personal and professional development in social work essay

Social Work pp 89–103 Cite as

Personal and professional development

• Joyce Lishman  

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Discussion of personal and professional development must be set in the uncertain, demanding, complex and changing context of social work. The current emphasis on vocational training and the achievement of discrete technical competencies in a culture which promotes market forces, consumerism and managerialism (Holman, 1993; Banks, 1995; Clark, 1995; Dominelli, 1996) is at the expense of fundamental aspects of social work including:

a concern about individual people and the enhancement of their lives and relationships;

a commitment to social justice and the eradication of poverty and discrimination;

a commitment to social work as a moral and ethical activity;

an holistic approach to practice, where relationships and process as well as outcomes are addressed;

a commitment to partnership and involvement with users in developing services to meet their needs;

a commitment to evaluating practice as a means of developing it;

a recognition that the worker's use of self is integral to social work activity.

Social Work involves entering into the lives of people who are in distress, conflict or trouble. To do this requires not only technical competence but also qualities of integrity, genuineness and self awareness. (Lishman, 1994)

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Further reading

Brown, A. and Bourne, I. (1996) The Social Work Supervisor: Supervision in Community, Day Care and Residential Settings (Buckingham, Open University Press). This book, although focusing on supervision, is invaluable in drawing attention to issues of professional development and support for social workers and potential blocks to them.

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Carter, P., Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (1995) Social Working (Basingstoke, Macmillan). This edited collection of chapters by practising social workers identifies major issues in professional development by analysing social work practice from the perspective of experienced social workers, including the main processes: a ‘hands-on’ approach to examining and articulating practice and learning from it.

Book   Google Scholar  

Eraut, M. (1994) Developing Professional Knowledge and Competence (London, Falmer Press). This book contains a valuable multidisciplinary analysis of issues in professional development and pressures which deal with complexity.

Shaw, I. (1996) Evaluating in Practice (Aldershot, Arena). This book presents a model of evaluating a practice based on the reality of social work and recent developments in qualitative methodology for doing and learning research.

Yelloly, M. and Henkel, M. (1995) Learning and Teaching in Social Work: Towards Reflective Practice (London, Jessica Kingsley). This edited collection addresses issues in the post-professional education of social workers and related professionals, examining the concepts of professionalism, competence, knowledge and anti-racism, with an emphasis on how professionals learn and maintain a self-critical and reflective approach to practice.

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Editors and affiliations.

University of Lincolnshire and Humberside, UK

Robert Adams ( Professor of Human Services Development ) ( Professor of Human Services Development )

Department of Social Work Studies, University of Southampton, UK

Lena Dominelli ( Professor of Social and Community Development ) ( Professor of Social and Community Development )

Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

Malcolm Payne ( Professor of Applied Community Studies ) ( Professor of Applied Community Studies )

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© 1998 Joyce Lishman

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Lishman, J. (1998). Personal and professional development. In: Adams, R., Dominelli, L., Payne, M., Campling, J. (eds) Social Work. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14400-6_8

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Guide to Crafting a Perfect Social Work Personal Statement

As you prepare to write your social work personal statement, remember that it’s not just about your personality. The goal of this statement is to offer insight into your skills and experiences. It’s your opportunity to demonstrate how well-prepared you are. 

When crafting your social work personal statement, keep in mind several fundamental questions: What are you trying to accomplish? Who do you want to become? What is the population you want to serve, and how can you best communicate that to your audience? 

What Are Social Work Personal Statements

Your social work personal statement typically takes the form of a personal essay that describes experiences and goals that are relevant to a social work program.

Key Components of a Personal Statement 

This essay is usually part of the packet of information that you’re required to submit to an admissions department. Your social work personal statement typically includes the following information:

• Your Past Experiences: Have you already volunteered or worked in social work fields? What experiences have prepared and inspired you? 
• Your Educational Goals: What have you accomplished so far, and what education goals do you plan to achieve? 
• Your Career Goals: What do you want to do with your career? What role do you want to take on in social work?
• Your Challenges: What obstacles have you faced? 

You’ll probably include any details pertinent to your admission into the program. Be sure to include the relevant information that the committee will need to know as they review your personal statement as part of your application packet. 

Why Social Work Personal Statements Are Important

A social work personal statement is a meaningful way to differentiate yourself from the rest of the applicants. What will set you apart and make the committee remember you? 

Social work is a growing field, and the job outlook for social workers is promising. There were more than 700,000 social worker jobs in the United States in 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Jobs in the industry are projected to increase by 12% through 2030, which is faster than average. 

Who Needs To Write Social Work Personal Statements? 

