SOCIAL WORK THEORY & READINESS FOR PRACTICE (KNOWLEDGE)
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Social Work Theory & Readiness for Practice (Knowledge)
Introduction
The essay will reflectively discuss my 70 days placement case in a residential care home for children with various issues affecting them, for instance, emotional problems and learning disabilities. Due to the necessity of having privacy in this case, I have changed the name of the girl that I handled within the care home according to the Code of Ethics for social workers. Coincidentally, I am in a superior position to examine my independence and the education I have found. This reflection on placement allows me to develop viable skills and techniques for future practice and differentiate the areas where more opportunities for preparation and advancement are needed. The main objectives of my 70 days placement case study include:
- Promote the well-being and prosperity of individuals, families, persons, and understanding of the social determinants of well-being to ensure justice in a changing situation and a global society.
- Provide a fundamental and practical knowledge of social peace, working with people from different backgrounds, and adjusting information and skills in social work to address the problems of disappointed and abused people correctly.(Sorry can u explain this point its confusing)
- Get better exposure in social work, consolidating hypothetical information, and understandings in a coordinated progressive practical structure.
- Integrate knowledge of the history of the social worker profession and present social security frameworks, policies and problems with the ability to analyse their impact on social client systems, agencies and service systems; and social workers.
- Use good communication to adopt a planned change strategy that supports customer interventions at all levels of the system in solving various issues that are affecting them.
Agency Context and Case Introduction
In the case study, I did my social work practice in a care home for children with difficulties such as learning and enthusiastic/conduct challenges in London borough. The local authority in London boroughs duty is to provide social, emotional, and behavioural needs of children in the borough aged between 11-18 years (Again confusing … Is it the local authorities that these duties?. The facility has two locations, and both homes accommodate up to four children at a particular time, either boy or a girl. To maintain the girl’s confidentiality, which is in line with the Data Protection Act (1998) and HCPC 2016, throughout the essay, I have changed the girl’s name to IP-W.( Please change it to a male as its similar to the eassy and change the name to NT or something)
A Brief Background of the Girl (name has been changed)
IP-W is a 14-year-old girl who originates from Jamaica and has Portuguese heritage (Change this heritage you can change it to Italian and Kenya). She has different kin (what do u mean by different kin?), and she is among the five youngsters in the care home (you said the home only holds 4 young people). IP-W was put in the consideration home as a consequence of her difficult practices that got unmanageable to her parents (Please add that he became looked after under section 20 of the children 1989 act then u explain what section 20 ACT is). What is more, she has a past filled with abuse, shipping, and selling cannabis medicates day by day (replace with Dealing drugs which he also takes). There is likewise a history of not going to any school (Not engaging in education), and she is exceptionally presented to the danger of departing suddenly from home (Egan, 2014).
An Account of the Work
Referral
IP-W was put in the care home in the statutory nature of referral due to her behaviours that her parent could not manage. Under the Children Act, the local authorities in London have the legal right to place a child under their care if they show some particular conditions that the parent cannot handle. Thus 1P-W referral in case falls under the statutory referral method (you have to explain what a statutory referral method is). As a hopeful social worker, I accept that referral fundamentally implies the need to have decent systematic methodologies and intercessions between administration clients, families and professionals in the care homes (Can u explain this better?). (Here I think you should just write about the section 20 of the children ACT) (Then explain that she was referred to the home because the home accommodates children of similar behaviour and therefore a risk assessment was done and she was accepted)
Assessment and Intervention
I used an analytic sequential of stages (u have to explain what this is) as part of the intervention and participation of the IP-W case in the care home. With those stages, I managed to come up with various issues that guided me in answering specific disturbing questions. For instance, to come up with certain inclusive answers concerning this case, I had to ask myself a few questions which included: what troubling issue IP-W was undergoing through, when did the problem begin? Who is the person behind all this suffering she was going through? Through that, I was able to identify, analyse, and talk to IP-W and her mother about the whole situation to know more about the exact things that IP-W was facing, including her sexual behaviour.
