SECTION F — FIELDWORK PRACTICUM TAUIRA STUDENT E- PROFILE / REPORT - (A MINIMUM OF THREE ACTUAL CASES) Tauira are required to complete this profile individually. It is a reflection of your actual fieldwork practicum experience. Once completed please ensure that you place an electronic copy into your IEB e-Portfolio and Practicum Team has a copy for their record. This is aligned to the Social Work Registration Board ‘Practice Study Competency Outline’. You are required to: 1. Introduction ~ give a miniumum detailed explanation of the type of work you were engaged in 2. Presenting situation - give a detailed explanation of a piece of work you were engaged in Provide three cases Sections are provided below as a guide for the three practicum cases Students may use for practicum case but write no more than 250 words per section Each case has a word limit of 2000 words Base it on actual fieldwork practicum two experience ‘Write in succinct statements with references (APA 6" edition) Due Date: Friday 23 October 2015 while on practicum and the area of practice (For example: casework, assessment of client! whanau needs, networking) Twas given the opportunity with some level of freedom to interact with and converse with the SSTS students in various environments in order to learn more about them, what their goals are and what | or other stakeholders could support them in doing. Because | was not there in the capacity of a qualified counsellor, | engaged with the | students in what is termed a “mentoring” role. This gave me the opportunity to gain a lot of real world experience in the informal interviewing and assessing of clientele. This could be summed up as: conversations with a purpose. | was discouraged in an early supervision session from thinking of myself as an underqualified counsellor. | was instead to develop an understanding of the role of a mentor. during practicum. This could be in relation to a challenging piece of work. For example, ethical dilemma, diffoult process you were involved in, Described your role within the practice being presented, (Identify the standards that have been applied). There was a generalized and ongoing need to encourage the students to achieve academic milestones, make good life decisions and pursue their dreams. At SSTS | observed an endemic lack of motivation among the students. Most of the students had ended up at SSTS because they had demonstrated anti-social or criminal behaviour, were truant or were not meeting minimum academic standards. Having had the privilege of interacting with many of the SSTS students | can say authoritatively that they are by no means intellectually inferior to their peers in mainstream education. For most of them the central issue is that of motivation. Many of the students have shared sentiments reflective of their attitudes, such as: “I don’t see the point’, "I hate school" or “this sucks!”. The challenge would be how to engage with the students in a relatable and non- threatening way so as not to negate the whole exercise. 28 | 70.713 Te Kawa Mahi: The Professional nthe Organisation Practicum Booklet 2012 Vi:t3. In your assessment ve an explanation of what needed tobe done. A minimum oF two detaed theories/ processes you mostly worked with. (For example, crisis intervention, task centred, Te Mahi Whakamana, Ata, Takepu, Ko Wal Au, Kaitiakitanga, Strengths-based, change, Relea.) Consider how you relate the two theories to your assessment, was this dificult? elt the students could benefit from some level of exposure to new ways of thinking and alternative perspectives. They also needed to get in the habit of getting into the habit. Another important gap was the inability of many to link their current efforts in education with their respective goals and life plans. | saw narrative and open-ended questioning, motivational interviewing (Hohman, 2015), etc. as being important in helping them to shore up their own value sets, goals and aspirations. There were principles of Pohatu's Ata (2005) that seemed appropriate, such as “ata-whakarongo” | or the act of respectful and reflective listening. | then saw the second part of the process as being to establish and move on to execute a plan of action. For this | phase in the process | saw the need for a task-centered solution-focused approach that was complimented by positive reinforcement. | have personally benefitted | tremendously from following such a process and wanted to pass on any learnings to those who showed interes! “4, What was your plan of action — illustrate the actions undertook in this plan. Be clear about the role you played, rationale undertaken within your role for this plan. My plan of action was to do my best to communicate to them a template for success based ‘on age-old, time-tested principles that many of them, while being cognitively aware of such principles have very little lived experience with them. | would be engaging with them in the capacity of a ‘mentor’. | would first build rapport with them through open, honest and reflective dialogue. Once a degree of trust was established | would then, through interviewing techniques acquired from course, establish what it is the individual aspires to Once this is clear in the student's mind we can move on to the formulation of an action plan that includes short, medium and long term goals. | realize | will not be around to follow up on medium and long term goals so my prime