Growing up, it was instilled in my head that a social worker was a person who took children away from their parents. I do not remember where or how that negative stereotype of a social worker was first imprinted in my mind. It was discouraging and upsetting to hear adults talk about the social work profession with a negative connotation. Today, our society is fixed on placing everyone in a box. Forgetting that we are more than what we are labeled. Blocking us from growing as a person. Every day, our experiences shape our thoughts, ethical values, characteristics, and how we view ourselves in society. It is without a question that my life experiences and relationships have influenced me to the path of the social work profession. Self-awareness is a skill every social worker should have. Having a higher self-awareness enables a worker to counsel others better. Over the past year, I have become conferrable and self-aware of my sexuality. It was an internal struggle of self-hate. A fear of not being able to pursue my career (social work) due to my sexuality. Fear of ruining relationships and going against social norms. Becoming conferrable of my sexuality, it has allowed me to become conferrable with …show more content…
I would overeat as a way of de-stressing. I know and have acknowledged that this is not a good way to de-stress. Recently, I have managed to stop overeating and find other ways of de-stressing. Such, as walking and other physical activities. Going into social work, I know it is a stressful job and school will be more difficult once transferring to a university. I will find a way to manage stress in a healthy manner. A characteristic of mine that will help me in my social work education is optimism. My mother came from a lower economic class and build herself up to the middle class by hard work and perseverance. She instilled in me these characteristics. More importantly, optimism for my future in social
Social workers deal with intense situations daily. It is important that social workers are aware of how they are affected by these interactions. Priscilla Dass-Brailsford explains in her book, that countertransference, vicarious trauma (VT), secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue and satisfaction, and burnout are all different ways that counselors can be affected (Dass-Brailsford, 2007). This is where it is important for social workers to have a plan of self-care and stress management resources to use.
Personally, I’ve never had any contact with a social worker gratefully, but they do not have a great reputation. Social workers are not known for coming into people lives when everything is going well. Professions that help people have always caught my interests. It wasn’t until college however, when I gained a full knowledge of what social workers did. I have a passion for helping kids and wanting to do more for them. Volunteering has been a big part of my life and is where, my passion grew to become a juvenile attorney. Throughout school that is what my mind was set on. The knowledge I gained at the youth shelter made my passion for helping kids grow even more but changed my direction. Hearing the kids talk about their lives helped my passion grow even
Social Workers are in various different roles within society such as: therapists, advisors and administrators. These respective vocations focus on creating an environment that evokes both warmth and understanding. A social worker with brass or smug qualities will not incite trust in patrons. Social worker with such qualities affirms the belief that a naturally empathetic personality is fundamental and empathy is a main component of my character. To give an illustration of this attribute my partner’s father has cancer and though our views religiously, politically and culturally quite different he confides primarily to me. Active listening plays a key role in our discussions, because to be empathetic one needs grasp the perspective of other individuals and understand their
People find his or way to social work in a unique manner- personal experience, the want and passion to change the world, or the need to do something that “matters”. Michael Pesce past is what drove him into social work. Michael Pesce was drive to social work based on what his mother went through as a young child. Bouncing foster home to foster home, and how he heard how much it impacted her not being able to have a constant home. It affected him, and made him want to change the world. We see many kids who do not have a steady home for a variety of reasons, but a social worker has the chance to change that, and help find a kid a loving, stable home. However, this story shows us that the job will not be easy. There are days Michael questions,
I will be addressing 'Gibbs ' reflective model; in order to have a comprehensive perspective upon my self-awareness during the interview at the 'The University of Nottingham ', for the position of an Adult Nurse. Commencing the interview, we all gathered around a table, which roughly consisted of twelve students and two assessors, the atmosphere was relaxed and the interview initiated with a general introduction from the assessors, followed by each candidate saying their name.
My first obstacle in becoming the social worker I envision is myself. As a Southern woman, I was taught to pray, have good manners, to cook, not to display behaviors in public unbecoming of a lady, to honor my word, and that it was my duty to help those in need. These principles speak to the social work values of service by helping others, integrity in being honest and ethical in the things I say, and dignity and worth of a person, by treating others in a respectful manner.
