Engage in Practice-Informed Research and Research-Informed Practice
As a competent social worker, I will dedicate myself to seeking knowledge and understanding about clients and social environments. To me, engaging in practice-informed research is knowing how to properly conduct and collect research from personal experience and credible sources. Research-informed practice is a reminder that the best social workers keep themselves informed about current research findings, and understand that better practice comes from a curiosity for knowledge. My commitment is to never stop learning, and allow myself to be curious in areas that I lack knowledge or experience in.
Evidence of Practice
While attending Southern Adventist University and studying for my MSW, I engaged in a variety of activities that helped me to develop and master this competency:
4.1 – Engage in review of contemporary best practices
Course Evidence: During my Mental Health Practice class, I wrote a A Review of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy. When we were given this assignment, our professor challenged us to pick a therapeutic modality that intimidated us. I chose to review Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy because it was challenging for me to consider this as a safe and effective intervention. Within this paper I reviewed this therapeutic method’s brief history, best practices, and then reflected on my findings (affective level: responding). This assignment challenged my understanding of this intervention, and pushed me to put some of my previously formed opinions aside to formulate a more informed opinion based on the literature I had reviewed. Writing this paper taught me the importance of having a comprehensive understanding of a therapeutic modality before practicing it with clients professionally.
4.2 – Conduct research that responds to social work practice needs
Field Evidence: Towards the beginning of my MSW internship with Mpowered, I designed and implemented a Confidential Motherhood Needs Assessment. This survey recruited willing participants from the virtual Mpowered instagram community. 30 Mothers participated in this survey. From this we were able to collect data (cognitive level: analysis) that informed our creation of “The Busy Mom’s guide to the Anxious Brain” online course, and our podcast: “The Motherhood Dilemma”. The theoretical framework that influenced the writing process of the summary of the findings was Systems Theory. This theoretical framework informed me of why moms behave differently than other individuals. As a social worker, I used this theory to look into how motherhood was impacting these women’s experiences, and how it was influencing the hardships they described. Furthermore, it helped me to look at the participants’ lives as a whole, and put together all the pieces of the puzzle that influenced their behaviors. Please see our summary of findings and literature review here.