Self Assessment Of Social Work Practice: Experiences And Reflections

Interpersonal interaction

This report will provide a self-assessment of my experiences in my social work profession. To examine my previous experiences in social work practice, I will use the Gibbs reflection cycle method. In four areas of my social work practice, I shall conduct an assessment of my experiences. These will include an experience with interpersonal interactions with coworkers, an experience with an organizational difficulty, an experience with personal stress, and one prior encounter with choice. The Gibbs reflective cycle model will be used to guide the four reflections.

Step 1: Describe an experience

We've been handed a case to work on with my partner, John, to assist a family with two adolescent boys, ages 15 and 17, struggling with drug misuse. According to the material presented, the guys are boisterous and difficult to deal with. My partner and I agree that we will handle them separately for the first few sessions as we acquire more information, but my partner does not show up for the first meeting. This occurs multiple times, and his actions are not clearly explained. I later discovered that he did not want to work on the case but had not disclosed it, putting me in a position where I had to do double work. I'm unhappy with him for overworking me when he should have reported it sooner so that I could find someone else to work with. Furthermore, when I reported him to his boss, I discovered that it was his habit and that he was a slacker. I decide to confront him, which leads to a fight.

Step 2: How did the experience make me think or feel?

I got the impression that John was disrespectful and rude based on my encounter. He should've told me he didn't want to work on the case. Even though he knew he wouldn't be involved in the lawsuit, he was helpful during the preparatory stages. I also believe that John's earlier actions should have been reprimanded by management. They allowed him to continue working despite his questionable ethics.

Step 3: Evaluate the experience (was it good or bad, why)

It was an unpleasant and unprofessional experience. I made a mistake confronting him, which resulted in his disorderly behaviour and interruption of work duties. He overworked me since the boys were difficult to manage and necessitated a second pair of hands. Instead of feeling remorseful for what he had done, John became furious and intuitive.

Step 4: Analysis (reading and knowledge will inform this)

This incident brings up the topic of workplace ethics. Every social worker must comprehend and adhere to the professional code of conduct(Knowles 2021). One of them is our commitment to service, which demands us to assist people with social problems no matter what the circumstances are(Tham and Lynch 2019). On the other hand, John does not appear to be aware of the social work code of ethics. In my opinion, I was correct to be enraged by his conduct. Some procedures and processes should be followed in the workplace(Sunarsi 2019). He shouldn't have accepted to go on the assignment to cancel it afterwards.

An organizational issue

Step 5: What could have been done differently?

As a result of this experience, I've noticed numerous gaps in the hiring process for social workers. There is also negligence on the side of management, which does nothing when problems like the one I had to arise(Harris and Jones 2018). Since the initial occurrence against him, rigorous measures should have prevented future incidents. I would urge management to ensure that the hiring process is thorough and that only qualified individuals are hired.

Step 6: If it happens again, what will I do differently?

I hope this circumstance does not recur, but I will face it as gently as possible if it does. Instead of confronting the person involved immediately, I'll go through the correct means. In addition, I will always conduct a background check on my partners to learn about their strengths and limitations. When I am assigned to work with someone, I will make every effort to engage them as much as possible to determine whether they are uncomfortable with any of the case's facts. However, I sincerely hope that this does not happen again.

Step 1: Describe an experience

According to my background check, I was assigned to a divorced couple whose wife was an addict with a mental disease. This family's issue was that both parents refused to raise their seven-year-old son. When the mother was too high on drugs to care for the child, neighbours came to his rescue multiple times. On the other hand, the father claimed that he was unable to care for the child due to his lack of employment. I felt I was focusing on the woman and the child because of my view of the problem. I discovered that the father needed assistance after additional research. Because of his circumstances, I discovered he had PTSD in addition to drug misuse. Because I was focused on assisting the mom and her child, I complained to the agency that he should have been allocated to someone. The agency was apprehensive, suggesting that I should deal with them both. It would be taxing for me to try to help them all simultaneously, and there would be a conflict of interest, in my opinion. Because some cases were overstaffed, I was dissatisfied with the scenario.

Step 2: How did the experience make me think or feel?

I have the impression that some of the agency's employees were not being treated with respect. I knew they would have offered assistance if they wanted to. Despite their aversion to sitting alongside, they urged me to overextend myself by assisting the two sufferers. I tried to explain that helping the two separately would be more successful, but the agency refused to see things my way. 

Step 3: Evaluate the experience (was it good or bad, why)

The experience did not express any indications of professionalism. The scenario was horrible, in my opinion, since the agency did not care about the victims' best interests. 

Step 4: Analysis (reading and knowledge will inform this)

Personal stress

Working in high-stress environments does not cultivate success(Ford et al., 2019). Because of the clients' unwillingness to comply, I was compelled to work on a case that was threatening to become difficult. If I began working on one issue first, the other would have deteriorated by the time I began. As a social worker, it is my responsibility to provide the best service possible to individuals who require assistance. I believed that assisting the two victims separately would be more beneficial to them, but the agency disagreed. 

Step 5: What could have been done differently?

Since the male client was unwilling to interact with me, I believed the agency should have assigned another practitioner to him. In my opinion, both issues were highly important, and they needed to be dealt with simultaneously.

Step 6: If it happens again, what will I do differently?

I will strive to find common ground with both victims if this happens again. It would be stressful and physically demanding, but it would be worth the risk if there were no one else to help. 

