Social Work Reflective Journal

This reflective journal discusses the author's self-awareness, interpersonal relationships, values, and prejudices in the context of social work. The author reflects on their upbringing, family values, and how it has influenced their professional journey. They also discuss their ability to perceive and evaluate values, attitudes, and patterns of group behavior of the client. The author also reflects on their vulnerabilities, prejudices, and how they have overcome them in their social work practice.

Running head: SOCIAL WORK REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
SOCIAL WORK REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
Name of student:
Name of university:
Author note:

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Reflective journal
Awareness of self and personal needs, and motivations
On considering, the role of family and the life experiences that have shaped me and
helped me to remain motivated and grounded can be attributed to the family upbringing. I
belong to the millennial or the baby boomer generation (1981-1997) and I have gown up
amidst cartoons that were characterized by innocence as against cartoons these days that are
replete with adult cont and tend to make the child precocious. I was born in a middle-income
family. Both my parents had to toil hard to earn money. My father is a freelance nature
photographer which is considered as quite an unconventional career and my mother was a
social worker. My father’s unconventional choice of career meant became a cause of
perpetual conflict in the family. This is because he was earning a steady income and the
entire burden shifted on my mother to provide for the family. Another reason for conflict
between my parents is that my father’s irresponsible habits of forgetting to switch off
electronic gadgets after use or leaving the residues of cigarette near the curtain side. His
forgetful nature became a fodder of perpetual conflict between my parents. I could realize
that my mother was not happy in this marriage yet she chose not to file for divorce thinking
that it would a negative impact on my childhood. My mother who is a social worker is an
extremely virtuous lady. She is quite strict about principles and under no circumstance she
can be influenced to adapt herself according to the changing trend. She is a vegan after her
tryst with PETA. This has informed my dietary habits and bolstered me to adopt an eco-
friendly and a more conscientious lifestyle. She has taught me to value others, adopt empathy
rather than sympathy whilst dealing with others, engage in month contribution to a charity of
my choice, be respectful towards others and develop a listening habit as against speaking

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habit. My mother’s views towards life has made me the person I am today and fostered my
values towards the everyday social work practise.
In the pursuit of a career in social work there were days when I felt that this career is
not meant for me or when I contemplated that whether I have the temperament to survive in a
career of social work, my mother’s perseverance and benevolent attitude have helped me to
overcome these ambiguities. A professional social worker is expected to be empathic towards
the cause of others and value human feelings. A social worker is also expected to understand
the distinctive lifeworld of different clients and propose strategies of interventions based on
their unique biographies. I feel that all values that I learnt from my mother catalyzed my
commitment towards my profession and motivated me to overcome the challenges and the
dilemmas that emerges in the lives of a social worker. The incident that triggered me to veer
towards a career in social work is because of a boy who lied in my neighbourhood. Initially
he used to be gregarious and amiable but with time I found that he was becoming withdrawn
and gradually turned into a recluse. Later, I came to know that that he was subjected to severe
sexual abuse everyday by his school teacher and this was making him recluse and isolated
from the larger society. According t him he was ashamed of himself and resorted to drugs a
as a coping mechanism. This motivated me to become a social worker and provide assistance
to people in rehabilitation.
Patterns of interpersonal relationship, barriers and areas of improvement
I have always favoured interpersonal relationships and have been consistent towards
maintaining interpersonal relationships. My attitude towards relationships is evident in my
actions in both my profession al and personal life. The values that I have learnt from my
mother have especially influential in developing my interpersonal skills. I have always felt tat
the society is premised on mutual respect and cooperation. If I respect another person and

