Exercise 2.1.

 UNDERSTANDING YOUR VALUES

Understanding your values goes hand in hand with understand the values, ethics, and
functioning of the profession of social work. It is also an important preparation activity in
the process of selecting a practicum and being selected for a practicum. This self-
knowledge can be helpful in understanding the ways various practicum settings may affect
and influence your practice. In addition this knowledge can assist in determining what
kinds of practicum settings you will fit into best. Record your responses in the spaces
provide. 

1. What do you believe is the role of professional social worker?

-Social work is ANYTHING that you do to help your community, your social environment,
your society. Or even the guy next door. That being said, there are many arenas of social work
open to you. Clinical social work can be counseling or therapy. You can work in a hospital
comforting patients, or their families, or even doctors and nurses. You could work on helping
patients form discharge plans, and following up after they are discharged. If you decide clinical
is the way to go there are many many ways you can use it, and yes, helping in schools is one of
them.

If you want to work within schools you can be a school counselor, work with kids on IEP
programs, or go work for CPS which won’t necessarily be in the schools, but will allow you to
be in the trenches helping kids.

For most of these jobs, you will need a Master Degree in social work. Generallly that’s a four
year undergrad degree and another two years in the masters program.

There are SO MANY things that social workers can do it almost defies the imagination. I’m not
sure if I’ve answered your question, it’s very broad and I’m not sure in which direction to break
it down. Social work is a very open field. If you were able to ask me this question please feel
free to ask me more, and more specific questions. I would love to share what I know with you.
It’s much broader that psychology although you get tons of psychology training if that’s where
you want to go.

2. What do you believe is mean by social work values and ethics? Why do you believe they are
important to help practice of social work? How do you think they will influence
your behavior in your future practicum setting?
- The following broad ethical principles are based on social work's core values of service, social
justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity,
and competence. These principles set forth ideals to which all social workers should aspire

Social workers to be trusted by clients and other individuals, they must demonstrate
trustworthiness at all times. They must uphold the core values and ethical guidelines of their
profession to continue to make meaningful contributions.

3. Discuss what you believe are the key ethical principles and responsibilities that form the basis of
the profession of social work. Why do you think they are important to professional social
workers? Discuss in detail.
 - Social workers play an important role in improving the lives of those who need it the most. We
live in a world where despite being from good economic and financial backgrounds, have to
struggle to establish a lifestyle.

Think about those who do not have money or any other source of income to make their two ends
meet, to feed their children so they don’t go to sleep on empty stomachs. Think about those
elders and old age people who after devoting their whole life for the happiness of their children
are now craving for love, care and protection. The physically disabled and mentally unfit people
who have lost hope to lead a happy life.

These are a few scenarios where a social worker comes in. They work in a variety of
organisations for the enhancement of well-being. In the end, we are not machines who work only
to build our careers, we are humans and we live by supporting and promoting the growth of each
other.

4. In your opinion, in what ways or situations might your values and ethics differ or depart from
professional social work practice?
 -The situation of as a mother and some news that the child is not safe from home or hir/her from
their families. an essential profession in a time when so many children are born to broken
people.  The level of tragedy babies and small children are subject to is simply overwhelming
and heartbreaking, and in many instances must intervene in families who fail to provide even the
most basic of protection to their children.Without people who care for the socially ill of our
communities, many people (and in particular children) would falter in life as they plunge into
chaos. To ignore and not serve this element of society on the most basic level exacerbates
homelessness, hunger, addiction, chronic illness, crime and many other detrimental
abnormalities.It is often said that these people are not the problem of society as a whole, and
deserve no benefit of the doubt or assistance to grow and learn. In my view (and experience
working with the homeless) the vast majority of people who fit such categories are willing to
change if given correct opportunities.Unfortunately, not everyone in such a situation can be
reasoned with, cannot overcome their diseases or addictions, fail to resolve their mental health
issues, and will likely never be a contributor to the community at large.But thank the social
worker for being the person who reaches out and seeks to be a go between of life and death,
success and failure, and sickness and health.

 
Exercise 2.2.  UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL WORK SERVICES
List four different kinds (or areas) of social work services.Rank your list according to the
kind of social work service that most interest you at this time.
1.  Child welfare
2.  Aging
3.  Developmental Disabilities
4.  Mentak Healt and Clinical Social Work
Exercise 2.4.  PROCESS OF EHTICAL DECISION MAKING
Consider your responses in Exercise 2.1. With a group of replacement students, discuss
practice circumstances I which client, student and agency values might conflict with ethical
 decisions making. Describe below what you believe is the process of responsible ethical decision
making during your practicum.
Exercise 2.6.  YOUR UNDERSTANDING PF THE SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION
Consider your responses to Exercise 2.1.-2.2 and use the scale below to rate your understanding
of the profession of social work and the services provided by social service agencies. A rating 1
indicates no understanding and a rating of 4 indicates a great deal of understanding about six
items listed. Be fair and honest about your level of understanding of the effect of ethics and
values
1. I understand the role of professional social work        
2. I understand why I am in social work        
3. I understand the values and ethics of the profession of social        
work
4. I understand the various settings that employ social workers        
5. I understand the function of a social service agency        
6. I understand responsible ethical decision making        
 
Exercise 2.8.  SELF-AWARENESS AND POTENTIAL PRACTICUMS
Now that you have spent some time exploring the values of the profession, it will also be helpful
to explore similar issues about yourself. Developing self-awareness is the part of the process of
developing as a profession social worker and becoming an effective [practitioner. Understanding
yourself, your personal and social resources, will help you begin to recognize those practicum
settings where you can best assist clients.
1. If you were to describe yourself to someone else, what characteristics would you be sure to
include why?
 - If you ask me, it is really hard to describe oneself out in plain words. And someone like me,
whose tastes and mood changes like the changing weather, it is challenging.

