Social Work and Human Services - Essay Example

Social work and human services-reflective summary Affiliation: Introduction Social work and human services are a wide field that is meant to not only assist people become better at relating with other but at making better decisions about themselves and the others they deal with on regular basis. It is therefore important to learn all about social work and in details which is what the different learning topics below are all about. Learning one: Critical and reflective practice Reflection, critical reflection and reflexive are terms that are used interchangeably even though they all mean different things. This is something that I had no previous knowledge of but learnt came to learn. Critical reflection is where attention is paid to not only one aspect but one looks at the whole picture of feeling, thinking, acting and believing. In reflection, one looks at only one aspect and focuses on it fully such as the perspective of the knowledge. This leads to an in depth analysis of the area of focus and shapes this knowledge. Reflexive on the other hand is the whole process of researching the area of reflection and influencing it. During the reflexive research, questions about the knowledge are raised, examination of the consequences understood and this is almost similar to looking and understanding the whole picture as is the case with critical reflection (McMahon, 2002). In all the three aspects of reflection, the important thing to remember is to be objective when carrying out the processes. Learning two: Values I learnt a whole lot more about values in this lecture that they are not only about the standards of behaviour which I have always known but they involve the beliefs that people may be holding valuable and they can be changed. The perfect example which I got a chance to learn is about the Australians and their values, how intrinsic there are to their own culture and needs and hence making them different from the values of for example the Americans (Dalton, et al, 1996). When dealing with values, it is important to understand how they relate to positive changes, how they influence the quality of services, the environment, the choice an individual should make their privacy or even their diversity with others. All these core values are tied up with the ethical practice and make the individual hold better choices. It is important to always ensure social justice, upholding of professional integrity as well as respecting other people in addition to upholding the other code of ethics in place (Garton, 1994). Learning three: Ethics and ethical practice Learning about ethics has made me realize that ethics is not simply about the ethical theories alone but is tied down with the values mentioned above, with the law in the determination of what is good or bad and what punishments to be expected in terms of morals among others. Moral principles such as beneficence and fairness which is also called justice and autonomy have to be considered as well (Taphouse, 2001). What I also learnt that is important is that there are distinctive differences between ethical issues and problems. The ethical issues deal with the technical or even the legal matters while the ethical problems solely have to do with the moral decisions when situations arise. When there are two or more conflicting situations in terms of ethics, then this is called an ethical dilemma and it is at this point that the moral principles, the ethical theories and even the code of ethics have to be applied to solve the issue and especially when it has to do with the clients (Shaver, 2002). Learning four: Good practice and complexity Good practice is only possible when one has a proper working practice framework and follows the set practice standards to handle the complex practices. A good practice I have also come to learn that it requires following of the code of ethics and well as the values of social justice, professional integrity as well as respecting others and that means even their decisions. Practice standards also provide a good guide to maintaining a good practice (Bernstein, 1999). An example of the practice standards is that by Australians which consider the values and ethics of a social worker, the professionalism the worker demonstrates and how culturally responsive and inclusive the practice of the worker is towards the people he is dealing with. Furthermore, the standards consider the information recording and sharing for accuracy, communication with the others as well as how well they apply the knowledge and develop their profession (Scheafor & Horejsi, 2003). It is the complexity of the clients, the workers and the system that guides on the practice to be used. Learning five: The human services and its workforce Human services are all about the institutions that provide the services needed to the people. It deals with the industries providing the services rather than the individuals directly and hence incorporates many different professionals in the services. The utilizers of the human services are basically everyone despite their age, race or gender. I have learnt that they work in key fields such as handling domestic and family violence, disaster recovery, community development, child protection and their welfare, education, counselling services, security, housing and even in provision of physical and mental health services among many others (Goodin, et al, 1999). All these human services demand to have a way to intervene and this is done at the primary, secondary as well as tertiary level when dealing with the