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Essays about applying social work theory to practice
Essays about applying social work theory to practice
Social work implications for practice and policy
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Many things can influence a social workers’ practice, for better or worse. Familiarity, classwork, personal experience, and types of internships can all influence the way in which a counselor views their work. These experiences also help shape our choices regarding practice theory. The various theories that social workers employ are influenced by other professions such as: medicine, psychology, sociology, and even economics (Green & McDermott, 2010). It is not necessarily what theory is chosen, but that a practitioner makes a choice to follow the general tenets of a theory and lets it inform their work. By grounding their practice in theory, social workers can better understand the work at hand, carefully consider goal setting, and anticipate …show more content…
what outcomes can be expected with various clients and situations. Definition of Clinical Social Work Practice with Families Just as a person’s experiences influence their choice of theories, the shape and definition of clinical social work practice is influenced by “the needs of the times” and “the knowledge and skill available’’ (Gelman & González, 2015). From our beginnings in charity work and almshouses, certain core values have remained constant such as client centered and strength based approaches, the bio-psycho-social-spiritual approach to treatment, the person-in-environment and ecosystems perspectives, and a focus on social justice (Gelman & González, 2015; González & Gelman, 2015; National Association of Social Workers (NASW), 2008). Clinical social work practice with families is the application of theory and interventions to the prevention, assessment, and treatment of behavioral, emotional, mental, and social issues that negatively impact the functioning of the family members with each other, within their community, and between the family and other systems.
This practice should always focus on the strengths and desires of the family unit and be culturally aware. Because of my own experiences with social inequality and injustice, I hope to work with families that battle issues with intellectual and developmental disabilities and with those who suffer extreme poverty. This will most likely be part of mental health outpatient work that occurs in a school setting or within a local community service board, since these settings frequently service families without many financial …show more content…
resources. Values as a Family Practitioner The NASW code of ethics (2008) lists social work’s core values as: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. Although I hold all these values in high esteem, I feel like service and dignity and worth of the person are the most important to me. All the other values, it seems to me, flow naturally from the faithful application of the first two. Valuing service means one will consider others before oneself. This will lead to finding these same people justice and providing those services in a competent manner. The value of respecting the dignity and worth of the person would lead one to want to work with integrity and to value relationships. I feel as if my being raised in a religious home is a strong influence on my choice of primary values.
Some might feel that this would create conflicts in how to conduct oneself as a social worker. I have found that the values of social worker mesh well with how I was raised. I do not always hold the same beliefs as my clients. However, I am able to value those people as human beings and empathize with the fact that they may feel strongly about something and not feel understood. I can also empathize with them and support them in their goals and dreams, even if their dreams are not the choices I would make for
myself.
Sheafor, B. W., & Horejsi, C. R. (2012). Techniques and guidelines for social work practice (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Allyn & Bacon. (Sheafor & Horejsi, 2011)
Practice: Purpose, Principles, and Applications in a Climate of System’s Integration. In Saleebey, D. (Ed.), The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice. Fourth Ed. 171-196. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
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
Identify and explain the three major sources of conflict and misinterpretations in social work practice: culture-bound values, class bound values, and language variables.
As a social work professional, you must take into account your own personal values before you can be an effective worker in this field. Social workers sometimes need to put their own values aside when working with clients who don’t share their same ideals. Clients are diverse and are not going to always have the same values that the worker has. Social workers need to be professional and adhere to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) guidelines when working with any client.
This class, Social Work Theory & Practice was made to be able to introduce me to social work theories, ideas, and skills needed to work in the social work profession. This class main tool used was a book called A Brief Introduction of Social Work Theory by David Howe which discusses social work theories in a compressive and explainable way. This class is important to my higher learning because it break down the theories that I will need to use during my practice and a...
