Social Work Practice Reflection: Cultural Competency and Justice

This report provides a reflection on social work practice, emphasizing cultural competency, particularly within the Maori community. It addresses the historical impact of colonization, the importance of building trust, and the need for culturally sensitive approaches to mental health and social services. The report explores the significance of respecting indigenous worldviews, incorporating family involvement, and adapting social work practices to meet the unique needs of the Maori population. It highlights the importance of addressing issues of social injustice, advocating for community empowerment, and recognizing the diverse aspects of cultural competency beyond race and ethnicity. Furthermore, the report discusses effective communication strategies, including the use of technology and translators, to disseminate information and support community well-being. The student emphasizes the need for ongoing reflection, knowledge updates, and a commitment to ethical practice in the field of social work.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
Reflection on social work practice
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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Competency 1
The term social work practice consists of application of social work values, technique
and principal to help people avail services, provide psychotherapy and counselling with
individual, families and groups. To improve communities health and social services and help
them to participate in decision-making process. Maoris have a difficult relationship with the
social work process. The impact of the Treaty of Waitangi on the people, the cultural
alienation, colonisation, western domination has weighed heavily on the indigenous group
(Orange, 2015). Social workers are regarded with suspicion since we were the agents of the
coloniser enforcing cruel western culture and suspending Maori tradition as a means to
civilise them. The wounds of which is reflected in the modern Maori culture even today.
However, the political scenario and social work practice has undergone significant change
over the years. Therefore, as a social worker it is crucial that I understand the severe
implications of colonisation has had on this community.
I believe it is crucial that the first step towards achieving any development of then
community is building a sense of trust with the people, and one of the trust-building step is to
demonstrate proper understanding of history and being empathetic towards the issues in the
past. Being a social worker it is important that I address the issues pertaining to the
community by being respectful of the culture and traditions of the tribe. The present day
Maoris are faced with larger unemployment rates, less education, high health and mental
health risks and require a social workers assistance. Mental health issues are stigmatised in
the society, the people who are afflicted by it often feel shame and often avoid seeking help.
Therefore, it is very important for a social worker to create a safe place where the members of
the community feel free to approach the social worker without feeling stigmatised (Williams,

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Haarhoff & Vertongen, 2017). It is very important for me to behave in a professional and
ethical manner with respect to the custom and traditions of the Maori.
Competency 2
As a mental health worker, it is essential to respect the cultural dynamics of the
society and foster appropriate behaviour for the addressing mental health issues with the
community. Research show that social workers who show cultural knowledge, language are
likely to create a faster bond with the community. With different ethnic and cultural groups in
Aotearoa New Zealand, a social worker must acknowledge worldview of various indigenous
groups (Cowie et al, 2016). My western worldview is very different from the indigenous
worldview, while mine is more scientific, the indigenous have a strong sense of spiritualism.
Social work practice compels me to focus on client’s own self-determination, however, it
clashes with the indigenous worldview which gives community perceptive precedence over
individual self-determination. Therefore, I need to adapt a work practice that helps my client
without upsetting the cultural point of view (Walsh-Tapiata, 2004).
My indigenous clients often prefer presence of Whānau or a family member during their first
consultation, it is important that as a social worker I, understand and respect the needs of the
client. It is common for a Whānau to be a part of consultation and be even involved in the
entire treatment procedure; however, it is my duty as a social worker to make the client aware
of the social worker client confidentiality and allow them to make the decision. There is also
the emergence of indigenous models developed by the indigenous groups in Aotearoa that is
proving to be an effective model of social work practice (Whittaker et al, 2018).. Culture is
multidimensional and constantly changing, therefore a constant evaluation and knowledge is
important to address the variety of issues that surrounds the community. To have a
stereotypical, prejudiced outlook is never acceptable, therefore it is always better to clarify

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doubts rather than assume something. Therefore, as a social worker I believe it is very
crucial to address the history and difference that lies between us because that will enable me
to be cultural competent thus, enable me to deliver better services and support to the
community.

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Competence 3
The general misconception related to cultural competency is often restricted to race
and ethnicity, however, that is not the case. The diversity is in sex, race, social status, sexual
orientation, gender identity, disability, colour, religion, spiritual beliefs and others. A social
worker needs to be open to the idea that their client can conform to the various attributes or
may not conform to any of the above of the social identities (Fisher-Borne, Cain & Martin,
2015). There is often anxiety and depression when a person is unable to conform to the
general accepted social construct. They feel marginalised, stigmatised, bullied and isolated or
may have an opposite experience or a mixture of both. Therefore, it is important to allow the
client to speak for himself or herself and build a good rapport with the client so that they feel
comfortable sharing their story. Having a generalised perception narrows the chances of
approaching a problem; I believe that a complete non-judgement attitude is very crucial.
There are certain times I struggle to counsel drug related owing to my own
experiences, even then, I never project my own feelings onto the client. Getting over my own
biases is one of the hardest thing to do, but it is equally necessary to work with clients and
provide them the support they need. The focus should be always to the person in the
environment and to adopt the correct strategy that can benefit their wellbeing. Cultural
experiences have a deep effect on how an individual’s perception of the psychosocial needs,
expectation from social work profession (Thompson, 2016). I believe it is better for social
work practice to explore the client’s issues and their perception regarding their health, social
well-being, customs and belief, conceptualisation of their issues. It is my responsibility to
recognise Maori mental health issues and provide them with an early intervention. The care
should be always delivered in a manner that is culturally appropriate and making sure the
patient as well as their whānau.

