Lessons from Humility: How Being Wrong Was The Best Thing For Me
One of the most important lessons that I have learned in my first semester of graduate school is the social work spectrum. I had this narrow vision into what is considered as social work. I imagined myself "fixing" people's problems through therapy. I could imagine my long list of clients who love seeing me because I help them. I would become this miracle worker. That is what I always dreamed would happen. Some of my prophecy has come true, but for the most part my vision of social work was completely wrong. Social work is therapy but it is much more.
I had a breakdown at my internship because my perception of social work was completely wrong. I thought that I was wasting time doing mindless activities. In my internship, I play bingo and domino's with clients, talk to them about their hobbies, paint their nails, color with them. I have more social work responsibilities, but these activities, I found useless. Why am I doing these activities that anyone can do with them? I wanted to use my new social work skills and knowledge instead of doing "volunteer work". I wanted to get straight to doing direct therapy. Now that I am starting to have a caseload, I am realizing the importance of these small "mindless" activities. They are the foundation for a friendship.
It took a visit from my supervisor to realize that social work was more than therapy. I work with adults who have physical and mental disabilities. A lot of them live alone and suffer from depression simply because they have no interactions throughout the day. They love coming to the adult day health center because they can be treated with kindness and have interactions with peers. Talking to the caregivers was completely eye opening as I realized that the clients hate the weekends. The agency is closed on weekends, so the clients miss all of their friends and activities. They come home and talk about the day center, what groups they attended, what crafts they made and what friends they made. This is their primary source for friendships and interactions. My experiences with social work are completely different than other areas because I am working with a different population that has different needs. My single vision of social work was shattered. I was wrong.
Since that day when my vision was shattered, my eyes have been opened to a new world. It is incredible how much you learn when you become humble and realize that you have lots of lessons to learn. I was looking at my internship blindly with a false expectation. I have learned that this internship might be for me to grow instead of me to help them. The more I interact with the clients, the more I am amazed of their physical and emotional strength. They have had lives full of pain and heartache. They seem to carry on with a hopeful attitude despite their physical and mental obstacles. I don't have most of their challenges. I am learning about importance of hope and faith. This is what helps them continue forward. I am learning about the importance of empowerment. In my eyes, empowerment is the ultimate goal and mission of social work. It is not simply about sitting down across the table and talking about feelings, It is about helping your clients do more for themselves. It is about helping them get resources and helping them have more fulfillment and satisfaction in their life. It is reminding them of their self worth. It is teaching them how to cope with difficult issues. It is teaching them about the importance of self advocacy. It is helping them do the best in their individual circumstance.
Most importantly, I have learned that you can't judge someone based of their appearance. You can take a look at one of the clients and judge their cognitive, emotional, physical abilities. When you talk to them about their life, you will be amazed of how wrong you were. They will surprise you in their accomplishments and talents.I thought I was good about not judging people until I started my internship. Little judgments would come into way as I made incorrect assumptions. I treated people with a false expectation of their ability. I have been proven wrong as I interact with the clients and realize that I was falsely judging them based off their appearance.
In the end, I was wrong. My vision of social work being shattered was probably one of the best things that has happened to me. It made me re-evaluate my role as a social worker and view the clients in a more positive light.
I had a breakdown at my internship because my perception of social work was completely wrong. I thought that I was wasting time doing mindless activities. In my internship, I play bingo and domino's with clients, talk to them about their hobbies, paint their nails, color with them. I have more social work responsibilities, but these activities, I found useless. Why am I doing these activities that anyone can do with them? I wanted to use my new social work skills and knowledge instead of doing "volunteer work". I wanted to get straight to doing direct therapy. Now that I am starting to have a caseload, I am realizing the importance of these small "mindless" activities. They are the foundation for a friendship.
It took a visit from my supervisor to realize that social work was more than therapy. I work with adults who have physical and mental disabilities. A lot of them live alone and suffer from depression simply because they have no interactions throughout the day. They love coming to the adult day health center because they can be treated with kindness and have interactions with peers. Talking to the caregivers was completely eye opening as I realized that the clients hate the weekends. The agency is closed on weekends, so the clients miss all of their friends and activities. They come home and talk about the day center, what groups they attended, what crafts they made and what friends they made. This is their primary source for friendships and interactions. My experiences with social work are completely different than other areas because I am working with a different population that has different needs. My single vision of social work was shattered. I was wrong.
Since that day when my vision was shattered, my eyes have been opened to a new world. It is incredible how much you learn when you become humble and realize that you have lots of lessons to learn. I was looking at my internship blindly with a false expectation. I have learned that this internship might be for me to grow instead of me to help them. The more I interact with the clients, the more I am amazed of their physical and emotional strength. They have had lives full of pain and heartache. They seem to carry on with a hopeful attitude despite their physical and mental obstacles. I don't have most of their challenges. I am learning about importance of hope and faith. This is what helps them continue forward. I am learning about the importance of empowerment. In my eyes, empowerment is the ultimate goal and mission of social work. It is not simply about sitting down across the table and talking about feelings, It is about helping your clients do more for themselves. It is about helping them get resources and helping them have more fulfillment and satisfaction in their life. It is reminding them of their self worth. It is teaching them how to cope with difficult issues. It is teaching them about the importance of self advocacy. It is helping them do the best in their individual circumstance.
Most importantly, I have learned that you can't judge someone based of their appearance. You can take a look at one of the clients and judge their cognitive, emotional, physical abilities. When you talk to them about their life, you will be amazed of how wrong you were. They will surprise you in their accomplishments and talents.I thought I was good about not judging people until I started my internship. Little judgments would come into way as I made incorrect assumptions. I treated people with a false expectation of their ability. I have been proven wrong as I interact with the clients and realize that I was falsely judging them based off their appearance.
In the end, I was wrong. My vision of social work being shattered was probably one of the best things that has happened to me. It made me re-evaluate my role as a social worker and view the clients in a more positive light.
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