Discussion Board Replies

Instructions please reply to each discussion, Kiana, Amanda and Ruth and provide reference for each of the student discussions. 

 Kiana Jones  at Sunday, May 1, 2022 1:55:56 PM

An explanation of the social work practice skills you have gained by participating in your field education experience. While participating in my field education I have gained additional social work practice skills that will allow me to be successful as a future social worker. Taking the initiative to learn experience by existing knowledge and skills with learning new skills in order to prepare for social work practice is a great skill (Birkenmaier & Berg-Weger, 2018). I have already had knowledge of being empathetic, actively listening, being able to communicate while using great time management skills to work with clients. I have learned to use critical thinking in all aspects of my work to be effective while providing treatment for the clients. Being able to provide case management and services is a great form of critical thinking because it targets all areas of the client’s social environment that needs support. Also working amongst the elderly population it allowed me to gain patience. This enable me to build rapport and trust with the client. Majority of the clients were exposed to trauma or some form of abuse/neglect. They had issues with trusting adults and at times even peers. It may take time to gather all informative information but that’s when you develop multiple ways to utilize critical thinking to retrieve the information.

References

Birkenmaier, J., & Berg-Weger, M. (2018). The practicum companion for social work: Integrating class and fieldwork (4th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

Amanda Smith  at Wednesday, May 4, 2022 12:18:17 AM

An explanation of the social work practice skills you have gained by participating in your field education experience         

Today my morning started by talking to a client who was released from the hospital for attempting suicide. He overdosed on the medication we prescribed to him, became scared, took himself to our crisis unit, and was put on an M1 hold because he would not agree to go to the hospital voluntarily and would not develop a “safe for now” plan (Gould et al., 2013). He has been experiencing intractable anxiety and depression for a decade, starting when he first entered college. Today, he said, “I don’t want to die, and I don’t want to suffer anymore.”  He has future plans, and he has supportive family members. So, I drew a diagram of an outline of a human brain on the whiteboard, and we talked about the general mechanics of the large parts of the brain as in the left and right sides, the commissural fibers, the lower cortex, the frontal lobe. We labeled them and then talked about how neurotransmitters work like highways for our thoughts, feelings, memories, and behaviors. We talked about how those neurotransmitters can change. We then talked about how a brain can develop around anxiety and affects functioning. I then caught his eye gaze and stated, “you are bigger than your symptoms. You are not anxious. You are experiencing anxiety.” He reflected that he was overwhelmed by symptoms, and I reflected again, “if you were only your symptoms, you would not be overwhelmed by them.” He expressed a sudden realization of understanding and was able to make a safety plan stating, “I want to make sure I can be free to be me again.”This example is a typical client that I have had in my internship. Many of my clients have been experiencing extreme mood states while waiting on a waitlist for many months. It took a lot of time to build trust, and it didn’t leave us a lot of time to delve into treatment. So, I found myself in situations where I was helping them with therapeutic readiness for their next phase of treatment and referring them to longer-term treatment. Providing services in this way has allowed me to develop further my confidence in utilizing social work practice skills. These skills include active listening, empathy, empowerment, advocacy, self-determination, strength-based approaches, and client-centered modalities (Kirst-ashman & Hull, 2018). I have also been able to slow down and intestinally assess my utilization of self and strengthen my abilities to know how I am affecting my clients’ recovery process (Davies, 2021). I have been able to feel empowered to more fully understand how I can effectively strengthen my skills (Davies, 2021). I have more fully learned how to support empowerment in my clients and teach them to act from an empowered place in their lives to take ownership of their recovery process (Van Voorhis & Hostetter, 2006). In this way, I have learned how to move clients more effectively way, from “tell me what to do” to “how can I do that myself” (Van Voorhis & Hostetter, 2006).

References

Davies, M. (2021). The social worker's use of self. In The essential social worker (pp. 173–178). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315239958-15

Gould, M. S., Cross, W., Pisani, A. R., Munfakh, J., & Kleinman, M. (2013). Impact of applied suicide intervention skills training on the national suicide prevention lifeline. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 43(6), 676–691. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12049

Kirst-ashman, K. K., & Hull, G. H. (2018). Understanding generalist practice (2nd ed.). Wadsworth Pub Co.

Van Voorhis, R., & Hostetter, C. (2006). The impact of msw education on social worker empowerment and commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy. Journal of Social Work Education, 42(1), 105–121. https://doi.org/10.5175/jswe.2006.200303147

Ruth Ajeh  at Wednesday, May 4, 2022 4:35:24 AM

An explanation of the social work practice skills you have gained by participating in your field education experienceAccording to Van Voorhis et al (2006), "Empowerment is A CORE VALUE of the social work profession and social workers have a fundamental responsibility to empower clients with knowledge, skills, and resources so they can influence the decisions that affect their lives." While I have been in the field I have used many skills throughout this program. When talking to the patients on site I try to be empathtic toward them because I know that the are going throug a lot, and having to be away from their families can cause stress and worry on them. I try to keep them motivated to continue on with there treatment for themselves, another skill I have used is persuasion. I use active listening when talking to the  patient so that I am understanding there thoughts and feelings, I even take the time to write these things down and talk to their treatment manager about them if it is something that they need. I take the time to advocate for them in times where they need someone to speak up for them. Being organized is important while in this field becasue you do not want to chart something in the wrong chart so I take my time with each patient and make sure that I have the right patient when I go to chart. I try to be self aware of what I am doing and listen to the all the feedback that is given to me from supervisors to patients. According to Reupert (2007), "Participants described the self that they brought to their work as individualistic, though at the same time stressed the importance of self when interacting with others."  I try to stay aware of my action, facial and movement, when interacting with patients, I want the patient to feel comfortable with me and know that I am here for them and there treatment. 

Reupert, A. (2007). Social Worker's Use of Self. Clinical Social Work Journal, 35(2), 107-116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10615-006-0062-4

Van Voorhis, R. M., & Hostetter, C. (2006). THE IMPACT OF MSW EDUCATION ON SOCIAL WORKER EMPOWERMENT AND COMMITMENT TO CLIENT EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY. Journal of Social Work Education, 42(1), 105-121. http://dx.doi.org/10.5175/JSWE.2006.200303147

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