I was never diversified as a child since I grew up in a small town in McMinnville, Tennessee. However, after I got to college I got to meet people from different races and cultures. As much as my childhood was free from diversity, I developed an interest in people, which later led me to a career as a social worker. It is quite interesting to learn new things from people of different nationalities. There are only three things that define my culture. This includes my race, gender, and spiritual orientation. I am a 40-year old female, I am Caucasian, and I am a Christian. I feel that these three elements were important to my identity as they help separate me from other people. They are the first things that tell you much about me without having …show more content…
I would prefer to let the client know about me first as this will help to show the differences we have. It will also give the client time to consider if they are comfortable working with me or not. Disclosing the first three elements of my identity to the clients will hopefully help in developing a positive working relationship. It should also help in honesty and self-exploration for the client and me as a social worker. Having some information about me will also help the client to decide whether they have a problem working with me and provide a reference to other people that will help in the client's …show more content…
It will be hard to understand a client sometimes unless the social worker put themselves in the client's position. In most sessions, I will no doubt have to allow myself to experience situations from the client's perspective to make sure that I am able to help them. However, self-awareness between client and social worker is most important. Self-awareness needs to be constantly reevaluated since interactions and experiences in life will lead to a new understanding between client and social worker. The world today has a variety of cultures; so, it is important to the social worker to be aware of the differences in cultures to provide multicultural guidance of their
In the social work practice, social workers should abide by and respect the protocol of their particular organization. The first ethical standard I would like to discuss is that a social worker having cultural competence and social (NASW, 1999). A social worker must possess the knowledge of values, customs, tradition and history just to name a few in order to have success with clients that may identify as something other than their own identity. Culture directs impacts human behavior. Within this case study, due to Mrs. Sanchez’s culture, she struggled to assimilate with the American culture and this included her being able to learn the English language. Her culture was very important to her and I respect that. As a social worker, I would have
It is of paramount consideration that social workers are conscious of, aware and sensitive to the cultural demands of their clientele. This is because culture is a pivotal factor upon which a great deal of conduct, norms, social connections and mindsets of clients revolve. For social workers there is need to understand and appreciate how cultural traditions influence relationships with a diverse panorama of client needs and demands. This literature review seeks to create a foundation regarding the facts stated above through filtering and analysis of relevant and interesting research studies and works by previous authors. This review of literature focuses on how social workers develop or maintain cultural competence following graduation from Masters of Social Work Program. It aimed at providing answers for further research regarding how social workers maintain cultural competence post graduation. In addition, this literature review seeks to consider that social workers are not enhancing their cultural awareness post graduation as mandated by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) code of ethics.
Greg Lewis in “An Open Letter to Diversity’s Victims” advocates against the need for many languages in school programs, in American. Greg describes that those who are after what they refer to as “diversity” have been insisting that the American schools should be taught both in English and Spanish. The so called liberals base their arguments on the fact that, teaching a single language would obsolete the cultural identity of the Hispanic people. Greg’s arguments, use of quotations, tone, and mood show the need as to why single language system should be continued.
I classify my race, ethnicity, and culture as a white, Irish-Italian- American, woman. My mother was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and my paternal grandparents are from Sicily, Italy. I imagine being first generation Irish and second generation Italian helps me relate with my ethnicity.
Understanding professional identity help a person who works in a profession such as, health, education, or human services to gain an understanding of the workplace and this can result in leading a successful career. The essay is about the professional and quality agencies guide the provision of safe and effective patient or client care in social work. In the essay firstly professional identity and factors that influence it will be discussed, secondly rules and regulation in social work related to professional identity will be explained, lastly the code of conduct, ethics of the profession social work will be described.
I would like to consider my cultural heritage as diverse, but this is far from reality. Over the years as I matured through my teenage years, I was exposed to different cultures by life experiences and travel. I struggled to create both a personal and cultural identity while trying to adjust to my sight loss and with the support of my family I traveled overseas to experience other cultures for the first time. My family opened up their home to a foreign exchange program in turn allowing me the opportunity to travel over to Europe at the age of 16 years old. This opportunity started the slow progression of experiences that would open my mind to others who are unlike myself, especially traveling to a strange place and feeling different in a mainstream culture. It was not until the past 5 or 6 years until I fully accepted my disability that changed my view on being different, whether it’s race, class, gender or disability. Before this time period, my own fear of being different was so intense that I thought my weakness (disability) made me inferior of not only other cultures, but also my own family members.
