Field Practice Behaviors
2.1 Recognize and discuss an understanding of the importance of diversity and difference in shaping life experiences in practice at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.
2.2 Discuss ways to present themselves as learners and engage clients and constituencies as experts of their own experiences.
2.3 Engage in self-awareness and self-regulation to manage the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse clients and constituencies.
Competency 2 Narrative:
As a social worker, I continually recognize and engage diversity and difference. I demonstrate this through presenting myself as a learner and engaging each client as experts of their own experience. I’ve found that doing so has given me the opportunity to fully understand each client’s perspective while reflecting the values embedded within the social work profession. I have maintained consistent engagement in self-regulation to manage the influence of personal biases by communicating with my field instructor, my professors, and my peers throughout my experience in the field. Working with such diverse populations within my practicum setting has given me the opportunity to understand the importance of diversity as well as given me the ability to develop the most effective intervention and communication strategies for each client I serve.
Evidence 1 (Field):
I have demonstrated this skill at my practicum agency through engaging each client I serve, from small children to adults, as experts of their own experience. In one particular situation, I visited a client at school, a 12-year-old girl, who immediately made it known that she was not pleased to see me. I gave her a sympathetic smile as my instructor asked her the first few questions we ask each child. I clarified that each month our case is open, we are required to see her, and proceeded to ask her some follow up questions. I quietly listened as she spoke, effectively establishing rapport by initiating empathy and understanding regarding her concerns. A detailed journal entry regarding this interaction can be found here (week 4, November 25).
Evidence 2 (Class):
A requirement of the Human Behavior and the Social Environment class was to complete a thorough literature review. The population I chose to center the focus of my research question on was children in the foster care system. Although I have never been placed in foster care, I have always felt drawn to work with children slipping between the cracks in the system. Writing this paper enabled me to explore and understand the various obstacles faced by children placed in foster care as well as the best practices to ensure positive outcomes. The literature review I wrote can be found here .
Evidence 3 (Additional):
I conducted a bio-psycho-social assessment on a client that detailed this client’s individual development as well as his family dynamics and communication processes, all of which vastly contrasted my own. I have used a pseudonym to protect this client’s identity. The bio-psycho-social assessment can be found here .
Skills Used: Accomplishing these tasks required me to consistently maintain self-regulation, self-awareness, and an open-minded approach with each client I served, in addition to utilizing active listening skills, patience, and empathy.
Knowledge Used: To complete this tasks, I often reflected back on what I learned from professionals in the field along with my own experience as well as the skills I was able to strengthen during SOCW 309: Practice with Individuals.
Values Present: To successfully complete the tasks above, I consistently demonstrated the social work value of integrity through effectively engaging each client. I illustrated the social work values of the importance of human relationships and dignity and worth of the person through recognition of the inherent worth of each client I served and establishing a lasting, trusting rapport with them.
Cognitive Processes Used: For these tasks, I had to recall (knowledge domain) what I have learned from both hands-on experience and academic study, apply (application domain) the knowledge and skills and I have obtained, and continually analyze (analysis domain) myself and my approach.
Affective Processes Used: I internalized (characterization domain) the value of diversity within my agency through consistent interaction with clients from various populations and backgrounds. This taught me how to communicate effectively with each client as well as resolve (characterization domain) personal biases through continually integrating (organization domain) the practice of self-regulation and self-reflection.
Theoretical Foundation: I believe the theory that most closely aligns with this competency is the Dilution Effect Theory. This theory assesses that stereotyping leads to bias and inaccurate judgement, stating that this can be eliminated or reduced when information is given to them about other people. As social workers, we will interact with people from all walks of life. Therefore, the ongoing practice of self-reflection and managing personal biases is paramount. It is imperative that our approach is one absent of pre-conceived notions and that we are able to engage client as experts of their own experience in order to effectively serve each one.