Assignment Task:
Respond Two peers: Describe insights you have gained from reading their post about purpose and career path. Then, identify additional ways in which their internship this term could help facilitate their overall career goals.
1-CHERYL-
My ultimate goal as a social worker is to finish the Master of Social Work program, meet the residency standards set by the state of Virginia for social workers, pass the state licensing test, and get my license so I can keep working in the mental health field. Although I am not interested in providing direct mental health services, I am passionate about the administrative parts of social work, especially when doing exams and making links between people and families and the best services.
Over the long run, I want to add a small private practice focusing on marriage and family counseling aside from my main job. I would also like to investigate opportunities in program management or similar leadership jobs within the field. However, I need to do more research and improve my skills in this area first.
My present field placement and learning agreement helped me get closer to my career goals by allowing me to gain hands-on experience in psychiatric inpatient treatment, which is one of the most intense types of mental health care. In my current position, I do assessments to see if people need to spend time in a hospital for treatment. I can now see how these services directly affect patients through this work. This experience has helped me learn a lot about how mental health programs work after the initial recommendation stage. It also helps me consider whether my suggestions are good for the people I'm recommending or if there might be better ways to help them.
Making sure that people get the least restrictive option for safety and stability is one of the main ideas that guides my work. This means putting outpatient services first whenever possible and only suggesting hospital care when needed. Thanks to my present job, I'm getting better at judging how well these decisions work. It gives me a well-rounded view to help me in my future work. In the end, this experience will make my clinical sense stronger, help me make better decisions about which treatments to suggest, and help me learn more about how mental health services are provided at different levels of care.
By doing this practical experience, I'm not only working toward the short-term goals I set out in my Learning Agreement, but I'm also learning important skills that will help me reach my long-term goal of making a difference in the field of mental health through assessment, evaluation, and program administration.
2-april-
Post a description of how you envision your social work career path
I envision my social work career taking me to work with individuals who suffer from trauma within private practice. I also want to open a non-profit agency with my husband for individuals who have been wrongfully accused or convicted of a crime that they did not commit. I would like to be in the front lines and working with politicians to change current laws and help bring funding for indigent defense in order to help those who can not afford proper representation.
What purpose, population, or cause drives you as an emerging practitioner?
I have a passion for treating those with trauma as I have had a lot of trauma within my own life and I know the negative impact it has on one's daily life. I feel it's something that I am good at as I bring empathy and understanding to those struggling with trauma. I have had many trainings on trauma and have worked within trauma-informed agencies and feel fulfilled helping others work through their trauma to live healthy lives.
I also have a passion for advocating for those who have been wronged by the justice system as I have personally experienced it with a family member but also have run into it throughout my career. I've done a lot of research on the topic and my husband is writing his dissertation on it. 6% of the overall convictions within the United States are wrongful convictions, which is most likely higher depending on the crimes (Burgin 2022). There are significant phycological and financial impacts to individuals and their families who face such accusations. Individuals often report negative impacts to their self identity, reputation, psychological and physical health, relationships, perception of the justice system, finances, and adjusting to life after their legal battles are over (Brookes & Greenberg, 2021). People are made out to be guilty of crimes before being proven innocent. It is my passion to help those going through such difficult times and provide support in any way that I can to them and their families.
What are your overall career goals, and how do the short-term goals in your Learning Agreement connect with them?
My career goal is work within my own private practice and provide effective care for those who have experienced trauma. My goal is to also help develop policy changes to ensure individuals get the support and funding they need to fight accusations as well as changing public perception of being guilty until proven innocent. The short term goals in the learning agreement will connect me to my career goals by learning how to effectively assess and provide evidenced based interventions with those who struggle with trauma. I will learn how to demonstrate professionalism in the field and act according to NASW's code of ethics, which will not only help me within my private practice but when I am advocating within the community. I will be advocating within my internship, which will give me a foundation to advocate within my own non-profit. I will be coordinating care with other agencies within my area to ensure all clients' needs are met, which will give me a strong foundation when coordinating care for my own clients. I will be working with families and applying evidenced based interventions within my internship, which will help me develop the skills to working with families who have experienced trauma or families of those being wrongfully accused of crimes. I will continually evaluate my practices throughout my internship and discussing results with supervisor to ensure clients are receiving effective care. This will help me in evaluating the effectiveness of my trauma informed practices.
How will your work at the agency this term contribute to your envisioned career path?
I will be working within an agency that runs much like a private practice, which will help me understand more on how to run my own. I am grateful to also have the opportunity to advocate within my internship as this will provide me with a foundation to build upon when it is time to build my own advocacy agency. I have been learning so many social work skills through trainings, supervision, and working with individuals who struggle with mental health. My supervisor has been a great mentor for me as a social worker. The NASW code of ethics encourages social workers to seek advice and counsel to meet the best interests of clients. Part of this includes being informed about a colleague's expertise and competencies to guide them in knowing who can offer the best guidance (NASW, 2021). I know that after my internship is over, my supervisor will continue to offer me guidance and support as I work toward meeting my own goals. Need Assignment Help?