My Practice Principles in Psychology - Essay Example

RUNNING HEAD: Reflective Essay Reflective Essay Client Inserts His/her Name Client Inserts Name of Institution Introduction When I decided to take psychology as a subject, it is because I believe that my main purpose in life is to transform other people’s lives. This essay is aimed at explaining how my practice principles will help people realize that they can empower themselves because they already have everything it takes to realize their goal and purpose in life. I want to help them see this and go after their happiness. I believe am fit enough to carry out my placement as I have developed my self-understanding as a professional practitioner. I am aware of the professional and ethical practice role and this has helped me to build up my professional identity. I have already started working with Joseph Ticehurst in his company Creative Dynamics. I strongly believe that this organization will enable me put into practice what I have leant in class and be able to establish my career. I have also read the four agreements in one of the workshops at creative dynamics, so what know what. The four agreements are going to be my pillar throughout my career life. Joseph Ticehurst is my role model and that is why I chose to work with him. At creative dynamics, there are motivational staff advancement activities which are effective and sensitive. The workshops create a desire for the deliverance of excellent customer service and a creation of a transformed application to team and individual excellence. Counselling and other personal issues are conducted with care, tactfully and sensitively. Joseph’s main focus is satisfaction, seeking solutions that are of significance and personal growth. This is what I also want to do and achieve. I have acquired a variety of knowledge and skills in my coursework that will enable me to act like a professional practitioner in the workplace. I value being proactive and not reactive in any wok that I do, just like Cleak & Wilson (2007), states “ a practitioner who is more reactive than proactive with clients may behave in ways that are less effective, less efficient and perhaps even dangerous to the clients’ welfare.” I have acquired the knowledge of equity. I take action to prevent any discrimination against individuals in terms of race, gender, class or disability. In case there is any form of discrimination in the organization, am planning to introduce anti- discriminatory measures and policies. As citizens we all have considerable freedom of expression and thoughts. As we prepare to be professionals, we have to take clear responsibilities to handle our clients and colleagues fairly and equality regardless of our private opinions. The Thompson’s model clearly establishes the issue of prejudice which is an extreme attitude. I have also managed to acquire strong interpersonal skills that will definitely help me relate well with my colleagues and clients. Since my main goal is to empower people and make them realize their goals, this will involve a lot of motivation. According to the attribution theory, people are usually motivated by the satisfying outcome of being in a position to feel good about themselves. This emphasizes that their current perception will definitely influence the manner in which they will interpret the failure or success of their present efforts and therefore their future trend to carry out these similar behaviours. I have acquired the skill of learning how to model other people’s behaviours. This will play a major role in understanding what the client is going through, interpreting the behaviour and being able to come up with a solution to their problems. I will cooperate by being part of the clients that I will be dealing with. This way I will be able to give, accept to gain, accept shortcoming, accept to be involved and cooperate. I posses good verbal and written communication skills which will help me be able to communicate effectively and efficiently with the clients, during workshops or during individual one on one communications. Community development skills that I also posses will enhance my understanding of the community and the need to empower the community to bring about social justice. This will play a major role in involving the community on a universal basis in coming up with a way out to their problems. This will be very effective especially during workshops. The empowerment principle will guide me in enabling them to have an opportunity to discover themselves and grow, both at individual and community level. There are principles of practice that I am intending to uphold during this placement (Cleak & Wilson 2007). Firstly, maintaining the breadth of vision. My professional practice goal is empowering people and making them realize their dreams so that they become people individuals in life. I want to incorporate this with the vision of the organization which is also placing people where they want to be, in general term. This will enable me to sustain a broader sense of principle and practice focus. Seeking for a just and fair society is another principle I intend to uphold during my placement. As a psychology student my main role is to promote change and improve other people’s lives. I believe everyone has what it takes to be wherever they are and my main purpose in their lives to show them the direction they need to follow to realize their purpose. By seeking a just and fair society, I'll be able to remain intact with my purpose and values while maintaining integrity in the workplace. I also intend to work towards wholeness. Cleak & Wilson (2007), asserted that “we do not practice with one part of ourselves, and live a personal life with another, all the elements of ourselves are each a part of the other.” I intend to not only consider the particular aspect of my client’s experience that is related to my line of duty but also the whole person in general. The decisions I make will always be based on the organization’s mission and principle because I’ll be part of it. I also intend to uphold the principle of working across domains. As much as I want to work directly with clients, talking to them in the workshops as a team or at personal levels, I will always put in mind other factors relating to their experiences and look for ways of providing feedback that will enhance positive change. Actively articulating the importance of values is one principle I that I can’t afford not to uphold. I love creative dynamics organization as it has empowered many people who could not see what was lying ahead of them and now they have achieved what they wanted and some are in the progress