on being a social worker - almost

I am awarding  myself a button medal for endurance this week

 (yes, this is another cheat post from my QUT blog, but hey, it is almost the end of semester)

Being a social worker means:

• Having the language and framework to describe how my humanist values, professional integrity and personal ethics are deeply embedded in my daily work practice, regardless of the specific context,
• specifically, expanding my professional identity to incorporate the macro level of culture and society,
• having increased confidence in being able to work sensitively and appropriately with people who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, due to having developed greater cultural knowledge and skills through academic study, training and experiences on placement,
• having a heightened awareness of the increasingly adverse political environment, the impact of this on the community, having the ability to critique this political environment, and respond in an effective manner,
• understanding more clearly how structural factors, such as economic and educational disadvantage, impact on individuals, families and communities, resulting in physical and mental illness, lower educational achievement, higher unemployment and a multitude of other negative outcomes,

• having a broader perspective on state and federal government policy changes, which are currently impacting on issues such as civil liberties, workers’ rights, refugees’ human rights, mental health and disability,
• perhaps most importantly, having an understanding of the global challenge of climate change, and how government policies are acting against our long term interests as a species on this fragile planet, by abandoning strategies for slowing global warming, let alone acting collaboratively with other nations in pursuit of this goal, for the sake of future generations,
• having a recognised professional body, the AASW, to support me and my future professional development, and having more doors open to me in terms of employment opportunities,
• adding a new layer to my previous knowledge, skills and experience as an art therapist and educator,
• being able to pursue my goal of becoming a mental health social worker in private practice, so that I can provide an accessible service to disadvantaged clients through a mental health plan,
• having experience, through two very different placements, of working in both government and non-government sectors,
• bringing a broader socio-cultural perspective into art therapy education at University of Queensland,
• perhaps also contributing to the future professional development of social workers, in areas in which I have expertise that I can share,

• Using my pre-existing skills in art therapy, mindfulness and acceptance and commitment therapy, and as a therapist with children and families, to continue to work effectively with clients, using a strengths and values-based, person-centred, humanistic, approach,
• being flexible and adaptable to working in a range of contexts and roles, which at times has included having the ability to do less than usual, for example, observing and reflecting, rather than jumping into action, which has been both a struggle and a gift, due to being on placement in environments where this was possible, and at times, imperative,
• Having a great sense of achievement, due to having survived the somewhat surreal experience of simultaneously being both a lecturer and a student, at different universities, and being both a supervisor of students in my workplace, and a supervisee on placement, which has brought home any number of power and control issues, both for myself and others, that can perhaps only be experienced first-hand to be completely appreciated…

more later