Reflective Practice-Clinical Social Work

Reflective Practice-Clinical Social Work

Clinical social work (CSW) aims at the betterment of the overall well-being of individuals. CSW focuses on various populations: vulnerable individuals, those with low socioeconomic status, and individuals predisposed to discrimination. CSW practice embraces a holistic care approach. As such, CSW practice targets not only individuals but also families and other members of society. This paper discusses the clinical social practice and develops a practice perspective framework.

Clinical Social Work Practice

CSW practice is guided by three main tenets. Firstly, CSW practice embraces a person-in-environment approach (Germain & Knight, 2021). This approach requires practitioners to determine the impact of the environment on an individual’s overall well-being. This approach is relevant because an individual’s environment impacts their life and behavior (Germain & Knight, 2021). For example, friends and family members can impact an individual’s behavior or decision-making process by offering moral support, reinforcing positive behaviors, and providing financial support. Secondly, CSW practice acknowledges and respects clients’ rights (Germain & Knight, 2021). This entails aspects such as autonomy, justice, and beneficence. In this context, social workers should uphold professional competency, embrace their code of ethics, and remain committed to their clients. Thirdly, CSW practice advocates for establishing a positive therapeutic relationship with clients (Germain & Knight, 2021). This can be accomplished via various approaches, such as therapeutic communication. A positive therapeutic relationship improves clients’ experience and promotes collaboration.

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The scope of CSW practice is broad. It entails the assessment, diagnosis, management, and prevention of various conditions. Social workers should demonstrate adequate knowledge of biopsychosocial development, psychopathology, cultural congruence, and strong interpersonal skills (Berg-Weger, 2019; Brandell, 2021). Furthermore, they should demonstrate an understanding of family dynamics and substance use disorders, trauma, and other pathological conditions (Berg-Weger, 2019; Brandell, 2021). CSW practice embraces an interdisciplinary approach to achieve care coordination. Furthermore, it advocates for client engagement to achieve holistic care.

I hope to practice in the rural healthcare setting. This will enable me to provide timely holistic care to the community and improve their access to healthcare. Clients in rural areas are likely to have limited access to healthcare services. They are likely to have poor transportation and distance (geographical) barriers that impede access to healthcare (Ayón et al., 2020). Therefore, rural healthcare practice will allow me to avail perpetual healthcare services to this population. I anticipate that my practice will improve patient safety and reduce morbidity and mortality rates among this population.

Value

As I practice, I am guided by various core values to improve the quality of services I deliver and my work experience. Firstly, I embrace altruism. I believe a client’s well-being and preferences are important and should be prioritized. As such, my actions aim to benefit my clients by fulfilling their holistic needs. Secondly, I embrace autonomy. As a practitioner, I am autonomous in my decision-making process and practice. However, I collaborate with my colleagues and other members of the interdisciplinary team to promote evidence-based practice.  Furthermore, I respect the autonomy of my clients by allowing them to partake in the decision-making process. Thirdly, I uphold human dignity. This value acknowledges that individuals are unique in their ways. This also advocates for patient-centeredness, respect, and holistic care. Fourthly, I embrace integrity and honesty. My practice is guided by established laws and regulations to ensure that the most plausible ethical and evidence-based decisions are made. Fifthly, I uphold social justice. To accomplish this, I avoid discriminatory practices toward my clients and colleagues.

Various characteristics impact my primary values. Firstly, I am enthusiastic about my work and profession. This is an enabler for altruism, integrity, honesty, and human dignity. Secondly, I am conscientious in my practice. I always adhere to the standards, policies, and procedures, plan adequately, and exercise self-discipline to accomplish established goals. Conscientiousness is an enabler of integrity, honesty, social justice, and human dignity. Thirdly, I demonstrate flexibility in my practice. Flexibility allows me to acknowledge that changes are inevitable. As such, I am willing to embrace new ideas. This characteristic promotes client autonomy by recognizing that they are important participants in the decision-making process.

I may experience a value conflict when a client refuses to care. As aforementioned, autonomy requires practitioners to acknowledge that clients are important participants in the decision-making process. Clients should be allowed to refuse care. However, practitioners are bestowed with the responsibility of promoting the well-being of clients by upholding beneficence, social justice, and non-maleficence. When a client refuses care, a practitioner should educate the client on the impact of refusing care and treatment. This enables the client to make an informed decision. Furthermore, the practitioner should involve the administrators of the healthcare facility or organization and relevant departmental leaders. After that, the client should sign a consent form indicating refusal of care. Alternatively, failure to obtain a consensus should warrant legal advice. The priority in this context is to promote client safety and improve their outcomes.

