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1 Reflection Paper Beginning Journey as a Social Worker Name Institution Instructor Course Date

2 Reflection Paper Beginning Journey as a Social Worker Introduction An array of emotions, including excitement, hope, and fears, swirl within me as I prepare to enter my first social work practicum. The journey ahead promises personal advancement and obstacles I am eager to encounter. This reflection paper analyzes my hopes, fears and concerns, the potential relationship between my issues and practice, and my self- care strategies. The paper ends with a summative conclusion. Hopes, Fears, and Concerns As I commence my first practicum, my key goal is to positively and significantly influence my clients' lives. I hope to apply the knowledge and skills I have gained throughout my school life to empower impoverished people, families, and communities and help them lead fulfilling lives. According to Ramos-Gerena (2023), 1 in every 8 children are impoverished, with 32 million Americans struggling with hunger strike. This is one of the social problems that I endeavour to participate actively to resolve. I wish to establish trust and a safe space for clients to share their stories and aspirations via active listening, empathy, and genuine engagement. This will enable me to offer comprehensive support that addresses clients' diverse needs. Observing positive change and promoting clients' resilience would provide me with immense gratification and strengthen my devotion to this profession. Moreover, I hope to comprehend social work's complexities and nuances better. This practicum offers me an opportunity to refine my communication, organization, assessment, self-care, cultural competence, advocacy, and intervention skills. According to Cournoyer (2016), social workers must constantly be culturally sensitive, communicate effectively, and advocate for the rights and privileges of vulnerable populations throughout their careers to succeed. Similarly, I hope to promote a sense of collaboration within my agency. I will work

3 closely with seasoned professionals who may offer useful insights and mentorship on the most effective approaches to succeed in my first practicum. Despite my enthusiasm, I recognize the presence of fears and concerns that are common for individuals starting their social work journey. One major concern centers on my capacity to properly handle ethical dilemmas. Social work regularly presents circumstances requiring balancing the interests of customers, agencies, and society (Ylvisaker & Rugkåsa, 2022). Furthermore, striking a balance between respecting clients' autonomy and guaranteeing their safety is challenging. I fear making decisions that may unwittingly harm people or jeopardize their well-being because of my inexperience. Additionally, I am concerned that I might not possess all the necessary skills to help people effectively. According to Webb (2023) one of the unmissable challenges that social workers face is interacting with risky and problematic vulnerable populations with complex needs daily. Classroom knowledge can only take one so far; applying this knowledge to real- world circumstances necessitates critical thinking and adaptability. I am afraid I might not be able to impact people's lives significantly. As a result, I might not live up to my expectations or those of my clients and agency. Finally, I am afraid of the potential emotional toll that social work may present. Interacting with clients encountering numerous difficulties, including drug addiction, abuse, and trauma, could be emotionally draining. The fear of compassion fatigue and burnout is real, and I am concerned about my ability to manage my emotions while offering the required assistance. Likewise, I am worried it might be challenging to strike a balance between developing personal connections with clients and maintaining professional boundaries. Personal Issues that could be Impacted as I begin Social Work Practice with my Agency I acknowledge that my past or present personal issues could be impacted as I commence social work practice with my agency. First, I once suffered from stress and anxiety

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4 issues. Although I have worked on my coping mechanisms and resilience, I recognize that my past experiences might sometimes emerge when I interact with clients encountering similar issues. Consequently, I should not allow clients' issues to aggravate my past experiences. Following principles and strategies that guide conduct of social workers would help me to take new challenges while exploring and resolving difficult issues in the practice. Secondly, my practicum schedule might conflict with my ongoing commitments in family life and education. According to Jiang et al. (2023), social work is demanding and frequently necessitates working overtime to meet clients' diverse needs. This could impede the time I spend running errands for my parents and cause stress and time management difficulties. As a result, I should balance the demands of the practicum with my pre-existing duties to prevent burnout and guarantee that I can offer my best to both aspects of my life. Personal Issues that might Impact my Practice/Work with Clients On the other hand, I realize that my past or present personal issues might impact my practice or work with clients. First, growing up in a low-income family instilled tremendous empathy for those encountering similar difficulties. Although this might improve my capacity to connect with clients, it also increases the risk of projecting my emotions onto their circumstances. Brearley (2023) emphasizes the need for social workers to rely on evidence- based and objective facts to assess situations and make decisions instead of relying on personal feelings and opinions, and intrinsic biases to resolve social problems. As such, it is imperative for me to maintain objectivity and not assume that my experiences mirror those of my customers. Moreover, my perfectionist tendencies could manifest in my social work practice. As aforementioned, social work is filled with countless challenges. While striving for excellence is advisable, I must be careful not to become overly self-critical if things fail to go as

5 planned. This might affect my self-confidence and capacity to learn from failures and alter my approach. Strategies for Self-care I will prioritize self-care to guarantee my well-being and effectiveness as a practitioner because social work is emotionally demanding. According to Brearley (2023), around 40% of social workers develop a mental health problem such as depression, acute psychosis, and PSTD among others during the course of their career. To ensure I do not become a victim of these mental conditions, I will set a clear boundary between my personal and professional life. Although empathizing with clients is critical, I must also create to rest and recharge to prevent burnout. I will designate time for relaxation, hobbies, and enjoying with my loved ones. Secondly, I will regularly seek supervision and peer support. Frequent supervision sessions with experienced professionals will provide guidance, insights, new viewpoints, and feedback to help navigate challenging situations effectively. In contrast, peer support will help me share experiences and learn from others. This will also remind me that I am not alone in facing the difficulties of social work. Finally, I will engage in mindfulness and stress-reduction techniques. I will evaluate my biases, emotions, and reactions to help me remain self-aware and avoid unintended negative consequences on my client interactions. Similarly, stress reduction techniques, like meditation, yoga, and frequent exercises, will help me manage the emotional weight of the job. Exercising will also equip me with the physical stamina necessary for social work. Conclusion I hope to positively and significantly change the lives of my clients and comprehend social work's complexities and nuances better as I prepare to commence my first practicum. Nonetheless, I am afraid of being unable to impact people's lives significantly, navigate

6 ethical dilemmas effectively, and manage my emotions while offering the required assistance. Moreover, I recognize that my past anxiety issues and ongoing commitments might be impacted as I begin social work practice. Conversely, I acknowledge that growing up in a low-income family and my perfectionist tendencies could impact my practice. Given the demands and challenges of social work, I will prioritize self-care by establishing a clear boundary between my personal and professional life, regularly seeking supervision and peer support, and engaging in mindfulness and stress-reduction techniques.

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7 References Brearley, C. P. (2023). Risk and social work . Taylor & Francis. Cournoyer, B. R. (2016). The social work skills workbook . Cengage Learning. Jiang, S., Jiang, C., & Cheng, Y. (2023). Working overtime in social work settings: Associations with burnout, person-organization value congruence and turnover intentions among Chinese social workers . Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance, 47(1), 28-41. Ramos-Gerena, C. E. (2023). Reinventing food banks and pantries: New tools to end hunger, by Katie S. Martin: Washington, DC, Island Press, 2021. Webb, S. A. (2023). Social work in a risk society. In Social Work (pp. 74-78). Routledge. Ylvisaker, S., & Rugkåsa, M. (2022). Dilemmas and conflicting pressures in social work practice . European Journal of Social Work, 25(4), 643-654.

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