of accomplishing their life’s goals. I will be opening discussions in relation to the organization’s values and what they have achieved so far so that clients can see hope and be willing to discover the available opportunities in order to realize their goals in life. I also intend to acknowledge my personal and professional limits when dealing with clients. Everyone has his strengths and weaknesses in certain areas, and not everyone can do everything. Since we all cannot be experts at every organization’s aspect, I intend to maintain ethical practice in my main area of competence as much as I might be doing other chores in the organization. Each and every client is unique in his/her own ways. Every person is different from the other and so our experiences will also differ. Embracing these differences and being willing to learn from different people’s experiences, views and ideas will play a major role in enhancing my practice and generate a more open and creative working environment. This will only be possible if I uphold the principle of celebrating differences among individuals. Recognizing the importance of the relationship between knowledge and expertise is the last principle I aim to uphold. There are several theories and skills that are required to work effectively with the clients. I intend to persistently make connections and transmit skills from one situation to another. I understand that people I work with come from diverse backgrounds and have different analysis on issues. I intend to centre on identifying the link and overall goals rather than the differences. There are some specific skills required for the placement. Every skill I will ever need is covered by "the four agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz. His thinking is a great source of inspiration and enlightenment to me. These four agreements provide a code of inspiration for life; a personal development template, a model for personal development, relationships, behaviour and communication. I can summarize the four agreements as follows; (Ruiz, 2011). Agreement one: Be impeccable with your word. This entails speaking with integrity and saying only what you mean. It involves avoiding the word to speak against oneself or gossip about others, and using the power of one’s world in the direction of love and truth. Agreement two: Do not take anything personally- what others do is not because of you but rather an expression of their own reality and dream. When you become resistant to the actions and opinions of others, then you avoid being a victim of needless suffering. Agreement three: Do not make assumptions- always find courage to ask questions and express what you really want. Try to communicate with others as clearly as possible in order to avoid misunderstandings, drama and sadness. This one agreement can completely transform one’s life. Agreement four: always do your best. In any situation you are in; always strive to do your best. From time to time, your best will always change but doing your best in every situation will help you to avoid self abuse, regret and self judgement. These four agreements are the pillars of the skills I need to achieve my goal of making others chase their goals and achieve happiness in the organization. I do not believe I have any gaps within my work and I believe that I should just always strive to follow the four agreements better and to keep growing every day, to do this I have a deck of cards that goes with the book on the four agreements. Each day I pick out two cards to follow for the day and write it down in my diary what cards I have and how I went following them. There are numerous challenges likely to be encountered during the placement period (Cleak & Wilson 2007). The major problem I fear is lack of satisfaction to clients. Different clients have different expectations and so they may not feel motivated by someone who is on placement. Some of them may even lie, may be self serving while others may not be able to work efficiently. Another problem is the complexity of the cases. Some clients may be having complex issues that will be beyond my control and I have to get someone else in the organization to tackle it. This may be a challenging. Inadequate resources in the organization in terms of time and finances may also be a problem. This will limit the efficiency and effectiveness of the work I will be doing. Another problem is rejection by other employees. Some may give me an inferior view because it is my first placement experience and I might not be as competent as they are. They may therefore look down upon me. In dealing with these challenges I intend to create positive change by addressing the issues I find to be complex among the clients. I trust some clients will be inspirational and so as I help them I will also learn from them. When I fell like am being under estimated in terms of my competencies, I intend to come up with effective and integrated practice by identifying any area I might not be doing well and improve on it. I also think that working with people first then using theory and techniques that fit the client instead of the other way round. I intend to be positive in everything I do in the organization. Working as effectively and efficiently as I can in everything I do. Always creating time in case of extra work and when there are financial difficulties, always seek help. In linking the ideas I have about working with Joseph Ticehurst, and helping clients to realise their dreams to the theory discussed in class, I may be required to work with clients facing complex problems. The busyness of the organization will enhance my adoption of task to focus on what to do to assist my clients. I intend to link whatever I have learnt in class in implementing my tasks in my professional practice. This will form the manner in which I will be focusing on the development of knowledge and skills throughout my career. It will also assist me in sustaining my health and well being, thus averting the effects of burnout (Cleak & Wilson 2007). Conclusion I strongly believe that working with creative dynamics will enable me put into practice what I have learnt in class and establish my career. I have the skills required and it is up to me to put them in practice. I expect to face some challenges in the organization but am also positive that I will be able to handle them amicably. This is where I want to work and transform other people’s lives. References Cleak, H., & Wilson, J. (2007). Making the most of field placement (2nd Ed.). Melbourne: Thomson Learning. Ruiz, D. (2011). The four agreements: A practical guide to freedom .California: Amber-Allen. Read More

