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Interest in social work as a profession
Strengths and weaknesses of social workers
Social work strengths perspective
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When I first entered college I was an undecided new student who wasn’t exactly sure how I wanted my life to go. Once I started taking a couple of classes in the business, Marketing and social work fields I knew right away what my calling was. Just having that first intro to social work class my attention was hooked. I loved the classes and the experneices I learned about. I realized that my direction of college and a degree was to be accomplished in the social work setting. Being able to help those in need in Micro and Macro setting. Moving forward in the social work degree I soon realized that I was fully comminted to this major, knowing that one day I could help those people and children in the worl warmed my heart. My sophomore and senior …show more content…
A few of my strengths are having Empathy and activing listening skills and using social perspectives and being organized. As a social worker empathy is very important, empathy is the ability to identify with or vicariously experience another person’s situation. Empathizing is both an intellectual and emotional process that makes it far easier to understand and help others solve their problems. Active Listening is another aspect that I believe I am personally gifted in. The ability to listen carefully, ask pertinent questions and retain verbally transmitted information is vital to the counseling aspect of social work. It’s how we establish trust, open doors and discover valuable details about the individuals who seek our help in understanding their unique circumstances. Using Social perspectives is also another major part of social work, I believe receiving and processing verbal information, a social worker must be sensitive to body language, social cues, implications and cultural patterns of behavior. While some clients may clearly state their needs and work toward solutions in a focused manner, many others will find it more challenging to express themselves verbally, requiring a perceptive social worker to “read between the lines” in order to interpret the thoughts and feelings being held
Social workers address people’s problems every day, but it’s the identification of people’s strengths that provides clues for how to solve their problems and improve their life situations (Saleeby, 2013, pp.17-20).
I knew I loved to help others but it was not until I was an emerging adult that I knew what my calling was. My devotion to improve the quality of life for those who are disadvantaged is one of the reasons I have chosen to pursue a Master’s in Social Work. After obtaining my masters, I plan on diversifying my masters by getting licensed and becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I would like to study social work because I feel it will lead me directly to one of the most emotionally fulfilling careers available, as well as giving me the chance to combine helping people 's mental well being with their physical
Finally, an intervention skill that all social workers need is the ability to seek supervision and accept feedback from their supervisor. For me, at times, this is a skill that is needed to be worked on. I often forget to seek supervision when I am having difficulty knowing what to do next to best help my clients, as my supervisor is not readily available. This is a skill I defiantly need to get better at as my supervisor is very knowledgeable and a great resource.
There are many different career fields you can go into as a social worker: from mental health, drug and alcohol abuse all the way to child welfare. Child welfare is my primary target when I become a social worker. I feel that I will have the biggest impact if I help the kids out that will be creating our future world. If I can help the kids of the next generation then maybe my influence will help more than just those few kids I see every day. Plus ever since I can remember people told me I need to be doing a job that helps children. I want to be able to make a difference in the community, and if I can help the kids, then I know I’ll be helping the community. Being a student at Wilmington College will help me fulfill these values and skills, but the thing that
1. What relationships and/or experiences influenced your decision to enter the field of Social Work? A personal experience that influenced my decision to enter the field of social work is when I joined the military after high school. While serving, I was able to assist the Director of the Combined Federal Campaign. This is a major campaign that is sponsored by the military and United Way, and it is geared towards raising money for nonprofit agencies. I enjoyed visiting various agencies, organizing events, as well as educating people about the available resources within their communities. This was definitely a season of growth; furthermore, after careful research I discovered the field of social work was the best profession for me. This was
1. Listening skills, such as listening to the client and understanding client needs and wants more carefully and responsively. Acknowledging the feelings they are expressing. Compassionately allowing them to express their feelings. Listening and reflecting back on what I hear allows me to identify client’s thoughts. Listening in the field of social work is crucial in understanding client’s situation. Listening responsibly lets the client know you care about them.