You’ll probably write a social work personal statement if you’re applying for a master’s program in social work. In some cases, you might need it for a bachelor’s program as well. Of course, once you’ve spent the time to write this statement, you can repurpose it for scholarship and grant applications, cover letters, and a range of other needs in your career and future life. 

In other words, the work you do here and the time you spend will not be wasted. You can also reuse what you create here for your future applications and endeavors at work, as part of your academic career, and beyond.

Steps for Writing a Social Work Personal Statement 

Your process for writing your social work personal statement will probably be the same as what you’ll follow for any other essay or college paper. Here are the basic steps you’ll probably take as you create your social work personal statement.

Assess the Audience

Think about who you’re writing for, what they are looking for, and what specific details you should include. You’re probably writing for a committee but think about their academic background. Work to fulfill their expectations. 

Prepare an Outline and Conduct Research

Create an outline of the points you want to include. Fill in your points with relevant research and examples from your personal and professional experience. Don’t worry about having too much research or too many points in your outline. You can always cut it down later. 

Write a Draft

Start writing based on your outline, filling in additional details as you go along. Don’t get too tied to making it perfect at this point. Make sure you’ve covered all the guidelines for the social work personal statement. Is it on-topic and relevant to the topic and course of study? 

You should have multiple revisions of your social work personal statement as you add further details to what you’re saying and how you’re saying it. Let the essay sit for a few days if you have time. You’ll see areas of confusion, but you’ll also be more open to changing the work if you’ve given it time to sit and stew. 

As part of the revision process, make sure to read your social work personal statement out loud. Run the paper through spelling and grammar checkers to make sure you haven’t made any mistakes. 

Reach out to friends and professors who might be willing to help you in the review process. You’re not alone on this path, and you can gain great insight when you ask for input from others. 

Social Work Personal Statement Examples

You’ll find quite a few examples of social work personal statements online, but they’re not all high-quality examples. Most of the best examples are available from universities or social work organizations. Here are a few you can use to get your mental gears turning.

• Studential – Social Work Personal Statement Examples
• Social Work Haven – Examples of Social Work Personal Statement  
• Acrosophy – Social Work Personal Statement Examples

While these examples can offer great inspiration and ideas, be sure that your final essay is completely original. If you copy and paste any of these examples, you run the risk of setting off red flags for plagiarism, which typically results in the rejection of your application. 

Where To Find Prompts for Social Work Personal Statements 

You may be surprised by how many places you can find prompts for social work personal statements online. Even as you follow those guidelines, be sure that you read your essay. It should reflect who you are and what you want from social work. Here are just a few prompts: 

• MSW Personal Statement Prompt
• My Perfect Words – Personal Statement Prompts
• The University of Buffalo – Application Essay Guidelines
• Shepherd University – Personal Statement Writing Prompts

These prompts can offer great insight as you write your social work personal statement, but make sure you keep the precise guidelines for the program you’re applying for. It’s easy to get caught up in unrelated topics and directions that have nothing to do with what they have asked you to write about. 

Tips for Crafting the Perfect Social Work Personal Statement 

When you’re writing your social work personal statement, you need to maintain a laser focus on what you’re writing and how your succinct work will further back up your other materials. Here are a few other tips you should rely on when you’re writing the perfect social work personal statement. 

Stay Focused

Don’t get distracted by other topics or the total amount of information you can include. Focus on making sure you highlight why everything in your personal and professional life has brought you to this point, where you’re ready to commit to social work. 

Your writing process might be slightly different, but don’t forget the importance of planning and researching for your essay. Then write everything you think to include. Remember that your pre-writing phase is not the final copy.

Proofread 

Make sure you have enough time in this process to let your social work personal statement sit for at least a few days before you proofread it. You need to have a fresh approach to your writing, so you won’t be so attached to what you wrote before. 

You’re not doing this alone, even though it might feel like it sometimes. There are lots of other people who are willing and able to help you if you just ask. If you’re taking a college class, you could reach out to the professor for input or even visit the school’s Writing Center. 

Additional Resources 

Your social work personal statement may be one of the most important documents you create in your career. The good news is that you’re not alone in your effort to craft your social work personal statement and move forward with your education and career. Here are a few additional resources that will help you along the way: 

• Social Work Advocates magazine
• Social Work Journal
• Choices: Careers in Social Work
• Encyclopedia of Social Work Online
• Social Work Career Development: A Handbook for Job Hunting and Career Planning

As you immerse yourself in these resources, you can and should use what you learn as jumping-off points for future growth and development in your field. Keep track of the areas of study and research that interest you the most.

Be aware of those instances where you feel inspired and passionate. Tap into those areas of interest when you write your social work personal statement. Help the reading committee to understand why you care so much about social work and how you want to make a difference. 

