# data[].attributes.body
Nicole Hall

My choice of theory to approach client engagement is systems theory. Mezzo and Macro influences are important to highlight in the examination of a client's behavior and history. The conditions and environment a client grew up in contribute to how they think, their values and morals, their outlook on the world, perception of right and wrong, etc. Identifying these would help with correct theoretical approach to maintain engagement.

# data[].attributes.body
Nicole Hall

Client history review is a major first step for me in building rapport. This can occur either prior to meeting the client or during the first encounter. Allowing time for me to learn about reasons they need services, values and goals, cultural values, and any boundaries the client has.

Maintaining engagement involves a few factors. First and ultimately rooted in relationship building (authenticity, non-judgmental). Additionally with knowledge of my role and my scope of practice to demonstrate competency, keeping the conversation structured, identifying theories to engage appropriate interventions, and requesting feedback from supervisor.

# data[].attributes.body
Nicole Hall

The first two weeks at my places included a few changes. There was a major change in management and additional team members hired. This added more members during outreach and increased collaboration with other county departments. However, this was discussed in the previous quarter so I was not surprised. I also have the added task of group supervision with other interns which I have been enjoying so far.

# data[].attributes.body
Nicole Hall

Strengths:

I am pretty good at building relationships with my clients. I utilize active listening to fully engage with them to build a strong rapport. Empathy, authenticity, warmth, respect and positive regard are all present in my client interactions.

I also can redirect a client to a more productive thought process during conversation via reframe and empowerment. I value and require of myself paraphrasing and repeating back to my clients what they've shared to ensure I understand their concerns.

Improvements:

I often have a hard time vocalizing strengths with my own words. Further, I overlook strengths that I feel are minor or are not particularly "special". Therefore, I don't create space for these to thrive. I have a difficult time to identifying accurate affects in clients and what implications this has for a clients mood or presentation. Time management as well.

# data[].attributes.body
One area I would like to work on during Field Education 2 is being more confident in my abilities as a future social worker. I sometimes struggle with confidence when leading individual sessions with residents. Confidence comes with time, but I would like to work on it this quarter. My field instructor and I have been talking about ways to help me increase confidence in my abilities. He has been very helpful and supportive.

# data[].attributes.body
My first 2 weeks at my internship have been going well. I have started completing several tasks more independently. Some of these tasks include writing individual, family, and group session notes. I have also started leading more group discussions with the support of my field instructor.

# data[].attributes.body
Taylor Hoogeterp

My first 2 weeks back have been great. I have been utilizing time management skills. I am also able to use active listening skills when working with my supervisor and clients. I can assess and implement interventions appropriate to the situation. I would like to work on being quicker when working with clients and I know that will come easier as time goes on and I get more comfortable working with them.

# data[].attributes.body
Alexis Harbin

I would like to work on advocating for myself more, ensuring that I am not overworking myself or letting the internship exhaust me, and making sure I remain a priority.

# data[].attributes.body
Alexis Harbin

A theory that helps me engage more effectively with clients is Person-Centered Theory. In client engagement through this theory, the focus is on fostering a nurturing environment where clients feel genuinely appreciated and respected for their individual perspectives and experiences. This involves practicing unconditional positive regard, where clients are accepted without any form of judgment. This approach creates a safe space that encourages clients to openly explore their thoughts and emotions without fear of criticism.

# data[].attributes.body
Alexis Harbin

My first two weeks at my internship have involved experiencing the ins and outs of the agency, attending trainings, and getting into the groove of everything.

# data[].attributes.body
Alexis Harbin When building rapport and maintaining engagement, active listening is crucial. Active listening, along with observing verbal and nonverbal cues, must become integral to the change process for social workers working with clients. This approach allows social workers to truly understand clients' perspectives, enabling better assessment and planning tailored to their needs. Demonstrating empathy and creating a trusting environment are essential components of this process.

To maintain engagement, I use strengths-based approaches. This technique focuses on identifying and leveraging clients' strengths and resources to overcome challenges.

# data[].attributes.body
Clarissa Hebert

While I am competent in understanding and assessing policies, I aim to enhance my ability to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that promote social justice. This quarter, I plan to participate more actively in policy discussions and develop stronger advocacy skills.

# data[].attributes.body
My first two weeks of field placement have been going great. I now have the opportunity to complete intakes on my own, with my field supervisor near by if needed:)

# data[].attributes.body
I would really like to work towards increasing skills with assessing client's needs.

# data[].attributes.body
My first two weeks, there were no surprises. I was able to go deeper into communicating with clients and applying the knowledge I have and continue gaining here with Walen and from my experiences.

# data[].attributes.body
Humanistic theory is one theory that I have considered when working with the clients at the shelter. Humanistic theory focuses on the importance of self-authorization and growth. This is important in understanding an individual's perspective towards where they are towards changing and addressing or meeting their goals. It could also help in assisting the individual towards self-reflecting on the important things and personal strengths towards meeting their individual needs and desires for fulfillment as all humans search for.

# data[].attributes.body
From the skills inventory, I think my strengths point to case conceptualization, relationship building, and accurate attention to affect content and meaning. I have clearly understood the client’s problems and circumstantial elements while facilitating and maintaining engagement with the client. Also, I have demonstrated the ability to establish client-professional relationships while conveying positive warmth, a nonjudgmental attitude, empathy, authenticity, and congruence. Lastly, I have been able to use positive engagement skills, including open-ended questions, summarization, clarification, etc.

I would like to work on developing and maintaining the habit of articulating the case from a theoretical perspective, maintaining structure, focus, and direction of the interview, and demonstrating an understanding of professional and ethical behaviors, responsibilities, relationships, and/or demeanor. Basically, I hope to keep developing and strengthening the necessary skills to grow personally and professionally, explore different social work roles, and demonstrate an understanding of professional and ethical behaviors, responsibilities, relationships, and/or demeanor.

