Social Work Practice with Vulnerable Youth - Essay Example

Learning Review: Social Work Practice with Vulnerable Youth Introduction Through my experiences as a mentor, and social worker during my 60-day social work in a voluntary organisation, I have become distraught by the growing poverty and anxiety confronted by vast segments of the client population supported and assisted by social workers. Professionals and students deal everyday with the heartbreaking impact of such problems as violence, homelessness, and unemployment. Clients endure the incapacitating consequences of such life conditions. The human suffering and despairs encountered by social workers nowadays are different in extent and form from those dealt with in the last four decades (Roberts & Yeager 2006). Practicing social workers nowadays serve severely vulnerable populations, devastated by oppressive and harsh lives, and incidents and conditions they are incapable of controlling (Parrott 2001). The difficulties are usually problematic because they are persistent, severe, and sudden. When family and community supports and assistance are not available or weak and when internal resources are debilitated, these populations are extremely susceptible to cognitive, social, emotional and physical decline (Gitterman 2001). In the United Kingdom policy programmes have been launched by the Government that provides directives for mitigating health inequalities and for improving the provision of social service (Brammer 2006). Nevertheless, as I have observed in my work with homeless youths, it is essential that expected benefits made by the creation of new directives are not confused through the absence of foresight about their people-oriented programmes. Of crucial necessity is the consideration of what really takes place during everyday interactions between clients and social workers. For the typically rather ambiguous, but praiseworthy, objectives of central policy programmes to be achieved, social workers have to collaborate with discriminated and oppressed service users in manners that enable health gains cognitive, emotional, physical, and social gains. Many will bear witness to the constructive manner in which social workers work, normally in scarcely resourced and traumatic settings, to realise this (Turner 2005). Nonetheless, there are also several cases of how interactions between service users and social workers lead to clients feeling degraded, discriminated, and oppressed, rather than cared and provided for (Turner 2005). In the case of several deprived service users this concern is mostly obvious, and usually leads to discriminations in access to assistance and care provision being worsened. There are numerous multifaceted discussions behind these concerns, with socio-economics, sexuality, gender, ethnicity, disability, organisational politics, culture, and resourcing at the fore (Roberts & Yeager 2006). Nevertheless, making sure that social workers collaborate with disadvantaged clients in a way that considers differences in lifestyle, culture, and background, and which values fundamental human rights and encourages human dignity is of primary essence in achieving the goals inherent in discrimination-oriented policy programmes (Dominelli 2003). Based on my personal experience as a social worker, I know that this is not an easy task. I am aware of the nature of the task, and the abundant number of literatures on pressure and trauma in the social professions is evidence to this. Yet, as Marshall (1980) argues, to facilitate having the best opportunity of coping successfully with the capably traumatic stimuli innate in the social work professions, social workers should be fully aware of their objectives and influence, specifically to reflect on or evaluate their practice with particular clients. Furthermore, she claims that: “Unless coping with them takes the form of deep confrontation its effects will be superficial and transitory” (Marshall 1980: 21). Anti-discriminatory and Anti-oppressive Practices in Social Work Both anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive initiatives are widespread in social work. By principle, anti-oppressive practice is related with the attempt to defy structural inequalities (Brammer 2006). Anti-oppressive initiative can be interpreted as presenting a major defiance to current power structures. It is concentrated less on unbiased access and opportunities and more on fairness of outcome (Dominelli 2003). For me, it is really all about the empowerment of people with regard to their rights not merely their needs, and concentrates on the enhancement of positive citizenship amongst client instead of merely obliging that every client is valued for who they are. Thus, there is obvious recognition in this perception that people should be empowered to become involved in the elimination of the core structures that discriminate and oppress them. The anti-discriminatory approach to social work practice is usually described in manners that make it interchangeable with the anti-oppressive approach (Turner 2005). However, Preston-Shoot (1995) has claimed that anti-oppressive initiative is more revolutionary than anti-discriminatory initiative in that it defies both individual and structural features of disadvantage and inequality but there are those who claim that even anti-oppressive schemes are not likely to