Index: L2 / Residential Services for Psychiatric Disability / People with Special Needs / Learning Contract / 17480691
Keywords: Professional and staff roles / knowledge and skills in case and group work / knowledge of clients / testing out theories in practice / self-development
Abstract: This is a learning contract prepared by a 2nd placement student. The student is placed in a hostel for people with mental handicap. The first section of the learning contract spells out the student's four broad interest areas of learning, namely, acquiring knowledge of people with a mental handicap; achieving stronger integration of classroom learning and fieldwork placement; learning to become a professional social worker; and achieving personal development. These are presented in the form of learning objectives, activities to do and assistance from the fieldwork instructor in order to achieve the set objectives. The remaining sections comprise the placement requirements set out by the university and the agency. These include the university's placement requirements such as the length of the placement, the structured tasks, the supervision arrangement, the assessment and the agency requirements. The student has also included in her learning contract a summary of the workload to be undertaken.
In this placement, I plan to understand the following aspects about the mentally handicapped people both at a conceptual and real life level.
As I have little knowledge about the mentally handicapped people, I want to know the definition of this group of people in Hong Kong. I also want to know more about their individual and common characteristics, such as their physical and mental characteristics, life-styles and interpersonal relationship.
Through the contacts with the mentally handicapped people, I hope to know more about their needs and problems at a personal level as well as a group. In order to have a better communication with them, I need to sharpen my verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
At a broader level, I need to know about the existing training and services for the mentally handicapped people in Hong Kong. On the other hand, the society's norms, attitudes and policies toward them are also focused.
(In conjunction with this objective, the student may be encouraged to think about the term she has used to describe this client group. Some terms have a labeling effect and they also indicate different perceptions of the client group and ways of relating to them and their disabilities. For instance, the 'mentally handicapped people' seems to imply that these clients are 'as a whole' -- the handicapped; while the term 'people with mental handicap' signifies that the mental handicap is just a part of the individual and the importance of seeing the individual as a person in the foremost.)
In order to achieve the above objectives, I need to find out the information, statistical data and policies on the mentally handicapped people in Hong Kong. Library research is also needed. I can read books, references, journals or watch videotapes about the mentally handicapped people.
I believe that through the actual contacts with the mentally handicapped people, I can know more about them directly. Also, I can observe the staffs' communication skills with the target group.
At last, I plan to visit some relevant agencies or government departments in order to know more about the service provision for the mentally handicapped people.
I hope the fieldwork instructor can discuss the information and knowledge that I have acquired from the library research with me. Also, I hope she can provide advice and share her experiences about communicating with the target clients.
In this placement, I want to apply some social work theories, models, methods or skills in casework, group work and mass program. I especially want to practice and test the Behavioural Therapy in this placement setting because many of the target clients are experiencing some behavioural or emotional problems.
Also, the use of individual counseling with the mentally handicapped people is also emphasized. It is also important for me to learn the planning, implementation, evaluation and termination tasks for group work and mass program.
In order to achieve the above objectives, I need to review relevant social casework or group work literatures (especially the Behavioural Therapy). The review of related agency reports, records or recordings is also useful.
For casework, I must understand more about the clients' individual and common needs and problems. The exploration of their ecosystems, such as neighbors, families and friends, is also important for my intervention.
For group work, I must know more about the clients' physical and intellectual abilities before the planning of group contents.
I hope my fieldwork instructor can give advice and comment on my application of social work theories, models, methods or skills. I also hope I can share the case development, ideas of group work and mass program with her.
I hope I can learn how to act as a professional social worker in a placement setting. For example, I need to obey the Code of Ethics and the rules of the agency.
In order to act as a professional social worker, I need to know more about the Code of Ethics and the rules of the agency at first. Also, I must obey the above items in any situations.
I hope my fieldwork instructor can advice me on the above issues if necessary.
As I am quite passive in nature, I hope I can be more active and independent in this second placement. I need to handle the placement work independently without a field partner this time.
In order to achieve the above objectives, I need to push myself to be more active and independent in different situations. I can seek help from the agency's staff, fieldwork instructor or classmates if necessary. I also believe it is advisable for me to have better preparation for my work.
I hope my fieldwork instructor can share her views with me if necessary.
This placement will last for a total of 51 days (17 weeks). I will inform the fieldwork instructor and agency for any compensation leave, time off, sick leave, etc.
The agency has three work shifts: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.; and 9:45 p.m. to 9: 00 a.m. There is no special requirement on my choices of the shifts.
As I am working in a hostel setting, it is more useful for me to work in the evening shift. So, I plan to have two days of evening shift and one day of day shift per week.
There are some special rules and procedures of the agency that I will follow. For instance, I will need to hand in my work timetable half a month in advance and I also need to write down messages in the agency's daily log if necessary.
I need to hand in all the structured tasks as required in this placement (to refer to the fieldwork handbook).
I will have my supervision session once a week. It can be in the form of individual or group session. The individual supervision is needed if I want to discuss some private issues with my fieldwork instructor. The group supervision can also provide us with the opportunity to share our placement experiences and learn from each other.So, the duration of the supervision will depend on the types of supervision.
As a student, I need to hand in my assignments at least three days before the supervision session. I also need to prepare well on the issues that I wish to discuss with my fieldwork instructor.
I hope my fieldwork instructor can read my submitted assignments and give comments on my work. I also hope she can share her views and experiences with me. The emotional support from her is also preferable.
I would arrange the dates of mid-placement and final placement evaluation with my fieldwork instructor. The above dates will depend on when I can start working on the placement tasks.
In this placement, my tentative workload would consist of three cases, one group and one mass program.
Up to now, I have taken up two cases. I am mainly working on clients?behavioural and emotional problems.
For the first case, I have observed that the client has exhibited inappropriate interaction patterns with others. For example, in order to attract others?attention, he will speak in a loud voice or repeat the same messages many times. From my observation, the above behaviour annoys others a great deal. So, I hope to work with his inappropriate interaction patterns mainly with the application of Behavioural Therapy.
For the second case, it is assessed that the client has suffered from a low degree of life satisfaction. As mention by the staff, the client shows low interest in the things around her. From my initial observation, she will lower her head, close her eyes for a long period of time or refuse to have her meals. So, I plan to work mainly on her degree of life satisfaction.
I plan to organize a sex education group for the mentally handicapped people in this placement. Through the group, I hope to introduce some selected sex topics to the target members. As they have difficulties in understanding some complex concepts and terms about sex, I will plan the group in a way that is more activity-oriented and practical. For example, I will use plenty of audio-visual aids in order to bring out the messages. The details of the group objectives and contents will be written up in the group proposal to be submitted later.
I plan to organize a sharing session with the staff to share my experience on running the sex education group. Apart from my presentation, I will also emphasize on the mutual sharing on the issues of sex and the mentally handicapped people.
Written and revised by: 17480691 (Student)
Instructor: Mary Cheung
Copy Edited by: Phyllis Chee
Commented by: Phyllis Chee
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