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Competency 4
Social worker is an advocate for social justice. It is my duty to seek address social
injustice and inequality that exists in the community and enable people to participate in the
decision making process so that can voice their problems and seek remediation for their
problem. The effects of colonisation has had a far-reaching effect, led to the marginalisation
of the indigenous community, erosion of the language and traditions. As a result, this has led
to severe social issues such as, higher illiteracy rate, delinquency behaviour, substance abuse
and higher rates of suicide (Herbert et al, 2017). This is subsequently led to lower number to
representatives at the political level, less representation means less chances to seek justice. I
need to have the correct knowledge regarding the law and justice system so that I can enable
the community to build a self-help group, which is able to voice, their opinions and find
solution to their own problems. This is social work practice is good for the community
development, but on a bigger scale it is important that the participants are aware of their
rights and opportunities and are equipped with the resources to fight prejudices and limitation
that is causing them a setback. I feel the role of the social worker here is that of an educator,
facilitator, and advocate for social justice (Tyler et al, 2019).
For example, the indigenous community has already a bad past with the social
worker during the colonial time, children were snatched from mothers so that they could
represent the “civilised white community”. Now, the child protective services is something
that needs to be approached with emotion keeping on mind the troubled past Maoris have had
with it. Lower income groups generally are the suffers in this case (Keddell & Davie, 2018).
As a social worker, I completely advocate that the best place of the child is in the family, only
in the worst-case scenario should the child, the law needs to consider indigenous perspective.

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Therefore, I believe we need to work together with the indigenous group so that they are able
to support and participate in decision-making policy.

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Competence 6
Mental health workers serve a very serious role, almost a clinical role in the life of the
client. I think as mental health workers actively listening to the clients predicament and
constantly reflecting on the best strategy to help the client is a useful method. Human
behaviour is so varied and complex that, there is often more than one theory that can improve
clients functionality. Sociological as well as psychological aspects attribute the mental health
of a person. Personally, I believe that a person’s ability to cope with the environment plays an
important role in the psychosocial functioning (Betancourt et al, 2016).
When counselling a client, I need to keep in mind various perspective which
eventually translates to the issue. For example, a Maori child wants to drop out from school.
This decision can be brought by several factors; I must examine various aspects that may
have led to this situation. Past, present situations, relationship at home, school, psychological
aspect. It may turn out that the child feels neglected in school and owing to financial crisis at
home is unable to perform well therefore feels that quitting school is the best option. My
work here is to understand the person in environment and the systems surrounding him or her
that is influencing the decision and formulate a solution so that the person can cope. In order
to help this client I will need to use the systems theory which will help me examine the
clients individual, family and community system, Freud’s development theory will enable me
to diagnose the psychological aspect and lastly the Maoris cultural aspect that has influenced
the client.
This is an example to illustrate how I need have to refer to various models of social
work to deliver proper service to the client. There are so many parameters that influences
human behaviour therefore, I need to constantly reflect on my practice and update my
knowledge on latest research and practice evidence based practice more.

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Competence 7
Social worker needs to communicate effectively with client to disseminate ideas and
information through the community. Indigenous tribes speak various languages; I think it is
better to have a translator to avoid miscommunication. Notices, brochures, posters about
various issues within the community is good way to promote awareness and disseminate
ideas. Technology has seeped in the communication and is now an irreplaceable tool to
propagate information, maintain record. The implication of technology is positive as well as
negative. On one side there is a wonderful opportunity for clients to find a common platform
online where they can talk about common issues, seek support from like-minded people,
psychoeducation. On the other side cyber bullying and social media addiction may lessen
human interaction and cause mental health issues. Studies show that social media causes
depression, stress and anxiety (Barsky, 2017).. There are online blogs, pages that may suggest
hateful message towards a particular community and even though it is impossible to be
immune to inter bullying once someone is using the platform, yet the social worker must
make sure that the client is able to handle the negative aspects appropriately.
The virtual world can be confusing for people who are using it for the first time that makes
them susceptible to fall prey of the compare and contrast life style. The sudden merge of
digital gap can be overwhelming for the young generation. They may feel they are missing a
more interesting life and refuse to practice their custom and tradition causing a cultural rift
therefore it is important to educate them about the various effects, possibilities of technology
(Barsky, 2017). Online platforms are great for dissemination of information to a large crowd
at the same time and can be used for counselling or monitoring group work practices. To
address a diverse demographic it is important that I be updated with the latest researches to

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develop different perspective on issues, and conduct personal researches to add to the social
work research.

