Future Directions

Moving forward, I recognize and understand that my developed social work identity will continue to evolve from the continued application of theories and experience, as well as continuing education within the heal and social sciences.  In recognition of the social work ethos of reflexivity, it is important to both recognize areas that I am strong in, as well as ones that can benefit from further development, and find ways to cultivate growth in those areas.  Adhering to the spirit of life learning, reflexivity, and continuing competency, there are several areas I wish to continue my growth in.  These domains for growth include work with families & children, improving my development of therapeutic alliances, adherence to the principles of reconciliation.

Areas for Continued Growth

Work with Children & Families

As I have become more familiar with family systems theory and neurobiological aspects of child development from the Brain Story Certification, I have increased my awareness of the significance of the importance of family systems on child development.  While not all the information is beyond the teachings of child development psychology classes, the concepts surrounding family interventions that were introduced are something I would like to learn more about.  I am particularly interested in Bowenian Family Therapy, as it fits with a systems perspective that can intersect with person-in-environment and macro systems theories with the individual(s),  Building competency with the theory so that I could effectively understand the relationships within families from this perspective can aim to improve child-parent interactions that can enhance developmental outcomes.  The practice of applying the psychoeducational learnings from the Brain Story Certification and practice in working with families to become more experienced in applying Bowenian principles will aid in refining my competency.

Interviewing and Establishing Therapeutic Relations

While I am heavily influenced by structural & critical components of social work, they will be of limited use if I am unable to build develop working alliances with individuals oppressed by the system’s current power structures.  To be a good advocate, I believe one must understand the complexity of the client’s story, and also work with the client to facilitate their own reflection on how to address their circumstances.  This is especially the case when structural or critical social work methods are not directly able to provide immediate relief to the provision of basic needs.   While I have improved my understanding of White’s narrative practice, I would also like to explore other theories that can be applied to social work counselling practices – such as cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.  Part of the continuing education can be reviewing examples of interviewing & counselling sessions from the Alexander Street database, while also practicing interviewing with peers for further skill development.  However, when examining videos from the Alexander Street database or learning new counselling intervention skills through continuing education, it is vital to not extend beyond the social work scope of practice and go into the deep psychological interventions that one does not have sufficient training for.  Competence in professional practice would include specialized training and certifications of competency as evidence of being able to competently use the interventions.

Continuing to Build Capacity in Reconciliation

With a basic understanding of the impacts assimilation, cognitive imperialism, and cultural genocide on FNMI (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) and broad Canadian population as a whole, there is a continued need, and personal interest, to build capacity in walking between the two worlds of Indigenous and Euro-western ways of knowing.  Familiarizing oneself with literature is one piece of the puzzle, but it is also important to be immersed in reconciliatory experiences.  This can begin by attending public education services aimed at reconciliation that are provided by post-secondary institutions (such as Medicine Hat College, and the University of Calgary) or by community organizations (such as Miywasin Centre).

Areas of Developed Strength

Structural Work, Activism, & Pursuit of Systems Change

Developing connections within the progressive and activist communities over the past 5 years has given me the opportunity to develop rapport and connections with various community groups, stakeholders, and citizens.  Developing an understanding of the concerns of these groups provides a basis to look at what changes are needed in communities so that the systems provide an equitable opportunity to a larger number of community members.  The idea of reaching a fully equitable community remains a difficult task, but my continued readings and learnings in social policy, politics, and activism place me in a position where I want to continue to grow and develop skills so that I can actualize that idea.  Future learnings in this domain include new strategies for community organizing (which includes the use of digital platforms and networking), the risks of harm to activists so that participants can make informed decisions (see the Critical Infrastructure Defense Act), and increased competency in mitigating risks to activists that emerge from polarized political discourse (such as harms from polarization and marginalization).

Research

One of the key areas of strength that have emerged through my educational journey is the sifting through literature to further understand concepts and apply the findings of research in new ways.  I thoroughly enjoy learning about theories and reading academic literature on how the theories can transform practice.  My experiences in this domain have led me to look to many multidisciplinary sources of information and piece together commonalities in their findings.  Linking the common threads between the findings in multiple disciplines provides an opportunity to deepen the validity of a construct when it elements become part of an intervention in practice.  Looking at the common threads between disciplines respects our social work values of diversity by honouring intellectual diversity that arises from different schools of thought.  To continue the development of this skill, future actions can include participation in conducting or evaluating research to contribute to the evidence-base in social work practice is a direction of interest.

Biopsychosocial-Spiritual Thinking

Building off the interconnectedness of ideas that emerge from different disciplines is a recognition that whole-person thinking includes multiple facets of their being.  With a specific interest in mind-body practices, my interests place me in a position to be an engaged learner with emerging literature.  Practitioners who seek to look at the interactions of biology, psychology, social interactions, and spirituality draw on a vast number of points where strengths, intervention, and growth have an opportunity to arise.  As the multiple disciplines provide opportunities to enhance the wellbeing of the other interconnected facets of life, becoming aware of these interconnections allows the practitioner to comply with CASW code of ethics (2005) by becoming more competent in their practice.

References

Canadian Association of Social Workers. (2005).  Code of ethics.  Retrieved from https://www.casw.acts.ca/sites/default/files/attachements/casw_code_of_ethics_0.pdf