SOAD9208-FINAL PLACEMENT

Matty Mohan Kumar Samson

2116736
END OF PLACEMENT ANALYTICAL REFLECTION
Reflection acts as a central part of social work practice and education, and it
is particularly important for social workers in placement settings or newly qualified
social workers. It is essential that social workers have the confidence to question
their own practice, the organisation that they work in, and dominant power structures
in society at large. Reflection, and in particular critical reflective practice, forms a key
part of this, as social workers are called on to reconsider and reconstruct the
dominant social discourse. As a social work student, I have to critically identify and
reflect upon some issues & my learning throughout my placement in Uniting
Communities-Homeshare program. This will enable me to identify some more
personal strengths and areas for further development. On self-reflection of
considering my strengths, I am cooperative, good-natured, generous, helpful,
humble and modest to my clients and I trust others. As a professional, I am nonjudgmental, respectful and sensitive towards my clients. Being a social worker, I
have to explore the ethical issues for social workers when faced with evidence
suggestive of the operation of unnecessary influence in the lives of vulnerable clients
and what ethical responsibilities do social workers have for a vulnerable aged
person? Finding the right service for each client based on their needs requires a
creative person. On the other hand, I have some limitations like language barrier
since my first language is not English and no sufficient work experience in the field of
social work. These qualities which is identifying my strengths and limitations are
important for me, because I am working and will work with a variety of persons other professionals, clients, and so on - who may exhibit inflexible and demanding
personalities that may be challenging to work with(Heron 2005).

Reflection 1:
Critically reflected on ethical issues that arise out of the face to face interview
and Householders assessment process:
During the assessment process, some ethical issues arose out of the face to
face interview with older people. For example, in an assessment with a male
householder, he preferred female homesharers with the age above 50. Literally, he
was looking for someone more than a housemate. In some cases, Householders
need homesharers to do all the household chores for the exchange of free rent
which will exceed 10 hours of support. One householder, who is living alone in a
huge area of land (about an acre), was seeking a couple as a homesharers to
maintain the yard and her horses all the time which was not possible for a
homesharer to complete their task within their timeframe. Thus the householders
expectations were more or irrelevant to the program. In the world of the elderly,
ethical issues have an even greater significance because they usually involve an
elder who is likely to be more vulnerable that the average adult. For that reason, in
many ways the elderly are taken advantage of by people in whom they have
misplaced their trust. Respect for individuality is a core value in our society and is no
less so when dealing with the elderly. In fact, it may be even more needed because
the elderly are usually not as able as the younger population to stand up for their
rights and their decisions. However as by the Homeshare program, we have to look
for both parties and also homeshare has its own procedure and policies. In the case
of the male householder, as a social worker, I can understand his feeling & situation
that he doesnt want to stay alone and need some company but as a homeshare
program worker I need to follow the organisations norms. Consequently after the
face to face assessments with householders, we assess their suitability for the
program. Hence we marked the suitability flags for each clients and percentage of
possibilities for them to proceed further in the program. After a brief meeting which
includes me, other student, and our supervisors, we will come to a conclusion about
older peoples place in the homeshare program. Thus I developed my social work
skills on working as one of the team members and adapting to the organisations
norms and procedures.(Holland and Kilpatrick 1991, Banks 2001).

Reflection 2:
Reflection upon conversations had with householders and consider what
social work theories or processes were involved and what could be introduced
in future.

Strengths based perspective and

Empowerment oriented practice.