My strengths definitely stem from my passion about helping others and social work. Becoming a mother and overcoming tough challenges is also a strength of mines. That experience made me stronger and shaped who I am today. I definitely intend to encourage my clients that anything is possible and you can do anything that you set your mind to do. Being around my family and the obstacles that we have overcome has definitely gave me a broader perspective of life and the situations that current that can impacts us in many ways. As a social worker it is important to listen, communicate, build rapport with boundaries with our clients in order to be an effective social worker. Being a social worker requires certain core skills. Many of these I learn during my education and internships, others I have learned from different areas of my life. You are required to orient yourself to the ethical codes for social work in order to provide top-notch services to the people you treat in therapy. You may also find it helpful to understand common elements of good therapy. Certainly there are many different skills and traits that you help you succeed as a social worker. Some of the main skills that will help you in the counseling profession include,
These skills included having the ability to communicate well with their clients. Active listening is another skill that is very important. Social workers need to have ability to understand people’s reactions, and service orientation. Critical thinking, complex problem solving, judgement and decision making and monitoring are amongst those essentials skills that all social workers should have ( carreeronestop.org nd ). Another important quality that is specifically important for child, family,and school social workers is the ability to feel empathy for their clients, interpersonal skills, and being patience (U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics
As an upcoming social worker I understand there are certain traits I portray that are strengths in the social work field. I also understand that were there are strengths, there are weaknesses. I did not realize what my strengths and weaknesses were until I began to practice in the field. Some strengths I have found in myself are good listening skills, ability to handle stressful situations, and time management skills. Along with those strengths I have found my weaknesses are speaking what I believe about a situation, procrastination, and taking on too much responsibility.
When I made the decision to return to college to complete a bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW) I looked at many universities. I needed a university that was going to work with me not against me with the challenges of my already crazy life. Three challenges that I know I will be presented with during my time in school will be time management, distractions and support.
My interest persisted and grew as I began to see how my efforts had the ability to improve the lives of people around me. I first noticed this on a personal level as friends would come to me for advice or for me to listen to their struggles and provide comfort. No matter how mundane, horrific, unique, or common the story was, I listened to them in a genuine and non-judgmental manner. I truly enjoyed hearing people’s stories and providing comfort and advice when needed. These moments helped me realize the power of simply being there for someone, and it increased my interest of pursuing a career where I can support those who need it most. I want to become a social worker so I can provide direction to those who may not be able to get it from other sources, just like I have done for various people throughout my life.
For the first two years of college, I excelled in taking Nursing classes and even got into the Nursing Program at UCM. But something changed at the beginning of my junior year and I could not deny not wanting to be a Nursing major any longer. As my classes advanced I realized that the passion I once had for Nursing was not there any more. I could not see myself being a proficient Nurse if I did not have a desire for the job. So after researching Social Work again, the option that I once ignored came back into my life. For a while, I challenged myself to see if this was a career choice that would make me happy.
Life gives each person different experiences that affect individual opportunities and future choices. My experiences have included sitting on both sides of the desk either seeking or providing assistance. I have chosen to use my experiences to help people to overcome their obstacles.
I obtained my Masters in Social Work (MSW) degree from India in the year 2006. As with most countries around the world, the emergence of social work in India was from charity aiming to eliminate poverty. Gradually it shifted from philanthropy to rights based approach and then to organized social work. Community organization surfaced as the most central method of social work practice along with practice of casework. Although social work is much more structured in nature now, it still operates along the conventional perspective of social work. Social work is not even recognized as a profession in India. An indicator of an occupation being publicly recognized as a profession is exhibited by
However, after talking with my advisor I was told that I would be able to go into psychology with a bachelor’s degree in social work. My advisor also told me that the professions are similar. I took her advice and started a new goal, to get my BSW. Coming into my first class on the field of social work, I wasn’t too sure what to expect. All I knew is that the profession was connected to helping people. After learning more about the profession and the wide range of options that accompany it, I started to get excited. I could work with many different types of people on a range of issues and changing which area I work in would be relatively easy. I have always wanted to help people with mental health issues and I thought that social workers only did that in school settings. Learning that I just needed to get my Masters to be able to do therapy made me feel great about choosing to become a social worker. Having options has made my college experience better by getting me excited for what the future holds.