How to write your social work personal statement

Applying to your Master of Social Work (MSW) is a huge step in your career to becoming a social worker. MSW applications are holistic, meaning they look at many parts of you when considering your applications. Most MSW admissions committees make decisions based on applicant transcripts, resumes, references, and the personal statement.

A personal statement is a written work where you discuss your motivations for becoming a social worker. Although they vary from school to school, most schools ask you to discuss your personal and professional aspirations, your goals, and your understanding of social justice issues and values of the social work profession.

Your personal statement is one of the most important documents that you’ll write in your career, yet there are few resources that explain how to write an impactful personal statement. In this article, we will be talking about what you should include in your social work personal statement, as well as mistakes to avoid.

What should be included in a personal statement for social work?

When starting to put together your personal statement, it’s important to make note of what each school is looking for. Most schools will provide instructions or guidelines about what they are looking for. Although there are variations from school to school, the vast majority of schools ask about the following in the personal statement:

Your experiences (from your life, professional experiences, schooling, etc).

A discussion of a social problem and how social workers can work towards solving it.

Your goals as a social worker

 In addition, most schools of social work are assessing your personal statement for the following:

·       Your ability to communicate clearly and succinctly

·       Evidence of critical and analytical thinking

·       Potential contribution to practice in an area of interest

·       Complement between social work and the applicant's professional goals and interests

Talking about personal and professional experiences in the social work personal statement

To start your personal statement, I recommend listing out all of your personal and professional experiences. This can include hardships you’ve experienced , work, volunteer, and internship experience, and academic experiences.

Then, think about why those experiences motivated you to pursue a Master of Social Work. What insights did you gain from those experiences, and what were the most powerful experiences that led you to a career in social work?

Avoid simply talking about your job duties, and focus on the insights you gained. For example, an applicant who works at a women’s shelter may have had realizations about housing inequality or barriers women who experience domestic violence face.

If you don’t have direct practice experience, don’t discount the insights and skills you would have gained in your “non-social work” roles. For example, when I worked as a camp counsellor I realized that I preferred working 1:1 to leading an entire group, which is what motivated me to become a social worker instead of a teacher.

Many MSW applicants pursue a career in social work because of personal hardships they experienced. Schools of Social Work know that this is an important consideration, so they leave space for applicants to discuss this. Discussing your own experiences is 100% optional, and you should only include it if it actually is part of the reason why you wish to pursue a career in social work. (In other words, don’t include it simply because you think it’ll give you brownie points.)

The social justice problem in the social work personal statement

Many schools ask applicants to discuss a social justice problem in their personal statement. Schools are looking for your alignment with social work values, critical thinking skills, and potential contribution to the field.

When picking a social justice problem, you should pick something related to your own experiences and goals as a social worker. For example, if you’re goal is to work with kids, you should pick a social justice issue that has to do with kids.

When applicants discuss a social justice issue that has nothing to do with their own insights, experiences, and goals, it creates a confusing personal statement and makes it unclear why applicants are interested in pursuing an MSW.

It’s also important to get specific about your social justice issue. When you discuss a social justice issue based on your own personal and professional experiences, it makes it much easier to get specific. For example, instead of talking about overarching issues such as racism, sexism, or poverty, try to dig a bit deeper. You might talk about how your own experiences in therapy as an immigrant in the USA negatively impacted your mental health. In your social justice issue, you could talk about how therapy is dominated by white, westernized clinicians, and how this can lead to poor outcomes for minorities and immigrants.

Finally, you should always use research to back up your points and insights. This is something many applicants don’t think to do, but adding research to back up your points shows the reader your critical thinking skills and academic writing abilities. It’s not a research paper, so don’t let the research overtake your personal statement, but adding a statistic or research can strengthen your points.

When writing a personal statement it can be helpful to integrate social work lingo. Click here to get a free copy of the social work buzzword checklist for your personal statement .

Your goal as a social worker

Finally, connect your insights derived from your personal and professional experiences, and your social justice issue by talking about your goals.

When talking about what role social workers can have in solving your social justice issue, talk about how YOU will work towards solving the social justice issue as a social worker. What skills, insights, or experience do you have that make you the right person to work toward solving this social justice issue?

By connecting your insights to your social justice issue, and ultimately your goals as a social worker, you prove to the admissions committee that you would make a valuable contribution to the field, and that accepting you to the program is a no-brainer.

Free mini-course for MSW applicants

Pop in your email to join the FREE 10 day mini-course from MSW Helper, where you’ll learn how to write an impactful personal statement for grad school.

How should I start my Master's personal statement?

To start your personal statement, think about your “why”.