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manifest it in the form of listening to the views of that person and being polite towards the
person, I would be treated with respect. I have always tried to make people around me feel
comfortable, loved and at home. Doing so would allow the people to have trust on me and
share their journey without reluctance. I am aware about the power imbalance that exists in
the everyday relationships. This power imbalance may exist between parents and children
too. This enabled me to understand the vulnerability of my client or the hierarchy that
operates between them and me in the course of interaction. During a project on mental health,
I spent a considerable amount of time explaining to my client about the Mental Health Act
and their rights as patients. My profession has helped me to be aware about body language
and the impact of that in the way people are going to perceive me. This has enabled me to
improve my intra-personal relationships. I think the challenge I faced in terms of inter-
personal relationships dealing with issues pertaining to physical and verbal abuse. Another
barrier in the pattern of interpersonal relationships is that there are times when I feel
discouraged due to the rude and demoralizing attitude of people around me. One area of
improvement would be overcoming my anxiety-disorder whilst dealing with my clients and
maintain a work-life balance are my priorities.
Ability to perceive and evaluate values, attitudes and patterns of group behaviour of the
client
The professional and personal boundaries in the lives of an individual are instrumental
in providing a direction about their objectives, aspirations and goals. It is important for the
social worker to identify the kind of values she will bring to her workplace. The values I feel
emerge from the contours of everyday relationships. As I have previously stated that I belong
to a middle-income family in Perth, Australia, I have always been aware of the importance of
working hard and earning money. Unlike some of my friends whose parents had a stable
career, I was not fortunate on that front. Throughout my life I had to witness the misery that

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is ushered in through economic instability. My mother although supportive of all my career
choices warned from the beginning to pursue a career where there is no steady income. I feel
this is because the hardships she had to face in her life due to my father’s instable career. I
have always been interested in photography just like my father but my mother’s words of
choosing a stable career made me to concentrate more on pursing a stable career than
choosing so-called vocational activities. As I have seen my mother toiling hard to make both
ends meet, I realized that it si important for me to start earning early and save. Therefore, I
started doing part-time jobs in pizza parlours and ice-cream store on weekends. This enabled
me to earn extra money that I used for my education and alleviated the burden on my mother.
These values helped me to survive the arduous ad rigorous demand of my life as a
social worker. From the outset, I understood that there is no alternative to hard work and
perseverance for a middle-class person. Being a woman, I have faced occupational hazards of
not being taken seriously at times, labelling as bossy and abuse from peers and sometimes
with clients. But I have always been upfront and stood against any kind of patriarchal
behaviour that restrained me from achieving my goals and career objectives. I firmly belive
that if women do not raise voice against the web of multiple discrimination around them,
there will be normalization of toxic masculine values and affect the mobility, life chances and
the growth of women. Therefore, I never shied away from expressing dissent even at the cost
of being isolated and labelled.
My vulnerabilities, prejudices and reflecting on the reflections
This assignment provided me an opportunity to introspect about my won knowledge
of social work and understand the role of family values and interpersonal relationships that
has shaped my worldview and influenced the essence of my professional journey. I
understood that dealing with clients demands patience and keen observational skills to

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decipher the distinctive needs of the clients. I also became aware about my vulnerabilities and
personal prejudices as a social worker. Although, I entered this profession to secure a stable
career, I realized that a career in social work should not about making money but about
genuinely helping others to overcome the challenges in their life. A social worker needs to be
empathic about the ordeals of other and move beyond the personal prejudices that that
informs one’s life. I have always been judgemental about people who are alcoholic and drug
addicts. I was of the view that these people are usually spilt brats and have a lot of money at
their disposal. However, as my began my professional journey I realized that alcohol and
drug addiction often becomes a coping mechanism to respond to the crisis and the pain in
one’s life. I have often felt vulnerable when I had to deal with clients who had a history of
sexual abuse. Their body language and attitude have always made feel uncomfortable. There
were instances when I considered of not dealing with such clients. However, later I mustered
courage and decided to bring my professional values in dealing with such clients. The two
groups that I found the most challenging to work with are children who have been convicted
in the juvenile prison and children who have been abused by their family members. I feel
dealing with children demands more sensitivity, patience and is the ultimate test of one’s
social work training and ethics.