Alternatively, as a practitioner, I would analyze the service user’s presenting problems using Ripple’s three attributes approach. According to Ripple (1964), when trying to help service users solve their problems, practitioners must take into consideration the following three attributes: motivation, capacity and opportunity/environment. As described by Ripple (1964), motivation encompasses how much service users want or are willing to do to solve their problems (p. 25). Therefore, the service user must genuinely want to solve the problem. Capacity involves the service user’s ability to solve the problem; this is determined based on present and past performances (Ripple, 1964). Lastly, opportunity or environment refers to the amount of available
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First, as social work is a helping profession, balancing personal and professional boundaries can be very challenging. As noted by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 2011), it is crucial for social workers to maintain professional boundaries in order to have an effective and durable career. Certainly, setting clear personal and professional boundaries is essential to ensure mutual respect in a relationship. In my future practice, I would manage boundaries by establishing clear agreements the service user in regards to my role as the service provider and by ensuring the focus is maintained towards the service user’s goals. Lastly, I learned that the practitioner must be honest and respectful with the service user in order to achieve desired outcomes. According to Woods & Hollis (1990), in the service user-practitioner relationship, the practitioner must show respect for the desires and goals of the service users and sometimes offer suggestions or opinions and allow the service user to reject or accept them (p. 37). I believe that it is very important to allow service users to make they own decisions as this provide them with a sense of independence and autonomy over their lives. In my situation, the school counselor allowed me to make my own decision without involving third parties and “advise” me, with no pressure, to attend therapy. This was especially important given …show more content…
As noted by Brill (2005), “effective workers must learn to avoid judging their clients’ attitudes and behavior according to their own personal value system (p. 30). I believe that an effective way to manage personal values is being aware of our positionality. As emphasized earlier, positionality can sometimes affect our ability to help others. Another way is by using mindful practice. As a mindful practitioner, I hope to validate the service user’s experiences by limiting personal judgements. Lastly, I hope to have open communication with the service user on how dynamics of power and privilege can both aid and interfere in the help-seeking process. It’s my belief that transparency is key to creating a productive working relationship and making service users feel comfortable asking for and receiving
First, as social work is a helping profession, balancing personal and professional boundaries can be very challenging. As noted by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 2011), it is crucial for social workers to maintain professional boundaries in order to have an effective and durable career. Certainly, setting clear personal and professional boundaries is essential to ensure mutual respect in a relationship. In my future practice, I would manage boundaries by establishing clear agreements the service user in regards to my role as the service provider and by ensuring the focus is maintained towards the service user’s goals. Lastly, I learned that the practitioner must be honest and respectful with the service user in order to achieve desired outcomes. According to Woods & Hollis (1990), in the service user-practitioner relationship, the practitioner must show respect for the desires and goals of the service users and sometimes offer suggestions or opinions and allow the service user to reject or accept them (p. 37). I believe that it is very important to allow service users to make they own decisions as this provide them with a sense of independence and autonomy over their lives. In my situation, the school counselor allowed me to make my own decision without involving third parties and “advise” me, with no pressure, to attend therapy. This was especially important given …show more content…
As noted by Brill (2005), “effective workers must learn to avoid judging their clients’ attitudes and behavior according to their own personal value system (p. 30). I believe that an effective way to manage personal values is being aware of our positionality. As emphasized earlier, positionality can sometimes affect our ability to help others. Another way is by using mindful practice. As a mindful practitioner, I hope to validate the service user’s experiences by limiting personal judgements. Lastly, I hope to have open communication with the service user on how dynamics of power and privilege can both aid and interfere in the help-seeking process. It’s my belief that transparency is key to creating a productive working relationship and making service users feel comfortable asking for and receiving