Discuss why self-awareness is important for social workers.

Paper Details
Over the course of the semester, you have participated in 45 hours of service learning. In addition, we have discussed the information below in an effort to begin to develop our professional selves. This paper asks you to reflect on your learning in all of these areas.

You are to refer to and cite specific information from your lecture notes as well as assigned articles and videos in your responses for parts 1 – 4.

Papers are to be 7 to 8 pages, double-spaced, in 12-point font. This does not include a cover page or reference page.

Intrapersonal Competencies Interpersonal Competencies

Self-Awareness
Emotional Self-Awareness
Awareness of Personal Values and Biases
Accurate Self-Assessment
Social Awareness
Empathy

Self-Management
Self-Observation
Authenticity
Boundaries
Professional Relationship Management
Communication
Conflict

Part 1: Self-Awareness (5 Points)
A. Discuss why self-awareness is important for social workers.
B. The ability to recognize and regulate our emotions is an important skill for a social worker. Discuss what you learned about recognizing and regulating your emotions.
C. Discuss what is meant by unconscious bias.
D. Discuss any unconscious biases you have been able to recognize in yourself this semester

Part 2: Social Awareness (5 Points)
A. Describe what is meant by empathy, including the three types of empathy reviewed in class.
B. Discuss the four barriers to connecting empathetically with others as reviewed in class. Describe which of these you believe may be the biggest barrier for you in connecting with clients.

Part 3: Self-Management (5 Points)
A. Discuss what is meant by authenticity and describe why it is often difficult to be authentic.
B. Describe the role of boundaries in professional social work practice as well as why they are so important.
C. Discuss areas where you may need to strengthen your professional boundaries and describe strategies you may utilize to do so.

Part 4: Professional Relationship Management (5 Points)
A. Describe your communication skills. Do you tend to be a passive, aggressive, or assertive communicator?
B. Discuss the strengths of your communication style and what you see as areas of growth in your communication
C. Describe your comfort level in managing conflict.
D. Review strategies you can employ to deal successfully with conflict as a social worker

Part 5: Service-Learning Reflection (5 Points)
A. Describe your service-learning experience, including what types of tasks you participated in
B. Discuss three things you learned about yourself in your service-learning experience
C. Discuss three things you learned about social work from your service-learning experience

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