Competency 6
ENGAGE WITH INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, GROUPS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND COMMUNITIES
ENGAGE WITH INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, GROUPS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND COMMUNITIES
Social workers understand that engagement is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with, and on behalf of, diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers value the importance of human relationships. Social workers understand theories of human behavior and the social environment, and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge to facilitate engagement with clients and constituencies, including individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers understand strategies to engage diverse clients and constituencies to advance practice effectiveness. Social workers understand how their personal experiences and affective reactions may impact their ability to effectively engage with diverse clients and constituencies. Social workers value principles of relationship-building and inter-professional collaboration to facilitate engagement with clients, constituencies, and other professionals as appropriate.
To reflect on my growth within Competency 6, my first artifact is a medical appointment agenda from my field placement. Each week, a transportation needs schedule is sent out to employees, and we sign up to either drive a client's appointment or to remind them of their upcoming appointment if we're able to. Driving client's to appointments is a form of engagement I practice at my internship. My second artifact is a flier from an Art Therapy program I facilitated during the first semester of my field placement. It was once weekly class designed for refugee women. The class provided a safe space for refugee women to work through PTSD and trauma through means of art. A licensed therapist conducted the class while I referred the class to ESL classes and other resettlement agencies, organized attendance, provided snacks, and a translator. I attended class each week and sometimes engaged in the therapy, but more often observed and journaled my experience. Through this class, I was able to develop my understanding of Competency 6 through the practice of inter-professional collaboration and facilitating the engagement of diverse clients.
This artifact represents the transportation needs document that is sent out to employees each week at my internship. For privacy purposes, I have blocked out anything that reveals personal information about our clients. A form of engagement I frequently partake in at my internship is driving clients to various appointments, whether it be a general doctors appointment, an In the Image shopping appointment, or a Social Security application appointment. I typically coordinate with the caseworker of the clients I am driving to ensure that they are aware of the appointment, and are prepared with the necessary documents, protocols, or child care arrangements. Driving clients allows me to interact with a wider range of our clients that extends beyond my own cases. Through this opportunity I have been given the chance to use translation services for a variety of languages, as well as practice my cultural competency when interacting with clients. Other than my own cases, this is my main form of one on one engagement with diverse clients, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to be able to meet and interact with so many people from different cultural backgrounds, and have the chance to build a trust and relationship with them.
This artifact represents the Art Therapy class I facilitated during the first semester of my field placement. This class occurred every Monday from October 3rd through December 19th, and was intended for refugee women. One of my supervisors gave me the task of organizing this Art Therapy class at the beginning of my internship. I started by visiting the Grand Rapids International Fellowship, where many refugees take English classes, to recruit students for this class. I spread these fliers around GRIF, and handed them out to students as well as to teachers who work with other agencies in order to gather interest. After signing some students up, I figured out what languages these students spoke so that I could coordinate a translator to work with the Art Therapist. I found that the primary language of the majority of students was Kinyarwanda, so I worked with my supervisor to hire a translator that would be able to attend each class. Then, before each class I would typically go grocery shopping for some fruit, snacks, and drinks that I would provide for the students. During the actual class, I would sit and observe and often journal the messages from the class, and also whether or not the class seemed to be effective in addressing PTSD and trauma within the students. This was interesting because I was unsure of how well this therapy would work considering different cultural and language barriers, but was pleasantly surprised to see that not only were the students engaged in the artwork, but also seemed to be retaining the message of the therapy, as well as were willing to share their struggles as refugee women. I am thankful to have been apart of this program and was able to experience inter-professional collaboration firsthand.
Engaging with diverse clients has been one of my favorite areas of social work thus far. Before I knew I wanted to pursue the field of social work, I did know that I wanted to work with people. At my internship, I have a lot of chances to work one on one with clients, and am very thankful for this, as it is often the highlight of my day. I value being able to interact with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds, and despite our differences, I am able to connect with them, and build rapport with them, even though there are often language barriers. Client engagement has been one of the most enriching experiences within my BSW program.