Knowing that clients might react negatively to your work with them may cause anxiety, frustration, and even anger. It is inevitable that you will work with a client who expresses anger or disappointme
Self-Disclosure – Post Responses
Knowing that clients might react negatively to your work with them may cause anxiety, frustration, and even anger. It is inevitable that you will work with a client who expresses anger or disappointment over working with you. This does happen in the social work field and is to be expected over time. Understanding how you might react to allegations of incompetence or anger over incomplete goals is essential to managing this type of exchange. While a negative interaction may be justified if either person did not fulfill responsibilities, often it is a result of the client’s personal reaction to the situation. The best response is to use these interactions to build the therapeutic bond and to assist clients in learning more about themselves. Stepping back to analyze why the client is reacting and addressing the concern will help you and the client learn from the experience.
For this Discussion, review the program case study for the Petrakis family.
Respond to the colleagues who suggested a different strategy and suggest different approaches to working with Helen.
Support your responses with specific references to the Learning Resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.
Sando F
RE: Discussion 2 - Week 7
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6111 Week 7 Discussion 2 – Self-Disclosure
In social work practice, one might meet clients who present as hostile, angry, or violent. Any social worker to explore the heights of therapeutic relationships with their clients ought to be prepared to handle such situations with the utmost professionalism. As Helen’s social worker, when she presents with fury and anger and claims that I am to blame for the inconveniences occurring at Magda’s place, I would first take care of my conduct, behavior, and feelings to ensure that the working relationship is maintained. To achieve this, I would stay calm all through as she makes the allegations. I would also listen attentively as Helen could simply be in need to vent feelings or just needs someone to listen to her. Helen is overwhelmed by the various roles and activities that she has to cater for and by displacing her anger towards me, she could be venting herself (Plummer, Makris, & Brocken, 2014a). However, I would let her know that there is no point in blaming any other person for the wrongs that Alec is committing, other than himself. I would also communicate to Helen about the need for rehabilitating Alec through correctional facilities because he has committed criminal offenses. It not addressed, Alec’s issue might move from bad to worse.
At the moment Helen is accusing me, I would feel dissipated and angry. All through her profanity and yells, I would maintain calmness as it would help manage the situation. In essence, showing a calm demeanor creates an atmosphere of comfort and safety, which is key to making the client relax. In addition to maintaining calmness, I would remind Helen that I am there to offer help and I am acting in the best of her interest and people involved in her life.
According to McTighe (2011), social workers should apply disclosures in their therapeutic sessions to normalize, validate, and to offer alternative ways to view things. In an attempt to validate her displacement of anger towards me, I would tell her that when angry, sometimes I find myself blaming other people. However, blaming others for my distress does not help as I continue to suffer. I would tell her that even if I gave her some advice on letting Alec live with his grandmother, she should have shared with me that he is struggling with drug addiction. Not only would this enable us to explore other possible alternatives, but we would also look for ways to help Alec.
McTighe, J. P. (2011). Teaching the use of self through the process of clinical supervision. Clinical Social Work Journal, 39(3), 301-307.
Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014a). Sessions: case histories. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].
The Petrakis Family (pp. 20-22)
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Ashley H
RE: Discussion 2 - Week 7
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Addressing anger and accusations:
Geller and Greenberg (2012) stated, "...it can be more challenging to rely on one's self and the deepest strata of one's being to facilitate a response or choose a technique in resonance with what is most poignant for the client in the moment than to rely on a therapy plan or a particular technique" (pg. 143). Addressing Helen's anger and accusations in that moment would require being self-aware and addressing an counter transference reactions that may arise internally. It would be critical to not respond with reactive emotions, but rather in a way that validates her feelings and then unearth and discuss the underlying factors that may have contributed to the deflection of feelings. Geller and Greenberg (2012) also discussed that if we are taken by surprise by feelings such as a sense of incompetence or frustration, agility in recognizing where that feeling came from must be developed as well as the ability to move back to the awareness of the situation and becoming more grounded. I would remain professional and talk through the feelings she has and then utilize clinical supervision to discuss alternative it could have been handled.
Feelings and professional demeanor:
In that moment I would feel that I was inadequate or not competent enough to be working her case as she had previously congratulated me on working to advance my career, but then stated she does not feel that I am capable of doing the job (Plummer, Makris, & Brocksen, 2014a). To maintain professionalism, I would reassure her again that I work closely with my supervisor who oversees my work, but that I also acknowledge how she feels and can understand it from her point of view. Geller and Greenberg (2012) discussed that a challenge in these situations is to not create distance in which the client shuts down or closes up, but to also not get enmeshed. I would remain empathetic to Helen's situation and allow her to begin to work through her feelings and emotions.
