Topic 1 DQ 2 Response 386 2
From Chapter 3 we are given a Table (3.1) that lists and defines key concepts in the strengths perspective. For each person, these key concepts will apply to us personally in different aspects and experiences in our own lives. I wanted to provide a brief summary of each of the key concepts as they have been defined in our textbook and then go on to explain how they apply to me personally.
Strengths are unique to each individual and are found both internally within each person and externally by the resources around us.
Resilience is our ability to continue or improve functioning.
Hope refers to a positive outlook on a situation. Culture is in regards to beliefs and traditions of a group of people whereas cultural identity is how people belong to specific groups. Finally, collaboration is the nature of relationships and more specifically, how there is a balance of power and equal contribution from both parties. (Langer & Leitz, 2014, p.61-63)
Some strengths that I feel I have are my ability to naturally work well and connect easily with children. I believe that this is why God has called me to social work, to specifically use my strengths in this area to help and be a voice for children who need it. Additionally, I am very grateful and lucky to say that another example of strengths in my own life would be my family as a support system. I have been blessed with a father, sister, and aunt who support me in everything I do and are always there when I need them. In my early childhood and adolescent years, life was not easy for me, I would even go further to say my early adult life also gave me more than my fair share of trauma. Even so, an example of resilience for me is that despite all that I have been through in life, through God I have overcome all of this and feel I am finally moving in my purpose in life. Moreover, this resilience has given me hope for my future, and hope that despite what I have been through there is more goodness in store for my life. I am Korean and Mexican, and feel that my culture is a large part of how my mother chose to raise me and influences a lot of my life in regards to how I approach certain situations. For example, Korean culture is mostly what I grew up under, and a large majority of Korean traditions, beliefs, and values are old fashioned. (i.e. the woman submits to and obeys the husband, the husband is the provider and head of the household) These beliefs are always in the back of my mind as I go through life because these are the values my mother raised me on. So my Korean culture I would say is a large part of my cultural identity. As stated previously, my culture is a large part of how I function in life and who I am. When I think about collaboration, I think about this in terms of my own relationships with others and how this will apply to my relationships in the social work field. Collaboration in my personal relationships can be seen in my partnership with my boyfriend. I have always believed that a relationship only works when both parties are putting in equal effort and contributing to the relationship. I think in a similar way, a social workers relationship with their clients is the same. If the social worker is taking control and not allowing the client to contribute to their treatment, the relationship will be one sided and the client may be less inclined to participate in the treatment and relationship. “The integration of this professional education and experience with clients’ unique perspective and personal knowledge prompts open, productive dialogue.” (Langer, et al, 2014, p. 63-64) A social worker can only know so much about a clients situation, in collaborating with the client, the social worker and the client can both contribute to giving a fuller and more solid solution to the clients presenting problem.
What are your thoughts on what I’ve shared class?
Respectfully,
Stephanie
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References:
Langer, C. L., & Lietz, C. (2014). Applying theory to generalist social work practice. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
Topic 1 DQ 2
KP
Hello Professor and class,
According to (Langer & Lietz, 2014) in contrast to social workers previous preoccupation with problems and deficits, the perspective is balanced by by the idea that all people have strengths. By identifying and building upon clients strengths, social workers. Clients capacities and resources in the process of helping. The key concepts of the Strengths Perspectives is Strengths, Resilience, Hope, Culture, Culture Identity, Collaboration.
Strengths: Strengths is everything for me because each morning I pray and ask God to give me strength to keep me moving forward. I try to find strength to take care of my health in order to keep a sound mind. As a country we continue to face day to day hardships even more when the pandemic hit losing loved ones and jobs. I pray for strength to stay true to who I am and to give me strength to further my education. So I can give back to my community and advocate for bot children and families.
Resilience: For me an example resilience is me taking on my part time job in the school district I’m in. The money is a small compensation but my reason for taking it was because the supervisor was overwhelmed. Two people decided to work in another program and she was in such a tough situation. Therefore, I took on the job to help out because to me you never know when you will need someone. Then the fact that I am there to help the children makes me smile.
Hope: When we speak on Hope all I can say is I hope everyday that my prayers get answered and things work out for the good. I want my son to be able to witness his mother walking across the stage with her diploma. However, I also know I can do all things through Christ that Strengthens me Philippians 4:13.
Culture- In my culture we grew up with strict beliefs in a Baptist church. Throughout my younger years until I became an adult I carried those same beliefs and traits because this was how I raised. My church was strict on us wearing long skirts and made sure all the kids were involved in church activities. It’s funny because nowadays the churches are so different and people wear what they want, attend when they want. Children do not respect the elders or sit when service is going. However, I still maintain those values and instill them in my son.
Culture Identity: My culture identity reflects my culture as an African American. As an African American I reflect on my background by getting involved in the community parades such as, Juneteenth which is a holiday that commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the U.S.
Collaboration: An example of collaboration would be me having meetings with my committee during my mentoring program for youth. Every two weeks we get together and meet to discuss challenges that children face in school and at home.
Kenyetta Patterson
Langer, C. L., & Lietz, C. (2014). Applying theory to generalist social work practice. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
