Professional Portfolio SOWK14005 Assessment 3

Reflexive Practice Week 10

Effective communication skills are an essential component of social work, it is required that social workers are capable of combining being both ‘sensitive and purposeful’ (Boswell 1997, cited in Trevithick 2000, p53) with the capacity to recognise the uncertainty that is inherent in looking into another person’s world. These skills involve being able to communicate with a range of diverse people with differing levels of comprehension, some of these people are professionals such as magistrates, doctors, solicitors, with others being placed at the lower end of the socio economic scale often struggling to survive.  Similar to the social workers Trevithick (2000, p. 53) describes I too feel more comfortable talking to service users than people in senior positions. This is pointed out as a valuable reminder that some service users can feel intimidated in relation to us as professionals, and that we need to ensure that when using skills such as assertive communication we are empathetic towards others using language and terminology that is suited to their age and developmental status. By reflecting on my personal ability I understand that to advocate on behalf of clients to other professionals then I need to continue to practice and develop assertive communication skills.

Reference

Trevithick, P 2000, Social work skills a practice handbook, Open University Press, Buckingham