cause substantial decreases in inequality. However, in actual practice, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive initiatives take on a different perspective. Based on my experience with the vulnerable young people, I realised that social workers have to develop a consciousness of their own and others’ behaviours and perceptions with respect to culture, age, gender, sexuality and ethnicity. In my line of work an anti-discriminatory approach is an important ingredient of good practice. It must be encouraged and strengthened to permeate all features of violence, homelessness, and unemployment among the youth, from general strategy and policy to individual client relations. At times I think that if I focus on treating each young person as a unique individual then I will be capable of delivering excellent service. A great deal of the emphasis of youth violence, homelessness, and unemployment is derived from the individual and providing for their needs. These are definitely crucial objectives but a concentration on the individual overlooks the maltreatment numerous individuals have suffered, not merely as individuals but as group members. Failure to distinguish the means in which vulnerable young people have been discriminated or oppressed in the past contributes to the perversions that overwhelm us and boosts the possibility of our failure to care for and value members of that group. Any social worker espousing a genderless, colour-blind practice of care and service provision is at substantial threat of basically sustaining the status quo (Weinstein, Whittington & Leiba 2003). Inequality in access to helpful treatment is still an inequality in treatment though unintended. I realised that a good starting point for social workers serving vulnerable youths is to familiarise themselves or visualise the local picture. I thought how could I become effective where others had been ineffective? Eventually, the low chances of deterring a return to crime were depressing and wearisome to me. And then I realised that the primary source of frustration was the manner those troubled youths treated me. They were anti-social and defiant young people who had accustomed themselves on deceiving others. They treated me in the same way, although I was habitually sympathetic to them. To a certain extent sympathy was reciprocated, but frequently was misunderstood as weakness. Although I felt more secure than most people would believe, there was such an aura of violence, homelessness, and unemployment that it had to, and did, have an impact on me. For instance, I made an effort not to ignore these young people. This was usually challenging, particularly when I had more than one young individual with me. I tried to remove this tendency. It should be apparent at this point that I do not regard working with vulnerable young people an enjoyable task. At the outset, possibly due to the newness, I was thrilled and found the task very fascinating. It was, actually, exceptionally educational. However, as time progressed, the hostility, cursing, and reluctance to change became too much to handle. Then I realised that it is easy to have compassion for these vulnerable youths when I become aware of their life histories and backgrounds. Majority came from despicable poverty, terrible deprivation, and parental maltreatment or neglect. So, armed with an inclusive understanding of their various experiences, backgrounds, and current conditions, I become determined to help them take control of their lives by empowering them and working on their behalf. Thus, the basis of the anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive social work practice is one of ideology. Basically, an anti-oppressive ideology supports these practices (Turner 2005). It claims that the social worker can recognise and appreciate the varied oppressive effects functioning on both clients and themselves. These bring up the personal, structural and cultural oppressions affecting the lives of both social workers and clients (Gorman, Gregory, Hayles & Parton 2006). They affect the nature of the social work practice embarked on by client and social worker (Gorman et al. 2006). My experience in Prince’s Trust emphasises how social workers can knowingly value the cultural differences of vulnerable young people by identifying the oppressions which affect them at structural, cultural and individual levels. I managed to transform this understanding into practice by exploring the forms of discrimination that affects my clients’ family, the incompatible cultural principles within the household, and the individual forces that influence my clients’ varying success in coping with difficulties. Practice cases, such as mine, can be used to emphasise the challenges and difficulties facing social workers who are exerting much effort to transform an anti-oppressive institution into practice in the existing human service environment. Areas of Personal Development In preparation for my final fitness for practice placement, I think that I need to develop confidence and a continual learning of linking theory to practice. I have to develop a high sense of self that results in professional achievements and gains for others. I should develop skills in relating to different types of people and expand that skill in various facets of practice. Advocacy and coordination are as essential to social