Module 3B: Reflection

After reviewing my classmates’ discussion postings about refugee and immigration experiences, I feel enlightened to the various ways in which social workers need to be compassionate and empathetic with this population. 

Cara created excellent questions that she would ask a potential client that demonstrate her mindfulness of the experiences that clients may have had.  One such question she posed was, “Are you more comfortable speaking with a man or a woman?” (Donahue, 2012).   This is a simple question that has far reaching affects. Asking this question to a client that has been through a difficult experience like fleeing their home country, will help them develop a sense of trust, power, and control in certain situations.  It may help them to feel that the social worker is sensitive to any possible tragedies or trauma that they may have experienced during their journey.  If a woman refugee, for example, has experienced certain traumas at the hands of a man, then she may feel very uncomfortable speaking with a male social worker.

I was also humbled by the question Cara posed about immediate needs.  She asks, “At this moment in time, what is the most critical need that you have? (Food, shelter, clothing, medical attention, someone to talk to…).” (Donahue, 2012)  It is important for a social worker to attend to the most critical and immediate needs of the client in order to help them feel safe and secure.  If a refugee or an immigrant is troubled first and foremost about food and shelter, those are basic needs that must be attended to before the social worker is truly able to connect with the client on any other level.  Additionally, this may help the client establish a greater sense of trust, knowing that someone is helping them immediately.

Jennie and Becky had both mentioned the importance of asking clients about their experience coming immigrating as well as the client’s ability to stay in contact with their family from home.  This too is a good way of connecting with clients on a more personal level to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences that a client may have had to endure in order to flee their country.

Drachma, in her article “Stage-of-Migration Framework for Service to Immigrant Populations” describes the resettlement stage in which a client’s expectations of reception in the new country compare to the reality of the reception in terms of the interactions with service personnel. (1992) The questions that my classmates have created are a testament to their empathic nature.  I take away a clear message of care and concern for the whole person and I realize that when dealing with clients who may have suffered trauma, it may be best to make sure that they feel in control and secure before moving ahead with connecting with them on a deeper level.

Reference:

Donahue, C. (2012).  Learning Space Discussion Board. Human Behavior and the Social Environment II.  Fordham University.

 Drachman, D. (1992). A stage-of-migration framework for service to immigrant populations. Social Work, 37(1), 68-72. 

Module 2 Reflection

“The primary task for this period is that young adults come to terms with their family of origin—a powerful shaper of reality, influencing who, when, how, and whether they will marry and how they will carry out all succeeding stages of the family life cycle.” (McGoldrick&Carter, 2002, p.384)

I grew up in a seemingly small suburban town.  To this day I can still name and recognize most of my graduating class from high school.  The social pressures that I felt during adolescence were not unlike what many young girls face like fitting in, choosing the right clothing, finding the right hairstyle, and being “cool” overall.  I was fairly confident in myself as I had many friends, participated in many activities, and enjoyed the time that I spent at school and socially.  I never felt pressured to do drugs or drink, I simply felt that those weren’t the right choices for me and declined when my friends participated.  I was not ostracized for my decisions; I was accepted.

The pressure that I did feel came from my home life.  My family was unlike other families in my orbit.  My parents were divorced, and I lived with my stepfather and stepsisters, as well as my much younger half brother.  My father lived down the street with another woman.  I felt different than others because my friends’ parents were mostly all still married. 

If the primary task for a young adult is to come to terms with their family of origin, which is supposedly a powerful shaper of who we are to become as adults, what happens when the family of origin leaves a young adult lost and confused?  The social pressure that I felt was indirect.  My family was different and I was extremely angry with my parents, all three of them, for putting my life in such a precarious position.  I was angry that I had no control over what was going on in my life, and I was angry that no one ever spoke about it. 

I responded to these circumstances in different ways.  As angry as I was at my parents, all I wanted to do was please them and so I did all that I could to be a high academic achiever, All-State volleyball player, captain of every team, Eagle of the Cross recipient, and all around “good-girl”.  I saw how my older sisters, who were not making good choices were perceived by my family, and I was anxious to avoid the same perception. 

