Assertiveness

After reading chapter 5, there was one section that particularly helped me get ready for having clients: "Relating assertively to clients". Although I have not had any clients of my own, I have been observing the other case workers from my agency through shadowing opportunities. In the therapy session I attended, the counselor used very firm requests with her clients. As I stated in a previous blog, these clients are a set of foster parents in our program who are in the process of adopting 2 children. They have now decided to get a divorce and the husband is moving out in 2 weeks. The children have had a very difficult childhood in terms of reliable parents and healthy relationships, so this divorce is another blow for them. The therapy session focused on the most effective way to tell the children and help them through the divorce and their new dad's absence. I noticed that the clients tended to make the situation lighter than it was, saying things like, "the kids already know. They know. We both have mentioned it before and we don't think it is necessary for us to tell them together." The therapist did a great job using firm requests with them to get them back on topic and cooperate with what she was telling them. By the end of the session, they seemed more aware that although they were avoiding sitting down as a family and discussing the divorce, it was what was best for the children.

Using firm requests with clients is extremely important for social workers. It is especially key for us, as student interns, as people may see our "student" status in a negative way. We must demonstrate that we are confident and take charge of our interactions with clients so that we can be effective in helping them. I know that my personal experience so far with being an intern has not been what I expected. I have already had one client turn down my services, simply because I was an intern. I think if this particular client had met me and allowed me to work with her, she would have been surprised by my use of directives and assertiveness and would have taken me seriously. I am looking forward to meeting my first clients next week and trying out the helping methods discussed in chapter 5.

Yay! Something to do!

I wrote the last post this morning, but did not have a chance to post it until now. However, since the post, I got word that tomorrow I will be going to a court hearing. The hearing deals with a youth in our program who was living with her aunt. The aunt has not been a great influence and has not given the youth an appropriate living environment (ex: the youth does not have her own room, and the aunt has had problems with alcohol abuse). This court hearing is to determine whether or not the aunt has been following the suggestions given to her by DSS in order to get custody of the youth.

Also, my supervisor just told me I will be conducting a home study of my own, beginning in the next week or two. This process includes 4-5 visits with potential foster parents. On the first visit, I will shadow my supervisor. On the second visit, I will lead the interview in front of her. Then if we both agree I am ready, I will do the remaining visits on my own.

And lastly, on Monday, I may finally get to meet a youth who is coming into our program... keeping my fingers crossed!

Field Placement- week 4

It is four weeks into my internship at Phillips Programs in the foster care section, and I have officially done 3 field experience related tasks. I have been having issues with my supervisor, as it seems she did not plan ahead for me to be here. She has given me three client names, but I have yet to meet any of them. I have gone to two home studies, which are interviews with potential foster parents. After approval, the information gained in these studies allows us to correctly match the foster parents with a child that will be able to excel in their home. I merely shadowed these interviews and did not have any direct involvement with the process, but it was beneficial for me to at least see how the process works. I have also attended one therapy meeting. The meeting involved a current set of adoptive parents in our program who are now going through a divorce. The therapist discussed with them ways to tell the children and help them through the painful process. Again, I had no direct involvement with this meeting other than sitting in on it. Other than these three events, I have basically sat around and read files or done homework during my time at my internship, because my supervisor simply does not have anything for me to work on. This placement has been difficult for me to enjoy or learn from, as it is not the type of center where clients come. I am in an office setting and all of our client related activity takes place outside of the office. This means that in order to go out on home visits, etc, I have to be able to match up my schedule with the schedules of other case workers. This has proven difficult having class 2-3 days a week, because most home visits take place after children get out of school (which is when I have to be in class). I am very disappointed in how my internship is going so far, and I am really hoping it will pick up soon. As of now, I have 2 court hearings scheduled to shadow and one more home visit, but those are not until mid-October. In the mean time, I suppose I will just be given office work to do from time to time. I am so eager to get out of this place and actually experience what a social worker does!

testing...

Just making sure this works!