Zajicek-Farber, and Sabatino (2008), “The client system and the social worker conduct an assessment of problems, needs, strengths, and resources; establish priorities and goals; and reach agreement about the preintervention date-collection activities necessary to provide a baseline for evaluating change” (p. 79). It is important for the social worker to collect all this information because it will provide insight on
In order to work effectively and appropriately with vulnerable and marginalised groups in society such as individuals with mental illnesses, it is fundamental for a social worker to have a comprehensive knowledge base and proficient skills.
Boxer was an extraordinary and a motivational character to the other animals in the novel by George Orwell, “Animal farm.” In this book, Boxer represented the peasants and long suffering workers. Boxer was a hard working contributor to the farm, he was very loyal to Napoleon and the other farm animals, and he was also a leader and motivation to everyone around him.
In the roughly eleven-minute interview with my client, Alex, we discussed her need for case management services. She established her concerns that she wanted to address with me, as well as her current status in education, living arrangements, social supports, along with her history in the same areas. We also began to discuss (informally) the goals that she intends to reach with help of my services and other services she may be referred to. During the process, I learned about Alex’s strength and resilience. I also learned a lot about myself as an interviewer.
As I observed the N.A. group, I compared Hepworth 's, Direct Social Work Practice, five stages of group development. The Preaffiliation stage involves observation and feeling out the environment of the group; members may be hesitant to speak or test out certain behaviors to see reactions from other members of the group or the facilitator (Hepworth, Rooney, Rooney, & Strom-Gottfried, 2017, 2013). Returning group members greeted each other with hugs, handshakes, pat on the back, while newcomers sat quietly observing others. The facilitator provided an introduction and instructions for participation. Each member was instructed to introduce the first name, state "I am an addict" and take turns reading from the
This is applied research where a knowledge development objective is the end result (Blanche & Durrheim, 1999: 41).
The Rise of the Roman Empire can be contributed to many factors. Those factors would include strength in the military, society, leadership, religious, and architectural aspects of the Roman Empire. To start with, the rapid expansion and the incredible success of the Roman Empire was largely due to the Roman army. It was first formed to defend the city of Rome, but it went on to conquer a vast empire. The early Roman army was made up of volunteers, but soldiers that joined up for 20-25 years became paid professionals. People from lands conquered by Romans were also recruited into the army ranks. The army made the people feel secure and reassured them that their children would grow up in a safe environment. The army helped to defend the land that it already had, and also to protect the newly
When working in a field of expertise the experts in that area need to know what defines that field. Social work, with its roots over a hundred years old, started out simply offering assistance to others, has grown and changed, and is currently reconnecting with its roots (Bisman, 2004). Bisman (2004) emphasizes the importance of being an advocate of justice and keeping the field focused on the “social” part of social work. This push to keep social work focused on the needs of others defines social work today. Social work focuses on providing aide to the needy and increasing awareness of those that are oppressed.
My placement is at Gateway Youth in Elmont. Gateway is a prevention program specializing in working with youth between the ages of 5-17 who are in conflict with their family, in need of academic or emotional support, or who are involved in the juvenile court system. Services provided include case management, crisis intervention, and advocacy with the schools, court, and community. As a social work intern, I am placed at Gotham Ave Elementary School working with third graders. At this school, Gateway Youth provides an after-school program for students that need supervision with their homework and inclusion in activities before their parents can pick them up.
Supervision in social work is defined by Barker (1999) as an administrative and educational process used extensively in social agencies to help social workers further develop and refine their skills, enhance staff morale, and provide quality assurance for the clients. The short term objective of supervision is to provide workers with the work structure and agency resources which help to increase workers knowledge and skills to do their jobs effectively and professionally. The long term objective of supervision is to provide clients the most efficient service possible, consistent with agency policies and procedures.
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.
The nature of the learner is the most important aspect in the planning process for distance learning. It is one of the elements of the Unit Model Topic (UMT) approach. This design process allows the instructor to consider elements such as the content, the nature of the learner, the process by which the learning will take place (methodology) and the means for assessing the learning experience (Simonson, p. 128). Dr. George Piskurich is in agreement with this point when he discusses the key elements in planning an online course is “to know exactly what the learners need to learn and to know what learners can use.” (Laureate Education, n.d.).