Social Work Reflection

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When I applied to the School of Social Work I did not have research in my mind. For me research was something that was conducted by hard science. I never put any thought as to how programs and community development initiatives came into fruition. I thought that being a social worker involved working with clients and advocating to elicit change in their lives. The introduction course, 1710, that all students had to take before being able to apply to the School of Social Work covered briefly the roles of social workers, not mentioning research.
As I entered into my first year of Social work my perceptions started to change. I realized that there was so much more to social work than just working with clients. Through the courses that I was enrolled …show more content…

I thought I was going to go through the program and work with people in mental health and addictions. This semester has changed my perception; I have realized that I am interested in community development. The interest came from my community development course and my experience in the field. I have learnt that you need to work with community members, funders, politicians, community developers, and other social workers to be able to meet the needs and wants of the community to ensure the right measures are taken to accommodate the needs in the community. You need to be able to form a proposal that has adequate research done to ensure that funding will be approved, you need to research the longevity of the project to make sure it is sustainable and you have to research the impact it can have on the community or if the community even wants the …show more content…

In this paper I am going to argue that the lack of resources in rural communities contributes to the overall negative well-being and mental health of its members. In order to demonstrate this argument, I will examine three aspects associated with mental health concerns. In the first section I will analyze the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Health Canada, and The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health to determine the need of services for people with mental health concerns. Secondly, I will address the systemic barriers that are associated with mental illness and lack of resources by critically analyzing the power differentials within society, the policy players and the oppressions that people with mental illness face on a daily basis. Finally, I will look at the positive recovery process for people who have access to services. In order to ensure validity within this research I will look at the quantitative research derived from Statistics Canada to see the objective numbers that correlate with the rising needs for mental health services. I will also conduct qualitative research by interviewing members of rural communities to see their perceived notions on how the lack of resources in rural communities contributes to the overall

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