goal is for the motivational wheels rolling for clientele, '5. What did you do? How did you do it? What were your reasons for doing if? The first step would necessarily be to build a degree of rapport and trust with the students. | would do this according to the principles of Ata theory (Pohatu, 2005). If this was not achieved very little progress could be made on the steps to follow. The next step in the process would be to, through the aforementioned interviewing techniques, ask the right questions to provoke thought and discussion. Through this process, the student would have the opportunity to consider and verbalize their hopes and aspirations in their own words. Once clearly established and verbalized, | would support the student in forming a plan of action with short, mid and long term goals. This could act as motivation for the student and help them to overcome and see beyond short term trials and challenge: 6. What was the outcome? (Did you agree/disagree) | Tgained an insight into the psyche of many of the students, | was able to prompt a positive | change in thinking in some of the students and plant some seeds of sel-belief. The students | generally responded well to any engagement and as rapport was built, many of them started to be more open about their challenges and hopes. | was able to positively impact several 29 | 750.719 Te Kawa Mahi: The Professional nthe Organisation Practicum Booklet 2012 Vist‘students with whom I conducted formal goal setting sessions with. By the time we went through the process described above, the students motivation and excitement toward their future was significantly higher and they took away several new ideas and perspectives that | hope they will continue to benefit from. | had some questions regarding the engagement style of some of the faculty with the students and had observed the inefficacy of it first hand It was quite gratifying to see a positive change in several students through adopting a different approach to engagement. 7. Explain some of your most effective learning in this situation and why? Consider what has been some of the learning that has been the least effective as well. (Provide examples of how strengths were gained or developed within this experience). While we as practitioners have the privileged position of being able to impact positively on our client's thinking and lives, ultimately we are only a little light in a sea of darkness and confusion. This is why the most important thing we can do for our clients is support them in equipping themselves with the necessary thinking, tools and resources to continue to ‘overcome any challenges they face in their lives. | was also reminded that we cannot take anything for granted as practitioners. Principles and concepts that we may consider to be common sense may be new to some of our clients. This is no fault of their own, but rather speaks to the client's life experience and influences. It was a revelation to me how empowering a client-centred approach can be for someone who is used to being told how to act. On one particular occasion | volunteered to do a mentoring session with a particularly unmotivated and disruptive young man. After we sat down | attempted to engage with him but he would not meet my gaze and was not giving genuine answers. | persisted, being | careful to make sure the conversation revolved around him and his desired outcomes. | He slowly started to engage after sensing my genuine interest in supporting him. In a | nutshell: he had no idea what he wanted to do vocationally. Because of this, he was despondent about school as he did not see the point. He stated that he is always | required to do what other adults want him to do and that no consideration is given to | what he wants, We answered an online questionnaire that produced some ideas for career paths for him. Because the data was the product of his own answers, he seemed very interested in the results. "Some of those jobs look mean!" he said excitedly. We discussed the fact that what he was doing now in getting his NCEA levels 1 and 2 would allow him to have more career choices later. | suggested that he try to change the way he viewed his education, as something he was doing for him and his future and not simply because someone tells him he "should". He was excited by this notion and agreed that school didn’t seem nearly as bad if he could view it in such a light. After this positive engagement, | returned to the staff room for lunch. | overheard two of the student's teachers discussing how the student in question was a "no-hoper’. | suggested to them that the student first needed to establish the ‘why’ before he could engage in the ‘how’. | shared the engagement | had just had with the student and the positive way he had reacted to the notion that it could be about what he wanted, One of the teachers replied: "Actually, he is required by law to be here. He doesn't have a choicel”. | was faced with the sobering realization that when working with multidisciplinary teams, there may be times when key stakeholders do not have a shared understanding of how to best support a client in achieving their goals. Ultimately all | can control is my practice, 8. Were there any conflicting issues and/or interest such as personal values and beliefs? (If so, how did you deal with ethical dilemmas?), While conversing with the students, there were many occasions where students