Having established an excellent situation to meet the home manager, I managed to get access to the IP-W case file in the database. First, I found the girl feels abandoned because she is placed in a facility she does not like. My application of the professional capabilities frameworks domains (which domain? U have to be specific), specifically through non-judgemental strategy and acknowledging the struggle that IP-W was going through in her situation, enabled the lady to open up to me about her condition. Afterward, I set up (do u mean establishing a good working relationship) a good working relationship with the family, the police, the psychologist, and the care home in formulating the goals and the best strategy to enact my plans to deal with the situation after analysing the entire situation (This is confusing). Throughout, I was keen on the social work skills that I acquired in the course, including tasks centred, cognitive-behavioural strategies, and systems approaches (Koprowska, 2014).
Through the Human Rights Act (year), I ensured there is equality in my case during involvement. I discussed various issues with the lady, such as her sexual character, the importance of being educated, and her rudeness (I don’t think you can use this word). I managed to take IP-W to hospital for clinical check-ups due to her behaviour of high sexual demands and to stay away from home for several days without explanation (this doesn’t tie in smoothly). I had to convene a meeting with all participants (what do u mean by participants) in this case including the IP-W’s family. I arrived 15 minutes earlier in the meeting and well dressed (u can reffrence PCF1 here). I explained the reason behind calling the meeting for them to have an open discussion. Basing on the system theory (u have to explain systems theory), one of the points begging (??) is that no person can stand for him/herself; that is, no one is an island (very confusing). Thus I was keen when handling IP-W’s family. The system theory is quite useful in social work since it emphasises relationships amongst various systems as opposed to single parts in isolation (Woodcock Ross, 2011).
Review & Ending
To have success in my case, I focused on collecting data about IP-W and genesis of her problem. Applying the system theory in handling the case enabled me to have a good beginning point in trying to come up with the best strategy to identify the most significant problem IP-W was going through. Like in any case, getting things right from the beginning assures success at the end. In my case, I introduced (why are we talking about introducing urself here when u stated earlier that u have build a good working relationship with these people and the client)myself well to IP-W, her mother, the police, and being a problem solver in a high heated environment while taking IP-W health check in the clinic was vital for me (This doesn’t make sense). Gaining trust from house manager, IP-W, and other parties during the meeting was outstanding. I strictly observed eye contact during the meeting, which is an excellent communication skill to be followed by a social worker (u can reference a PCF here). Apart from that, proper time management during meetings by coming 15 minutes before the beginning of the meeting was vital. Making everyone feel important in a meeting results in a fruitful discussion (Egan, 2018).
Analysis and Discussion
Concerning reflection, using a task-centred strategy or theory of system approach has always been a critical centre of the debate. In my view, incorporating theories and experiences through placements is a better approach to prepare a social worker to deal with different situations in the future. A person builds more confidence in a social worker who is ready to understand his/her situation. Thus the task-centred strategy is more applicable while dealing with domestic issues (Bell, 2017) (all of this is confusing I asked for just 2 theories to be explained in-depth u havnt done any of that). With the power conveyed to me by BASW as a social worker, I had to plan strategic policies (how did u plan the policies? Are u allowed to make policies) to handle the IP-W case. The capabilities enabled me to have a more efficient means to handle the situation without violating the client’s human rights. The BASW social worker professional ethics helped me to stick within the focus as a social worker, that is, to create a positive change from within and inspire positivity to the client for tomorrow’s betterment. These powers become applicable after getting support from the care home, the police, and the health clinic. Without all this support, especially financial support to facilitate my movement all along, the powers could have just been theoretical without any practical application. These powers expected me to show readiness in handling any case and ensure both clients and the parties involved are get justice throughout the process (Wilks, 2012). (All of this is irrelevant)
You cannot learn without experience. From the case handled, I realised as a social worker, one needs to prepare to handle unpredictable situations. To deal with all difficulties in any presented case, having a good understanding of the theory to be used and applying it correctly is vital for an individual to handle a social work case professionally. IP-W’s situation is complicated since, despite being a young girl, she is already using cannabis, transporting it, having sexual behaviours. In addition, she likes staying away from home without allowance of her mother. The most crucial thing in a social worker is their behaviour and how they handle other people. Kolb’s cycle of learning is a useful strategy when it comes to incorporating theory learned and transferring it into practice. Each case handled to establish the root cause of change in behaviour, and to work towards rectifying it is always unique. IP-W whole scenario is unique. In Kolb’s learning cycle, the first stage is contended with getting the right social work theories. The next phase of the learning cycle entails scrutinising the effects of the theory on the unique scenario. The other step in the learning process surrounds the generation of reliable experience that forms the basis of future professional handling of similar cases. The final step in this cycle entails investigation and reflection of the handled scenario (Hodgson, 2017).