# data[].attributes.body
I have identified a set of theories applicable to the cases I am working on, including domestic violence, which are psychoanalytic theories, social theories of family violence, cognitive of family violence, and behavioral theories. Yet, from these theories, the most common fall within the context of social theories of family violence and cognitive behavior of family violence. Of these two theories associated with family violence, the one I continuously notice is the control theory, where abusers mistreat and abuse families because they are the ones controlling everything at home. According to Walby & Towers (2018), many familiar conflicts arise if one of the parties (usually the abuser) in the relationship needs to feel the power to obtain compliance from the less powerful family members. Abusers attempt to extend control over their victims by gaining and maintaining control over their victims (family members) in the form of isolation, economic abuse, and coercion, among other traits (Walby & Towers, 2018).

Reference:

Walby, S., & Towers, J. (2018). Untangling the concept of coercive control: Theorizing domestic violent crime. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 18(1), 7-28. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895817743541

# data[].attributes.body
One skill I have been using and consider key when building rapport and maintaining engagement is active listening. I think active listening and observing verbal and nonverbal clues must become part of the change process when social workers work with their clients, mainly because they need to listen to understand where clients are coming from and better assess and plan according to their needs.

# data[].attributes.body
For me, these past two weeks have been very extensive, especially this past week 3. Since the beginning of this quarter, I have had the opportunity to start managing cases assigned to me, and I have had the opportunity to use many of the engagement and assessment skills. Particularly this past week, I did my internship for a whole week (I put 40 hrs.) because although I could engage more directly with my clients, it was very extensive and chaotic. I specifically had the opportunity to assess an At-risk client using the Columbia protocol. I must admit that I initially did not feel comfortable using the questions in the Columbia protocol assessment. Still, as I progressed in the safety assessment, which also involved conducting a crisis intervention, I did not doubt that I had to ask questions about suicidal thoughts and behaviors to make sure my client or others were not in danger. Something I noticed is that when I asked my client about any intent to hurt herself or others, she took a couple of minutes and went silent. When I asked my client if she was okay, she said she would never do it and never thought about it. Yet, I believe it was at that point my client realized she needed professional help because she expressed that she needed help to recover her life and stop being the "puppet" of her still husband. The client did not hesitate to ask me for help and I provided her with different resources, including a referral to counseling services and the 988 number with specific instructions, which I also provided in writing. My supervisor supervised my intervention from beginning to end, and she gave me positive feedback.

# data[].attributes.body
Communication is one skill I would assume I have used to help build rapport. Communicating with staff, my supervisor, and the client has been critical. Communicating my needs and developing professional relationships supports building community connections for rapport. A skill I feel that I used to maintain engagement is showing empathy. Showing empathy better supports understanding with the professional relationship and communication.

# data[].attributes.body
My first two weeks at my placement have been great. I have endured a lot of new experiences within child protective services.

One skill to build rapport that I use is active listening. One skill I use to maintain engagement is storytelling.

# data[].attributes.body
This quarter I would like to work on advocating for myself. What I mean by that is asking to go on more detainment's, court etc.

A theory that helps my approach when engaging with clients is Self-Determination Theory. This approach helps with intrinsic motivation and empowering relationships with clients.

# data[].attributes.body
I have been building rapport with a couple of clients who are high in mental health while they are trying to get their mental health stable. I speak clearly so that I understand what I am saying. I try to find out what they are interested in to bring us closer. I am trying to accommodate them the best I can. I am trying to be a good role model using social learning theory. I use my inside voice to talk to them. I always remain calm, don't stand over them, but most importantly, be patient. It has been very challenging for me but I am learning something new every day. I am setting rules and boundaries at the beginning in my groups. I am working on being assertive. My strength is helping people with their needs and concerns.

# data[].attributes.body
I use active listening to build rapport, demonstrate empathy, and create a trusting environment for clients. To maintain engagement, I use strengths-based approaches. This technique identifies and leverages clients' strengths and resources to overcome challenges. By recognizing and building on these strengths, I help clients feel empowered and motivated, which keeps them actively engaged in the therapeutic process.

# data[].attributes.body
Clarissa Hebert

A theory that helps me engage more effectively with clients is Person -Centered Theory. In client engagement through Person-Centered Theory, the focus is on fostering a nurturing environment where clients feel genuinely appreciated and respected for their individual perspectives and experiences. This involves practicing unconditional positive regard, where clients are accepted without any form of judgement. This approach creates a safe space that encourages clients to openly dig into into their thoughts and emotions, knowing they will not face criticism.

# data[].attributes.body
Clarissa Hebert

A skill that use to build rapport with my clients is active listening. Active listening goes beyond mere hearing; it is a holistic approach to comprehending and responding to clients. This approach includes paraphrasing, where the listener rephrases the client's words to ensure mutual understanding and enhance clarity in communication. A skill that I use to maintain engagement is asking open-ended questions. Open-ended questions encourage meaningful dialogue and enable clients to delve deeper into their concerns or aspirations. They stimulate active engagement and encourage reflective thinking, which plays a pivotal role in nurturing understanding and motivation.

# data[].attributes.body
The first 2 weeks have been great so far. As I continue to be there weekly, I am building stronger relationships with the women.

# data[].attributes.body
Identify a theory that helps explain your approach to engaging clients. For example, social learning theory focused on how people learn. You try to model behavior for your clients.

# data[].attributes.body
Identify one skill you use to build rapport and one skill you use to maintain engagement.

# data[].attributes.body
Share what your first two weeks at your placement have been like. Any surprises?

# data[].attributes.body
Review the skills inventory. Describe your strengths and areas you would like to work on this quarter.