Working with Individuals and Families

This document discusses the topic of working with individuals and families in social work. It includes case studies, strategies for cultural competence, stress management, and self-care for social workers.

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WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES
Student’s Name
Course
Professor’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
City
Date

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WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES
CASE STUDY ONE: Case notes
I met with Chikal to face who was seeking psychological help. During the interview,
Chikal’s demeanor was open and well engaged throughout the session, revealing vital details of
her personal life. We met alone, and she kept good eye contact and also answered questions
comprehensively.
Chikal explicitly explained the purpose of her visit and the underlying challenges that she
was undergoing. The primary challenge that she indicated was high level of stress and depression
due to insufficient finance to support herself and her two-year-old son. She indicated that she is
finding a challenge in meeting her routine expenses such as house rents, monthly bills, and study
loans. She then inquired if possible to get someone to help her out in meeting financial
obligations so that she can comfortably provide for her son. Chikal works a part-time job, which
is not sufficient to meet all the financial needs. Chikal recorded to be highly stressed primarily
due to her inability to pay her monthly bills with no family to help, and she does she obtain any
help from the government.
Based on Chikal’s description of the situation and the need to seek external help indicates
her desperation. I, therefore, promised Chikal external help through various sources both
financially to meet her bills and emotionally by talking to a psychologist. Chikal’s account
shows evidence of emotional and psychological stress that faces lower and middle income
individuals.

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CASE STUDY TWO: ‘at risk’ Case Study
Working with Individuals and Families
Cultural competence and cross-cultural awareness are a continuing process. In social
work, the professionals should have good understanding of the circumstances and the associated
social issues from the perspective of their clients. Allen (2010) defines cultural competence as a
set of skills, values, and principles that help social workers to take cognizance, respect and
collaborate towards realizing optimal interactions between people of different cultural and ethnic
backgrounds. According to Deardorff (2011), a considerable level of competence is vital for
social workers to adequately take their perspectives into account particularly in regards their
cultural identity and the standpoint from which the client would view it.
In general practice, the need to properly evaluate different aspects of the client’s belief
systems and values as well as their personal view of themselves within their respective cultures
is equally important as assessing their entire bio-psychosocial background. Ang and Van Dyne
(2015) observes that developing cultural sensitivity plays a significant role in helping social
workers to learn different perspectives and cultural views about particular social issues. More
specifically, Garran and Werkmeister Rozas (2013) observe that they contribute to dispelling any
possible generalization or myths that are circulating about a certain culture. With better insight,
social workers are able to appropriately get a suitable match between the client’s needs and the
offered services and available resources.
At the heart of competency and cultural sensitivity is effective communication that often
has as its basis a desirable end of establishing mutual respect and empathy. Fisher-Borne et al.
(2015) observe that social work professionals are encouraged to embrace cultural diversity,

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which entails acknowledging and accepting the inherent differences in behavior, appearance as
well as culture. The social worker working with the Maryam and her family should be culturally
competent in diverse cultures to having an understanding of the culture in question. Garran and
Werkmeister Rozas (2013) observes that taking stock of the culture, differing values, and the
biases are crucial in understanding how that background affects the client’s view and perspective
of others. According to Deardorff (2011), assessing one’s prejudices and preconceptions is the
most critical steps towards becoming cultural competent social workers. The second step is
seeking knowledge, particularly about the other cultures and ensuring the striking differences are
marked and similarities noted. Ang and Van Dyne (2015) observe that without adequate
knowledge about the culture in question, even the best intentions are to be seen as offensive to
other people.
Working with the Maryam and her family requires an adequate understanding of the
surrounding situation. Despite her varied ethnic background, Maryam has made significant
progress in her academic work and social life. However, her situation at home required careful
handling with considerable sensitivity to the cultural conflicts that her parents were experiencing.
For a social worker, adopting an open channel of communication with each party would help
them have a change of attitude and tendencies towards other cultures. Through positive
communication, the professional would be able to resolve some of the issues in the relationship,
and this will result in making a positive change for all the family members. Thus, they will
develop the ability to approach issues with more open minds without the cultural limitations that
restricts one’s perspectives from appreciating the enriching diversity of the people around. As a
student, I would also embrace open communication and encourage a positive outlook of the
inherent differences in cross-cultures.

