Change is a part of life cycle. Individuals change, organizations evolve, and the nature surrounding us transforms through seasons. Whether we embrace it, or resist it, change will occur anyway. The tragedy of some people is denial of its existence, rigidity of their views or actions. Social work profession is especially predisposed to accept and be open to change. However, when working with involuntary clients, it is wise to assess their readiness for change, to learn from them where they are at the present moment. Some of our clients may never go beyond pre-contemplation or contemplation stage. Some may reach preparation or even action. Some may proceed to the maintenance stage. All of them deserve our respect and understanding.
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It is important to review care and support plans as people’s needs change. By including the person, their family then everyone knows what is happening and the family can help to monitor mood swings and behaviour. The individual and the family can express their views and preferences and any relevant risk assessments may be done with everyone involved. By monitoring the individual, a decision can be made as to whether the changes are effective and if the best care is being given to encourage independence and promote dignity.
Social workers use engagement to develop therapeutic relationships to support positive treatment outcomes for clients. The engagement process permits the social worker to assess the client’s commitment to be involved, in order for a collaboration between the practitioner and client to develop an agreement on the goals and tasks of treatment. Engagement helps social workers to identify the client’s true desire to receive treatment by how the client demonstrates he or she’s level of motivation, commitment to treatment, their readiness, and potential treatment outcomes. Treatment strategies such as the Stages for Change can be implemented to assist and encourage clients in the engagement process.
This paper explores the scenario of a client and looks at the presenting problem from an ecological and strengths perspective. It will also explore advanced clinical skills, intervention strategies and ethical dilemmas encountered. Methods for evaluating progress will be discussed within the social context of the case. Termination and follow-up approaches, and any ethical dilemmas will be included. Any problems with oppressed populations will also be discussed. Finally, the limits of the chosen model and limits of the practitioner, evolution of client and practitioner identities, any ethical or social justice issues for the agency, and an evaluation of the practitioner’s effectiveness will conclude the paper.
In my future social work career, it is imperative to be cognizant of my personal experiences and preconceptions regarding mental illness. As I participant in evaluation and diagnosis of mental illness, I will utilize a blank slate mentality. I will strive to prevent previous clients’ behavior, the individual’s current diagnoses, and personal judgments to cloud my diagnosis or interactions.
In the book Social Work Skills for Beginning Direct Practice talks about the Life Model of Social Work Practice. The principal of the model is to, “Empowerment and as such is particularly sensitive to culture, physical, and social context” (Cummings, et. al, pg. 49, 2012). This model is a way to guide social workers to assess clients in stress levels, coping skills and to be able to seek intervention that will help their client.
UNIT 2 - PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN ADULT SOCIAL CARE SETTINGS ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW In this assignment, you will look at the importance of reflective practice in adult social care. You will explore how reflective practice can improve your development and practice and contribute to the quality of service provision You will also look at the process of planning development, and the importance of feedback and reflect on how your values, belief systems may affect your practice. TASKS There are three tasks to this assignment. TASK 1 2 3 TASK 1 You are going to be a mentor for a new social care worker as part of their induction process. Part of your role is to help them prepare for the review after
With a master 's level education in social work, I see myself envisioning clients’ health and well-being. As a student, I will study and practice techniques, beyond a generalist perspective, that will allow me to give clients hope and the ability to see something greater than what they are facing. Upon completion of a Master of Social Work direct practice degree and certificates in gerontology and mental health programs, I intend to become a licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I will competently incorporate specialized skills in different professional settings while developing my knowledge of a wide range of social issues and professional standards. With commitment, I wish to develop skills that will enable me to create or find hidden resources and services for my future clients, create platforms through counselling for victims of trauma.
I can foresee challenges to using this technique if an individual is in an extreme state of denial re: a presenting problem or if an individual is impaired psychologically, for example experiencing psychosis and unable to rationalize change stages. In these cases, I would view the social workers role as one that assists the individual in allocating restorative services/supports to promote a state where they can consider change
Sheafor & Horejsi once said in there 2012 article “Techniques and guidelines for social work practice”, that “patterns of professional drift, or the neglect of a profession’s traditional purpose and functions in favor of activities associated with other professions. This is true because evident that when helping professionals understand their roles as counselors or specialists they seem to lose some alliance with their teaching of their educational
As social workers, it is our responsibility to use the most effective method of practice to engage our clients, assess their situation, and help them create goals that will produce positive outcomes. Every client will present a unique set of challenges; therefore, the social worker must be careful in choosing an approach that will meet the client’s needs, compliment the skills of the therapist and are in line with the agency’s mission. According to Robert and Watkins (2009), psychotherapy is a therapeutic interaction between a trained therapist and a client that is
Individuals’ mental status or physical/ behavioral recovery or medical treatment cannot persist in a healthy phase if their social roles in relationships are unaccounted or if their family is homeless, or they are living in a toxic social environment. I believe, even with the integration, of healthcare professional, the primary focus of social work should not only encompass psychological forces, the environment, or the social structure but on the boundary or the relationship between the person and the social
In social work practice, client assessments are important because they allow social workers to gather information from clients. This information helps the acting social worker better understand clients presenting problems. The assessment also helps social workers evaluate a client’s progress and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions used. In this paper, a multidimensional assessment will be performed on a client I have been working with at my internship placement, Urban Ministries of Durham. Once all relevant information is presented, and intervention and treatment plan will be discussed.
As a social worker, it is extremely important to be aware of the biological factors that are affecting your client’s life. Clients could be suffering from illness such as depression caused by a decrease level in serotonin, or a behavior such as increased aggression caused by higher testosterone levels. It is important to understand that because both of these behaviors are caused by biological factors, they are out of our client’s control (Wormer, 2011). However, it is not only important to be aware of biological factors, it is also crucial to be aware of the person and environment in addition to the biological aspect. The specific perspective that includes all of these factors is known as life course perspective.
Self-reflection and correction in social work practice is important for continued learning and professional development. Without self-awareness, social workers cannot separate their personal feelings, values, and attitudes from their professional. This is important because we need to focus on the needs of the client, not what we think they need. Knowing how to separate our personal feelings and values from our professional feelings and values will prevent us from getting burnout and help us maintain professional boundaries.
Traditionally, social worker are expected to not impose their own values on their clients, and suspended judgment about client behaviors, even when their own values or society values demand a judgement (Dolgroff, Harrington & Loewenberg, 2012). This can often pose difficult ethical decisions for social workers and clients, as personal value systems are inevitable. Social worker value gap, value neutrality and value imposition are important to consider when analyzing any ethical situation with our clients. Consideration needs to be given to both the social worker and the client as they interact together, although it is the social worker’s role to not impose their own values onto the client. The social worker must uphold the value of self