Over 75 insightful illustrations highlight almost every common issue that students face in their field work and demonstrate how each situation can be handled. Clearly identified topics in each chapter guide social work students through the many pitfalls and relationships of field work, including how to enter an agency and what professional comportment looks like. A focus on key relationships (with field instructor, agency staff, faculty advisor, authority, and the all-important client relationship) helps prepare students for effective social work practice. Second and third person narration offers a personal approach to field work to keep readers engaged. Practice illustrations, examples from field programs, and guidelines help students review and master key skills. Useful strategies for dealing with the many conflicting demands of family and friends and ways of managing the effects of personal history on field work help students deal with the feelings and challenges they will encounter in the intricate relationships they must sustain with clients, field instructors, and faculty advisors.

Utilizing Self-Awareness in Social Work Practice

Utilizing self-awareness in social work practice

Introduction

Participating in field placement challenges the student to recognize and address personal historical issues and their impact on the student’s work with clients. It is impossible for a student to practice effectively or ethically with clients without having examined his or her personal issues. It is important to be aware that students’ resistances to looking at these issues may create conflict with their field instructors and faculty field advisors.

This chapter highlights how your personal history can be used productively to enhance your practice. It also examines how some personal issues become impediments to effective practice. Approaches are offered to overcome the pitfalls and minefields that unresolved personal issues can pose. Guidelines are provided ...

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