In working with older persons, the strengths-based approaches can prove to be

extremely useful in view of the fact that most elderly have an enormous repertoire of
knowledge, practice wisdom and a wide range of skill sets, helping professionals
approach the whole issue of working with the elderly from a perspective of dealing
with dependency and burden of care associated with-it. Particularly, social work
interventions, in order to be effective, need to be offered from the stand point of
strengths-based approach rather than other paternalistic models of care. A
strengths-based approach is more than a set of hard and fast rules. It is a
perspective. It strives to lead with the positive and values trust, respect,
intentionality, and optimism. It is based on the idea that people and environments
interact and change each other in the process. Each has the ability to build the
others capacity. Health care and human service professionals may utilize a
strengths-based perspective in their work with individuals. While they do not explicitly
follow particular model, they view and define individuals by their values, strengths,
hopes, aspirations, and capacities, regardless of the stressful or burdensome nature
of the situation around them (Hepworth, Rooney et al. 2009).
To effectively meet the mental wellness needs of older adults and those with
disabilities, a strengths-based approach is recommended. This perspective suggests
that there is a need to find out what has helped the older adult / individual with
impairment get to where he or she is in life. A strengths-based approach operates on
the assumption that people have strengths and resources for their own
empowerment. Traditional health intervention models concentrate on deficit based
approaches, ignoring the strengths and experiences of the participants. In a
strengths-based approach, the focus is on the individual not the problems or
concerns. Drawing on strengths-based approaches does not ignore problems.
Instead, they shift the frame of reference to define the issues. By focusing on what is

working well, informed successful strategies support the promotion of mental

wellness in older adults with mental illness(Early and GlenMaye 2000).
Strengths-based and empowerment-oriented interventions simultaneously
focus on client strengths and environmental strengths and strategies that include
education (transfer of knowledge and skills), self-help, enhancing social networks,
advocacy, and social action. Empowerment oriented practice maintains special focus
on consciousness-raising (regarding the personal and political dimensions of issues),
multi-level intervention strategies and change, and collectively in problem solving
and action. Both perspectives strongly support client participation in all aspects of
the decision-making processes affecting their lives and seek free working
relationships between social worker and client (Chapin and Cox 2002, Saleebey
2002).

Reflection 3:
Reflection on Holistic approach in the householders assessments:

To help older adults remain independent and have control over their lives,
homeshare workers emphasis is on predicting and, controlling the decline in overall
health and preventing them to go to nursing homes or residential care. Several
efforts have been developed to address a single aspect of health; however, to
support aging in place, a holistic approach to assessment of householders wellbeing and health is needed. To date, methodologies are lacking that address the
holistic and multidimensional assessment of health and wellness. The concept of
holistic care assessment in current tradition helps to enhance the total well-being of
the client. Portraying the human being only by his/her present needs is insufficient.
Every individual is unique and should be cared for as an entity comprising of body,
soul and spirit. The objective of the process is to gain more knowledge and to shed
additional light on the concept of holistic approach for the elderly within the home
setting from the perspective of the homesharers. Examining ones own beliefs and
values, and ones subsequent biases, is essential in examination of ethical issues.
Our values and beliefs will impact on service provision, that is, on what service is
provided, as well as when, where, why and how it is provided(Worth 2001). Since

older people are the primary clients of homeshare program and also the vulnerable
one, I focused more on householders well-being and requirement.
References:
Banks, S. (2001). "Ethics and values in social work."
Chapin, R. and E. O. Cox (2002). "Changing the paradigm: Strengths-based and
empowerment-oriented social work with frail elders." Journal of Gerontological Social Work
36(3-4): 165-179.
Early, T. J. and L. F. GlenMaye (2000). "Valuing families: Social work practice with families
from a strengths perspective." Social Work 45(2): 118-130.
Hepworth, D., et al. (2009). Direct social work practice: Theory and skills, Cengage Learning.
Heron, B. (2005). "Selfreflection in critical social work practice: subjectivity and the
possibilities of resistance." Reflective practice 6(3): 341-351.
Holland, T. P. and A. C. Kilpatrick (1991). "Ethical issues in social work: Toward a grounded
theory of professional ethics." Social Work 36(2): 138-144.
Saleebey, D. (2002). The strengths perspective in social work practice, Allyn and Bacon
Boston.
Worth, A. (2001). "Assessment of the needs of older people by district nurses and social
workers: a changing culture?" Journal of Interprofessional Care 15(3): 257-266.