Use of self

The use of self enables social workers to conduct an introspection to gain self-awareness. Self-awareness enables practitioners to identify their strengths, such as values, personality traits, and aspirations, that contribute to the success of their practice (Germain & Knight, 2021). Furthermore, self-awareness enables practitioners to identify the weaknesses that impact their practice (Germain & Knight, 2021). Self-awareness improves the decision-making process and creates stronger interpersonal relationships (Germain & Knight, 2021). Furthermore, it promotes creativity and productivity by enabling individuals to focus on their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

In the context of CSW practice, three aspects are critical to the “use of self.” Firstly, social workers (SW) should identify and understand their personality traits (Germain & Knight, 2021). Personality impacts therapeutic relationships and clients’ experiences. SW should determine their traits as professionals and as individuals. They should integrate these personalities holistically as they interact with their clients. Secondly, SW should identify and understand their belief systems (Germain & Knight, 2021). This entails factors such as values, preferences, and ideologies (Germain & Knight, 2021). This is relevant because belief systems form the basis of interpersonal interactions and therapeutic relationships. Moreover, this aspect impacts the worldview and understanding of SW. Thirdly, SW should understand their relational dynamics (Germain & Knight, 2021). This entails aspects such as empathy and human dignity (Germain & Knight, 2021). These aspects impact the quality of therapeutic relationships with clients.

The “use of self” is a key therapeutic tool in CSW practice. Practitioners embrace relational dynamics such as empathy to share clients’ feelings and emotions. This helps create a therapeutic relationship and promotes patient-centeredness. Furthermore, human dignity enables practitioners to provide holistic care regardless of their clients’ perspectives or beliefs. Practitioners embrace their belief systems to provide quality healthcare services. For example, a belief system that embraces social justice will direct the practitioner to provide non-discriminatory services to all clients. In addition, practitioners should understand how their belief systems may conflict with providing holistic care to specific client populations. Notably, this forms the basis of referrals to ensure a continuum of care.

Theory

Explanatory Theory

I prefer developmental theories. These theories seek to explain the changes that happen during a child’s development (Kuther & Burnell, 2019). Furthermore, they identify the impact of external stimuli on the developmental process (Kuther & Burnell, 2019). This information enables practitioners to adopt and prescribe aspects that promote adequate child development. Various developmental theories exist to complement each other. Notably, I prefer Erikson’s Psychosocial Developmental Theory. This theory explains how personality traits develop and differ across various lifespans. The theory consists of eight phases and identifies the indicators of success or failure for each stage (Orenstein & Lewis, 2021). The first stage determines the development of hope, and failure is demonstrated by mistrust and anxiety (Orenstein & Lewis, 2021). The second stage promotes the development of the will (Orenstein & Lewis, 2021), and failure is demonstrated by undesirable personalities, such as low self-esteem. The third and fourth stages promote the development of purpose and competency, respectively (Orenstein & Lewis, 2021). Fidelity, love, care, and wisdom develop during the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth stages, respectively (Orenstein & Lewis, 2021). This theory is relevant because it enables practitioners to explain the reasons for personality differences among individuals of the same or different age groups.

Practice Model

I will embrace the person-centered practice model in my clinical practice. This model acknowledges that each person has unique needs that should be addressed adequately (Jesus et al., 2021). Furthermore, the model respects the preferences and perspectives of each client and is based on eight principles. Firstly, it advocates for the respect of the client’s belief systems (Jesus et al., 2021). Second, it embraces care coordination and collaboration, and third, it advocates for patient education. The fourth principle is advocating for the client’s physical well-being and the fifth is advocating for emotional support. In addition, it advocates for family and community engagement (Jesus et al., 2021). Next, it promotes access to care. Lastly, it advocates for a continuum of care.

I chose the person-centered practice model because my practice perspective framework recognizes different clients with different needs that should be addressed adequately. Furthermore, the practice framework embraces human dignity. Notably, I respect the perspectives, practices, and beliefs of all clients. The emphasis is to provide quality holistic care that fulfills the unique needs of every client. In addition, I prefer developmental theories to enable me to identify the reasons for personality differences among individuals of the same or different age groups. Accordingly, this will enable me to achieve holistic and patient-centered care.

Diverse Populations

My current practice perspective framework depends on the person-centered practice model and developmental theories. As stated earlier, my practice perspective framework recognizes that different clients have different needs that should be addressed adequately (Jesus et al., 2021). Furthermore, it embraces human dignity. Subsequently, this directs me to respect the perspectives, practices, and beliefs of all clients (Jesus et al., 2021). The emphasis is to provide quality holistic care that fulfills the unique needs of every client. Regarding developmental theories, I acknowledge the personality differences among individuals of the same or different age groups.  My practice model applies to diverse populations because it advocates for person-centeredness and holistic care.