Step 1: Describe an experience

I was assigned to work with a client who was abusing several drugs. His drug addiction had progressed to the point that he was delusional. He'd started acting aggressively towards everyone close to him. In the previous case, he violently abused a friend and was arrested. He admitted to being influenced and promised to reform if he was released. He was released from custody if he agreed to get professional help. That's when I was assigned to assist him in overcoming his addiction. At first, he was cooperative and eager to assist. However, he had been using cocaine and had gotten emotionally unstable during one of our meetings. When I sought to elicit further information from him regarding the event, he became hostile and physically abused me. I had never been abused by a customer before, so this was a new experience. I couldn't get over that, and it had a long-term effect on me. 

Step 2: How did the experience make me think or feel?

This client made me feel belittled and disrespected. I had been under the impression that I was in command of the situation. I was also upset because I attempted to assist him, and he should have expressed gratitude. Although my professional code of ethics required me to continue assisting him, I was apprehensive about visiting him again. It also caused me to acquire a pessimistic attitude regarding instances involving clients who had substance abuse problems.

Step 3: Evaluate the experience (was it good or bad, why)

It was a negative experience because it resulted in physical injuries to me. It was an unpleasant and unexpected experience that I had never anticipated having. I acquired a dread of that client, making future collaboration difficult. It was also degrading because he was supposed to respect me. 

Step 4: Analysis (reading and knowledge will inform this)

Drug and substance abuse severely impairs a person's ability to think clearly(Magidson et al., 2020). When powerful narcotics, such as coke, are involved, the problem worsens. Furthermore, substance addiction is difficult to treat or manage(Kvarnström, Airaksinen and Liira 2018). My client was in this state, but he was dismissed. The police did not believe he required rehabilitation, but they did believe that assistance from a social worker would be beneficial. From the incident, it was clear that he required more than simply counselling. He was in desperate need of rehabilitation.

Step 5: What could have been done differently?

In my opinion, the customer should have been referred to a rehabilitation institution. They have the workforce and resources to deal with such situations. However, before starting with the case, I should have done a full background check. Instead of someone to chat to, I would have realized that he required rehabilitation. Finally, before starting the session, I should have given him some time to recuperate from the effects of the coke he had consumed. I should have initially referred him to a hospital for help stabilizing him. 

Step 6: If it happens again, what will I do differently?

If I am called upon to investigate another case like this in the future, I will undertake a thorough background investigation first. Before making a choice, I will speak with the client's friends and family to determine the scope of the drug problem. If the person qualifies for help outside of rehab, I'll pay close attention to their feelings during our sessions. This will help me notice when I'm angry and take proper action before it becomes abuse. 

Step 1: Describe an experience

I had just finished working on one case when I was given another. While preparing for the next case, I was now asked to prepare a report on the previous case. Because the report for the previous case was due in a month, I chose to put the new case first. The following case was extremely interesting, so I spent so much time working on it that I completely forgot about the report for a while. Time flew by, and before I knew it, a month had passed. When I received a reminder to submit the last report, which was past due, I was taken aback. I found myself juggling drafting the report and continuing my fieldwork simultaneously. It wasn't easy juggling the two tasks at the same time. I recall being late for certain client meetings because I needed to finish the report quickly.

Step 2: How did the experience make me think or feel?

I felt irresponsible and inept at time management due to the event. Instead of waiting for the last-minute rush, I should have been more in charge of what I did. I also felt like my time management was out of control and needed to work on it. I wasn't happy with how I managed the situating, and even though I had finished the report, I was exhausted from the rush and multitasking. 

Step 3: Evaluate the experience (was it good or bad, why)

The experience was negative because I struggled to deliver the report on time while multitasking. I also irritated my client multiple times by focusing solely on the report and forgetting about the fieldwork for a brief moment. I did not project a positive image of myself to my supervisor and client. Even though I was not lazy, I gave the impression that I was.

Step 4: Analysis (reading and knowledge will inform this)

In completing any activity, time management is critical(Walker & Lloyd-Walker 2018). Poor time management is a sign of laziness or a lack of understanding of the professional code of conduct. A social worker's performance and delivery are also important (Hadley and McGrath 2021). Social workers must be actively engaged in properly managing their time and resources to benefit service users. Unfortunately, I lacked several of these attributes, which influenced how I was perceived at work and by my customer.

Step 5: What could have been done differently?

I should have arranged my job into manageable portions to guarantee that both ran smoothly. The organization would allow me to assign suitable time to each activity based on the urgency(Pieterse, Stiggelbout and Montori 2019). It would also enable me to effectively manage my time and ensure that I was never overburdened with work. My report would have been completed on time, allowing me to go on to the next client. 

Step 6: If it happens again, what will I do differently?

If this happens again, I'll organize my job according to the amount of time. If I were to write a report, I would allow enough time to complete it on time to go on to the next assignment.

Conclusion

Finally, self-evaluation through reflection is a key technique for learning from and changing events. In their day-to-day job, social workers encounter a variety of scenarios, some of which teach them valuable lessons for future practice. This is because some cases are bound to recur, and the social worker would be doomed to fail if she did not receive sufficient training on how to deal with them. The Gibbs reflective cycle lays up a clear path for self-evaluation through reflection. This cycle highlights the problem and the social worker's impression of it and a professional perspective and implications for future concerns. It is a vital tool for learning about the past and making required improvements if used correctly.

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