work practice as counselling and sympathetic listening are to the clinical profession; confidence is important to both (Gitterman 2001). All of those competencies, advocacy, coordination, counselling, sympathetic listening, and confidence, require communication (Gitterman 2001). As a social worker, I should put much effort in heightening my self-awareness, specifically, in becoming sensitive to weaknesses and strengths in changing environments. Direct service workers, like me, can use their interpersonal abilities in their social work task. More fundamentally, confidence means that a social worker should be capable of performing alone, since s/he may be the only one on the setting who will and can do something. We should know when to exercise our thoughts, feelings, and trainings to affect and change troubled lives. Another item for personal development that I would like to develop is a continual learning of linking theory to practice. Social workers in placement assignments should be capable of describing the situation they are working with, clarifying why they think this happened, what they can do to initiate change, and others (Parrott 2001). Thereby, social workers will need to apply a number of theories. However, social workers may not consistently be conscious of this. Whenever social workers are taking account of theory, it is important to (Roberts & Yeager 2006): (1) understand that no particular theory can give explanation to everything: when a young person takes part in an activity the explanation for his/her behaviour can be based on an array of intentions or causes; (2) understand that some theoretical models simply do not work with a number of individuals: using active listening and empowerment can be quite effective with some individuals, just as with my young clients. For other individuals, it may offend them; (3) adopt a critical model of theory; (4) consistently use the value basis to theory: a great deal of the theory applied in social work practice is derived from outside the line of work; and (5) do not be daunted by theory; it is used by social workers every day. I aspire to develop a skill in effective linking of theory to practice because I am aware that theories can assist social workers in understanding a particular situation. For instance, the information acquired as component of a client evaluation can appear like a muddle of information; using theory can assist in understanding the information. Applying theory can assist in explaining young people’s actions and justify practice to the youths, community and society in general. The objective is that this will result in social work practice becoming more broadly responsible and finally more valued. Applying theory can explain why a young person’s action led to a particular outcome. This can assist in evaluating and perhaps changing social workers’ practice in an effort to make the outcomes more productive. It is apparent in that case, that theory is crucial to social work practice, both for collaboration with clients and for social work to be more respected in society. Conclusions When there is discrimination and oppression, when social network relations and the family itself are unstable, and when individuals have the extra weights of emotional, intellectual, and physical incapacity, the effect of poverty is specifically demoralising. Homeless youth, unemployed adolescents, young offenders, and ex-offenders, all are at grave threat of not being capable of surviving in the environment. But some youths remain somewhat unaffected by disturbing experiences such racism, family violence, and severe poverty. They do not become confused or lacklustre. They in some way make progress when life appears intolerable—when trust, confidence and hope have been deprived from them. Social workers exert great effort to help vulnerable individuals. Many do so with remarkable dedication and determination, and professional capability and resourcefulness. These social workers face challenges every day to provide needed services with very scarce resources. They decline to leave social work; they decline to abandon the vulnerable groups of people and instead they carry on developing programmes, providing customised services, and giving hope. This learning review is an honour to these praiseworthy social workers. References Brammer, A. (2006) Social Work Law, UK: Prentice Hall. Dominelli, L. (2003) Anti-Oppressive Social Work Theory and Practice, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Gitterman, A. (Ed.). (2001) Handbook of Social Work Practice with Vulnerable and Resilient Populations, New York: Columbia University Press. Gorman, K., Gregory, M., Hayles, M. & Parton, N. (2006) Constructive Work with Offenders, London: Jessica Kingsley. Marshall, G. (1980) Social Goals and Economic Perspectives, Penguin: Harmondsworth. Parrott, L. (2001) Social Work and Social Care, London: Routledge. Preston-Shoot, M. (1995) Assessing anti-oppressive practice, Social Work Education , 11-29. Roberts, A.R. & Yeager, K.R. (2006) Foundations of Evidence-Based Social Work Practice, New York: Oxford University Press. Turner, F. (Ed.). (2005) Social Work Diagnosis in Contemporary Practice, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Weinstein, J., Whittington, C. & Leiba, T. (eds) (2003) Collaboratin in Social Work Practice, London: Jessica Kingsley. Read More