Running head: SOCIAL WORK 1

Motivating Dynamics of the Social Work Profession

Jessica Swiger

Appalachian State University

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The profession of social work encompasses the full spectrum of quality morals while

constructively driving for widespread excellence. To achieve improvement with one individual,

or with one law, is to achieve improvement for the whole progression of society. The broad

range of roles and occupations involved in social work allows for thorough advocacy for both the

individual and the public, and on the far end of the spectrum of large-scale to small-scale

advocacy lies individual-based counseling. The practice of individual counseling recognizes that

in order to make significant changes within a culture one must first start with the most influential

determinant, the improvement upon the detrimental thinking and behavior of individuals in that

culture. With the in-depth focus into the lives of clients, therapy becomes individualized and the

client as a person is recognized. Consequently, that client’s potential has room to grow and the

individual can receive the suitable resources to become actualized. In order to create the

appropriate environment for actualization to occur, counselors must strive to become more

enlightened themselves through practicing personal reflection and self-correction. By improving

the self, the counselor ensures his or her own professional excellence. This personal and resolute

drive to improve an individual for the sake of his or her own benefit is what sets social work

apart from any other profession. To not only advocate for the needy but to empower them is to

have achieved one’s duty in society.

Through not only discovering the root cause of individual problems but also revealing

and illuminating the strengths of that individual, he or she may become empowered to stand up

for their own wellbeing. Empowerment embodies every moral value that social work represents.

According to University of Connecticut professor of social work Judith A.B. Lee, the purpose of

empowerment is to develop “a critical consciousness in the context of relationship through

consciousness-raising and praxis; strengthening individual capacities, potentialities, and

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problem-solving skills; and taking action to change oppressive conditions” (Lee 1994). Social

workers develop clients’ skills to promote coping, bolster motivation, maintain self-esteem,

enhance problem-solving, promote self-direction, and promote social change. Empowerment

involves educating the individual so that they may be able to adapt to life in a healthy manner

based off of the skills, strengths, and inner-guidance they have discovered within themselves.

For social worker K.K. Miley, personal empowerment involves “a subjective state of mind,

feeling competent, and experiencing a sense of control” (Miley 2004). It entails tapping into the

self-validating resources within oneself and knowing how to use them in external situations.

Furthermore, like all of social work, empowerment can also be extended to the scope of

communities. Sociopolitical empowerment according to Miley has to do with “the fact that

human systems require an ongoing, expansive set of resource options to keep pace with

constantly changing conditions” (Miley 2004). Thus, the more resources available to a society

the more easily it can function and manage its challenges.

Another substantial aspect that fortifies the social work profession is its use of evidence-

based practice. By establishing research-based activity the practice of social work provides

widespread availability of scientific resources across the field, thus creating standards for all

practitioners. Therapeutic interventions then become empirical in nature and consequently more

effective than alternative pseudoscientific theories. Evidence-based practice requires clinical

expertise, involving prior knowledge one has collected throughout his or her practice, as well as

the knowledge of patients’ values including the “expectations, concerns, and preferences that

patients bring with them” (Gilgun 2005). Evidence-based practice is a rational-technical model

that also takes into account humanistic issues related to practice, including biases and clinical

inaccuracy. Although therapeutic practitioners aim for their interventions to be derivative of

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empirical research they also embrace mindful, patient-centered practice as their core value in the

social work field. Dr. Jane Gilgun of the University of Minnesota expands on this concept by

describing the goals of mindful practice as “compassionate informed action in the world, the use

of a wide array of data, correct decisions, understanding the patient, and the relief of suffering

(Gilgun 2005). Practitioners recognize the ambiguity and potential faults in clinical practice and

research-based activity, keeping an open mind to multiple possibilities and challenging one’s

own assumptions and prejudices while problem-solving. Practitioners must become aware of

themselves ethically as they implement therapeutic practice on clients and also technically

through self-correcting their own behavior over the course of therapy (Gilgun 2005). Evidence-

based practice is becoming recognized not only as an accommodating aspect but also a necessary

one in the field of social work, allowing for further progression within the practice.

Social work has always been a profession founded on the morals and values of its

practitioners. The central focus of social work lies in the devotion to helping people function at

their maximum levels within their social environment, through the maintenance of mental,

emotional, and behavioral wellbeing. Those working in the practice make a personal and

professional commitment to targeting life skills, family functioning, and personal relationships in

order to provide the means of a basic level of personal functioning to all individuals in a

community (Clark 2006). In order to actualize an individual’s potential, social workers aim to

adapt the environment to meet an individual’s unmet needs, while also adapting the individual to

the specific conditions of that environment. This dynamic represents the principle of socially

advocating for the individual while simultaneously empowering him or her as a dignified person.

The idea that when an individual is provided the right resources they can thrive and will

ultimately choose to thrive, rings true with my own personal principles. I believe that with

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enough resources to feel physically and mentally secure, and with the right knowledge to

understand the extent of one’s own capabilities an individual may be motivated to reach his or

her highest potential and live the fullest life possible. Although most people need help and

guidance to achieve this potential, it is the duty of those who have the tools and wisdom to share

them with those who lack them.

There are three specific ethics in the National Association of Social Workers Code of

Ethics that resonate with my own personal values. These include the core values of service,

dignity and worth of a person, and competence (National Association of Social Workers, 2008).

The value of service to help people in need and to address relevant social issues has always and

will always be a priority in my life. I thoroughly believe in my obligation to help those who do

not have the tools to help themselves, simply because it is the right thing to do. I further believe

in respecting the inherent dignity and worth of a person, by remaining conscious and empathetic

to an individual’s subjective needs, choices, and state of mind without judgment when

interacting with them. Treating every individual as a separate but equal person makes a

substantial difference in the effectiveness of their improvement. Finally, I believe that if one is

to attempt and excel at any profession they must be cognizant of the skills, standards, and

training that will permit them to become a successful, knowledgeable professional. I think that

learning is continual in this profession and knowledge should be endlessly attained through

experience and self-reflection. Although some would attest that social work is losing its moral

emphasis as it turns toward a more scientific approach, I believe that with these standards the

moral context of the practice of social work will formidably remain the motivating catalyst of the

profession.

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When I was four years old I told my pre-K teacher that I wanted to become a doctor just

so I could “help people.” Helping others on a personal level has remained a large part of myself,

it is built into my personality and has become who I am as a person. Everything down to my rare

listening skills, my genuine compassion and care for others’ wellbeing, my naturally observant

demeanor, and my inherent sensitivity to others has pointed me into this profession. Because I

am a huge advocate for therapeutic intervention I am enthusiastically pursuing the path of

counseling. My own personal experience with counseling has exposed me to what an

advantageous and effective form of treatment it is. I believe that therapy alone can make a

dramatic difference in one’s life and I would be ecstatic if I could provide that significant

assistance in allowing someone to reach his or her potential. I believe without a doubt that I was

meant to be an exceptional counselor, to share my wisdom and to learn and grow as a person, all

while seeing others improve in their own situation.

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References

Clark, C. (2006). Moral character in social work. British Journal of Social Work,36(1), 75-89.

Gilgun, J. F. (2005). The four cornerstones of evidence-based practice in social work. Research on Social Work Practice, 15(1), 52-61

Lee, J. A. (1994). The empowerment approach to social work practice. New York: Columbia University Press.

Miley, K. O. ’Melia, M. & Dubois, B.(2004). Generalist social work practice: An empowering approach.

National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics of the national

      association of social workers. Retrieved from:

      https://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp.