Discussion Responses

COLLEAGUE 1: Sherene 

• An explanation of potential challenges for engagement in field education experience
• While working in an Emergency Shelter for youth, there are myriad challenges that can develop at any given time.  Each adolescent comes from various walks of life and has encountered a collection of experiences.  Many adolescents have faced hardships like family instability, abuse, poverty, substance abuse, suicidality, and many other unfortunate circumstances.  Even in the best circumstances, many adolescents experience symptoms of mental health diagnosis.  Due to these circumstances, there are times when some adolescents have a tendency to be withdrawn.  Some might even display inappropriate behaviors because they have difficulty expressing themselves properly.  Every client responds differently to treatment; therefore, it is important to establish trust.

Explanation of personal action plans to address engagement

           One action plan is to build rapport with the client.  Trust is the central component of successful recovery.  Without trust, your clients aren’t going to feel comfortable opening up about their struggles, and you won’t be able to help them overcome their issues (Birkenmaier & Berg-Weger, 2018).  Another plan would be to set up weekly sessions with the family to strengthen the family dynamic.  It is important to understand and respect the client’s strengths, needs, and goals in order to develop a positive relationship.  Allowing the client to feel in charge of the direction of their treatment is vital.  It will encourage them to be more engaged in the treatment process.  Lastly, while communicating with the client, always remember to listen without judgment.  Let them know that you want to hear what they have to say and that you’re on their side (Birkenmaier & Berg-Weger, 2018). 

Reference

Birkenmaier, J., & Berg-Weger, M. (2018). The practicum companion for social work: Integrating class and fieldwork (4th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson. 

COLLEAGUE 2: Mikala 

An explanation of potential challenges for engagement in field education experience

Engagement is a key step in building rapport and a trusting relationship with your client and their families. There are many different factors that can lead to challenges with engagement. Engagement can occur with clients, collogues, supervisors and other professionals. One challenge that I have encountered is a language barrier. I have one two families on my caseload in which the parents primarily speak Spanish. This makes it difficult to engage with the parents when needed. I have offered translation services to both families in which they declined. Another challenge that I have faced is getting connected with other providers who are involved. Recently, I have had a hard time getting in touch with the school social workers which allow me to provide services in the school setting. This would be ideal so that the children don’t have to meet late at night.

An explanation of personal action plans you might take to address engagement in your field education experience

To address the language barrier, I offer to use a translating app. This is not the best solution, and it does not always translate correctly, but it allows me to better communicate with the clients’ parents. I also offer any documents that we have in Spanish to the family and remind them of translation services. As for getting in touch with other services providers, I have gone to my supervisor for additional support, to see if she has any other contact information. My plan next would be to go directly to the school, or the agency to get in touch with someone. As I continue to learn and grow I may change my approach to addressing challenges, but for now these things have been working.

COLLEAGUE 3: MIKE 

Potetential Challenges for Engagement

There are many potential challenges for engagement I could face during my Field Placement experience. My relationship with my coworkers and supervisor at my practicum site can affect my engagement with the agency either positively or negatively. A poor relationship with my supervisor can severely impact the oportunities for engagement at the agency (Birkenmaier & Berg-Weger, 2018). Similarly, if I have a poor relationship with my coworkers at the practicum agency, potential for engagement with them will be stunted and possibly non-existent. Another potential challenge for engagement is my schedule at the practicum site. Groups are normally run on Wednesdays, and I do not work at my practicum agency on Wednesdays, so this limits my engagement with groups.

               In my engagement with clients, there are also potential challenges. One is the therapeutic bond between me and my clients, or lack thereof. A therapeutic bond between client and therapisat has been shown to be one of the largest indicators of positive outcomes (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2018). A weak therapeutic bond can damage the rapport and weaken client engagement. Another potential challenge for my engagement with clients is my status as an intern. Right now I am only able to work with clients who have Medicaid insurance. This restricts my engagement to only those group of clients.

Personal Action Plans for Engagement

My personal action plan for increasing engagement with my field supervisor and coworkers is to make sure that I greet them and display humility towrds them in regards to the work and profession they do. Acknowledging that they have more expereince in the field and asking for their insights will help establish engagement with them, at least I hope it does. My personal action plan for increasing engagement with my clients is to give the best services I can to those clients that I can see, and not wqorry about those clients that I can not see. By focusing on those clients I see and assisting them with attaining their therapy goals will hopefully create a strong therapeutic bond between us.

References

Birkenmaier, J., & Berg-Weger, M. (2018). The practicum companion for social work: Integrating class and fieldwork (4th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

Kist-Ashman, K. & Hull, G. (2018). Understanding Generalist Practice. Cengage Learning. Boston, MA