Reflection in Aspects of Social Work - Essay Example

Introduction Reflection is an essential aspect of social work (Atkins & Murphy, 1994). Despite the work done and the rules set in the line of duty, it is important for any social worker to reflect on the work they have already done, they are doing or they are about to do. Through reflection, a social worker or student can review themselves and the decisions that they have made along their learning curve. They get to know the good and bad practices of their placement and get the confidence to evaluate themselves. This aspect creates growth in terms of social work capabilities and brings in a sense of responsibility among social workers and students (Dewey, 1993). They tend to be more rational and logical in their duties with the knowledge that they will have to evaluate each decision they make in their work. In this reflective essay, I am going to talk about my learning placement, which is my first placement in social work, and how it helped me develop my social work prowess. Being a student, I learned a lot from it. Firstly, I will evaluate my practice as a social student, bringing in the theories and approaches that led to the buildup of this placement. Moreover, I will use examples of incidents to show how I put my theory learned in class into practice. I will go through the feedback given by service users and social workers about me and my work throughout the placement. After that, I will outline my plan for developing my practice in the next phase of social work education. Reflection in social work requires various approaches that can be traced back to the placement. I used several approaches in my placement and they helped me to be reflective. These approaches included the motivational interview, task-centered approach, the child-centered approach and the person-centered approach (Fook, 2012). The exchange model was also implemented in some cases. Practice Setting My first placement was in a home or refuge place for people who had suffered domestic violence. The service users were women and children who had undergone both physical and mental torture in their previous homes and needed psychological support in terms of courage and counseling. They needed to regain their self-worthiness that had been deprived of them due to domestic violence. As such, reflection begins with identification of the problem at hand. Working with the women and children from these abusive families and guiding them through the recovery process helped me reflect on my social work education. Helping people get over a trauma is not an easy task if not well executed, and their varying situations require social workers to be reflective when working with them (Gibbs, 1998). It needs a lot of strength in encouraging them, as well as teaching them how to be strong and to live over the abuse. This dedication to work built my understanding of social work and helped me assess myself through reflection. My work mostly involved activities with the children. These activities were simple tasks that would help them not think too much about their homes, and to keep them occupied throughout in a constructive manner. This task-centered approach was beneficial to most of them, although a few were reluctant in group activities. We also talked, and I used the motivational interview to talk to their parents. The Practice Competency Framework domains came into play throughout the placement and helped me understand the placement relative to the education I had received. These domains assist social workers in their work and act as a guide in reflection, indicating whether the social work has been done sufficiently or is still lacking in some aspects. The PCF domains utilized during my practice mostly involved professionalism, which is entailed in domain 1. Through professionalism, a social worker can work appropriately with the children and women and also seek the required advice whenever necessary. Dealing with sensitive people requires a lot of work ethics as indicated in domain 2, and these principles should not be violated (Banks, 2006). The service users of this refuge were women and children from abusive homes. They had varied problems depending on the kind of mistreatment they had undergone at home. My understanding of their issues was a replica of the social work education I had undergone for the period before the placement. The reflective practice in such a place creates a need for evaluation in social workers. They have to relate what they learnt to what they apply, and adjust some aspects of the theories gained to suit the practical situations at hand. Some had lowered self-esteem, others were suicidal and some had lost hope in ever finding the love of a family. Reflection was crucially applied in this setting. I will look at the reflection-on-action part of Schon’s theory as applied in social work (Scon, 2002). Through this theory, social workers look at the things they apply in practice, evaluating them to determine the areas that need correction and those that have been done right. Applying reflection is, therefore, important in the education of a social work student and provides the opportunity to analyze social work (Davis, 2007). It is not a wonder that some people called me a lovely lady, kind and always willing to provide the necessary support. The social work placement was not without challenges in this setting. These children and women considered this place their new home and working there throughout my placement made me feel as though I was intruding in their private space. Social workers should be keen in their approach to service users, ensuring that all parties involved are comfortable. Through the placement, I learnt how to reflect on the expected situations modelled in social work education and relating them to the real situations of a placement. Case study The service users that I interacted with during my placement were from different backgrounds. Being a Black African and a Muslim, women who were abused by their Muslim husbands found it difficult to approach me. Social work requires interaction with the victims, and reflecting on the education on how to deal with people was enhanced through the creation of a neutral ground in which we would socialize. However, my primary focus was on one child who had varied issues cropping from domestic abuse. Through reflective practice, social work should resolve such issues, countering them psychologically and supporting their medical requirement as well. This child was called Abu, and his mother was a victim of domestic violence too. The two were staying in the home after his father violently and repeatedly abused them. Reflection requires the understanding of the situation at hand, and creation of strategies to counter them. Through the placement, this aspect of reflection was implemented and helped in the achievement of success in the practice. By the time I was meeting this boy, he was emotionally weak and would cry at subtle issues. He was also afraid of men and ran away from each one of them in the house. His refuge was only in his mother’s arms. Being a six-year-old boy, this condition would lead to his poor development psychologically and socially. His interaction with