Why do you want to be a social worker? Who do you want to help, and in what capacity?

There are many different types of social workers, and social workers work in many capacities at the micro, mezzo, and macro level.

It’s important to be specific about why you want to be a social worker, and go deeper than saying you simply want to help people. (Because if you simply wanted to help people, why not join another helping profession, such as nursing or law.)

In addition to your why, think about why social work is the right field for you. How do you align with the values of the social work profession? You may want to look up social work theories to guide you.  

Develop a mission statement for your personal statement

Now that you’ve uncovered your insights, skills, goals, and your why, I highly recommend developing a mission statement (otherwise known as a thesis statement/elevator pitch) for your personal statement.

Developing a mission statement is a great way to anchor your personal statement. It will keep you accountable and focused as you write, and it provides a summary for the reader.

You should always include your mission statement in the introduction and conclusion of your personal statement. Admissions committees read hundreds of personal statements each year, so it’s likely that they do a lot of skimming. By adding a concise mission statement you’ll tell the reader everything they need to know about you.

Your mission statement should include an overview of your experience, goals, and potential to contribute to the field of social work in a meaningful way.

In the Social Work Personal Statement Writing Workshop , we help you develop a strong mission statement to anchor your writing.

What should a statement of purpose look like?

When writing your statement of purpose, you should always write it in an essay format. The reason for this is that the personal statement also serves as a sample of your academic writing abilities, so making an extra effort to show the reader your abilities can really stand out. For that reason, I suggest avoiding writing your personal statement in the form of a letter.

I also recommend formatting your personal statement in APA format , since this is the format Schools of Social Work often use. Using proper APA formatting gives your personal statement a professional edge and shows the reader your academic writing abilities. Read this article to learn how to write a personal statement in APA format .

How long should a personal statement be?

Most personal statements are between 500-2500 words, or 2-5 pages double-spaced.

The length of your personal statement depends on the school. Most personal statements are between 500-2500 words, or 2-5 pages double-spaced.

You should always aim to be close to the word/page limit. If your personal statement is much shorter than the maximum length, you might be missing important information. You should also be sure not to go over the word/page limit.

If you are struggling to be concise or properly format your personal statement our team of MSW Application Advisors can help you meet the requirements of your school and edit your personal statement.

What should you avoid in your personal statement?

Avoid saying you want to help people: As mentioned, when writing a social work personal statement, it’s important to get specific about why you want to be a social worker. By getting specific you’ll stand out and show the admissions committees your alignment and potential to contribute to the social work field in a meaningful way.

Make sure your personal statement is organized : Admissions committees read many personal statements each application season, so it’s important that your personal statement is organized and easy to read. You can do this by including a mission statement in your introduction and conclusion, as well as separating your prompts with headings, so that the reader can easily see that you answered all of the questions.

Be sure to follow guidelines and answer all prompts: Make sure you follow any instructions to a tee. Failing to listen to instructions, such as page limits or formatting requirements, is an easy way for admissions committees to weed out your application. Also, make sure that you fully answer each prompt. Many applicants make the mistake of not fully reading the prompts, and as a result they miss out on answering important questions.

As part of our social work personal statement editing services , we cross reference your personal statement with your school's application requirements, and ensure that your personal statement is answered fully and follows all best practices.  

What is an example of an MSW statement of purpose?

Hopefully, by now, you have some ideas about how to start your personal statement and mistakes to avoid. The Social Work Personal Statement Template was designed to help you uncover your insights, goals, and why for pursuing social work. It also includes examples of an MSW statement of purpose to help guide you in the writing process.

Watch the full training: How to write your personal statement social justice issue

Happy writing!

Michelle from MSW Helper

Michelle Bruxer is the Founder & CEO of MSW Helper, and a Registered Social Worker in Ontario.

MSW Helper is a resource hub designed to help future social workers get accepted to their dream MSW programs. Through our personal statement editing services and free resources, we’re here to help you write your MSW personal statement with confidence.

MSW Helper is the ONLY grad school application service designed specifically for students who are applying to social work programs. Learn more about MSW Helper here.

MSW requirements and application process (2024 Guide)

How to answer “why i want to be a social worker” in your personal statement.

How to Write an Effective Personal Statement for Grad School

Written by Michelle, Founder of MSW Helper

Schools of social work are looking for your ability to think critically and contribute to the social work field. This is more important than your grades and experience. I know this because I’ve seen people with high grades and a ton of experience get rejected from the program because they weren’t able to articulate their critical thinking skills (and I’ve seen it go the other way too, where applicants with low grades and little experience get accepted because of their strong personal statement).

So, let’s talk about how you can write an effective personal statement for your grad school application.

