Author’s note: The reflective summary will show the skills and knowledge required by social workers to deal with clients as taught during the course content and on the journal inputs from each learning milestone.
Social Work Reflective Summary
Introduction
Social workers provide human services, and in the process, they have to integrate personal knowledge skills and values that are shared with the client and the organisation to ensure the outcome is client-centred. This situation requires the worker to be culturally sensitive and observe the ethics that promote a positive result for the clients. For instance, the principle of beneficence and autonomy should be observed. The worker has to be flexible in cultural ideas since personal and clients values may contradict and competition between the two started there might be a challenge in the delivery of services. Critical thinking is an aspect that should be incorporated into the micro, meso, and macro of social work service delivery.
The reflective summary
The social worker as a social control
The delivery of service by social workers in different areas of the society is part of their contribution to the social control. I learnt that to achieve social control working with systems set by the government is a crucial element. For instance, the government established the norms and value to be upheld in the society which has to be followed (Cowger " Atherton, 1974). Thus, the social worker supports these values and uses them to deliver services. The social workers use the rules and values to identify and design frameworks to support the vulnerable groups in the society by offering them equal chances and opportunities. I used to think that with the guidelines from the government and professional requirements it would be easy to deliver services to communities. However, I realised that sometimes there might be challenges with uncooperative clients who may affect the pattern of service delivery. Some of the social control activities in social work include poverty reduction, economic efficiency promotion, and promoting social justice among other. Social control is a significant element of social work services and should be conducted with professionalism. The contribution of the government and other international institutions in laying the foundation infrastructures that facilitate the delivery of services in the social work field.
Ethics and values
Another element I have learnt is that personal, organisational, and client values and ethics are critical factors to consider while delivering service to clients in the social work industry. This consideration is reflected in the ethics that guide the social workers in the line of duty for example when solving conflicts and dilemmas when they occur (Banks, 2004). The social worker is expected to show confidentiality while dealing with clients’ details by sharing it with only authorised parties (Lum, 2004). Some of the ethical considering for the social workers include honesty, respect, and accountability towards the clients as provided for by the Australian Association of the Social Work Practice (Rickard, 2018). Thus, forcing own ethics on patients is something that social workers should avoid. However, I noticed that at times the personal ethics and values might contradict with that of clients or colleagues for instance on the spiritual and LGBT matters. In such example, I have to accommodate the different idea to harmonise the process and improve the service delivery. This is the biggest lesson that I have acquired in this learning area that I previously had a contradictory opinion. I have to ensure my working environment observes ethics especially those prescribed by profession.
Helping and complexity
People experience similar situations differently which could be serving and not deserving, but they should not be categorised or judged from their experiences. Furthermore, enforcing authority n people should be avoided and ethics to be considered while delivering social work services. I have learnt that being mindful and ethical is a prerequisite for professional performance. Also, understanding and not letting personal values affect the delivery of service. According to Chenoweth " McAuliffe, (2017), the human service organisation and activities in them are characterised by their complex nature. The complexity originates from individualism, policy, and neo-liberal politics (Rubin " Babbie, 2015). For instance, some of the complex issues that social workers have to deal with include the homelessness, mental health problems, and willingness to change behaviour into a healthy one among other issues. In delivering services, it should be patient-centred where the clients are helped to adjust according to their perceived needs. Unfortunately, some facilities and providers put their mission and vision above clients’ needs which makes helping a complex process (Reamer " 2013). Hence, I have learnt that it is the role of the social worker to offer services that reflect the expectation of the client (Zastrow, 2016). Being cultural sensitive can help social workers reduce bias while delivering services.