And then if you say positive words about yourself, people will call
you Arrogant  or Haughty  or thinks too highly of themselves. And if you say negative about
yourself. some sections will fill you up with motivating words and some will only discredit you
for no apparent reason.

But Still,

I will be honest and brazen about myself.

 I am loud and boisterous.

 I am really caring and I will care for you if you come under my liking radar.
 I am not a very sharp person but I am a very keen observant.
 I am a girl next door (come on, bash me)
 And I am very obliviously cognisant!

2. If people who know you quite well were to describe you, what characteristics would they
include? Why?
  - First of all I think my friends will laugh if anyone asks them to describe me since it will be
most controversial question to ask.

Jokes apart, I think they would say that I am naughty, laughing , interesting, fool and good
actress Since I am not everybody's favorite but partly an important one since I add humor to
everyone's life.

Some might say selfish/helpful, sad/jolly, interesting/boring, irretable/time pass but one thing is
sure a good human.

3. Is there a difference in the two list characteristics (1 and 2)? How do you account for that
difference?
-NOTHING. When I changed schools I expected to have completely different people. Nope. I
found someone who reminded me of everyone I knew from my last school it's like ; you play a
awesome game, so next year the developers are like we need a great game like last year so they
reskin the last game and it's a hit. What I'm saying is you might look slightly different but it's
basically the same person. 

4. Rate your comfort level (1 being the list comfortable, 4 being most comfortable) in relating to
others who are
of the opposite gender        
physically disabled        
developmentally delayed        

a visible minority or whose ethnic background differs from        

your
of sexual orientation which differs from yours        

5. Comment on your comfort level with people who are different from you and how this might
affect your choice of a practicum setting.
 
6. Considering you value system, what situations or types of clients might create a value conflict
for you? Why
 
7. How might the possible value conflicts affect your choice of a practicum setting? Do you
believe you should avoid those situations and/or clients or comfort the conflicts? Explain why or
why not?
 
8. Considering your personal history, what situations or types of clients do you feel you
could overidentify with? Why?
 Well in my experience there’s a difference between wanting to die and wanting to never have to
get up again. Most clients can identify where they are on that spectrum. Many many people
never want to wake up again but few really want it permanently done. If they use forward
thinking like next week I have to… or my girlfriend left me and I don’t know what I’ll do on
Tuesday when we usually… or such. Forward thinking. They don’t want it over for real. People
that REALLY want to die rarely talk about it. If they give you a warning it means they want to
be caught. Serious suicidality USUALLY gives no warning. They just go and do it without
telling anyone. Also it’s a feeling you get. There’s a difference between forward thinking and
planning your out for serious. My advice is don’t screw around if you’re not sure. It takes years
to learn the signs. Better safe than sorry.

9. history make you less suitable for certain practicum settings or certain populations? Why or
why not?
 
10.  How do you typically respond when you are in a stressful or anxious situation? Be specific
in your response
 - My response to stress varies, and so I set goals for handling it. I'm not always successful, but
what follows is my general approach. 

Like many, I try to discover the source of the stress, then its quality; productive or unproductive.
Where I find a stress unproductive, I determine whether I can simply remove it from my life, or
not.If I cannot remove the stress, I determine how I can effectively limit my contact with its
source, examine a few options, then execute a plan. In other words, if a particular stress is
unproductive I do not try to alleviate it's symptoms, first. I only try to alleviate symptoms if the
stress is productive, ie., it serves a purpose that I find beneficial.

If the stress seems productive, I determine how much energy I can devote to addressing its
source. If I do not feel I have the energy, addressing the source will have to wait until I have the
energy, or I can delegate the tasks necessary to resolve any conflicts, or to work through any
changes necessitated by the stressor.

11. What helps you cope in stressful situations

- There are lots of ways to cope up with moments of stress , one way is to take a hot or cold
shower to refresh your tired mind, second is take a break and eat your favorite food, or have a
cup of coffe or tea is best .Being organized with the things that you need to do, a clean and cool
environment helps you to focus on your top priorities. Consider also the following ways:

1. Take a break to watch your chosen videos, reading, or listening to news or

stories
2. Take care of yourself by pampering it, you might consider a spa or massage , a
haircut or something that relaxes you
3. Do the things that excites you except alcohol and drugs of course
4. Make time to unwind with friends, love ones or family
5. Talk to others, you might want to listen to their stories too.
6. Do something that makes you sweat like getting into your favorite sport,
biking, hiking, jogging, swimming 

 
12. How do you typically respond when others are in a crisis or in a stressful and anxious
situation? Be specific in your response
 - I know some who had mental health crisis and I was able to see that he needs a therapy or
mental health care. Every time I used to talk to him, it was so visible that he needs help.
I talked to him regarding that but his respond was just not ready to listen and always said he
doesn’t need any mental health care. I can see that he is so disturbed that he is escaping from his
inner things to open up and he is in denial mode. I never forced him.I stopped saying this to him
after 1–2 try. I knew it how it’s gonna work. I started listening to him for hours. Started being
there emotionally, mentally present.Gradually I have seen that he started opening and started
realizing that he had so many mental issues which are troubling him.It doesn’t happen with
everyone. And everyone has their own life also, so now a days no one really has that much time
to sit with others. That’s the reality.In that case we should give a little time and attention to our
dear ones if we are their well wishers.

13. How can your responses in 10-12 to help you choose a practicum setting?