Canadian Social Work Practice : A New Horizon Of Learning Essay

For this paper, I have decided to research two social work theories and how those theories apply to residents in long term care facilities. The primary focus will be those residents who are alert, oriented, and showing minimal symptoms of dementia.

Looking into her eyes, I realized that she was not as happy or as content with life as she showed herself to be. Beneath her sprightly demeanor, she hid her disappointment and loneliness.

Social work practice in Canada is guided by the Canadian Association of Social Workers ' (CASW) Code of Ethics. This Code of Ethics contains six core values and principles: respect for the inherent dignity and worth of persons, pursuit of social justice, service to humanity, integrity of professional practice, confidentiality, and competence (Canadian Association of Social Workers [CASW], 2005). Social workers who utilize both narrative and solution-focused therapies should fully understand the strengths and limitations of these theories in their professional practice using CASW guidelines. Additionally, social workers should examine if these single approaches are sufficiently comprehensive to address all of a client 's problems, or if a more flexible, adaptable approach of eclecticism is more suited (Coady & Lehmann, 2008).

This allows for a deeper connection with self. As a result, clients are able to identify their worth. They can use these strengths to advance and cause a change.

I will then list areas I have identified as my own personal weak points for further development.

In order to define critical social work, one must define the concept of social work - and in defining social work, one must also define critical thinking, and critical consciousness. This paper will attempt to define such concepts and ideologies and it will address and include themes of the intersectionality of social work and the Sociological Imagination, social structure and institutions.

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a national association of educational programs and individuals that confirms and improves the quality of social work education to become a professional job. CSWE puts in a countless amount of effort to strive for this mission by setting up a bachelor's and master’s degree programs in social work. On the other hand, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with approximately 132,000 members. To be more specific, NASW has a determination to intensify the maturity and developmental process of its members. The main goal is to retain professional standards and to create fair social policies. NASW progresses

My understanding of the social work profession and its core values is that social workers are caregivers, they provide assistance to people in need, and they address social problems. The social worker goal is the improvement of society to ameliorate the lives of individuals in need. The social work profession mission is to enhance the well-being of people and to assist them in meeting their basic needs, with particular emphasis on the needs of the poor, and the vulnerable individual. The Social Work profession has six core values. These core values are the foundation of the social work profession. The social worker incorporates these core values into his daily practices. Service to others is one of the fundamental values of social work. Social workers goal is serving others and putting the needs of their clients ahead of their own. Social justice is another core value of social work. Social workers aim at improving the lives of the disadvantaged, vulnerable people who are less fortunate or unable to advocate for themselves. Social workers understand the essential value of every human life, regardless of ethnic background, cultural differences or religious beliefs. Their goal is to respect the dignity and worth of every person. Another key value of social work is integrity. The social workers conduct themselves in a trustworthy, honest, and responsible manner at all times. Competence is another important core value of the social work profession. The

A stage three clinical trial was conducted on 252 patients studying the effects on age, gender, and insertion site on marginal bone loss around endosseous implants within each gender. Marginal bone loss is important to study because of its impact on the stability and esthetic outcome (Nisapakultorn 662). Marginal bone loss (MBL) not exceeding 1mm is normal within the first twelve months after prosthesis positioning (Cehreli 266). The study was conducted over a three year time period with orthopantomograms taken at 6 and 36 months for analysis of MBL.

According to Duffy (2016), there are two different types of social work practice when it comes to working alongside a disadvantaged population. The first kind, is used more often and is called conventional social work approach, which focuses its attention on undertaking assessment and ensuring that individuals are families are received the correct support through organised services and support. On the other hand, critical social work, the less utilized approach aims to challenge the inequalities and oppression in society, by targeting the societal structure via activism and research, in order to bring forth criticism and questions on discourses attached to particular marginalised groups. The author proposes that both social work practices are important, however, critical social work should be emphasized on more frequently, especially with groups such as the ageing population as it targets the stubborn discourses (Duffy, 2016). Mattsson broadens critical social work, by relating it to critical reflection. Critical theorists have proposed critical reflection as a method to understand how social work practices can uphold oppression due to seemingly everyday actions, words and attitudes. Therefore, this can have an implication on how social workers execute their practice, as ordinary and structural features of bureaucratic hierarchies may senselessly abide social workers to uphold and reproduce social oppression, even though they might be well-intentioned. Critical reflection

Fook, J.. (2003). Social work, Critical theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (pp. 45-

For this reflective journal, I have decided to draw parallels between approaches to social work that I have learned in my placement, and what I have learned during my academic career at Carleton University. Placement thus far, has been an eye-opening and rich experience, which has taught me about the profession that I aspire to be a part of. I am a third year student, and much of my time spent at Carleton, has been studying theories, and becoming exposed to different schools of thought. Theories are incredibly beneficial, to teach and inform the practice of the next generation of social workers. However, placement has provided me with the opportunity to apply theoretical ideals, to real life social work practice.

People who have always been marginalized and oppressed by agencies, schools and people, would require special preparation, attention and effort to prove them that they can modify their lives with the intervention of structural social workers. Moreover, it is important to admit that not everyone agrees with the vision of structural social work, therefore, this could be another obstacle to create change in workplaces and public service facilities. Limited access to public services due to discrimination of race, color, sex, gender, religion and language are taken into account as part of the challenges encountered in this process of challenge of structural barriers within society. Finally, I believe that a structural social work vision in a person from a visible minority in society will trigger obstacles for the individual himself. It would be challenging to create change within his/her environment, as many would argue that his/her opinion does not count, making it difficult when challenging structures of oppression for the sake of clients’ well-being and structural social work

The social elements of the seventeenth century in the English Colonies are defined by the relations between different races: white, black and natives. Relations between the English and Indians started friendly, but when the Indians realized that the white people are not just visitors, the relations between the two different races deteriorated. In contrast to the French and Spanish, who assimilated the Indians, the English discouraged any unions with them (Keene, 36). By the end of the seventeenth century, the English settlers were at war with the Indians (Keene, 40). The need for agricultural labor led English to turn to slavery (Keene, 50). As Howard Zinn states, in the beginning, whites and blacks treated each other as equals (Drawing the Color Line). However, as the black population in Americas outnumbered the white population, the plantation owners started to fear a black rebellion, so they started to impose new laws against blacks (Zinn, Drawing the Color Line). In conclusion, the human social behavior of the seventeenth century was

Consequently, in the professional literature, there is a wide gap to be filled in the need for a critical perspective within the profession. We feel that the important contributions made by outside groups- Gay liberation, the women’s movement, mental patients’ union, trade unions and tenants’ associations- reflect lack of confidence in social workers, usually with good reasons. It is not intended to demoralize those social workers who are themselves conditioned and controlled by the very institutional structures, in which they work, but to make them aware of contradictions, and to assist them to develop critical action.