Journal Report Outline

Field Experience: 

In this case, the client was a kidney cancer patient with other chronic conditions, and so the experience was educative and reassuring for the client and the social worker. In this situation, the social worker acted as an observer, keenly examining the factors around the client’s environment. The social worker also acted as a counselor, giving the client the psychological and emotional support she needed, an advocate pushing for better services and care, and a planner putting in place a homecare plan to help the client live better even as she manages her conditions.

Significant Information:

A 58-year-old client with chronic pain, respiratory issues, and limited mobility seeks social services due to their dependency on a caregiver. They struggle with access to healthcare and housing and a history of discrimination. The client’s complex needs necessitate support to overcome systemic barriers, establish stability, and foster agency in managing their circumstances.

Relevant Factors:    

Individual factors are the chronic pain the client faces, the mobility of daily life, the emotional dependence, and other physical limitations. The client also lacks a robust support network, thus increasing their vulnerability (Corey et al., 2018). The client also faces community barriers to health, like past experiences of discrimination and lack of access to transport. Also, chronic physical health issues affect the client’s mental health. Lifecycle and development issues emerge from the client’s stage of life since the client is dealing with the intersection of social economic challenges and age-related health issues (van Wormer & Link, 2018). These assessments show that interventions put in place should address the immediate and the long term issues.

The client’s financial instability, political policies, environmental challenges, and past experiences of discrimination in healthcare settings contribute to their limited access to consistent healthcare and caregiver services. These factors create stress and limit their ability to sustain support services long-term. Environmental factors, such as living conditions and transportation access, further isolate the client from community resources and medical services (Corey et al., 2018). Discrimination and age-related discrimination may also affect the quality of care. The client’s strengths include resilience, awareness of needs, and a desire for independence. Needs include consistent caregiving support, trustworthy healthcare providers, and access to community resources. To create a comprehensive plan, additional information is needed, including financial situation, healthcare accessibility, community-based support networks, and history of discrimination experiences. This comprehensive assessment will support an intervention that respects the client’s lived experiences while prioritizing stability, trust, and access to necessary resources.

Integration of Theory & Practice:    

The experiences of this client and her reactions towards healthcare providers were examined using practice models and theoretical frameworks. The first theory that works well for the client is the person-centered approach that is based on empathy, respect, and understanding (National Association of Social Workers, n.d.). This approach guided the client’s engagement with the SW. The other approach is the strength-based approach, which, in social work, involves recognizing and utilizing the resilience of the client. It also involves recognizing the self-determination and resourcefulness of the client. The approach is used to promote independence in the client. Empowerment theory promotes client control and agency decision-making processes that involve their care (van Wormer & Link, 2018). The decision-making encourages personal goals. It also supports the independence of the client.

The Problem-Solving Process

The problem-solving process involves three stages: engagement, assessment, and review. The initial stage involves building rapport with the client, assessing their physical, emotional, and social challenges, and understanding their strengths and needs (National Association of Social Workers, n.d.). The intervention plan, focusing on strengths-based and person-centered approaches, empowers the client to explore resources and set goals. The evaluation of the intervention is crucial for refining it to meet the client’s specific needs.

Applicable Paradigm(s)

The social system paradigm is central to understanding this client’s experience because this paradigm highlights the interaction between the client and many interconnected systems. The client’s challenges result from a complex web of factors, including physical limitations, relationships with caregivers, interaction with healthcare providers, and socioeconomic constraints. Second, the humanistic paradigm is crucial in this case as it emphasizes the client’s autonomy, intrinsic worth, and growth capacity (Corey et al., 2018). It promotes empathy, acceptance, and respect for their experiences, aligning with the Person-Centered Approach and Empowerment Theory. This approach values resilience and encourages self-determination, forming an empowering intervention plan.

Combining these paradigms better equips the SW to understand the client and their conduct, respond effectively to external pressure, and have internal motivations. The social systems paradigm will provide insight into how the environment affects the client, while the humanistic paradigm will emphasize the intrinsic dignity of the client (van Wormer & Link, 2018). Together, these paradigms help the SW address systemic barriers and client’s personal inspiration.