Michelle is the Founder of MSW Helper, where she helps Master of Social Work Applicants write top notch personal statements for grad school. Michelle understands how stressful applying to the MSW can be, and strives to help applicants feel confident about their applications. 

Check out her website to learn more: https://www.mswhelper.com/

What schools of social work are looking for

In my experience, most schools of social work ask about these key areas:

• Your experiences that motivated you to become a social worker, including personal, professional, academic, and other experiences
• A discussion of a social problem and how social workers can work towards solving it
• Your goals as a social worker

In addition, schools of social work typically assess your personal statement for the following:

• Evidence of critical and analytical thinking skills
• Potential contribution to the field of social work
• Your ability to communicate clearly and succinctly

This is how you can demonstrate all of the following key areas seamlessly.

Contribution to the field

Let’s look at a personal statement of a past MSW applicant:

Applicant name: Sally ●        Experiences : Sally works at a women’s shelter and talks about what she learned there. ●        Social Justice Issue : Sally decides to talk about an issue within child welfare. ●        Goal : Sally mentions that she wants to get an MSW so that she can qualify for a job at the hospital.

There are a few issues with Sally’s personal statement.

First, there is no cohesion between her experience, social justice issue, and goals, which makes it hard for the reader to understand why she wants to pursue an MSW and how she’ll be an asset to the field.

Second, Sally is talking about how an MSW will be beneficial for her, which comes off as a bit self-serving. When writing a personal statement, it’s important to talk about how pursuing an MSW will allow her to help others.

With this in mind, let’s see an example of how Sally could improve her personal statement:

Applicant: Sally ●        Experiences : Sally works at a women’s shelter and talks about what she learned there. ●        Social Justice Issue : Sally discusses an insight from her time at the women’s shelter, and backs it up with research that proves that her observation is part of a larger social problem.  ●        Goal : This issue that Sally noticed at the women’s shelter inspired her to get her MSW so that she can address that issue and support her clients in a different capacity and advocate for women’s rights at the macro level.

Better, right?

In this version of her personal statement, Sally demonstrates a high level of critical thinking by talking about her insights and backing them up with research, and she demonstrates her potential contribution to the field by discussing how a Master of Social Work will allow her to serve others in a greater capacity. 

If you’re planning to write a personal statement, a great place to start is to think about insights and problems you’ve observed from your work, volunteer, placement, and personal experiences, and use those insights to develop your social justice problem.

Evidence of critical and analytical thinking

In addition to demonstrating your potential to contribute to the field, there are some tangible ways you can demonstrate your critical thinking skills.

First, make sure you understand what social work actually is.

This might sound obvious, but there are a surprising number of applicants who have a pretty limited understanding of what social work entails. I don’t blame them. The media often portrays a specific image of what social workers look like (usually involving child welfare, case workers, or therapists).

However, social work is so much more than that. Social workers work at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels of society, and can work in many areas at each of these levels.

Also, many applicants pursue social work out of a desire to help others, but it’s not good enough to say that in your personal statement. There are a lot of other jobs you can do that would allow you to help others. Think about how social workers are different from other helping professions (such as nurses, psychologists, police officers, teachers, lawyers, etc.).  Why do you want to be a social worker and not another helping profession?

Understanding what social work is will help you provide a stronger and more thorough answer to the question of “why” you want to become a social worker.

Finally, connect your insights to the bigger picture by integrating research into your personal statement .

It’s one thing to talk about the issues you’ve noticed from your experiences, and it’s another to connect your insight to the bigger picture with the help of research.

Let’s look at Sally again.

Sally’s role at the women’s shelter is to help her clients who experienced domestic violence find housing. Sally noticed that many of her previously housed clients got evicted and ended up back at the shelter.

Sally also did some research and found studies to suggest that women who experience domestic violence have an overall higher rate of housing instability due to barriers such as income loss and lack of social support.

This knowledge motivated Sally to pursue a Master of Social Work so that she can move into a policy role to advocate for income and social support for women who experience domestic violence.

Connecting experience to research will demonstrate a high level of critical thinking.

Ability to communicate clearly and succinctly

When it comes to writing your personal statement, it’s not only what you say, but also how you say it. Admissions committees are typically assessing your personal statement for your writing ability.

Make it easy to read : Admissions committees read literally hundreds of personal statements each application season, so it’s likely that whoever reads your personal statement is going to quickly skim through your personal statement to find your answers. With that in mind, it’s important to make your personal statement as skimmable and easy to read as possible.

You can do this by adding headings that match each question or prompt so that the reader can easily see that you did answer each prompt.

You should also be concise and get rid of filler words and sentences that don’t directly answer the prompts.