I remained in my “good girl” bubble, but coped with the social and internal pressure to be perfect with an insidious eating disorder.  The pressure that I felt to deal with my family issues by myself and please everyone else at the same time led to turmoil in my life that I was not equipped to deal with.  I found solace in silently suffering through my eating disorder…a suffering that felt good to me. 

Ironically, the same things that I was struggling to cope with, my family and the social pressure to be perfect were the social supports that helped me.  Although my family life was not perfect, I loved my family dearly and tried my hardest to be the peacekeeper and open the lines of communication for everyone to talk, although no one ever did.  My social circle in school was also a great comfort to me.  I was happiest at school, with my friends, at practice, and at youth group. 

In reflection, there were social supports that would have been positive influences for me.  I would have benefited from psychotherapy or family therapy.  When my parents divorced, we moved in with my stepfamily, my mother became pregnant, and my mother and stepfather married (in that order), a family discussion about circumstances would have helped all of us process what was happening together.  It would have been beneficial to have some dialogue, whether with my family or a social service professional to help me through these changing times in my life. 

            My family of origin did help shape me; but in many ways it was a learning experience about what I didn’t want to have happen in my future.  It was a way for me to realize the important qualities and characteristics that a solid family foundation should maintain.  The struggles that I faced only serve now as a precedent of power and strength to persevere through trials and tribulations.

Reference

McGoldrick, M. and Carter, B. (2002). The family life cycle. In F. Walsh

(Ed.) Normal family processes; Growing diversity and complexity (3rd ed.),

chapter 14, pp. 375-398. New York: Guilford Press.

Module 1 Reflection

Stress...Coping, and Adaptation

As this program continues, my roles remain the same.  I have added a new role status for myself, which is an MSW candidate.  As I worked through the exercise of role mapping, I realized that the addition of this one status role has affected every other status that I work to maintain, however not necessarily in a negative way.  I have experienced role entry as an MSW student, however sans any sort of role exit.  The addition of MSW student to my role statuses did not replace anything, it simply added to it.  The positive spin on this is that with the addition of another role status, I find myself more productively busy in the time that I used to spend idly.

Next fall, I foresee experiencing great stress and will need to develop healthy coping mechanisms in order to adapt to a new schedule.  I will add a role to my status as an MSW student, the role of intern.  This minor addition will change my current roles and responsibilities because it will take away 15 hours per week from my already full schedule.  I have already made the decision that I will have to forego one of my role statuses, as a private tutor, in order to make room for the internship and the hefty responsibility that it will entail.  Truthfully, I am concerned that this addition of the role of intern will negatively affect my role statuses in other areas such as “teacher”.

 In order to alleviate some stressors come fall, I tried to be proactive and problem solve by writing an email to the director of the internships, Ms. Corcoran, and explain how it would be extremely valuable for me to begin work on my internship during the summer, when I do not have as many responsibilities.  I added that I was concerned that taking on a new and time-consuming role as an intern would take away from my current career, as a teacher, in terms of the energy that I will have (or not) to put forth for the students.  She was gracious and understood, but was regretful that she could not help me in this instance.  As I ponder this situation now, the reasons that I have for wanting to start the internship during the summer come from a place of stress and anxiety within. 

Like I said, I can see now that my roles are shifting and I am concerned about the future role strain (between time for reading, coursework, and internship) as well as role conflict (between my ever growing role status as an MSW student and my other role statuses).  I simply did not have the vocabulary to affirm my stress.

I have many resources to help me adapt to the stressors that will be.  I have supportive family and friends, I also have support groups, as well as this cohort.  Most importantly, I will have my friend, Cara Donahue, whom I work with and value as a close friend.  Cara is now a part of this cohort and we are advocating for ourselves to be in the same internship together.  We feel that the benefit would not be mutually exclusive.  Cara and I work together at the same school, share spare time together as friends, and hope to share an internship together in order to be support for each other during a stressful time.