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CASE STUDY THREE: Professional Self-Care
Stresses of a Professional Social Worker
Social work is primarily client-based, thereby exposing the professionals to various
complex situations when dealing with customers who have varied social and psychological
problems (Maslach and Jackson 2013). As such, social workers experience a great deal of
conflicts in the course of their duties, and these result in various forms of work-related stresses
that affect their mode of operations. Some of the common types of stress that these individuals
experience include physical stress that relates to the actual activities and events that wreak havoc
to the normal function of a human body and it usually occurs due to the long working hours with
the patients. The other form is emotional stress that occurs when these individuals undergo
depressions when overwhelmed at work due to exposure to clients facing different problems
(Beehr 2014). The last form is the acute stress that is primarily caused by the working
environment of social workers. The stress arises from dealing with difficult individuals and
families.
Strategies for Dealing with Stress as a Social Worker
As noted by Lloyd, King, and Chenoweth (2002), the effects of stress can accumulate
over time as an individual is continuously exposed to the stressors. Some of the vital strategies
that are essential in stress management include meditation, professional counselling, problem-
solving on major issues, and altering some irrational beliefs (Thoits 2011). Emotional eating and
prescribed drugs are also essential mechanisms for coping with stress in the context of the
agency. As an individual, some of the ways of managing stress include taking care of personal

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health, regular relaxation through sufficient sleep, dedicating enough time for oneself regularly
(Ganster and Rosen 2013).
Hypothetical Self-Care Plan for a Professional Worker
As a professional social worker, a self-care plan is essential in enhancing my personal
health and wellbeing and improves my professional productivity. In addition, it enables one to
effectively manage stress when working with individuals and families. My self-care will entail
professional care, physical care, psychological and emotional care (Maslach and Jackson 2013).
In professional care, I will set-up a peer-support group and read professional journals to enhance
my skills. For physical care, will develop a regular sleep routine and adopt a healthy diet, and for
psychological and emotional care, I will adopt a non-work hobby to relax my mind (Lee and
Miller 2013).

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References
Allen, J., 2010. Improving cross-cultural care and antiracism in nursing education: A literature
review. Nurse Education Today, 30(4), pp.314-320.
Ang, S. and Van Dyne, L., 2015. Handbook of cultural intelligence. Routledge.
Deardorff, D.K., 2011. Assessing intercultural competence. New directions for
institutional research, 2011(149), p.65.
Beehr, T.A., 2014. Psychological stress in the workplace (psychology revivals). Routledge.
Fisher-Borne, M., Cain, J.M. and Martin, S.L., 2015. From mastery to accountability: Cultural
humility as an alternative to cultural competence. Social Work Education, 34(2), pp.165-
181.
Ganster, D.C. and Rosen, C.C., 2013. Work stress and employee health: A multidisciplinary
review. Journal of management, 39(5), pp.1085-1122.
Garran, A.M. and Werkmeister Rozas, L., 2013. Cultural competence revisited. Journal of
Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 22(2), pp.97-111.
Lee, J.J. and Miller, S.E., 2013. A self-care framework for social workers: Building a strong
foundation for practice. Families in Society, 94(2), pp.96-103.
Lloyd, C., King, R. and Chenoweth, L., 2002. Social work, stress and burnout: A review. Journal
of mental health, 11(3), pp.255-265.
Maslach, C. and Jackson, S.E., 2013. A social psychological analysis. Social psychology of
health and illness, 227.
Thoits, P.A., 2011. Mechanisms linking social ties and support to physical and mental
health. Journal of health and social behavior, 52(2), pp.145-161.