Finally, you should always try to include an introduction and a conclusion in your personal statement where you summarize your experience, social justice problem, and goals. This will allow the reader to get your whole story in a few sentences, and leave them with a strong impression at the beginning and end of your personal statement.

Treat your personal statement like an academic writing sample: Many applicants don’t realize that the personal statement is a sample of your academic writing and research skills. One way to stand out is to treat your personal statement like a school paper. I often advise applicants to use full APA formatting when writing their personal statement, as this will make your personal statement look more professional and will stand out from the crowd. 

Creating Your Own MSW Personal Statement

When writing a personal statement for your MSW, it’s important to demonstrate your potential contribution to the field, critical thinking skills, and strong writing ability. If you follow these tips, you’ll be on your way to writing an effective personal statement that stands out.

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Connecticut State Capitol

Connecticut state capitol in Hartford, CT.

by Gina R. Rosich, PhD, MSW, and Shalymar Cruz, BA

     Clinical social workers and those working in management positions, whether in community-based agencies or private practice, hold unique and valuable perspectives and knowledge that can be harnessed to inform and influence elected officials. Often, advocacy work can seem daunting or time consuming. Yet, it does not have to be. In this essay, an MSW faculty member and an MSW student reflect on advocacy as it relates to their professional development.

Dr. Gina R. Rosich - Advocacy From an Academic Perspective

     Changing careers can seem daunting. Starting a new adventure in a new avenue of one’s professional development is an exciting risk to take. It’s something I think about for my students entering their MSW program, as well as for myself, having segued from direct practice into academia as a faculty member in an MSW program. I found myself asking: How can I teach my students about ethics in micro and macro practice and lead by example when I am no longer at a social services agency? I can tell them stories about my professional practice, as all faculty do. But I want to remain engaged in social change.

     Section 6 of the NASW Code of Ethics compels social workers to shape public policies and institutions, and to engage in social and political action to create a more equitable and socially just society. This is something I take seriously, and it was a significant aspect of my own MSW education. Now that I am a member of a social work faculty and no longer working in the field, I think back to how and why advocacy and social justice were emphasized when I was a student. These principles guide my teaching, research, and service to the profession and community.

     I moved to a new state when I accepted my position. This meant I needed to build new networks. Through the Connecticut chapter of NASW, I found an organized and structured way to do this work. I joined the ELAN committee. ELAN stands for the Education and Legislative Action Network, a committee of social workers around the state who meet to engage in public policy work in a variety of ways. Although most chapters of NASW have a legislative committee, not every state chapter of NASW has an ELAN committee based on a grassroots organizing approach to the work. Some utilize a government relations approach.

     What does grassroots look like for us? Lobby days and lobby day trainings are held annually to teach social workers and social work students about the legislative process as well as effective ways to advocate for policies with the state legislature.  We then meet during the active state legislative session to identify and follow bills aligned with social work values, obtain and disseminate timely information for action alerts, write testimony, and testify in person. We also follow up on those legislative action alerts with phone banking to our members, encouraging them to call their elected officials in support of (or against) specific bills heading for a vote.

     COVID presented a challenge to grassroots organizing, but also an opportunity. The Connecticut General Assembly utilized Zoom, so anyone wishing to testify could do so from a safe distance. These sessions were held live, broadcast via YouTube, and remained available for the public to watch at any time. For the first time in my career, I could testify and have a recording to actually show my students what it is like to speak before elected officials. We were able to watch it together and critique what I did. This meant not only leading by example in terms of advocacy work, but also in showing what self-reflective practice looks like. How did I prepare? How did I use my professional background to inform my testimony and to answer questions the legislators had? What went through my mind? What could I have done better? The particular testimony I showed my students was on funding homeless shelter referral and prevention services. I was able to draw upon my many years of experience working in the shelter system in New York City, my knowledge of research on housing insecurity, and what I have learned about prevention and shelter services in my new statewide community. How did this impact my students? One of them joins me in this essay to share her own journey of professional development.

Shalymar Cruz - Advocacy From a Student Perspective

     First-year students in MSW programs often enter their courses with a skewed view of what it means to be a social worker. We often think of it as being a counselor, therapist, or case manager. It is not often that students consider politics, let alone policy activism, as a part of the responsibilities of a social worker. Upon entering my Social Policy II class, I had an understanding that social work is political and that, according to the NASW Code of Ethics , we have a responsibility to advocate for social justice. However, within the confines of the field, it did not seem possible to me to advocate for policy change. Nor did I see how it was related to a clinical role.