Social Work Values Involved:

The intervention employed in this case was guided by core social work values sourced from the NASW Code of Ethics. The values that were mainly employed were respectfulness and a client-centered approach. These aimed at ensuring the client’s dignity and autonomy were upheld (National Association of Social Workers, n.d.). The intervention acknowledged the client’s unique needs and autonomy, allowing her to voice her opinions and participate in decision-making processes. The SW also focused on strengthening the client’s connections with the caregiver and other healthcare professionals to strengthen open communication, thus giving support to the client. The intervention also advocated for social justice, advocating for the client’s right to appropriate care without discrimination or undue barriers (National Association of Social Workers, n.d.). The application of these values maintained ethical practice and ensured the client felt respected, valued, and empowered throughout the process.

Personal Reactions:

As a SW, I experienced empathy, motivation, and frustration while working with a client facing health challenges and socioeconomic barriers. I was moved by the client’s resilience and the importance of respecting their autonomy. However, I experienced frustration due to systemic barriers limiting the client’s access to resources. The client’s openness and trust in sharing their concerns were surprising. Notably, self-reflection and reflective practices helped manage personal emotions and focus on providing effective support. The experience reinforced core social work values, deepened my commitment to advocacy and client-centered practice, and highlighted the need for systemic change. I plan to continue refining my approach to balance empathy with professional boundaries and advocate for policy changes to address structural barriers more effectively.

Outcome:

The intervention, in this case, can be described as moderately effective. It provided physical therapy and also homecare aide. The intervention also helped the client manage physical limitations. Even so, the client has long-term mental illness issues and thus needs much health and financial support. Advocacy is needed in this case because of these persistent barriers. The experience highlighted the importance of creating multi-layered intervention plans to address systemic barriers and improve client outcomes. The next steps include building stronger connections with community organizations, incorporating preventive and strengths-based approaches, and focusing on client empowerment. The experience also improved skills in client engagement, assessment, and advocacy, emphasizing the need for continual learning and adaptation in serving clients facing significant socioeconomic and health-related challenges.

References

Corey, M.S., Corey, G. & Corey, C. (2018). Groups: Process and practice. Thomson/Brooks/Cole.

National Association of Social Workers. (n.d.). NASW Code of Ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

van Wormer, K., & Link, R. J. (2018). Social work and social welfare: A human rights foundation. Oxford University Press.

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Select a field experience and use this outline for your journal report. Be concise and protect the confidentiality and privacy of clients, groups, providers, supervisors, field instructors and staff. Submit a copy of your journal report to your Field Liaison through Blackboard.   Final version should be filed in the field portfolio. This is a professional report, you are to use third person in all areas except your personal reactions section.  You will be graded on grammar and professionalism.

Field experience:   Select a key experience with a client, client group, community, agency, supervisor, other field students, or staff.  Describe what happened and your role(s) in the situation e.g. (mediator, planner, enabler, observer, counselor, manager, broker/advocate, facilitator, catalyst, activist, teacher, trainer, mentor, outreach worker, monitor, or researcher).

Significant information:  Provide some brief background information such as, client data, presenting problem, or referral information.

Relevant Factors: Include assessment information gathered that helped you understand the situation or plan your intervention.  What individual, family, community, social, cultural, spiritual, medical, physical, developmental, psychological, and/or mental health factors influenced the situation. Explain the life cycle stage, group development stage, community program development stage, or research process step that applies.

Describe any of the following factors that are relevant: economic, political, environmental, discrimination, or oppression.  What strengths and needs were identified?  What additional information is needed?

Integration of Theory & Practice:  What have you learned in your courses that helped you understand the situation or plan your intervention?  What theory, practice model, approach, strategy, method, technique, intervention, or research method was used? Consult textbooks, course materials, journal articles, and/or instructors and provide citation of materials referenced.

What stage(s) of the problem solving process were involved in this key experience? (engagement, gathering information, assessment/diagnostics, intervention and review, evaluation, termination, aftercare/referral). Explain.

Choose the paradigm(s) that helps you understand human behavior in this key experience:

___Medical     ___Social Systems      ___Psychoanalytic     ___Humanistic      ___Behavioristic

Explain your choices by discussing how behavior in this key experiences is viewed or understood.

Journal Report Outline

Social work values involved:  Describe core social work values, ethical principles, or ethical standards that were applied in this situation.  Indicate from the NASW Code of Ethics which value or ethic you chose and how it applies to the situation.

Personal reactions:  Write about your reactions.  How comfortable were you with your actions; what was surprising; what emotions did you experience; or how did you deal with your reactions?

Outcome:  How effective was the intervention? How will you use what you learned? What will you do differently in the future? What will your next actions be? What practice behaviors from your Learning Contract did this key experience help you develop?