Fluent Essays

You will then need to read and comment on two other student’s posts.Have a discussion about the usefulness of the articles for practice. reply to two students on annotated bibliography just as reflection piece , may or may not usedany outside sources annotated_bibliography_1.docx student_2.docx Unformatted Attachment Preview Annotated Bibliography For my reading I will be focusing on the topic of compassion fatigue. This is a term that I have not heard a lot about and I want to research it further to develop a better understanding. The first article grabbed my attention because of the title. It made me think of how it would be possible to do the job of a social worker without experiencing empathy and compassion. I personally don’t think it would be possible, or it would at the least be very ineffective. The second article discusses different aspects that can prevent compassion fatigue or at least lessen the symptoms. I have worked in places where I have been greatly supported by the organization and places where I have gotten no support at all and the toll it took on me was profoundly different. After reading these articles as well as attending the last three days of class, I can say that I have experienced compassion fatigue before. I think education on what to look for in yourself is important to prevent burning out. Nilsson, P. (2014). Are Empathy and Compassion Bad for the Professional Social Worker? Advances in Social Work, (2), 294. This article argues against some recent studies that have shown that social workers develop compassion fatigue or secondary traumatic stress as a result of feeling too much empathy or compassion. As a result, these studies have implied that empathy and compassion are bad for social workers. Through a series of alternate studies, this article doesn’t argue that empathy or compassion have nothing to do with compassion fatigue but that there is no reason to believe that because you experience empathy or compassion as a professional, that you will develop compassion fatigue. A large component of this was the distinction between empathy and emotional contagion. Empathy was described as emotional sharing with a keen awareness between oneself and the other person, remembering where emotions originate. Emotional contagion is emotional sharing but experiencing those emotions as your own and acting with accordance to those emotions. This can lead to personal distress because there is a lack of emotional regulation. Personal distress is caused by a different neural pathway than empathy and compassion are. Therefore, experiencing compassion and empathy on a regular basis in the social work profession does not put them in a greater risk of developing compassion fatigue. Choi, G., Y. (2011). Organizational Impacts on the Secondary Traumatic Stress of Social Workers Assisting Family Violence or Sexual Assault Survivors. Administration in Social Work, 35(3), 225–242. This article looks at a series of studies that looked into different organizational factors that decrease the likelihood of Social Workers developing compassion fatigue or secondary traumatic stress (STS). The two terms are used interchangeably throughout the article. Organizational support was a large factor that influenced the occurrence of compassion fatigue or STS. Organizational support is measured through sociopolitical support, access to information, access to resources, and organizational culture. Work conditions was another important element as well. If workers had access to supervision as well as the quality of supervision they received. The quality of the supervisory relationship was significantly correlated with the level of STS in the workers. The last component that was discussed was individual characteristics. Education level and gender were both looked at with contradictory results. It was found that younger practitioners are more vulnerable to STS. Higher annual income was related to lower levels of STS in one study examined. After compiling the above research an experiment was done to fill the gap between the relationships between organizational characteristics and STS among social workers. Specifically, they looked at Social Workers who provided direct services to survivors of family violence or sexual assault. Overall there was 154 participants involved in the study. The participants were then given the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS). It was found that social workers who had more support from their superiors, peers, and work teams experienced lower levels of STS. Social workers experienced lower levels of STS when they had more access to organization’s strategic information. It was also found that social workers who had part trauma history had more severe levels of STS. Knowing this information, organizations may be more inclined to provide their staff with the support needed to prevent STS so that burnout doesn’t occur. 1 Annotated Bibliography: Social Work Relationships and Boundaries 2 Introduction From the first two assigned readings of this course, as well as our discussion in the fist class, I have been contemplating the paradoxical dynamic in social work regarding the importance of building relationships and the importance of maintaining boundaries. Building meaningful relationships with our clients leads to good work and best practice, and can protect us from burnout or compassion fatigue. On the other hand, a lack of boundaries is said to actually lead to compassion fatigue or burnout. So which is correct? How can we as social workers create meaningful and lasting relationships with rigid boundaries? And how can we protect ourselves from feeling too much when we are able to create proper relationships with our clients? Is there a balance between these two concepts, or are we missing something? Is self-care enough to combat this contradiction? This is something I have been thinking about this week, and it is a reality that many social workers face in their practice. The following two articles discuss the idea of boundaries, but I am eager to explore more on this topic and what it means for the future of our profession. O’Leary, P., Tsui, M., & Ruch, G. (2013). The Boundaries of the Social Work Relationship Revisited: Towards a Connected, Inclusive and Dynamic Conceptualisation. British Journal of Social Work, 43, 135–153. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcr181 The authors of this article reflect upon the traditional idea of boundaries and how it has impacted the profession of social work. Historically, it has been expected that social workers have adhered to a medical model of boundaries, similar to that of a doctor and patient, placing the worker at the center of the power structure, as a representative of seemingly rational authority. The authors 3 propose a different theoretical model of boundaries, which favors connection over separation. This idea does not negate the importance of establishing limits based on clear values and ethical considerations, but “adopting a positive, relationship-based and inclusive attitude to professional boundaries opens up exciting possibilities, particularly as little is known about the impact on practice of inclusive boundaries.” An actual model is clearly drawn out in the article, as a proposed guideline for interactions between social workers and clients. Although a diagram seems so effortless and straightforward, the reality of practice ensures this is most often not the case. Based on our class discussions thus far, this article is helpful in that it stresses connection and relationship over separation and strict boundaries. However, working towards more connection and inclusiveness will also present itself with obstacles, and I do not believe it is as simple as arguing the idea of separation. This model does align better with current theories of social work, but many questions and doubts will still remain in order to best fit with our code of ethics and standards of practice. Davidson, J. C. (2005). Professional Relationship Boundaries: A Social Work Teaching Module. Social Work Education, 24(5), 511–533. doi: 10.1080/02615470500132715 The author of this article recognizes the challenges of learning and understanding effective boundaries in social work education and proposes certain strategies in moving forward. As there is no conceivable way to create a concrete guideline for practitioners to follow, the countless amount of contexts and contingencies in social work practice pose a great challenge for individuals defining their professional relationship boundaries, especially for students and those new to the field. The lack of distinct definition outlined by the governing bodies in our field contributes to a general lack of consensus and difficulty for workers and their relationships. The 4 proportion of professional boundary violations in the field of social work indicates the need for educational institutions to “not only clearly inform students about ethical boundaries with clients, but to more effectively enable students to critically think through ethical dilemmas.” Davidson was asked, alongside other experts, to create a module that could be taught in one day to students and other professional learners in the field. This curriculum included the following topics: the “Professional Relationship Boundaries Continuum” conceptual framework; boundary violation impacts; personal boundary vulnerabilities; blurring boundaries indicators; and risk-minimizing strategies. There is enough detail in the module for information to be clear and concise, but can also be applied to realistic scenarios along with proper judgment and reasoning skills. Many social work students wrestle with the concept of boundaries, as we are fearful of making the wrong decision or crossing a line with a client. This article is quite helpful, particularly with the recognition that perhaps as a profession, our governing bodies need to outline certain definitions more clearly. Additionally, educators may require more assistance in creating sufficient material in teaching on this subject going forward. Conclusion Seeing as I began with a formal introduction to this assignment, I also feel the need to end my thoughts with a formal conclusion. I am interested to do more research on this topic, and will do so in the following assignment. As I was reading each of these articles, my thoughts returned to many class discussions over the past few years where my peers or myself would ask an instructor about hypothetical scenarios. “What would happen if a client did this?” or “Would it be okay if this happened?” At the end of the day, our own professional boundaries are created and exist to keep not only our clients safe, but also to keep ourselves safe. However, our profession is built upon the idea of relationships, and the concept of connection is crucial to this, 5 as it is not possible to do our work without it. Perhaps we need to begin to further recognize this fact, and maybe then, social workers will not feel so conflicted about overstepping boundaries. But is it really that easy? After decades of practicing a certain way, it might take more than just this seemingly simple fact to change the way we work or the way we educate future practitioners. This matter seems like another perfect example of our grey and rather ambiguous world, as many ideas and concepts are in social work. ... Purchase answer to see full attachment