other children was on the low, and he preferred to either be on his own or with his mother. I decided to concentrate on Abu and his mother, talking to them. I accompanied them to several counseling sessions, and they became open to me, talking to me of their tribulations. The child opened up and would engage me in a constructive discussion once in a while. In such a case, a critical and holistic approach is required for in depth reflection and complete analysis of the issue at hand. Reflective Practice The child-centered approach is highly appropriate when reflecting on such a case (Davis, 2007). Getting to know the child through their understanding was a key element in his healing. Through reflection, I was able to compare the social work education with the placement. Assessing my understanding of social work when dealing with child victims of domestic violence helped me comprehend the psychological aspect of abuse. This aspect can be related to the victim either directly or indirectly. Research shows that children who are brought up in homes that are filled with cases of domestic violence grow up to be violent or withdrawn (Humphreys, 2000). They are antisocial people by the time they get to adulthood and this was seen and learned in the placement. Erik Erikson’s psychological development theory is not entirely adhered to when it comes to the growth of a child who is brought up in a psychologically and socially wanting environment (Humphreys, Laing & Cavanagh, 2013). I used reflection and undertook a motivational approach in which I encouraged Abu to step out of his silent shell. Through this approach, the placement helped me understand the aspect of reflection in understanding social work. Social education is enhanced through reflective practice, and the placement provided the best avenue for the understanding of children involved in domestic violence. In a meeting with the other teams, a social worker from another team noted that I had learned well in social work. He said that I was proactive, dealing well with Abu and that I had assisted several him on the path of proper child development. Also, I had shown a lot of knowledge and prowess when dealing with domestic violence survivors and took the appropriate steps towards recovery from trauma. The case of Abu was noted as one of such achievements, upon which the reflection on my social work was centered. Applying Theory to Practice A lot of theories are involved in social work (Collingwood, Emond & Woodward). Social workers should work on the appropriate social work theories and implement the ones that are most suitable for them. It is important to realize practically social work theories, ensuring that sufficient evidence is associated with them (Knott & Spafford, 2010). Having this proof in the reflection of the principles used gives an understanding of the practical implementation of these methods, as well as their suitability in the particular situation. Working with Abu required the appropriate principles, as well as understanding of the various approaches in social work. Having hailed from a Muslim family made it easy for me to interact with Abu and his mother. The application of the systems theory was an essential tool in the development and healing of Abu and his mother. Social work should resolve problems by correctly applying appropriate theories. These theories were enhanced through the placement, and revised through reflection after which I got to fully understand them. The reflection of theories previously taught in class was greatly applied in the placement. It involved the psychosocial development theory (Parker, 2010). This idea was enhanced in a seed-planting activity with Abu and the other children in the home. This theory was essential in the development of purpose, love and care among the children, and Abu in particular. My efforts in implementing this approach were noted by a family and a caseworker, and they all commended me for it. The major part of social work in such a placement is to enhance development of the child. Through reflection, social work should be geared towards its targets and objectives, the achievement of which is determined by the implementation of the correct approaches and theories. This aspect enhanced my social work education and made the placement effective in developing my growth as a social worker. Conclusion The reflection brought about a lot of understanding of the placement, as well as the discovery of new information. The purpose of reflection is not only to evaluate the decisions made in work, but to also identify the new ways that could have been implemented to make the placement more efficient than before (Milner & O’Byrne, 2002). Thus, a few changes and additions will need to be incorporated in the development of my practice in the next phase of my social work education. One of the areas to focus on is the practice of theory. I will stop concentrating on the theoretical part of social work, and trying to fit service users in a model as I did with Abu. Instead, I could work more openly and try listen to the service users, relating to their issues. Moreover, I will consult my patients on the level of exposure they would love relative to multi-agency meetings. This reflection can be utilized in other aspects of social work, and not only in the dealing of individual cases of domestic violence. This reflective essay dealt with placement at a home of abused women and children and took up a unique case study that was used to comprehend the theories used by social workers. The application of appropriate social work approaches helped Abu in child development, which could otherwise have been compromised. References Atkins, S. and Murphy, K. (1994) ‘Reflective Practice’, Nursing Standard8(39) 49-56. Banks, S. (2006) Ethics and Values in Social Work, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Collingwood, P., Emond, R. and Woodward, R. (2008) ‘The theory circle: A tool for learning and for practice’ Social Work Education, 27(1), 70-83. Davis, A, (2007) ‘Structural Approaches to Social Work’ in J. Lisham (Ed.) Handbook for Practice Learning in Social Work and Social Care: Knowledge and Theory, London: JK. Dewey, J. (1993) How we Think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the education process, Boston: Health Publishing. Fook, J. (2012) Social Work: A Critical Approach to Practice, London: Sage Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Humphreys, C. (2000). Social work, domestic violence and child protection: challenging practice. Bristol, UK, Policy Press. Humphreys, C., Laing, L., & Cavanagh, K. (2013). Social work and domestic violence: developing critical and reflective practice. Thousand Oaks, Calif, SAGE. Knott, C. and Spafford, J. (2010) ‘Getting Started’ in C. Knott and T. Scragg (eds.) Reflective Practice in Social Work, Exeter: Learning Matters. Macmillan.Parker, J. (2010) Effective Practice in Social Work, Exeter: Learning Matters Milner, J. and O’Byrne P. (2002) Assessment in Social Work Basingstoke: Palgrave Schon, D. (2002) ‘From technical rationality to reflection-in-action’ in R. Harrison, F. Reeve, A. Hanson and J. Clarke (eds) Supporting Lifelong Learning: Perspectives on Learning, London: Routledge Read More