Social Work: Integrative Reflection On Mike Boucher

Integrative Reflection on Mike Boucher
Madeline, HM, Bilicki
Nazareth College

Integrative Reflection on Mike Boucher
In the course of Introduction to Social Work, our first guest speaker Mike Boucher, came to our class to discuss his profession and his experiences within his profession. Mr. Boucher shared his major responsibilities, challenges, experiences, and rewards of his occupation as a social worker. From listening to Mr. Boucher’s speak, I gained some insight about the field of social work and learned somethings about myself as a future social worker.
Major responsibilities, challenges, and rewards
Mr. Boucher is a social worker at Saint Joseph’s Center which is primarily a health care center for people who lack insurance. At Saint

Boucher, personal communications, January 20, 2016). Meaning, when social workers charge their clients for their sessions, they are also hindering an individual by economic means. At the center, about twenty people get payed in some capacity and about two-hundred people in the center provide volunteer efforts. Sometimes Mr. Boucher and some of the workers leave without pay, but the lack of pay does not seem to bother him. Mr. Boucher works and volunteers whenever he is able to at the center and only charges his clients either ten to twenty dollars or sometimes he does not charge them. Some of the volunteers at Saint Joseph’s Center include Dr.’s, nurse practitioners, chiropractors, therapists, and many more (M. Boucher, personal communications, January 20, 2016). Those who volunteer are mostly health practitioners who want to help the individuals who need and cannot afford assistance. The main focus of a social worker is “enhance[ing] human well-being and help[ing] meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty” (quote p. 8). Mike Boucher and the volunteer’s best exemplify a social workers main purpose since they are all working to empower the people living in poverty who cannot afford to pay for

An eye opening realization to this profession of social was what that “we profit off people’s problems” (M. Boucher, personal communications, January 20, 2016). Mr. Boucher’s statement presents us future practitioners with a serious problem that contradicts our main purpose as professional social workers. I found his statement to be one that should be taught to every social worker when considering how much to charge a client for a session. Another point that he made within the field of social work is that “even with best intentions, you harm people” (M. Boucher, personal communications, January 20,