The term social worker encompasses numerous different functions. They encompass a variety of skills which are linked, with the goal of helping individuals in need (Kirst-Ashman, & Hull, 2015). Discussed in this paper is the interview conducted with Tiernan Seaver, MSW, Program Coordinator at the CASA FAMILIAR, nonprofit community development agency, located in San Ysidro, California. The interview consisted of questions regarding Tiernan’s educational background, what brought her to the field of social work, as well as her professional work preference. In addition, how the interview is related to the course is discussed as well.
My first obstacle in becoming the social worker I envision is myself. As a Southern woman, I was taught to pray, have good manners, to cook, not to display behaviors in public unbecoming of a lady, to honor my word, and that it was my duty to help those in need. These principles speak to the social work values of service by helping others, integrity in being honest and ethical in the things I say, and dignity and worth of a person, by treating others in a respectful manner.
Social work practice requires many skills, which need much practice themselves. This needs social work students to be open to trying within safe environments and scenario’s for mistake, such as with their peers and with emotional safe scenarios such as stress at University. This begins with a requirement to do 5 minutes of interviewing with a peer which includes many social work skills such as active listening, encouraging, paraphrasing, being/creating a welcoming and safe environment and other such basic and beginning skills.
Action Learning Sessions check tenses Theoretical Knowledge Today’s session on theoretical knowledge covers the knowledge-based skills of social work. It the session also covered the different ways in which knowledge can be interpreted and how it influences the way social workers approach their work with service users. In social work practice, there is both subjective and objective knowledge. This was further tested with an exercise which we were given.
After my kôhkom (Grandmother) passed away, my Dad shaved his head. He did not practice braiding, or have long hair. However, he proceeded to keep his head bare, to express his mourning to his mother. To my knowledge, he never did such a thing in mourning others, and he kept his head hairless for over the course of a few years. The message he had sent, was so profoundly connected into my heritage more than I knew at that point. My sister and I would giggle, and crack bald jokes at him and continued to dismiss the root of our culture in his actions. My dad would say “he beat mother nature to the punch,” to lighten the mood. It wasn’t until my realization of the importance of the braid, and courage built in each strand of long hair for our peoples. It was because it was his mother, the one who gave him life. The women who carried and raised 13 children, and lead the message of accepting others through adopting into the family; a lesson her children would carry on. It is because of this catalyst event that my mind has wandered into why women were proceeded to be an incredibly strong symbol, for my family. What I would, and have found is that the center
More importantly, if the religious values/belief system are too difficult to over look then the social worker can ask for the transfer of the client to another worker. However, this does not help the social worker improve because by going into a carrier such as social work individuals must view each client without judgement. Hence, once you are in the profession of social work your religious values should not change how you view your clients, as doing so will impede the time allotted for listening to them unbiasedly and the chance to help them solve their
Social work practice has become a vital part of our society. They are found in almost every aspect of our community as well as our schools. Social workers are problem solvers that help people deal with daily issues that may become problems that affect them. As our society becomes more challenging, social workers help bridge the gaps for people who face extraordinary challenges in their lives. The social worker’s scope of practice may contain helping at risk or overwhelmed individuals find resources, develop new coping strategies, resolve problems and conflicts, and secure opportunities to improve their quality of life. (Flynn, 2013) Although the scope of practice is basically the same, there are various types of social workers with various levels of education. It doesn’t matter if you are a medical, clinical, school, military, psychiatric or community social worker, the goal is
The work of a social worker is complex and all encompassing. Social workers work in many capacities seeking justice, liberation, and equality. There work is global, as they work to put policies in place to govern practices. To keep up with societal shifts and generational changes there learning is continuous. As new questions rise so does the need for the continuation of research, not only to answer these questions but to implement into
The social work profession is defined as “a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people (ISFW, ‘Global Definition of Social Work’, 2016).” The definition may be true about the profession but it is more in depth than just that. To me, the profession’s primary focus is to help others through life as much as we can while letting them make their own choices and guiding them. In society, social workers are utilized in many different nonprofit and government roles. They serve the community in many different ways from monitoring parent visits to helping people through mental illnesses. Human beings are so complex and things that happen