Becoming A Social Worker
Becoming a Social Worker: Real Students, Real Clients, Real Growth is a video by Judith Smith whose aim is to shed light on people who want to become social workers, as to what to expect. The video begins with students who have just started studying social work explaining their first hands-on experience with clients for the very first time. The video also takes us through what is expected and gone through before one gets to be confident and become a social worker. Judith’s video is informative and has a lot for one to take away from while pursuing social work.
The student’s remarks about what they experienced on their first-hand encounter with clients made me rethink of what to expect in the field of work (Smith). One of the students started by saying that they felt nervous when they were told to handle a client; he did not feel well equipped, for he was just in his first year of learning social work. This made me think about what would really happen during my first fieldwork. Nervousness shows that at one point, I will be bound to doubt myself and question how well equipped I am to face a client. The student’s remark, followed by Smith’s explanation of what happens the first time in the field, shows that it is okay to be nervous and question oneself for it helps in the growth process.
Judith Smiths’ remarks, “Be aware of yourself and be there for yourself,” challenged me to think of things from a different perspective (Smith). Judith explains that the hands-on experience with a client or in the field often makes one realize that they have their biasness and that they need to accept them to build themselves into better people based on the biasness. Smith explains that the process of growth is just like that of muscle growth, where one has to tear them down for them to grow bigger. The tearing down of muscles shows that I should be ready to bear the difficulty in working on oneself, and it may not be easy but is very necessary.
A comment on age difference made me start thinking in a new way. The age difference would constitute a difference in experiences between the client and me, which would be a hurdle that I would have to overcome. Just as one of the students in the video stated, he was asked by a client what he knew for he was too young to have experienced what the client had. I put myself in the same situation, and I must say one can feel belittled by such comments. I like what the student said after which is, he explained that he might be young but has experienced what the client had just in a different scenario. It is, therefore, important that I try and put myself in the client’s shoes rather than focus on the age difference and find a scenario they would relate to (Corbett, 2018).
After viewing the video, it is clear that one has to employ various social work techniques to deal with clients professionally. One of the techniques that one must employ is active listening. Active listening is engaging the client in what they are saying while reflecting on what they are saying to get a deeper understanding of them. Through good listening, trust is established, and clients feel understood and tend to open up. Another technique is emotional intelligence were self-awareness, empathy, and sensitivity to others. Emotional intelligence helps in dealing with anger and restrain that clients may show as well as biasness that one may possess.
Becoming a Social Worker: Real Students, Real Clients, Real Growth is a very educative video and is a good tool to help social workers get to know what to expect in their line of the field, especially for those starting. For me, it has painted a good picture of what to expect and the techniques that can be used in social work and have challenged me as a social work student.
Reference
Corbett, B. (2018, January 5). Becoming a Social Work Leader. Retrieved from https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/education–credentials/becoming-a-social-work-leader/
Smith, J. R. (n.d.). Becoming a Social Worker: Real Students, Real Clients, Real Growth. Retrieved from https://www.psychotherapy.net/video/becoming-social-worker
What Skills Are Required to Be a Social Worker? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://socialwork.simmons.edu/skills-required-social-worker/