Excellent working relationship in a care home agency is among the best approaches in dealing with sensitive issues surrounding children. IP-W case poses a good example since the lady, her mother, and other people in the placement centre have different perspectives; thus, establishing a proper setting represents the right attitude. Setting up roles demarcation at the begging of handling any case is essential. For instance, in the IP-W case, the part of the parents to provide the complete details about the lady was vital. Everyone should participate in their assigned roles to facility and efficient manner in which knowledge shall be acquired (Cunningham and Davis, 1985). ( you haven’t said any work that u did with the person to effect change intheir behavior)
Conclusion
Throughout my 70 day placement in the two centres of the organisation, I am in an excellent position to appreciate and understand different roles each needs to take to ensure children who undergo certain behavioural situations can be handled. I came to know the importance of the statutory organisations in the community. All the communications I did via telephones and email while seeking to understand more about IP-W enabled me to remember my ambitions as a social worker and all the challenges that I should expect while handling the cases in the future. I realised placements are there to enable one to appreciate theoretical work handled in the learning, and one should show professionalism while managing people. From the IP-W case, I realised excellent communication skills and valuing each person while in a meeting form the foundation of solving the complicated situation. While handling the young lady, sometimes I felt not confident with my process since despite talking to her about the importance of her life, and she should always stay in the care home, IP-W could disappear without leaving a notification for several days. Support from the organisation, especially the home care manager, helped me begin to trust my abilities since every day is a learning day, and there was no need to despise my approaches. As a social worker, I realised one has to be loving, caring, a good listener, and always give each person time to express the reason behind her behavioural change. I feel that at times, I should have arranged more meetings between the IP-W and her mother to establish good relations for the girl to be more open to the parent. As a social worker, this could have hindered any possible recurrence of such unmanageable behaviour in the future (Lanyado, 1989). Talking to IP-W siblings could have prevented any chance of raising such action in the family again. According to my evaluation of the IP-W case, I came to appreciate the fact that it is not the choice of a person to show certain unmanageable behaviour; thus, a social worker needs to put more emphasis on helping that person instead showing their mastery of class theory. The use of abusive language against any party in the case that is being handled brings a barrier in solving the situation. By using the experience I got from the facility, I anticipate using the best strategies that will enable me to be closer to a person undergoing such challenges in my work. Understanding clients more and building a good bond needs time. To allow me to handle the cases more professionally like the IP-W case, I need to appreciate all social work theories. ( I don’t think u really understood the question here, u didn’t tackle the main questions that were asked and there were not enough intext references) I think u missed the point in this writing.
References
Action for Advocacy, n.d. Action for Advocacy. [Online] Available at: https://www.actionforadvocacy.org.uk/ [Accessed 7/6/2020].
Bell, J., 2017. Organisational culture in the NHS. [Online] Available at: https://tavistockconsulting.co.uk/organisational-culture-nhs/ [Accessed 7/6/2020].
Cunningham, C. and Davis, H., 1985. Working with parents: frameworks for collaboration. Milton Keynes.: Open University Press.
Egan, G., 2014. The skilled helper. London: Cengage Learning.
Egan, G., 2018. The skilled helper: a client-centred approach (2nd ed.). Andover: Cengage Learning EMEA.
Hodgson, D. and Watts, L., 2017. Power. In: Hodgson, D. and Watts, L. Key concepts and theory in social work. London: Palgrave, pp. 48-64.
Koprowska, J, 2014. Communication and interpersonal skills in social work. Exeter: Learning Matters.
Lanyado, M., 1989. “United we stand…?” Stress in residential work with disturbed children. Maladjustment & Therapeutic Education, 7(3), pp. 136-146.
Wilks, T., 2012. Advocacy and social work practice. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Woodcock R. J., 2011. Specialist communication skills for social workers. Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan.