Use of self-disclosure:
Using self-disclosure as a strategy with Helen can work to facilitate trust. Raines (1996) discussed that to fully experience the client and relate to them requires a social worker to disclose themselves as a person as to not be detached, passive, or hidden therefore making self-disclosure integral to the therapeutic process. To fully understand Helen, self-disclosure may be necessary in order to gain her full trust and have effective communication so that interventions can be developed appropriately and implemented to the best ability.
Resources:
Geller, S. M., & Greenberg, L. S. (2012). Challenges to therapeutic presence. In Therapeutic presence: A mindful approach to effective therapy (pp. 143-159). American Psychological Association.
Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014a). Sessions: case histories. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].
Raines, J. C. (1996). Self-Disclosure in Clinical Social Work. Clinical Social Work Journal, 24(4), 357-375.
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Kayla C
Discussion 2 - Week 7
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Addressing Helen’s Anger and Accusation
Helen presents to the appointment agitate and overwhelmed, which essentially turned into her being angry and accusing the social work intern of giving her guidance and support that did not have her desired outcome and questioning her about her age and competence to do this particular job (Plummer, Makris, & Brocksen, 2014). Many times individuals are in their most vulnerable state when seeking services due to the thought process of “it might get better before it gets worse” or “I can handle it on my own” but end up being in over their head with emotions and feelings where they are looking for instant gratification and a quick fix. With that, when addressing Helen’s anger and accusations, I would validate her emotions and feelings as she has every right to be angry and frustrated, remind her that this is a safe place to talk about her challenges and concerns, and that myself, as the social work intern, were there to support her to the best of my ability, that this is a collaborative effort to meet her desires and needs, and also that change, desires, and needs being met is a process.
Maintaining Professionalism
At that moment when working with Helen, I would most likely want to feel as if I were not skilled or proficient enough to address this case or situation with Helen. Naturally, I am a non-confrontational individual where a situation like so would make me feel uncomfortable and left in a state of not knowing what to do or say next to help better the situation, but I would also realize she is also going through a difficult time where if I did not address this case or situation in an appropriate or professional manner, it may further escalate the situation or negatively affect her and her ability and trust to seek services in the future. Therefore, I would have to remain calm and understand this is not a personal attack towards me but it is a reaction caused by pressure and stress and to maintain a professional demeanor, I would revert back to the basics when it comes to the social work practice skills I have learned. First and foremost, Helen may have reacted the way she did because of the instant physical tension the social work intern gave off as portrayed through her body positioning and facial expression (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2012). Instead of the social worker giving off these physical cues of defense and distress, the social worker intern should have utilized skills of active listening, eye contact, empathy, genuineness, and warmth. With the social work intern using these skills, she could have collected more information about what the client was saying and give herself more time to respond in a way where she modeled emotional regulation herself. Furthermore, modeling emotional regulation would allow the social work intern the opportunity to assist in the further clarification, simple encouragement, and self-determination in a manner that is receptive and create an environment of calmness, safety, and trust for the client to feed off of that also reflects developing win-win-outcomes, conflict resolution, and problem-solving (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2012). Two additional social work practice skills that Kirst-Ashman & Hull (2012) interpret to be highly beneficial are consultation and supervision. Therefore, the last step I would take, as a social worker, to maintain a professional demeanor would be to consult with my supervisor to create open communication to enhance learning opportunities and gain experience and insight in regard to this situation. Furthermore, consulting with my supervisor about this situation will also act as a preventative measure in future situations that may or may not happen and present similarly.
Utilization of Self-Disclosure
According to Knight (2012) self-disclosure remains one of the most controversial and misunderstood aspects of social work practice as each social worker has their point of view on the topic of whether the implementation is a mistake or therapeutic. However, self-disclosure has many levels that may consist of stating personal information to assist in compassion and empathy towards the client’s situation or when specifically working with Helen stating, “I can understand you are angry and frustrated with your current position and situation” or “I understand you are going through a lot right now.” In working with Helen, it is apparent that her state of being when it comes to her emotional regulation is not controlled. Therefore, utilizing self-disclosure strategies in this instance must be used with intent to benefit Helen’s position rather than used to help or justify the social work intern’s position. With that, as a social worker, I might not utilize self-disclosure right away but rather I would focus on Helen’s ability to regulate her emotions, have her feel challenges and concerns are being heard, and use my words carefully by saying, “I am hearing that you are angry and frustrated” rather than using words such as “I understand” at this point. Helen is already angry and frustrated about the social work intern's guidance given and does not portray her as competent due to her age where if the social work intern utilizes self-disclosure appropriately and intently, Helen may become more defensive than she already is.
References
Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hull, G. H., Jr. (2012). Understanding generalist practice (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks Cole.
Knight, C. (2012). Social workers’ attitudes towards and engagement in self-disclosure. Clinical Social Work Journal, 40(3), 297-306.
Plummer, S. -B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Sessions: case histories. Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader]. The Petrakis Family (pp. 20-22).
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