Self-awareness is a psychological state in which people are aware of their traits, feelings and behavior. It is the ability to recognize oneself as an individual separate from the environment and other individuals. Self-awareness is arguably the most fundamental issue in psychology, from both a developmental and an evolutionary perspective. According to psychologists, self-awareness is classified into two types: public and private.
The personal qualities that I equip for the social work profession is the ability to work effectively with people from diverse populations. I was born and raised in a community composed of diverse populations which has given the training/knowledge to become a social worker. During the internship and the volunteering, I learn to be empathy with other people. I have what I takes to be a social worker because I want to help
The main reason I chose the social work profession, manifested early within my stages of childhood. The importance of giving to and caring for those in need, were deeply embedded in my very soul. Being reared by my grandmother, a nurse and by my teenage mother, a psychology student, I was exposed constantly to acts of kindness and generosity. As a result to my empathetic personality, I was welcomed into many social and ethnic groups, not commonly open to a young gay black male. In these younger years with the assistance of my parents, my love for others allowed me to help other teenagers in crisis, often providing shelter, advice, monetary assistance and a listening
The most important social workers in society are those who enter the child welfare system. Since many children don’t always grow up in monogamous households those in the welfare system need assistance the most. According to Williams- Mbengue (2012) “Nearly three million American children are put into welfare systems and cared for by social workers.” Imagine being a social worker in the welfare system, taking care of children who come from impoverished biological homes, and a large majority of them experiencing some form of abuse or neglect (Meloy & Phillips, 2012). As a social worker, it can be very emotional and stressful handling a child in the system, especially if a child was just taken from their biological home.
After coming to North Carolina Central University I have distinct opinion of what the social work profession is. Before, when I was still in high school I had a poor general idea of social workers. I was aware that school social workers had a degree but, I was under the impression that such degree was not needed to work in a place like the department of social services and both positions carried the same title. I knew of someone who worked at DSS for many years and they had begun working there straight out of high school. I know now that I was wrong, however, was my predetermine opinion that much different than the public’s? The only reason I have a more precise knowledge of the field is because I am a social work major. However, the vast majority of the population are not social work majors and thus their impression is based on what they have experienced and seen. In this paper I argue the different publics views based on interviews, readings, and personal experience.
When you take your work into yourself and your life it can take a lot out of you. It is of the essence that you take care of yourself emotionally, physically and psychologically. If you are well rested and healthy you will take much more satisfaction out of your work than if you are not in good health. (Simmons) As a social worker, they must learn and perform self-awareness of their motivations, expectations, and biases. To know how one’s behavior affects someone is important for one’s own development and learning how to help your client to, because if you know how to help yourself you can figure out how to help the client. (USC Social Work) “Social work professionals know how their values, attitudes, beliefs, emotions, and past experiences, affect their thinking, behavior, and relationships. Professionals must be willing to examine and change their behavior when it interferes with working with clients and other collaborative professional relationships.”
Growing up in a foster home and later on being adopted, my past consists of a life that was placed off, what I thought to be its intended course. The derailment granted me with a different perspective on life and also newfound knowledge and respect for social workers and their contributions to society. Individuals whom were in foster care with me and interactions with foster children from my previous employment opportunity at a daycare, influenced me to steer in the direction of becoming a social worker. As I constantly reached new levels of maturity while progressing in life from exposure through real life experiences, these events created a profound knowledge base in relation to social justice. I have witnessed and ascertained wisdom
Richards et al (2010) surveyed 148 mental health professionals (77% women) with a BA or higher. Different specialties were social work (43.3%), counseling psychology (24.8%), clinical psychology (23.4%), other (7.1%), and general psychology (1.4%). Participants were given a definition of self-care, and referred to as “any activity that one does to feel good about oneself. It can be categorized into four groups which include: physical, psychological, spiritual and support.” Participants were asked to identify on a 7-point Likert scale how often they indulged in these behaviors. Each question was developed independently of all others and inter-item reliability cannot be assessed. For Self-Awareness, a 20 item survey was given. The Self-Reflection
Self-awareness is the “conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires” (Dictionary.com). Having self-awareness in the field of Social Work is important because it can help with reducing bias, which is an important aspect that should be avoided. Also, having this characteristic is important because it aligns with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) code of ethics and values, as well the empowerment and advocacy of individuals (such as a social work client), language and communication, leadership, education, diversity, cross cultural skills, and service