Social Work Reflective Analysis

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

According to Duffy (2016), there are two different types of social work practice when it comes to working alongside a disadvantaged population. The first kind, is used more often and is called conventional social work approach, which focuses its attention on undertaking assessment and ensuring that individuals are families are received the correct support through organised services and support. On the other hand, critical social work, the less utilized approach aims to challenge the inequalities and oppression in society, by targeting the societal structure via activism and research, in order to bring forth criticism and questions on discourses attached to particular marginalised groups. The author proposes that both social work practices are important, however, critical social work should be emphasized on more frequently, especially with groups such as the ageing population as it targets the stubborn discourses (Duffy, 2016). Mattsson broadens critical social work, by relating it to critical reflection. Critical theorists have proposed critical reflection as a method to understand how social work practices can uphold oppression due to seemingly everyday actions, words and attitudes. Therefore, this can have an implication on how social workers execute their practice, as ordinary and structural features of bureaucratic hierarchies may senselessly abide social workers to uphold and reproduce social oppression, even though they might be well-intentioned. Critical reflection

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.

Reflecting on what you have learned in Generalist Social Work Practice, what have you found to be your strengths?

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

Our client is a 6-year-old female who lives with her parents, siblings, and pets in a spacious home in Lansdowne, Pa. On our initial visit, we developed a rapport with our client by asking questions about her day at school and engaging her in conversations that were meaningful and specific to her. As she gave us a tour of her home upon our request and introduced us to her siblings and pets, we were able to ask questions about her daily routine to both further develop a rapport while also learning valuable information about her environment. We were also able to observe her occupational performance in a variety of tasks within her home. Her mother was an integral part of our experience as well and we were able to develop a rapport with her on the first visit through informal conversation. In addition to providing background information on her daughter, she asked us about ourselves and vice versa, and we were able to find common areas where we could allowed us to ask a lot of follow up questions to gain a deeper understanding of our client and her occupations.

I asked five people, “What is Social Work?” All of the responses I received agreed that social workers helped those who were in need in the community. Although all of the responses were similar, people differed in regard to who they thought social workers helped. My friend Stephanie replied, “Social workers give guidance and or assistance to those on welfare or Medicaid.” My husband thinks these professionals are associated with those in mental hospitals or who are chemically dependent. The other three participants answered similarly and added that social workers were employed by the government and used federal aid to take care of those who needed it most. In addition, all the participant’s non-verbal communication was varied. Some of the

My internship was at Mindful Soul Center for Wellbeing. The setting I worked in was extremely inviting and the entire staff was wonderful. When I started at Mindful Soul I signed a confidentiality form and was introduced to some of the staff. I was given videos and literature that were important to the staff at Mindful Soul, and that embodied the attitude at the private practice. I watched Brené Brown’s TED talks on vulnerability, as well as talks about Infidelity and childhood trauma. When learning about childhood trauma I was also introduced to Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) scores and saw how Mindful Soul personally uses them when assessing clients.

I was allocated my first Social work placement working in a hostel alongside my manager who provided me with support at all times and she also gave me supervision. The Housing agency works alongside vulnerable Young People age range 16-25 who are at risk of homelessness. There overall aim is to Make inable young people included in society rather than excluded. I was case managing four young people. In (appendix 2) Readiness for Direct Practice Feedback it states that my three areas of strength were “Warm open approach, Active listening, good use of open questions and Strength of summarising and leading on to next steps (leaving written information) (Helen Crawley, 2016). These were my strengths at the beginning of starting my placement and

Being the social worker and listening to Rachelle story was a much better experience than my first one because I felt more confident in myself. I have a full understanding of the importance of listening and exploring the issue further. As the listener, I did not find myself getting distracted at all when Rachelle was telling her story because her story intrigues me. Her story intrigues me because I wanted to know more. I wanted to dig deeper into how her experiences help her cope with real life. I was fully present, sitting up straight, leading in, and making eye contact with her. I listened to all the pain, and confusion she endured as a child and even growing up into adulthood. Her story brought me sadness, but it also brought me joy because

“Members of the general public are often confused about the profession. Many people simply do not understand exactly what the mission of this diverse profession really is. This confusion is deepened when social work professionals themselves define what they do on the basis of their scope of practice.” (Colby and Dziegielewski 8) I conducted a small survey throughout Barry University among a few of the students. I asked them three specific question. (1) What are social workers? (2) What do social workers do? (3) How much money do you think a social worker

I’ve almost completed a full semester at my internship. There is so much I have learned and many tasks that I feel I’m beginning to feel comfortable with. There is also so much that I have yet to learn and hope to become competent in during the next semester. I’m feeling comfortable administering cognitive/mood assessments, charting notes, understanding the company’s policies and model, and gathering social history information. These tasks are small parts of the larger picture. I think I’ve been learning these so that I put together the small parts so that I will understand the big picture next semester. Social workers in my practice sector have so many responsibilities and must be so organized. There may only be a few social workers to the ratio of residents, but everyone, including staff relies on them so heavily.

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.

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

I was faced with a similar question in a previous class, and it was really hard to come up with an answer. Based on personal experiences traveling around the world and learning, and experiencing multiple cultures, it has given me a different outlook on American. These experiences have taught me put myself in another’s shoes, and try to see life through their lens. One’s personal beliefs, values, and actions aren’t a barrier to my ability to perform tasks, or services. I believe that humans are what they are, and that everyone is unique in the way that they think, feel, and want to live their lives. When asking myself, “What bothered me the most about the book?” it allowed me to realize a personal bias that I have. I believe that the worst thing that a human can do is to harm a child. Throughout the book you hear stories of neglect, suffering and trauma. These children are living in unimaginable environments that most people can’t even fathom. Drugs, murder, hunger, and poverty all have very negative effects on development.