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Competency 8
Every community can be empowered, if the people in it are made to realise their
potential. The main aim of empowering communities is to educate, improve, strengthen and
support the existing social structure to bring about positive change. The first step is always
assessing the community, there are always strengthens and weakness in a community. For
example if the tribe is situated in a scenic area but it is rural and cut off from the rest of the
main land, thus, there is unemployment, lower socio economic status gives mental health
issues, which leads to poor family relationship and eventually effects the lives of the whole
community. My work would be to assess the resources that is available in the place, which is
the scenic location of the area. Next step is that of an educator where I can inform them of
how they can benefit financially by improving tourism in that area, then guide them towards
the process by building a team who can slowly work together to strengthen the group by
encouraging active participation from the community men and women. This not only helps to
strengthen the community but also makes them active participants in the decision making
process. The process of group formation is always met with initial conflicts and my work
here would be only to enable them to resolve the conflict on their own. The process tests the
resilience of the group as well as helps to foster leadership within the group (Petrie, 2019).
Creating self-help group, effective peer pressure groups that encourages children to
stay in school and out of drugs is an innovative work method that I would use in my practice.
Mental health is often a stigma that people refuse to talk about but if a group exists that can
be equipped to hold meetings and talk about their troubles it can help them to seek group
counselling or even individual counselling (Shechtman, 2017). Involving people within the
community to serve the community is seen to give best results, as they know best about their
environment. These are some of the ways I believe is effective in empowering a community.

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Competence 9
Ethics is very essential part of social work practice. It is very crucial to adhere to the
good practices of social work. It is very important that we work honestly and act with
integrity, treating everyone with respect and without prejudice. Cultural diversity to promote
well-being and a feeling of oneness among the people. Maoris are the people of the land it is
important to recognise and honour that. At a workplace environment, differences arise but I
believe it is in the best interest to behave respectfully and professionally. As a social worker I
am nor proud to admit this but malpractices happen in the workplace.
I have observed that client’s issues are gossiped, as a young professional I find that
completely unethical. Clients trust us with their problems as they are sure about our
confidentiality and when we participate in such practices it not only disrespecting client-
worker confidentiality, but our credibility as well. I have often avoided such discussions and I
firmly believe in protecting the privacy of my client, I understand the need to disclose these
aspects only when necessary such as discussing a case to seek guidance from senior social
workers but only after I seek the permission of the client (Weinberg, 2016). I cannot stress
enough on the importance of cultural knowledge, it is very important to educate oneself about
different culture and traditions and be open to the concept of lifelong learning. Knowing few
greeting words, gestures can help to create a warm and safe environment for the client, using
proper body language and gesture, such as eye contact, encouraging words can help the client
to open up.
Clients have a lot of respect for social workers and they often look up to us for information, I
believe it is essential to have knowledge about the various laws and legislation pertaining to
the Maoris and New Zealand. Lastly, I find it useful to maintain records of my clients as it
helps me to use that information for future reference and helps me maintain a track of my
strategies.

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Competency 10
Social work is fairly new profession and is often misinterpreted as charity, something
that should be free. There are misconceptions regarding a mental health social worker and we
are often confused with doctors, sometimes I have noticed people play along the role just so
that the client is not confused, but I think it is important that clients understand exactly what
to expect from us as mental health workers and not doctors. I am proud of being a mental
health worker for the work we do and I want to do it well as a professional would.
Appearance at work matter, clean clothes, neat profile and approachable demeanour is
quite important at workplace. Little things like maintaining proper time is very important in
the eyes of the client it sets an example. Culturally appropriate behaviour and proper
understanding of communities is very crucial in my line of work. Words matter saying
something inappropriate regarding some sensitive subject is completely out of line.
(Noordegraaf, 2016). We are professional who have a very important role in the lives of the
people we work with, we have the capability of making an impact, and therefore, I feel it
always should be a good one. There is a difference between being strict and mean we should
know the difference. I like training and helping young professionals like me by participating
in supervising work. I think a good supervisor can motivate young professionals and
volunteers so much; it is also an incredible learning experience. I get to meet so many
different students from diverse backgrounds it is always good in our line of work to keep
learning and updating our skills so that we can use it in our work practice.
Since we get to see so many diverse cases and counsel people, it is hard not to feel the impact
of their experience that comes with empathy. I think that can be quite emotionally taxing so I
prefer to just relax now and then and do something that makes me happy. I believe taking
things a bit easily is better for my mental health as well.

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