     Having a professor who integrated the two aspects of social work in one course provided the example of not only policy’s relevance to clinical work, but also how to go about balancing the two. As students, we were empowered to utilize the social positions we had already acquired and the knowledge of client/community needs to advocate for change at the macro level that would support the clinical work being done on the micro level. Viewing testimonies in class and better understanding the legislative process and rights of citizens to participate in it showed me that I had the responsibility, even as a student of social work, to take part in advocating for public policy change that would lead to social justice and equity. I thought to myself: If citizens are expected to participate in this process, then it is feasible for social workers to do so, too. This is what sets social workers apart from other therapeutic roles. It was then that I decided throughout my education and future career to find opportunities to utilize my network to advocate for policy change.

     This real-life classroom experience pushed me to look within organizations I’m a part of to see how I could contribute to advocacy efforts. I am a member of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated. Each year, they host an annual “Lambda Hill Days” event that brings together members from different states to the state capitol to meet with legislators and advocate for the unique needs of their communities. Being more familiar and comfortable with policy, thanks to my Social Policy II course, as well as COVID-19 necessitating the event taking place online, I decided to leave my comfort zone and apply to be a part of this year’s cohort.

     My class not only instilled a duty to advocate while also making advocacy feel simple and not intimidating, but it also made me realize that this is my right. Legislators work for their constituents, and I am a constituent. The Lambda Hill Days event, along with my sense of duty and the confidence I gained from policy class, allowed me to schedule meetings with my state Senator and House Representative to discuss proposed bills that would impact my clients, communities, and even myself.

     My completion of both the Lambda Hill Days event and my Social Policy II course has influenced my view of social work, advocacy, and what my career as a social worker post-grad should entail. I’m aware that it can become difficult to fulfill the many responsibilities of social work and to function on micro and macro levels. But I’ve come to realize just how important a duty it is. I now feel empowered and confident in policy and will continue to familiarize myself with public policy and politics.

     I no longer see a divide between clinical work and policy. I see the connection and how this connection informs my continued participation in advocacy. I plan to embrace Section 6 of the Code of Ethics , bringing advocacy leadership into the agencies I work for and joining with the clients and communities I serve to elevate their voices from a position of strength and lived experience. Competent social workers advocate for change, and policy is one intervention in all of our toolboxes.  

Gina R. Rosich, PhD, MSW, is Assistant Professor at the University of Saint Joseph Department of Social Work and Equitable Community Practice. She teaches courses in policy history and advocacy, generalist clinical practice, culture, diversity and human rights, and issues impacting LGBTQ+ people.

Shalymar Cruz is an MSW student at the University of Saint Joseph Department of Social Work and Equitable Community Practice. She holds a BA in psychology, human development, and family studies.

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The Case of Social Work Supervision: A Self-Reflection Essay

The profession of social work is challenging and extremely meaningful, as its subjects are humans and their minds, the most complex and complicated of all existing phenomena. The ability to be a successful social worker requires particular personal and professional qualities. They are necessary not only for fulfilling the professional duties but also for the adequate reaction to the critic, which often appears from the side of the social work supervisor.

In this essay, I will analyze my own social worker’s experience of the interaction with the supervisor, where I had to encounter the situation of seemingly wrong assessment of my work. In my view, my professional skills were undervalued, and the proper credit has not been given. In this case, I observed that some personal characteristics helped me to overcome the difficulties, while the other qualities appeared to be less helpful or even harmful. I am going to discuss the result of my observations further.

First of all, I realized that the qualities, helpful in the professional issues I am dealing with, appeared to be so in the described situation. The most important of them are critical thinking skills, tolerance, and the ability to set boundaries. Critical thinking implies the approach where intelligence prevails over emotions, helping to observe the problem more logically and impartially. In my situation, indulging the negative emotions might prevent my understanding of which part of the critique was adequate, and which seemed to be inappropriate.

Further, tolerance helped me to understand the possibility of diverse opinion; so, the excessive criticism of the supervisor might have been a result of his misunderstanding of alternative professional decisions. Ultimately, the supervision in social work is extra-challenging as it makes to think about things that do not have easy answers (Heslop and Meredith). Finally, the ability to set boundaries prevented me from attributing the negative judgment to my personal characteristics, in addition to the professional, and, thus, eliminated overly emotional reactions.

However, such a quality as sensitivity made the situation more dramatic. The ability to respond to the situation and take it close to heart, being highly beneficial in the professional issues, becomes harmful in the described matter of personal concern. In any case, I must conclude that the mentioned case of the supervision provided for me a possibility not only to evaluate my professional skills but to reconsider the ways of interaction with the people and withstand the challenges of life.

Heslop, Philip, and Cathryn Meredith. Social Work: From Assessment to Intervention. SAGE, 2018.

