Respond to two colleagues:
- Provide a suggestion for how a social worker could help clients to understand and make meaning of the trauma within the client’s values and belief framework.
1-SAR-
In 1 sentence, identify an existential question with which you have grappled in relation to a client who has been traumatized.
What are you most afraid of?
Reflect on your fieldwork, or perhaps identify an existential question that might arise in working with the client in the case study you have selected throughout the course.
Helen, what things in your life bring you the most fulfillment and joy?
In 3–4 brief sentences, describe where there is potential for growth for the client as a result of the trauma.
Helen has all the necessary strengths to grow and improve her ability to navigate changes in her role and responsibilities to her family. Helen has developed a social support system, is committed to her family, can multitask, and has the desire to care for those around her. She seems able to work through the steps of working through her trauma by re-appraisal, re-orientation, and re-framing the challenges, culture, and expectations she has adopted for herself (Turner, 2017; Vis & Boynton, 2008).
In 3–4 brief sentences, explain where there is potential for growth for you, the social worker, as a result of listening to the client’s stories and bearing witness to their trauma.
A combination of skills, approaches, and theories is most likely to be the best intervention plan (Turner, 2017). The first skillset I need to develop with proficiency is creating a safe environment for the client, where they feel mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually safe and secure (Turner, 2017). The second skill I need to develop is attentive listening to what is important and meaningful to the client (Sommers-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan, 2014). Displaying empathy mirroring, empowerment strategies, and appropriate client challenges is critical to the client’s education to adapt to a new life (Sommers-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan, 2014; Turner, 2017).
Describe any challenges you may experience between the meaning you hold based on your personal beliefs and working within the client’s potentially different belief framework.
An area that is so important to me is the worth and meaning of each person’s life and existence. This may not be the general consensus, especially when working with clients who are working through traumatic experiences. My second fear is my ability to stay non-biased or emotionally disengaged when hearing about the traumas of future clients. (Turner, 2017). I have lived a relatively sheltered life compared to many I have and will work with. My coping strategy is to focus on the idea that any and all clients can shift from a painful and traumatized state of being to one of hope and resiliency (Sommers-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan, 2014).
2-SHAN-
When helping the homeless single mother trying to manage her job and her two-year-old child, I had to grapple with this existential question: “How is it possible to live a meaningful and purposeful life and look for a purpose when overwhelmed with basic survival needs?”
Fortunately, this client has the potential to grow as she navigates her issues. For instance, she could acquire higher stress tolerance or problem-solving abilities in relation to her difficult circumstances. She might also unlock new capabilities and assets within her or her community. Also, eradicating these barriers might help her develop a better understanding of her strengths as a mother and a worker (Vis & Boynton, 2008).
At the same time, while practicing as a social worker with this client, I can also discern my professional growth potential. For example, observing her strain and efforts can enhance my compassion and perspective toward the various issues affecting homeless parents. In addition, it may help me gain a better understanding of just how strong the human spirit is and how a person can overcome adversity. Finally, this experience may push me to proactively advocate for policies and programs for homeless families (Vis & Boynton, 2008).
Perhaps some difficulties can be observed when my beliefs during hardship times contradict the client’s ones. For example, such could happen if I think that there are opportunities for meaning even in suffering, while the client thinks that her suffering is hopeless. Also, I might have a challenge in searching for answers to existential questions when the client’s concentration is on basic needs. However, to be effective, I have to disregard my bias and instead work within the cultural paradigm of the client to deliver culturally sensitive and competent care (Russo-Netzer & Moran, 2018; Vis & Boynton, 2008).