This framework can enable me to establish a therapeutic relationship with the LGBTQ population to provide holistic care. The LGBTQ population is faced with various problems that should be addressed adequately. Findings demonstrate that this population is likely to have a higher prevalence of substance use disorders than the heterosexual population (García Johnson & Otto, 2019).  Furthermore, they are likely to have mental health problems, face discrimination, have suicidal ideations, or engage in self-harm (García Johnson & Otto, 2019). Furthermore, they are likely to have limited access to healthcare because healthcare practitioners fail to provide congruent healthcare services.

My practice perspective framework will enable me to acknowledge that the members of this population have unique needs that should be addressed promptly. Furthermore, it will enable me to respect their preferences regarding the treatment process. Besides, the framework advocates for human dignity. As such, I will avoid discriminatory practices and apply evidence-based practice when dealing with the LGBTQ population.

Limitations

The person-centered practice model has various shortcomings. Firstly, the model may increase treatment costs because it seeks to address all of the patient’s needs (Summer Meranius et al., 2020). Secondly, it increases the likelihood of compassion fatigue among healthcare providers (Summer Meranius et al., 2020). This presents diminished compassion and burnout. Thirdly, critics argue that treatment bias cannot be eliminated due to the uniqueness of every person (Summer Meranius et al., 2020). Nonetheless, the risk of increased treatment costs can be mitigated by helping the client to prioritize their needs. The focus should be channeled to the needs that cause significant harm to the client. Secondly, the risk of compassion fatigue should be averted by optimizing the ratios of clinical social workers, interdisciplinary collaboration, and care coordination. This approach will avert the risk of burnout and allow interdisciplinary team members to participate in the decision-making process, hence preventing compassion fatigue. Lastly, the risk of treatment bias can be eliminated by adopting an interdisciplinary approach. This approach will ensure that the best decision that fulfills clients’ needs is selected.

References

Ayón, C., Ramos Santiago, J., & López Torres, A. S. (2020). Latinx Undocumented Older Adults, Health Needs and Access to Healthcare. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 22(5), 996–1009. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-019-00966-7

Berg-Weger, M. (2019). Social work and social welfare: An invitation (5th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429466687

Brandell, J.R. (2021). Theory and Practice in Clinical Social Work (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc.

García Johnson, C. P., & Otto, K. (2019). Better together: A model for women and LGBTQ equality in the workplace. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(FEB). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00272

Germain, C., & Knight, C. (2021). The life model of social work practice. In The Life Model of Social Work Practice (4th ed.). Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/gitt18748

Jesus, T. S., Papadimitriou, C., Bright, F. A., Kayes, N. M., Pinho, C. S., & Cott, C. A. (2021). Person-Centered Rehabilitation Model: Framing the Concept and Practice of Person-Centered Adult Physical Rehabilitation Based on a Scoping Review and Thematic Analysis of the Literature. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2021.05.005

Kuther, T. L., & Burnell, K. (2019). A Life Span Developmental Perspective on Psychosocial Development in Midlife. Adultspan Journal, 18(1), 27–39. https://doi.org/10.1002/adsp.12067

Orenstein, G. A., & Lewis, L. (2021). Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556096/

Summer Meranius, M., Holmström, I. K., Håkansson, J., Breitholtz, A., Moniri, F., Skogevall, S., Skoglund, K., & Rasoal, D. (2020). Paradoxes of person-centered care: A discussion paper. Nursing Open, 7(5), 1321–1329. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.520

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Reflective Practice-Clinical Social Work

This assignment requires you to reflect upon your practice and identify your clinical practice perspective framework. Using course readings and content, other resources you have encountered, class discussions, and your practice experience, address the following topics, using the underlined phrases as headings:
1. What is your definition of clinical social work practice? In which setting do you hope to practice and why?
2. What are your primary values as a practitioner? What personal characteristics seem to influence your choice of values? Consider one value conflict that you might experience in your work and how you will attempt to resolve it.
3. Use of self is important in clinical social work practice. Identify how you apply this concept as a therapeutic tool with your clients.
4. Which explanatory theory (or theories) do you prefer, and which practice models are you most likely to utilize in clinical practice? Remember to explain why (i.e., your practice perspective framework).
5. Is your current practice perspective framework appropriate for work across diverse populations? Select one client group (of which you do not identify) and explain how the framework can help you be effective with them.
6. What are the limitations of your current practice perspective framework? How can you minimize the potential impact of these limitations on clients?
Include at least six references from the literature, of which no more than two should be required course.

Textbook: Theory and Practice in Clinical Social Work (3rd Edition). Brandell, J.R. (2021).