expressed viewpoints, attitudes or otherwise made statements that ran contrary to my 30 | 720718 Te Kawa Mahi: The Professionalin the Organisation Practicum Booklet 2012 Vi"tbeliefs and values. It was at times a challenge to temper the automatic desire to interject my own opinion. | had to occasionally remind myself that the engagement was for them. The plan was for them. The outcome would not affect me, but them (Rogers, 1951). I'm | ‘sure that because we are all naturally egocentric (to a point), this will continue to be a challenge for me as | move forward into my professional practice. ‘9. How did you demonstrate core Social Work Competencies and SWRB Practice Standards? | | Twas reminded of the core competency of: “Competence to work respectfully and inclusively with diversity and difference in practice’. The SWRB Core Competence Standards (2015) further states that we must: "Demonstrate sufficient self-awareness and be able to critically reflect on own personal values, cultures, knowledge and beliefs to manage the influences of personal biases when practising;”. | did this by not allowing my personal views to overshadow those of the client. We moved the discussion forward on the client's terms. This case also required me to practice the: "Competence to engage in practice which promotes social change”. | was able to demonstrate this by “collaborating with others to generate new knowledge that will contribute to the improvement of peoples’ lives, communities and wider society," (SWRB, 2018). | feel | was able to contribute new knowledge or at least support several students in the discovery of new knowledge. The collaboration was between the client and myself, as the practitioner. This is the key microsystem relationship to first focus our attention on. It is the basis for all we do as social workers and our efficacy as practitioners will rise and fall depending on the quality and strength of this relationship. As far as our contribution to "communities and wider society’, this objective will be met as we help the individual who can then in turn contribute in a more meaningful way to their own community which will have a positive roll-on effect on the wider society. Though this connection seems somewhat ambiguous, yet it is undeniable. Finally, | feel | was able to meet the core competency of: "Represents the social work profession with integrity and professionalism”. This competency is further explained in | the following manner: “behaves in a professional manner, maintains personal and | professional boundaries and is accountable for all actions” (SWRB, 2015). Knowing that | would have many opportunities to engage with the SSTS students on a one on one basis, | was careful from the outset to ensure the manner in which | engaged with the youth was appropriate, safe and professional 10. What areas of practice and areas of self-development will you look to develop further as @ | result of this case? | | will continue to develop the skills associated with building rapport based on the principles of Ata Theory. | also want to do further study into motivational interviewing techniques. | hope to quickly finding the balance between overt professionalism (which some clients can find intimidating) and approachability. The vital importance of the ability to conduct an effective interview is (| believe) still understated in the industry. Likewise, listening skills and | 31 | 790.719 Te Kawa Mahi: The Professional inthe Organisation Practicum Booklet 2012 Visi‘questioning skills such as have been taught throughout our degree with play a part in every single piece of work we involve ourselves in as practitioners. As | continue to develop the aforementioned skills and knowledge of theory | will become more effective at building rapport, carrying out assessments of clientele, de-escalation, forming plans, building relationships with whanau, community and other stakeholders. Indeed, my practice can be enhanced in many areas. _ Reference List: Hohman, M. (2015). Motivational interviewing in social work practice. NY, USA: Guilford Press. Rogers, C. (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications and theory. London: Constable. Pohatu, T. W. (2005). Te Ata: Growing respectful relationships. Te Wananga o Aotearoa, Mangere, Auckland. Social Work Registration Board. (2015). Core competence standards, Retrieved from http:/www.swrb.govt.nz/ ihe Organisation Practicum Booklet 2012 Vit 3a | 700.713 Te Kawa Mahi: The ProfessionAgency Supervisor: Comments / Observations / Notes/ Recommendations. Clinton established a good rapport with the students at SSTS, he engaged well with the students by listening to them and they felt heard. Clinton was able to give his opinion on the topic that was being discussed and | believe students were thankful for his feedback, as this was always in a positive way. | Closing statement of practice Clinton | have enjoyed you being at SSTS, you brought another dynamic to our group of educators. Take this experience from SSTS, you would take some learnings from this placement and hopefully draw on it when you start your new employment as a SWIS. Good luck Clinton, | wish you all the best in your social work career, Tavira / Student Name Clinton Strother Practice Supervisor Name Flo Tamehana Signed Date 19/10/2015 yy Signed Date 19/10/2015. BB 180.71 Te Kawa Mahi: The Professional in the Organisation Pracicum BooWet 2012 Vit