Coordinating with one another with what is most effective and not effective in meeting the needs of multicultural groups. Further developing practical modalities that are most efficient and feasible for clients to understand and follow. Formulating attainable goals and realistic milestones to motivate our clients to become autonomous and that are consistent with their cultural dynamics and diverse needs. We as social worker professionals can accomplish this by pushing the boundaries of social services, reaching new innovated heights and understanding the limitations of our abilities and the abilities of the population we
A social worker must present themselves as a learner and understand clients from all experts of their own experiences. To show your respect to the clients as a social worker you must be able to show that you understand complexity of cultural identity. Cultural competence targets social workers knowledge of development, focusing on culturally specific demographics, characteristics, values, and intravenous technique. When dealing with cultural sensitivity a worker’s genuine appreciation of the client’s uniqueness and universalistic respect for the client’s humanness is needed. To have success in multicultural practice, cultural responsiveness come in to play, which means to be culturally responsive, social workers use dialogue skills that place the client’s construction of reality at the center of the
My interest in becoming a social worker started at a very young age. I remember always possessing the desire to help people who were in need and have frequently being the person who others have approached when faced with difficult situations. Often, I felt as if listening was not enough. I remember feeling unequipped to help them. When I spoke about this career choice with some of the big influences in my personal life, I was told no matter what situation I have ever been faced with I have always managed to handle myself appropriately in what were, sometimes, delicate situations. Whether these situations were with complete strangers or people I have known for years, mediation, has been something that has come naturally to me. In addition to
In social work, a social worker has to come to the client’s level and start from there. The client does not have to come to the social workers level. In order for this to happen the social worker has to know the importance of culture, race, gender, sexual, diversity and other forms of diversity to make the best decision for choosing a type of intervention. Understanding the client’s culture, race, gender, sexual diversity and other form of diversity is important because they affect each person differently. An example, Roberto is Latino and in their culture they believe in machomism, so this is something his social worker needs to know when addressing Roberto or someone of the Latino culture. Hispanic women bring machomism
It is imperative that social workers become knowledgeable about their clients’ cultures and are culturally sensitive. In learning about their clients’ cultures, social workers need to be aware of how powerful and significant culture is in relating to clients’ behavior, values, and beliefs. Becoming culturally competent requires the ability to integrate awareness, knowledge, and skills while maintaining a positive working relationship with the client (Sue and Zane, 1987). Today, the concerns regarding cultural competency continue to accentuate the importance of preparing social workers for a diversified society.
To be in the care of a clinical social worker involves describing problems and patterns of the client, as well as reviewing their historical development in the hope of linking these factors together. By doing so, client and clinician can begin to explore various dynamics of the client’s past or present struggles as they are recreated within treatment setting and the therapeutic relationship.
Engagement is considered one of the most important parts of working with a client. Coady and Lehmann (2008) consider engagement the first of four steps in the problem solving model of social work. Engagement can begin as early as the first over the phone contact or referral notification with the client. To become aware of the client’s background (ecology and life circumstances) is crucial part of this stage. It is also important for the social worker to become in tune with their own thoughts and beliefs when coming into contact with this client for the first time. After tuning into the client it is key for any social worker to make a client feel welcomed with a sense of warmth, empathy and respect. Too much empathy and warm, however, can be detrimental to the course of service provision. Coady and Lehmann (2008) note that the engagement process is never ending and can continue well into counseling.
Many social work scholars and researchers have reported cultural tensions with their profession. It was curious as to how do the social workers interact with their own cultures in a cross-cultural practice environment from the experience of 30 culturally diverse frontline social workers. The study is interested in what kinds of cultural tensions do the social workers encounter in their daily work, as well as how do they experience them.
The utmost significant aspects of my cultural identity are my religion, my education, and my ethnicity. (1) I identify as a half-Hispanic, almost fully college educated, Lutheran. Despite the fact that I list my ethnicity as a large part of my identity, it did not play a large part in my childhood given that my family and I moved to a predominantly white community, Heath, in rural Ohio when I was six. (3) I did not have any worries when we moved to Heath, at least that I remember. It was not until my sister started facing discrimination during middle school that I started to worry that I would eventually face it during that same time. She was often asked by her