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Essay on Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care

My personal values and principles influence consistently my contribution to work in the health and social care setting.

As for my personal contribution to the support of people experiencing significant life events, I would place emphasis on the fact that I still expect to make a possibly greater contribution because I have a limited experience so far. Nevertheless, I have always been concerned with the adequate fulfilment of my professional duties and the effective help and support being provided for people experiencing difficult and significant life events.

My experience of contribution to the development of my professional skills and abilities but also it was a valuable personal experience. In this regard, I believe my efforts to provide patients counselling services were particularly useful and important. Often clients just needed to have someone to talk to and my listening skills have proved to be very helpful since clients could talk to me and share their problems with me that brought them relief.

At the same time, my culture and experience have had a considerable impact on my support of people experiencing significant life events. For instance, I have the experience of difficult life events in my childhood, when my parents divorced, and that experience has proved to be very helpful for me since I could understand sufferings and psychological conditions of individuals experiencing similar life events.

My cultural values and norms imply that we should provide the support for people in troubles and these cultural norms also contributed to my support of people experiencing significant life events.

On the other hand, I found out that I was still vulnerable to certain biases, when I have just started working with clients. For instance, at first, I believed that people are responsible for their position and success in the life, but, in the course of my work with people experiencing significant life events has changed my attitude and views. To put it more precisely, I have eventually found out that people are not always capable to control what is going on to their life. In this respect, my experience of work with a veteran of the War in Iraq, who has suffered severe injuries and remained disabled, was particularly important for me and change of my values and views. After his return home, he slept to alcoholism, which I still believe was his personal problem to a significant extent, but what occurred to me is the fact that we are also responsible for his degradation because, upon his return back home, he has not got proper health and social care. Moreover, even when I started to work with him, I found out that he is not really confident in me and I understood why. The reason was my very formal approach to the client was my conversation with him. Once, I found him disappointed because of the loss of his favourite football team and that was my favourite team too. Then we started talking in a friendly manner discussing the team and talking about football at large and I immediately noticed the change in the client. He became friendly and more confident in me.

In the course of my work, I found out that my cultural values and norms basically coincide with those of the health and social care environment, where I worked. First of all, I strongly believe that the client’s health and well-being should be the primary concern and the culture of the organisation, where I worked, stands on the ground of the client-centred approach.

Furthermore, I believe that professionals working in the health and social care should take the full responsibility for their actions and the cultural environment, where I worked, made this belief even stronger because I found out how significant actions and decisions of professionals working in the health and social care are.

At the same time, I still keep progressing and focus on my personal and professional development. I expand my knowledge and develop new skills and abilities. In such a situation, I believe new experience and my professional as well as personal development can contribute to the improvement of my professional performance and make my contribution to the support of people experiencing significant life events even larger. For instance, the development of my communication skills has increased the effectiveness of my performance and facilitated my interaction with clients. Now, I am fully aware of the cultural diversity of the organisational environment, where I work, and it helps me to stand on the tolerant ground to avoid offenses or inappropriate behaviour in relation to my clients.

In this regard, I would just suggest several recommendations for improving the support available in health and social care organisations for individuals and their social networks experiencing significant life events. First, I would recommend focusing on the development of the closer interpersonal interaction and relations between health and social care professionals and patients. In this regard, health and social care professionals should know the cultural background of their clients, what their health problem is and what social environment they live in. Second, I would recommend enhancement of the communication and interaction between health care and social care professionals because often communication gaps between them emerge that has a negative impact on the quality of health and social care services.

My work in the health and social care environment was a valuable experience for e because it contributed to my professional as well as personal development. In this regard, my role comprised elements of both health and social care, although I performed functions of a health care professional mainly. However, in the course of my work, I found out that I should not only provide my clients with basic health care services but also with their social support. For instance, some clients needed to talk to me, even if the issues they talked about were irrelevant to their health. Therefore, they rather looked for the social support than for the immediate resolution of their health problems.

My experience of working in the health and social care setting has revealed the fact that some of my skills still need consistent improvements, while those skills I have at the moment have proved to be very helpful for my professional performance and further development.

On analyzing my strengths, I would single out several key strengths that have proved to be particularly helpful in the course of my work in the health and social care setting. First, I have well-developed communication skills, which have proved to be very helpful in the course of my work in the health and social care environment. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that communication skills helped me to establish positive relations with clients and provide them not only with health care but also with counselling service. Second, my theoretical knowledge in health and social care were also important strengths that helped me to perform successfully. My theoretical knowledge laid the ground for the development of practical skills and experience. The enhancement of my professional skills in the course of my work was facilitated by my theoretical knowledge in the field of health and social care.

Essay on Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care part 2

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