As we prepare to be professionals, we have to take clear responsibilities to handle our clients and colleagues fairly and equality regardless of our private opinions. The Thompson’s model clearly establishes the issue of prejudice which is an extreme attitude. I have also managed to acquire strong interpersonal skills that will definitely help me relate well with my colleagues and clients. Since my main goal is to empower people and make them realize their goals, this will involve a lot of motivation.

According to the attribution theory, people are usually motivated by the satisfying outcome of being in a position to feel good about themselves. This emphasizes that their current perception will definitely influence the manner in which they will interpret the failure or success of their present efforts and therefore their future trend to carry out these similar behaviours. I have acquired the skill of learning how to model other people’s behaviours. This will play a major role in understanding what the client is going through, interpreting the behaviour and being able to come up with a solution to their problems.

I will cooperate by being part of the clients that I will be dealing with. This way I will be able to give, accept to gain, accept shortcoming, accept to be involved and cooperate. I posses good verbal and written communication skills which will help me be able to communicate effectively and efficiently with the clients, during workshops or during individual one on one communications. Community development skills that I also posses will enhance my understanding of the community and the need to empower the community to bring about social justice.

This will play a major role in involving the community on a universal basis in coming up with a way out to their problems. This will be very effective especially during workshops. The empowerment principle will guide me in enabling them to have an opportunity to discover themselves and grow, both at individual and community level. There are principles of practice that I am intending to uphold during this placement (Cleak & Wilson 2007). Firstly, maintaining the breadth of vision. My professional practice goal is empowering people and making them realize their dreams so that they become people individuals in life.

I want to incorporate this with the vision of the organization which is also placing people where they want to be, in general term. This will enable me to sustain a broader sense of principle and practice focus. Seeking for a just and fair society is another principle I intend to uphold during my placement. As a psychology student my main role is to promote change and improve other people’s lives. I believe everyone has what it takes to be wherever they are and my main purpose in their lives to show them the direction they need to follow to realize their purpose.

By seeking a just and fair society, I'll be able to remain intact with my purpose and values while maintaining integrity in the workplace. I also intend to work towards wholeness. Cleak & Wilson (2007), asserted that “we do not practice with one part of ourselves, and live a personal life with another, all the elements of ourselves are each a part of the other.” I intend to not only consider the particular aspect of my client’s experience that is related to my line of duty but also the whole person in general.

The decisions I make will always be based on the organization’s mission and principle because I’ll be part of it. I also intend to uphold the principle of working across domains. As much as I want to work directly with clients, talking to them in the workshops as a team or at personal levels, I will always put in mind other factors relating to their experiences and look for ways of providing feedback that will enhance positive change. Actively articulating the importance of values is one principle I that I can’t afford not to uphold.

I love creative dynamics organization as it has empowered many people who could not see what was lying ahead of them and now they have achieved what they wanted and some are in the progress of accomplishing their life’s goals.

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