This week I was able to be back in
the office full-time, and I am feeling much better than last week. I was able to get back into my normal
responsibilities of operating the crisis line, leading a group, and doing my
usual research projects. In addition to
my office work, I was able to go down to Springfield for Advocacy Day, which
was an amazing experience, and I hope I can do it again next year!
The two biggest rewards I had this
week were having a great time with my classmates in Springfield, and having the
opportunity to join hundreds of other social workers as we petitioned and met
with our representatives. The House was
in session, so none of us could meet our representatives, but some of us had
the opportunity to meet our Senators. The
other reward this week was having a productive children’s group, and it not
being chaotic. Sean (the other group
leader) wasn’t able to come to group because he recently got another job, so
another counselor stepped in to help me with group. She suggested having a schedule that the
children help make that way our time is structured and they can see what we
have accomplished, and what else we still need to do. It was very useful, and the activity we did
was very hands-on which kept them busy and focused.
The only real challenge I encountered
this week was waking myself up early Tuesday morning before going to Advocacy
Day. It was a very long day, but a great
experience.
Ethics
Some ethical dilemmas we face at the
micro level are making sure we start where our clients are at. This is much easier said than done, and in
supervision and meetings it’s a common theme that gets brought up. Some of our clients are in very overwhelming
situations and they can only focus on one aspect of the problem at a time, and
we need to be there with them. One
situation that is coming to mind is a woman who just left her abuser is trying
to find a job. She is educated and
certified to be a nurse, but isn’t hearing back from any of the places she’s
applied to. Her advocate has suggested
possibly finding a temporary job outside of the medical field just so she has
an income as a way to support herself and keep her from getting evicted. Currently, she is not ready to focus on the
possibility that she could be homeless if she doesn’t pay rent soon. In this situation, we are caught between
respecting the self-determination of our client, while also trying to plan and
prevent the possibility of her being evicted and homeless. In this situation, we are reminded that we
can’t make decisions for our clients, and that we are here for support no
matter what they are going through. In
this situation, the client just wants to work on job applications and getting
back into a career, and that is what we’ll do.
If the situation changes, we will work from there.
Sarah-
ReplyDeleteYes Advocacy Day was AWESOME SAUCE! It was a long day, but very rewarding! I'm glad that your able to process things about your clients and lead successful group time with the kids. I can imagine its a challenge trying to maintain the value of them being in control and having to make their own decisions when you can see multiple risk factors of some unfortunate event ahead in their life. But it sounds like you guys do a very good job! Sounds like great social work to me!
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you are feeling better and have bounced back. I was bummed I could not go to advocacy day but it sounds like a really neat experience and I am glad you got to go. I am glad you were observant and got to sit in on advocacy day sessions. getting up early always sucks so I have no encouragement for that lol. I agree with your micro level dilemma. I think sometimes our agency have such high goals and missions that we don't always meet our clients where they are at because in the end they are the ones that need to start the change.