The Importance Of A Social Work Field

This piece of writing is going to demonstrate an understanding of diversity, difference and also discuss the implications for social work practice. It will include an understanding of theories and concepts in relation to diversity where it will address the needs of diverse communities, individuals and groups, exploring differences in relation to culture, ethnicity, gender, age, sexuality, social class and economic wellbeing. It will also demonstrate an understanding of principle of working in an anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory way.

In this paper, I will be discussing of an organization that caters social services and contributes to the social work field. In addition, I will go in details where the organization is financed from and what is the mission of the organization. Moreover, I will discuss of the structure that the organizations conduct to accomplished their missions and explain the organization 's different services provided under their organizations umbrella. Furthermore, I will discuss of the organization accountability to their services, overall impact, and the power in organization. Lastly, I will explanatory the workers role in the organizations and discuss of my overall experience referring to my future social work profession.

I began college in 2014 at the age of 58 years-old. I want to change my line of work and do something that is far more interesting to me, working within the social services field. I am sure the fact that I was brought up by two extremely dysfunctional parents and the engaged in relationships that were of that same caliber, has much to do with why I believe I have something of positive significance to offer today. In short, I married at 19 years-old and had 5 children. I married an alcoholic and abuser of all forms and although I knew he drank and was abusive, I did not understand what I was dealing with back then in 1975; I did not understand abuse then as I do today. I grew up in it; I was very accustomed to it, it was normal to me. Ten

Hello Wendy, in response to your question, the area of social work I can envision myself pursing will be in area of child welfare. This is because of my love for children and I believe that all children have the right to stable homes where they can be well care for and their safety from abuse and neglect is guarantee. I believe children’s welfare should be a priority for both governments and communities in which they live.

I interviewed Kim, a LICSW working in private practice in Providence along with her two brothers. She takes on a person-centered approach to her therapy and is very focused on helping her clients achieve their goals, whether it be overcoming grief or dealing with a large adjustment in their lives. Kim certainly appears to be running a very successful practice and by being able to speak to her directly, I learned much more about the social work field.

In the profession of social work, a worker comes to realization that there are many areas of human rights and legal concerns that are troubling and painful for the people in our care. Yet, as workers provide these services it requires them to advocate, protect, and provide the highest level of service as the worker explore the concept of the person and the environment. Also, it is imperative for all social workers to understand the theory behind how people change from conception to death in order to provide the necessary services intended for the clients in which we served such as loss, success, betrayal, and death. When a worker fully understand the theory then this will governed the type of services that will be offer and be professional.

Information the social worker gathers can help inform the rest of the client’s healthcare team, as well as inform them about how best to treat their illness, manage the disease, and even how they can best interact with the client. They can even help the client weave their way through the healthcare system and find local resources to help the client manage day-to-day life. [ (Careers, 2006) ]

When did you first become interested in social work? Identify the events and/ or people most influential in developing your interest?

There are significant changes in the field of social work, and these changes have both challenges and opportunities. At the February, 2007, Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) Board of Directors’ Meeting, Dean Kay Hoffman, CSWE president opens by making the statement, “

Attending college full-time and being a part-time employee is a difficult challenge I have faced while pursuing my education. I have had to make extremely difficult decision in previous semesters such as attending school part-time and working longer hours. Initially, I thought finding a school-work life balance would be very difficult, but found out it’s not impossible. I am committed to finishing my education goal, earning my Bachelors in Criminal Justice and my masters in social work, and I will not let my challenges discourage me.

The theory that most closely explains and addresses this phenomenon is the ecological theory. In this theory it states that many factors contribute to one main problem. In this case the main issue is poverty. Poverty, according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is the lowest possible level that a person can be. In order to move out of this level one must first acquire food, water, shelter and a sense of safety. Programs and policies aimed at solving poverty is that sense of safety. With safety a person may feel comfort in that they know that they can receive their basic needs. Still, factors such as stress, worrying about the termination of these services, and stigma remain which can lead to weight gain, poor mental and

My vision of the social work field is being able to help people in need and being the person that people can look back on and remember as a huge help in time of need. I think my core values and beliefs will help me be an effective social worker and help me succeed in this field. It is in my belief that a person should never be knocked down when they are going through hardships, and rather empowering them. I also believe that not everyone could be a social worker because it takes a certain kind of empathetic and self-aware person. I truly believe that my upbringing has humbled me to understand and not be judgmental of people’s issues since I’ve seen a lot in my short twenty-one years.

Social Work is a field of interest to me because of the positive effort it contributes to society. Within the social work profession individuals are striving to improve the welfare of those in need of assistance. Social Workers assist a variety of individuals; from children, young adolescents, older adults, mentally ill, substance abuse individuals, and many other minorities; as in LGBT members, veterans, homeless people, and low socioeconomic status individuals. The broad mix population fascinates me because within this field one will always be able to work in a flexible environment. Social Work is used in multiple settings as in hospitals, nursing skilled homes, mental health and substance abuse clinics, schools, correctional facilities, community centers, child welfare agencies, employee assistance programs, and private practices.

Student social workers must draw from their knowledge, values and skills within the learning process because these are the factors that make up the ‘self.’ According to Ward, “the self is our primary tool of practice – it is the means through which we experience and conduct our practice.” Therefore, this concept combines our personality and identity, including our knowledge, values and skills which affect the way in which we respond to service users. Social work is a relationship-based role and consequently, it will make demands on the ‘self’ of the social worker which is why it is important to develop an awareness about ourselves. Hochschild calls social work “emotional labour” on the grounds that social work practice requires experiencing a range of emotions that is not typical of other professions. The ‘self’ is important in this respect because we need to be able to understand why we respond in a specific way to provide the appropriate help for the service user. In addition, it will also allow us to disconnect from such emotions at the end of the working day and continue with our private lives. Due to this large emotional context in social work, it is a profession that is more concerned with the relationship one has with a service user. In this way, relationship-based practice links both emotional intelligence and use of the ‘self.’

The focus will allow one to build skillsets for increased emotional awareness by identifying the emotional impact stress has on one’s health as well as the health of others, by balancing our emotions, better communication will result and aid in conflict resolution. The attributes in the Competency based model by Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis will be explained. Five key skills will be identified and defined for developing emotional intelligence. Last, the benefits of increased productivity as a result of having employees with good EQ skill sets.