Respond to at least two colleagues by suggesting additional methods to become comfortable or more familiar with the identified population.
1-TUB-
Reflection on what learned and less familiar population.
Throughout this course, I have learned multiple assessments to be used for clients of all ages. Additionally, this course allowed me to take a deeper look into both already known intervention, and new approaches. This helped me when choosing which intervention would be best appropriate to use with a specific age group, enhancing my effectiveness of practice. I envision my future practice, working with mental health illness population in my community.
However, one population I can admit being less familiar with is the older adult population. The geriatric population has always piqued my curiosity. Even though most people do not need geriatric care until they are seventy, seventy-five, or even eighty years old. Besdine says that ” the world in general and the medical establishment, in particular, have sort of defined old as over 65 years of age” (Jefferson, 2019). As a result, many people never even visit a geriatrician. I have never felt comfortable with this population until this class. I suppose I have always compared them to my memories of my grandmother.
Now that I have learned more, I am even more eager to learn more. As social work should provide a ” historic and defining feature of social work is the profession’s focus on individual well-being in a social context and the well-being of society”.
Opportunity for personal or professional development.
One opportunity for personal or professional development that I would like to pursue is volunteering in my community for an agency that supports military families and veterans. My community is diverse with many military families that are active duty, and those that have served.
As a social worker, it is important to be aware of the unique challenges that this population faces and to be able to provide competent and affirming services. It is common that veterans often experience homelessness, lack of community support, drug addiction, mental health issues, lack of employment, discrimination, and stigma, both from individuals and systemically. Volunteering can support my learning because it offers real-world experience and the opportunity to apply classroom learning to life scenarios.
Elevating your understanding and comfort with a range of populations directly supports the NASW code of ethics by ensuring that social workers can provide culturally sensitive, respectful, and effective services to diverse clients, which aligns with the core values of social justice, dignity and worth of the person, and cultural competence embedded within the code.
Key points on how this aligns with the NASW code of Ethics:
Cultural Competence (Standard 1.05):
The code explicitly states that social workers should demonstrate understanding of culture and its impact on behavior, recognizing strengths across cultures, and adapting practice to meet the needs of diverse clients.
Client self-determination (Ethical principle):
Understanding a client’s cultural background and respecting their values allows for better collaboration and empowers them to make informed decisions about their own care.
Social justice (Core value):
By actively learning about different populations and their unique challenges, social workers can better advocate for marginalized groups and combat discrimination.
Competence (Ethical principle):
Continuously expanding knowledge and skills to work effectively with diverse populations is considered a professional responsibility under the NASW code.
In summary, by actively expanding their knowledge and comfort level with a range of populations, social workers demonstrate a commitment to the ethical principles of the NASW code, ensuring they can provide culturally competent and client-centered services to diverse individuals and communities.
REFERENCES
National Association of social workers (2021). Code of Ethics of the National Association of social workers.
2-ERIN-
Reflection on Professional Growth and Areas for Development
Throughout this class, I have learned that advanced social work practice encompasses intricate nuances around biopsychosocial needs specific to different populations. Although I have developed a love for working with elderly/aging adults in my profession, we must be well-rounded and ready to work efficiently with all populations.
Looking back, I realize that with fewer prime times available for adolescents, and especially ones struggling with the challenge of substance use disorders, I am less adept and somewhat more uncertain about where to start. I feel awkward and out of my element in providing care for this group just because I have had little experience with it and am ill-equipped to treat adolescents as their healthcare provider or addiction counselor.
Brandell (2020) underscores that providing therapy to adolescents necessitates an expanded paradigm of their developmental stage and the particular obstacles they confront. This will help to promote my comfort and competence engaging with this age group and therefore enhance my ability to work more effectively with them on substance use, or I could also take the opportunity to develop new skills by training in an adolescent-specific intervention for substance use such as Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) (Godley et al., 2017).
Furthermore, supervised clinical experiences or internships delivering adolescent SUD treatment would be an invaluable hands-on learning opportunity. This is consistent with the NASW Code of Ethics (2021), which stresses competence and professional development in social work practice. The Code also states that social workers “should critically review and keep current with emerging knowledge relevant to social work practice” (NASW, 2021, 4.01b).
Increasing my learning in working with diverse populations, specifically adolescents exhibiting substance use disorder, aligns with many of the principles listed in the NASW Code of Ethics. The principle also concurs with the NASW ethical standard of competence, which obliges social workers to increase their professional knowledge and skills (NASW, 2021). It also embodies the principle of social justice by equipping me to serve diverse and potentially underserved populations effectively.
In any case, I now prefer to work with elderly/aging adults and understand that I must be prepared to work with all populations. By being proactive in learning to work with adolescents and substance-abusing families, I can more confidently fulfill my ethical responsibilities as a social worker while assisting other diverse populations of clients. The need for training in adolescent substance use is not just a suggestion, but an urgent call to action in our profession.
References
Brandell, J. R. (Ed.). (2020). Theory & practice in clinical social work (3rd ed.). Cognella.
Godley, S. H., Smith, J. E., Meyers, R. J., & Godley, M. D. (2017). The adolescent community reinforcement approach: A clinical guide for treating substance use disorders. Chestnut Health Systems.
National Association of Social Workers. (2021). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
