Self Reflection In Social Work

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This aim of this paper is a self-reflection of my life and what events have brought me to choose being a practitioner of social work. In the following paper I will discuss my childhood, familial influences, conflict management, values and what motivated me to be a practitioner of social work. These elements shaped me into who I am today and are what drive me to be a better person while also causing me the greatest pain. In this paper I will show my framework of strength based approach as a practitioner. I will discuss unresolved, past and present issues in my life which has lead me into choosing a career in helping other. Past and Familial Influences I was raised in Oklahoma in the USA. The region is known as the Bible belt. Christianity roots run deep. I dutifully went to church 3 or more days a week with my family. My family consisted of my dad, mom, older brother, older sister and myself. My mom was more committed than my dad in their Christian faith. This would be an issue throughout their marriage. My parents were not emotionally affection towards each other of their children. I never saw my parents hug or hold hands. I think emotions are a learned trait. Parents are the first people we learn emotions from. They set the stage for us either being emotionally free or emotionally guarded. My parents took great care of us, but were emotionally distant. “The concept of emotional cutoff describes people managing their unresolved emotional issues with parents, siblings, and other family members by reducing or totally cutting off emotional contact with them” (Bowen Center). Emotional cutoff is found within the 8 concepts of the Bowen Theory which ties the family through emotional units. My dad showed another typ... ... middle of paper ... ...s. There will be unresolved issues from my past that will that could influence my future practice. My issue of feeling unimportant to my mom is still a struggle to this day. As a practitioner I know many clients will be coming to me with the same issue. I must learn to deal with clients’ needs at that moment and not focus my own unresolved issues. I realized that I still have some residing issues from childhood, but they have not been controlling me for a long time. I have accepted each negative and positive event of my life. Life changes and I finally learned to change with it. I try to learn from my parents mistakes and work hard on being a better parent. My childhood was also filled with many positive aspects which make accepting the negative aspects much easier. My past has set me on a path of helping others overcome the negatives in their life.

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