Social workers, who regularly communicate with diverse clients and colleagues, might face engagement challenges and barriers to establishing initial relationships. The generalist approach to social work guides a planned change in various areas of practice (Garthwait, 2017). Based on the Generalist Intervention Model (GIM), engagement is the first phase of the planned change process, requiring an appropriate application of verbal and non-verbal behavior (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2018). In the following post, I will explain potential engagement challenges in my social work field education experience and discuss personal action plans that might be used to address engagement at Vatsalya Adult Medical Daycare Center.
As my field education experience involves communication with elderly clients, the first potential challenge is establishing rapport with depressed, mentally disabled residents or individuals with hearing/visual impairments. The second potential problem is the maintenance of a client’s self-determination and autonomy. The value of a client’s self-determination, or “free choice of one’s acts or states without compulsion,” should be respected in contrast to the approaches of communitarianism and full participation (Murdach, 2011, p. 371). Cultural competency is another challenge since my placement agency represents a culturally-diverse environment, so its residents require a personalized approach respecting individual differences. As a core micro-practice skill, interviewing might be employed to engage with individuals from different ethnic backgrounds and cultures (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2018). The final challenge is to efficiently use empathy, warmth, and genuineness because the social work profession involves the risk of compassion fatigue/burnout, which should be prevented.
Personal action plans should be developed to include appropriate interviewing techniques to initiate meaningful client-provider relationships. Primarily verbal elements (active listening) might be used for visually-impaired clients and non-verbal mechanisms for residents with limited hearing abilities (facial expressions, eye contact). Verbal communication with mentally-disabled individuals may be difficult, but it is imperative to avoid discriminating against these residents and be compassionate and patient while waiting for their feedback during interview sessions. In response to the second and third challenges, I would consider action plans that encourage clients’ growth and empower them to reach their highest potential through self-determination, cultural empowerment, and autonomy. The means of helping Vatsalya’s residents maximize self-determination might include social workers’ support of clients’ preferences, informed choices, and the discussion of positive and negative consequences involved in the decision-making.
In addition to the action plans described above, it is vital to express empathy, warmth, and genuineness while working with elderly clients. It should be noted that social work is not a purely scientific discipline but a practice of positive client-provider relationships (Murdach, 2011). Thus, positive verbal communication may consist of encouraging phrases displaying warmth and empathic responses expressing the social worker’s honesty and genuine understanding of clients’ feelings (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2018). Based on effective sharing, self-other awareness, and mental flexibility, empathy is an important therapeutic tool in social work, as it inhibits aggression, prevents conflicts, and leads to positive client outcomes (Gerdes & Segal, 2011). Mental flexibility is the key to empathetic practice without compassion fatigue/burnout. The ability allows a social worker to enable receptiveness to clients’ feelings or experiences and disable it outside of the workplace to regulate one’s emotions.
Overall, potential engagement challenges in the social work practice can be addressed by developing effective action plans. Establishing rapport with elderly and disabled clients might be based on the appropriate choice of verbal or non-verbal elements during interviews. Self-determination and cultural diversity of residents should be encouraged via the discussion of clients’ personal preferences, informed choices, and decision-making consequences. Finally, empathy, warmth, and genuineness are crucial for conflict-free communication and positive outcomes but may cause compassion fatigue demanding a social worker to developmental flexibility.
References
Garthwait, C. L. (2017). The social work practicum: A guide and workbook for students (7th ed.). Pearson.
Gerdes, K. E., & Segal, E. (2011). Importance of empathy for social work practice: Integrating new science. Social Work, 56(2), 141–148.
Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hull, G. H., Jr. (2018). Understanding generalist practice (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Murdach, A. D. (2011). What happened to self-determination?Social Work, 54(4), 371–373.