Walden University Leadership Social Work Discussions Replies

I’m working on a psychology discussion question and need a sample draft to help me learn.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ posts.

Respond to at least two colleagues with a thoughtful question or suggestion that builds on your colleague’s strategy for debriefing.

Be sure to use references in your response

DB1—Majia

n this weeks video of Jake, the social worker seems to be a little worked up and emotional after working with Jake. I could relate to her because this has happen to me before as an intern. Emotions are normal and unavoidable sometimes (Gilbey, 2017). Sometimes their situations are so vivid in our minds and so horrific that you can’t help to dwell on it sometimes and feel for them as well. In order for her to continue working with Jake and be able to provide him the best services she should manage her feelings and talk to her supervisor to see if there is anything she can do. This can lead to burnout. I would go to a safe space to process my emotions because allowing emotions into the workplace can sometimes hinder the way I work with clients but sometimes can be beneficial.

As a supervisor working with this social worker I would provide her with that open space to talk about how she feels and why. This alone could help her to reduce the amount of emotion she has. I would also give her some advice on something that she could do to assist her with not taking her clients problems home. Having supportive supervision is very important in social work because it is needed and it always the social worker to feel they have someone to go to if needed. Manager-initiated time offered through reflective supervision is a key part in allowing an opening for emotions to be used (Gilbery, 2017).

Gilbey, B. (2017). Too Involved or Unable to Cope? Can we bring emotions into social work? https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2017/08/15/involve…

DB2—Zycara

Post a strategy that you, as the social work supervisor in the Levy case study video, might use to debrief the social worker after the session described in the video.

One strategy that might be useful to debrief the social worker in the Levy case would be weekly team debrief meetings. We currently utilize this method at my field education placement and it provides a space for the social work interns to speak with colleagues and supervisors regarding their cases and ways to process the sessions. According to the NASW Best Practice Standards in Social Work Supervision (2013) “It is the supervisor’s responsibility to ensure that the supervisee provides competent, appropriate, and ethical services to the client” (NASW, 2013/ pg 8). These weekly meetings are ways for the supervisors to ensure we are practicing competently, ethically, and appropriately. It is also a chance to continue the education and learning needed to improve the skills and knowledge of the supervisees. It also assists the supervisees with learning to process their emotions regarding their caseloads. Pamela Szczygiel (2020) discusses the importance of allowing yourself to sit with and process your emotions when working with clients who are dealing with traumatic experiences (Szczygiel, 2020). As a future supervisor, I would ensure there are avenues and spaces for my employees and teammates to debrief and process the sessions of their caseload so as to keep them mentally and emotionally strong. I would also provide ways to decompress and learn self-care skills to increase health and strength while practicing.

References:

National Association of Social Workers and Association of Social Work Boards. (2013). Best practice standards in social work supervision. Retrieved from https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?filet…

Szczygiel, P. (2020). The Profound Act of Sitting With Difficult Emotions and the Value of Process in Social Work Practice. SocialWorker.com. https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/the-profound-act-of-sitting-with-difficult-emotions-and-value-of-process-in-social-work-practice/.