public health issues or at the micro, mezzo and macro level when dealing with the social work issues. The human services workers handle these services through the community, advocacy, activism, research, case management in addition to utilizing social policies already in place (Lyons, 2001). Learning six: Is social work social control? I have come to learn that social work is part of the human services as the social workers are the ones who foster relationships with the individuals through offering them social arrangements that are meant to better improve their lives. Research by Latham, (2001) indicates that the purpose of social workers is to improve the interaction between people, ensure they have equal power in their relationships as well as making them develop power and control in their relationships. All this is done within the law as well as still maintaining social justice and autonomy. Nothing about the social work can be deemed to be controlling the social loves of individuals. Social workers just make their lives that were previously dysfunctional better and any other thing beyond that is basically and assumption. The aspect of social control is more common within cultures that are individualistic as they do not know that social work is about caring for the affairs of each other as is the case with the collectivist cultures (Mendes, 2003). Learning seven: Practice frameworks Decision making is not always an easy thing but I have learnt that it can be when one has a guiding practice to assist in the decision making. This guidance is called the practical framework and it consists of analysing the working context, honesty and objectivity in addition to the skills and knowledge one possesses on the subject area or situation. The practice framework is effective at influencing the community beliefs and expectations they may be having, personal beliefs as well as values and event he social policy and the structures of organizations (Jamrozik, 2001). All these will however only be influenced and lead to making them better if the right decisions are made. I have also learnt that a good practice framework requires consistency, ability to communicate effectively with the people as well as having a better understanding of the connection between the decisions being made and their life or even experiences. Critical reflection is therefore necessary in the decision making processing to enable seeing of the bigger picture. Learning eight: Roles and levels of intervention As has been mentioned briefly above, i have learnt about the levels of intervention that social workers use in their practice depending on where they are offering their services to and their magnitude. There three levels of intervention are micro that applies on only individuals, mezzo which is applied when handling a small group of people and macro when handling an organization institution. According to Netting, Kettner & McMurty, (1993), in whatever level of intervention the social worker is working on, their roles should always remain to be that of negotiation and mediation, organization, advocacy, planning, protection, activism, counsellor, administrator, educator and a social change agent. A social worker as a result of their multitude of roles are able to offer personal change to the people they are interacting with, offer them support, facilitate their personal growth and development as well as ensuring they undergo social changes to be better individuals in society. All these roles are part of the human services discussed earlier and they require the social worker to have values and uphold ethics. Conclusion In conclusion, the work carried out by a social worker is what maintains the social relationships among the human beings and it is the human services that enable them have sustainable future as individuals and as a group. All that should be remembered is that when carrying out social work, ethics should be maintained and values upheld at all times and at all levels of interventions. References Bernstein, G. (1999). That must be so rewarding: a practical guide for professional development. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. Dalton, T. et al, (1996). Making social policy in Australia. Sydney: Allen and Unwin. Garton, S. (1994). Welfare and social policy in Australia: The distribution of advantage. Sydney: Harcourt Brace. Goodin, R. E. et al, (1999). The real worlds of welfare capitalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University press. Jamrozik, A. (2001). Social policy in the post-welfare state: Australians on the threshold of the 21st century. Frenchs Forest NSW: Longman. Latham, M. (2001). The enabling state: people before bureaucracy. Annandale, NSW: Pluto Press. Lyons, M. (2001). Third sector: the contribution of nonprofit and co-operative enterprise in Australia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. McMahon, A. (2002). Writing diversity: ethnicity and race in Australian Social Work, 1947- 1997. Australian Social Work, 55(3): 172-183. Mendes, P. (2003). Australias welfare wars: The payers, the politics and the ideologies. Sydney: UNSW Press. Netting, E., Kettner, P., & McMurty, S. (1993). Social work macro practice. New York: Longman. Scheafor, B. & Horejsi, C. (2003). Techniques and guidelines for social work practice. Boston: Pearsons Education, Inc. Shaver, S. (2002). Australian welfare reform: From citizenship to supervision. Social Policy and Administration, 36(4): 331-345. Taphouse, J. (2001). Money for nothing? The welfare state and the state of welfare. Just Policy, (21): 54-58. Read More