MSW 550 JOURNAL

Chamberlain University MSW 550 Field Journal

Name: Jacinda Washington

Date: July 6, 2020

Site: Springville Community Mental Health Center

Include what happened, how you feel about it, what thoughts are behind your feelings, what values are at stake, what you can learn from the experience, and what you plan to do.

What happened: My client RB no-showed for the second time. I tried to leave him a message but his voicemail isn’t set up. My supervisor recommended that I send him a letter according to agency policy, saying that if he no-shows again he will go back on the waiting list. I said I would, but I haven’t done it yet.

How I feel about it: I feel conflicted, frustrated, and anxious.

What thoughts are behind my feelings: I want to follow agency policy, but I believe this client is struggling with a lot of depression and cutting him off now will only make it worse. That letter is pretty formal, and he doesn’t respond well to formality – the criminal justice system has yanked him around a lot. On the other hand, if I don’t set boundaries he might just come and go and not get much out of our work together. I’m new to this agency and I want to make a good impression, not start questioning my supervisor right from the get-go. I also know that RB reminds me of my younger brother, so it might be hard for me to be objective. When I left home to go to college my brother felt abandoned, and he went off the rails for a while without my support. I’m afraid to do that to anyone else.

What values are at stake: My deepest value is to create genuine relationships with people who have been treated inhumanly. I guess the other value is to hold people responsible for their actions. So I have to find a way to put those together.

What I can learn: Lots of things. I need to let go of my guilt about my brother. If I hadn’t gone to college, I would have resented him, and I wouldn’t be in the position I am now to help many more people. He did eventually straighten himself out without much help from me. I also need to watch out that I don’t see this as the client’s needs versus the agency policy. The policy is there for a reason and if I just ignore it, I won’t be earning my supervisor’s trust and I won’t be helping my client own his choices. At the same time, I’m learning what it means to be an advocate. There are shades of gray, and I can see my supervisor as a resource to figure this out instead on an authority figure.

What I plan to do: I’m just going to share all this with my supervisor. She will appreciate that I’ve given it a lot of thought. If I do get the opportunity to talk with RB about this, instead of trying to solve the problem for him, I’m going to use Motivational interviewing and see how important getting my help is to him, and how he can motivate himself to show up. I might also ask him if he has a friend or family member that can help, since he tends to isolate.