Have a great break! Rember, no class in-person class this week.

Unit Introduction and What You Will Learn

Due to the Thanksgiving Holidays, we do not have an in-person class this week, and our focus is on introspection about our personal growth and development. We have spent the rest of the semester discussing how we can support, affect change, and understand our client’s needs. This week, I want us to turn inward and consider how we do that for ourselves. The following are the objectives I have for you this week.

• Be introduced to the concept of the Wounded healer
• Consider gratitude as a type of self-care
• Consider what you can do to enhance your personal growth as you go through school

Unit Assignments

Read/Watch

• Read Newcomb et al. (2015) and O’Connell et al. (2018)
• Watch Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell. (2019)

A-01: Class Participation and Engagement

For week 14, we are just having class online this week and I am giving you the opportunity to respond in a couple of forums. My hope and expectation is that you spend some time being introspective this week and write about it. There are three forums open for you to participate in, you don’t have to write in all three of them, but you are to post at least two replies across any of the three of the forums (feel free to post more if you are interested). The following are the three forums:

• First, there is a forum to be able to your own personal development and education and what are things that you have done or want to do to improve yourself.
• Second, is a forum to discuss the reading and concept of considering the wounded healer and practice
• Finally, there is a forum regarding taking on perspective of gratitude

Your posts are due by 8am on Monday 12/02/24

A-05: Extra Credit Assignment Options

I offer students two different opportunities for extra credit. The first is a shorter assignment for evaluating your own communication style and use of empathetic conversation through a reflective paper. The second is a more intensive research paper looking into evidence-based assessment practices or generalist practice intervention for social workers. These assignments are extra credit and not mandatory.

Assignment 5a: [Extra Credit] Empathetic Communication Self-Evaluation Reflective Paper

Meta: Points 20 pts (5% of total grade in extra credit); Deadline Monday 12/02/24 by 08:00 AM; Completion via My Heritage Assignments as a file upload. Locations MyHeritage Assignment, Syllabus Assignment Handout

Purpose: The Empathetic Communication Self-Evaluation Reflective Paper provides an avenue for students to self-reflect regarding their communication style and the amount of empathetic communication they participate in.

Task: Students will write a reflective paper of 500 to 750 words. They will consider their use of empathic language in daily life and how to be more empathic.

• Report on what your communication patterns are.
• Discuss what empathetic communication patterns look like.
• Plan for what you can to improve your empathetic communication.

Success: Students will submit a paper demonstrating strong academic writing and self-reflective skills. Essays are graded according to the Reflective Paper Rubric. Feedback will be provided, and final grades are due by the instructor no later than 12/18/24 at 5:00 PM.

Assignment 5: Extra Credit Assignment Options

I offer students two different opportunities for extra credit. The first is a shorter assignment that evaluates one’s own communication style and use of empathetic conversation through a reflective paper. The second is a more intensive research paper that looks into evidence-based assessment practices or generalist practice interventions for social workers. These assignments are extra credit and not mandatory.

Assignment 5b: [Extra Credit] Evidence-Based Practice for Assessments or Generalist Practice

Meta: Points 40 pts (10% of total grade in extra credit); Deadline Monday 12/02/24 by 08:00 AM; Completion via My Heritage Assignments as a file upload; Locations MyHeritage Assignment, Syllabus Assignment Handout

Purpose: The Evidence-Based Practice for Assessments or Generalist Practice Paper allows students to dive into the literature on social work best practices for engaging with individuals. This task enables students to demonstrate knowledge of practice behaviors they will need as future social workers.

Task: This paper reviews an evidence-based assessment practice or generalist practice intervention for social workers. Students will write the report in APA format regarding strong academic writing and proper formatting. The paper will include an introduction, a history of the given assessment or intervention, a description of the implementation of the intervention, and the strengths and limitations of either the research or the intervention itself. The paper should be approximately 1,250 to 1,500 words in length. An abstract is not necessary for this paper but may be included.

Success: Students will submit a paper demonstrating academic skills describing research found in peer-reviewed journal articles. They will be able to demonstrate scientific writing skills. Grades will be assessed using the APA Research Paper Rubric. Feedback will be provided with final grades due by the instructor by 12/18/24 at 5:00 PM.

Unit Resources

In thinking about being introspective, I want students to consider gratitude. There is a powerful YouTube video that I am including as an assignment this week by Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell, titled An Antidote to Dissatisfaction.

There are to journal articles I have provided as handouts for you to read. First is O’Connell et al. (2018) that can provide some good context to the use of gratitude in a counseling setting. The second is related to Jung’s concept of the wounded healer and how it can provide insight and guidance in the impact that coming into social work as a wounded healer can have (Newcomb et al., 2015).

Make sure you have a wonderful break.

To-Do Lists

• Read Newcomb et al. (2015) and O’Connell et al. (2018).
• Watch Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell. (2019)
• Post at least two replies across any of the forums
• Optionally submit extra credit assignments