SWK 5004 Week 10 Assignment 2

SWK 5004 Week 10 Assignment 2

 

Student Name

Capella University

SWK5004 Micro Social Work Practice

Professor Name

Submission Date

 

Introduction

The Week 10 role play on terminating the helping relationship was a valuable experience in practicing the process of structurally, strengths-based, and culturally responsive termination of the helping relationship. The case study of the Santos Family allowed me an opportunity to focus on this matter with great attention as it was necessary to pay attention to the past experiences of trauma, cultural competence, emotional responses towards the end of the services, and responsibilities related to the end of clinical practice.

This reflection offers a summary of the things I learned as a social worker, a client, and an observer, the skills that I practiced and which I am continuing to develop, and how I can incorporate an anti-oppressive practice approach in the future.

Reflection on What I Learned in the Role of the Social Worker

In my role as a social worker, I was able to understand that termination was a crucial clinical process and not a procedural process. Termination is the understanding that the client has made progress and how to use emotional response and reinforcement ability to keep progressing (Lee et al., 2021).

In the case of the Santos Family, I knew of the effects of trauma and distrust of Maria toward the authority figures. Cultural humility was required not to assume the adequacy of termination, but to explore, in a collaborative manner, her comfort level and issues. I also got to know how to summarize goals in a clear and strengths-based style so that the family did not feel disenfranchised.

Reflection on What I Learned in the Role of the Client

In assuming the role of the client, I was able to have a deeper understanding of how termination can be emotionally complicated as it is emotionally charged, in particular, when an individual has a history of instability or lack of trust in systems (Oliveira et al., 2021). In the case of Maria Santos, there was a sense of hesitation, fear of losing support, and uncertainty on how to deal with new challenges without the support.

I also learned that it is imperative that social workers should normalise such reactions and offer clients an opportunity to talk without interrupting them. Experiencing the helplessness of the client position, I learnt better about the possibilities of the perception of power dynamics, the necessity of maintaining the sense of dignity, autonomy, and emotional safety in the process of termination.

Reflection on What I Learned in the Role of the Observer

The role-play observation provided another way of looking at learning. I observed instances in which the social worker was able to make use of the power of paraphrasing, warmth, and cultural responsiveness. I also made notes about places of further deepening questions or emotional thought that would have helped to build on the conversation (Krumer-nevo, 2022).

I also learned as an observer how vital timely, tonal, and nonverbal communication is, which can be easily lost in the dialogue. The observation enabled me to gain an understanding of how much a slight change in the language or pacing can make the termination process dramatically better in regard to the rapport and comfort of the client.

Identification of Two Skills Acquired This Week and How I Applied Them

Skill 1: Strengths-based summing up in termination

I used this ability by emphasizing the strength of Maria, the success of Jose in school, and the fact that the family was on a path towards safety and stability. Stressing the strengths facilitated their own feelings of competence to the necessary degree needed to make a healthy transition.

Skill 2: Embarking on Cultural Humility and Joint Planning

The cultural humility principles that I used include the knowledge that Maria had had bad experiences with social systems in the past and the collaborative nature of goal setting. I avoided the prescription of next steps and instead enabled her to find what seemed manageable and supportive to reduce the power imbalances and enhance her interest.

Two Competencies That I am Developing and Still Improving

Skill 1: Emotional resistance to termination

And there are those clients who become scared, sad, or withdrawn at the end of services. I am yet to become a better person who is able to deal with these reactions directly without rushing towards a solution (Zagona & Kurth, 2025). I want to develop my skill of holding the complexity of emotions, and still holding order.

Skill 2: Expanding on reflective questioning

Although I have used good open-ended questions, I will need to develop more complex reflective questions that help a client get to a deeper emotional meaning. This skill will help the clients better process the transition and incorporate lessons that were learned throughout the helping relationship (Zagona & Kurth, 2025).

Anti-Oppressive Practice Approach and How I Used These Skills

It was essential to use an anti-oppressive framework as it was a way of identifying that power, trauma, cultural identity, and systemic inequalities influenced the experiences of the Santos Family. The presence of mistrust towards the government and prior experiences of Maria with social workers meant that she needed to have a non-judgmental approach to the case, sensitivity, and knowledge of how social work institutions may inadvertently redress the harm (Zagona & Kurth, 2025).

I used anti-oppressive practice in several ways:

• Systematizing the lived experiences rather than underappreciating the harm inflicted in the past.
• Minimization of the power disparities through making Maria the lead in discussing the goals and next steps.
• The positive attributes are congratulated instead of focusing on the negative aspects or crises.
• Applying culturally responsive communication, mainly because Maria is both bilingual and an immigrant.
• Promoting independence, reminding Maria that she has the right to support, and it should not be against her preferences and the needs of her family.
• The learning throughout the week also helped me to learn how termination may have the potential to reinforce or to disrupt oppressive relations (Weinberg & Adler, 2024). I could have tried to ensure that Maria and her strengths are respected in the process to promote strengths-based practice and client-led decision-making by using cultural humility.

Conclusion

The termination role-plays this week were a great learning experience and reinforcement of my understanding of the effective, ethical, and culturally responsive social work practices. The performances of the worker, client, and observer gave me a wide picture of the emotional, relationship, and structural complexity of service termination.

I have gained new competencies in strengths-based summarizing and cultural humility, and realized the areas of future learning, like working with emotional resistance and furthering reflexive questioning. The theory of anti-oppressive practice informed my practice, and I knew how to create the conditions of dignity, empowerment, and trust when ending a client, especially when they have a history of trauma and systemic inequalities, like the Santos Family.

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