Practice standards and good practice
I have learnt that good practice is key in avoiding or dealing with ethical dilemmas. Poochikian-Sarkissian, Sidani, Ferguson-Pare, " Doran, (2010) stated that social workers should provide client-centred services to facilitate a positive outcome. A good practice may not necessarily benefit the system or the individual but could benefit the counter system or the individual, which is another less than that I have learnt in my social work degree. Also the good practice balances between personal values and moral with those of organisation and clients to provide quality service. Furthermore, incorporating the element of human rights in the service delivery promotes professional ethics and limits the dilemma while dealing with clients. Promoting confidentiality of the patient’s details is part of the ethical consideration that ensures the patients are satisfied with the standards offered (Reamer, 2013). I also understood that being ethical requires the social worker to understand the rights and responsibilities of each party in the process. However, when compromising practice standards, it may lead to a conflict with personal beliefs hence, the need to balance the two to remain professional in the service delivery. I acknowledge that understanding my responsibilities and those of the clients and expectation from the system is a crucial area to focus on good practice which is embedded in good standards.
Practice frameworks
The social work course has taught me that a sound framework of practice is based on the combination of values, knowledge, and skills as a marker for good practice as reported Chenoweth " McAuliffe, (2017). This order provides a guide for decision making by articulating practice and framework. Also, it improves the interpersonal communication to ensure the client understands the situation at hand. The framework helps the workers to understand various contexts and decide on the appropriate mechanism to enhance a positive outcome (Carson " Kerr, 2017). Moreover, the social worker has to honestly appraise person strength and weakness to identify the areas to invest skills and knowledge to improve the quality of services. Ultimately a good practice should benefit the system and the clients but focus and promote their needs and interests. I also learnt that societal belief and ideologies are critical in the process of delivering services. For example, understanding how Australian families are structured or how social problem should be handled; hence the social workers should observe such frameworks to inform their practice. As a social worker to promote policies that enhance good practice that is patient-centred such as the community-based family approach as shown by Healy, (2014).
Roles and levels of practice
Each profession is assigned a different role in the society, and social workers must facilitate equitable relationships, people to be emotional over their lives, social justice promotion, equality, and addressing infrastructural inequalities among other areas. Therefore, when launching interventions in such areas, the social workers focus on the micro, meso, and macro. At those levels they work with individuals, a group such as families, and systems or communities (Moore, 1990). Despite the presence of the three levels, I have noticed that for a real change, the social worker has to address an issue at all levels. Such an approach provides a lasting approach or solution that address the needs of not only the client but also the provider and the system. To achieve this status, I learnt that clients should be viewed as people and not case studies, which should be treated with dignityproperly. Moreover, in the process of service delivery, the social worker has a role in contributing knowledge and skills that will improve the practice in the field. One of the challenges that I learnt is that since I have to work in all levels to effect the desired change, it may be a challenge when I have to shift to a level where I find less suitable. Thus being too comfortable serving in one area should be discouraged among social workers to enhance their skills in serving at various levels.
Critical and reflective practice
Being vital and reflective motivates a person to think creatively and focus on solving a problem. It makes a person question every scenario with the aim of attaining a different perspective that will be effective in problem-solving in various contexts. Hence, it is an essential skill for personal development while reflecting on individual thoughts and behaviours (Knott " Scragg, 2016). I have learnt that these elements enable a person to understand the motive for action, finding alternative solutions, identify areas for improvement, and facilitate self-care that will benefit other people among other areas. It is important to recognise that mistakes are bound to happen and that social workers should anticipate for that and prepare to deal with the challenges encountered in the field. Also, identifying and reflecting previous mistakes can improve the outcome of subsequent experiences which should be considered by social workers.
Conclusion
The field of social work is embedded in providing human services such as poverty reduction, behaviour change, gender equality, and economic empowerment among other areas of social control. However, the social workers have to do this with professionalism by observing the ethical requirement guiding the field to avoid related dilemmas. Understanding that micro, meso, and macro levels are the focus for delivering social work intervention the providers have to be acquainted with all areas to promote the quality of services. Also, the social workers need to be critical and reflective to deal with the dynamic challenges in the field.
References
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Healy, K. (2014). Social work theories in context: Creating frameworks for practice. Palgrave Macmillan.
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Lum, D. (2004). Social work practice and people of colour: A process-stage approach. Brooks/Cole Publishing Company
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Reamer, F. G. (2013). Social work values and ethics. Columbia University Press
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