Discussion: Social Work History, Mission, And Your Role ✓ Solved

Discussion: Social Work History, Mission, and Your Role. To

Discussion: Social Work History, Mission, and Your Role. To prepare, watch the assigned videos and read Cox, Tice, & Long (2019), Chapter 1: "The Social Work Profession." Post a response addressing the following: Provide an introduction of yourself including: Name; Location; Past social work experience; Reasons for pursuing an MSW. Identify what you learned in this week's learning resources that inspired you most about the social work profession, referring to specific details, stories, or examples. Explain why this inspired you and how what you learned aligns with your own professional goals. Support your post with examples from the course text to demonstrate that you completed the required readings, understand the material, and can apply the concepts.

Paper For Above Instructions

Introduction and Personal Background

Name: Alex Morgan. Location: Seattle, Washington. Past social work experience: two years as a case manager at an emergency youth shelter, one year coordinating volunteer services for a community senior center, and intermittent volunteer advocacy for families navigating child welfare systems. Reasons for pursuing an MSW: to develop advanced clinical skills for trauma-informed practice, to lead family-centered interventions across the lifespan, and to influence policy that improves outcomes for vulnerable children and older adults.

What Inspired Me in This Week’s Learning Resources

The week’s videos and Chapter 1 of Cox, Tice, and Long (2019) collectively reinforced social work’s dual commitments to direct practice and systemic advocacy. Dr. Debbie Rice’s account of working with children, families, and juvenile justice systems highlighted the importance of engaging families alongside youth to produce lasting change (Walden University, 2016). Dr. Donna McElveen’s reflections on aging clients emphasized the growing need for geriatric social work and the rewarding nature of supporting caregivers and seniors facing cognitive and physical decline (Walden University, 2016). The “A Day in the Life” video underscored the profession’s variability and the emotional complexity of front-line practice, showing both the daily unpredictability and the profound rewards of client breakthroughs (Walden University, 2021).

These materials map closely to Cox et al.’s (2019) framing of social work as an advocacy-based profession focused on person-in-environment, strengths-based practice, and social justice. The chapter’s emphasis on combining micro-level interventions with macro-level advocacy clarified how individual client work connects to broader policy influence (Cox et al., 2019).

Why These Elements Were Personally Inspiring

Dr. Rice’s example of working not only with youth but with their whole systems resonated because it mirrors my shelter work, where youth outcomes improved when families and schools were engaged in coordinated plans. The concrete stories—such as youths reconnecting with families after coordinated interventions—made the abstract concept of “systems work” feel tangible and achievable (Walden University, 2016). Similarly, Dr. McElveen’s reminder to not overlook the aging population inspired me because my volunteer work at the senior center revealed service gaps that specialized social work could fill; her encouragement reframed gerontology as an active field of advocacy and clinical opportunity (Walden University, 2016).

The “A Day in the Life” narratives helped normalize the emotional intensity of practice—grief, sudden crises, and the slow arc of client change—offering realistic preparation for resilience and reflective supervision (Walden University, 2021). Cox et al. (2019) reinforced this by discussing professional values and the need for self-awareness and continual learning in ethically complex situations.

Alignment with Professional Goals

My professional goals are to become an MSW-level clinician specializing in family systems and to develop programs bridging youth and elder services—especially in communities where intergenerational households exist. The week’s content supports these goals in three ways:

1. Family-centered practice: Cox et al. (2019) and Dr. Rice both support family-engaged interventions, which align with my aim to design multi-system care plans that involve schools, courts, and caregivers.
2. Geriatric advocacy: Dr. McElveen’s discussion of aging clients confirms a career pathway in gerontological social work; I plan to pursue internships and specialized coursework to build competencies in dementia care and caregiver support (Walden University, 2016).
3. Integration of micro and macro practice: The materials demonstrate how clinical practice informs advocacy (and vice versa). Cox et al. (2019) provide conceptual grounding for translating direct-practice observations into policy proposals—exactly the skill I want to cultivate to address systemic gaps observed in shelter and senior services.

Examples from Course Text and Application of Concepts

Cox et al. (2019) stress the person-in-environment perspective and the ethical duty to pursue social justice. In my shelter work, applying person-in-environment meant coordinating school truancy plans, family mediation, and court advocacy—approaches consistent with the text’s recommended integrated interventions. Cox et al. (2019) also describe advocacy strategies such as coalition building and policy engagement; I plan to leverage those strategies to create cross-sector collaborations linking child welfare and elder care resources in my community.

Practically, I will use strengths-based assessments and evidence-informed trauma interventions (Cox et al., 2019) in clinical sessions with youth while simultaneously documenting systemic barriers—housing instability, lack of caregiver supports—that can be taken to local coalitions. The video examples gave procedural clarity: family meetings, multidisciplinary collaboration, and persistent outreach lead to measurable change (Walden University, 2016; Walden University, 2021).

Conclusion and Next Steps

This week’s resources solidified my commitment to an MSW that blends clinical skill with systemic advocacy. Next steps include pursuing field placements in both child welfare and gerontology, engaging in coursework on policy practice, and seeking mentorship for program development. By integrating the person-in-environment framework (Cox et al., 2019) with the practical examples shown by Drs. Rice and McElveen, I will pursue a career that advances outcomes for both youth and older adults through coordinated, justice-oriented social work practice.

References

• Cox, L. E., Tice, C. J., & Long, D. D. (2019). Introduction to social work: An advocacy-based profession (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
• Walden University. (2016). Why I became a social worker [Video]. Walden University Media Collection.
• Walden University. (2016). Working with children and families: With Dr. Debbie Rice [Video]. Walden University Media Collection.
• Walden University. (2016). Working with aging clients: With Dr. Donna McElveen [Video]. Walden University Media Collection.
• Walden University. (2016). The criminal justice arena: With Dr. Peter Meagher [Video]. Walden University Media Collection.
• Walden University. (2021). A day in the life [Video]. Walden University Media Collection.
• National Association of Social Workers. (2017). NASW Code of Ethics. NASW Press.
• Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2016). Family-centered practice. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau.
• Hooyman, N. R., & Kiyak, H. A. (2016). Social Gerontology: A multidisciplinary perspective (10th ed.). Pearson.
• Pecora, P. J., Kessler, R. C., Williams, J., et al. (2006). Assessing the long-term effects of foster care: Outcomes for youth in care. Child Welfare League of America Research.