After the celebrations.

"Let the work begin!" or something along those lines. Christmas followed by new year, closely followed by my birthday and then the first day of work that earns me an income. The beginning of 2012 has been punctuated by celebrations, get together's with friends not seen in many months, catching up with friends who are no longer in the country but having holidays and of course daring to look at the study schedule for the year ahead. Reality bites and really hard at that. While I do not have a full course load - discretion got the better part of valour on that one as well as financial constraints - it does seem as if I have a full time study schedule! Besides 5 exams there are 13 contact sessions with lecturer's and supervisors for 3rd level social work. For me this is a sure indicator of the practical nature of social work studies and something that a distance learning university has taken to heart in finding ways for their students to get to grips with the practical nature of applying the theoretical knowledge. I am fortunate enough to live within driving distance of a learning centre, but I imagine that other students will either have to make use of public transport or even get to the city to stay with friends and family to attend the compulsory workshops and supervision sessions. For me this year is definitely a shift from the reading of texts and writing essays to the actual implementation of the social work skills and being able to effectively show these skills during the sessions. So, roll on process notes, genograms, putting feelings into words, justifying certain ways of being or interacting in role plays and workshops.

"A genogram (also known as a McGoldrick-Gerson study^[1] or a Lapidus Schematic^[1]) is a pictorial display of a person's family relationships and medical history. It goes beyond a traditional family tree by allowing the user to visualize hereditary patterns and psychological factors that punctuate relationships.^[1] It can be used to identify repetitive patterns of behavior and to recognize hereditary tendencies.^[2]

Genograms were first developed and popularized in clinical settings by Monica McGoldrick and Randy Gerson through the publication of a book titled Genograms: Assessment and Intervention in 1985. Genograms are now used by various groups of people in a variety of fields such as medicine, psychiatry, psychology, social work, genetic research, education, and many more. Some practitioners in personal and family therapy use genograms for personal records and/ or to explain family dynamics to the client. Few if any genealogists use them.^{[3] "}

 ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genogram}

A New Year and New Challenges

With the beginning of a new year and looking back at the challenges that were taken up during 2011, I am both grateful and amazed. Grateful for the opportunity to work and study and amazed that despite financial difficulties and some health problems, 2011 has been a successful year.

Usually my position economically is starkly contrasted with the 40% of South Africans who have no formal work opportunities and for who everyday is a matter of getting food on the table. But 2011 certainly brought the rest of the world and especially Europe and North America into the limelight with financial woes and crises of their own. The impact of higher joblessness on these continents is already being seen with reports of higher numbers of homeless making the news. I would imagine that this crisis might see an increased need for social services at these troubled times and have lasting impact on families and individuals around the world.

Going into 2012, my wish is for those in the helping profession to continue to practise the values that form the basis of this work and to keep the faith in a world that at times may seem too much to bear with the pain and the suffering encountered everyday.

To end is a poem on the change of year:

"How beautiful the turning of the year!
A moment artificial yet profound:
Point upon an arbitrary chart
Passing like a breath upon the heart,
Yearning with anticipation wound,
New hope new harbored in old-fashioned cheer.
Even when the boundary line is clear,
We recognize the oneness of the ground.
Years, like circles, do not end or start
Except we lay across their truth our art,
Adjusting dates as they go round and round
Revolving to a tune long sung and dear." 

Turlough O'Carolan

"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence." Aristotle.

I have a portfolio at work that requires an attitude towards life and people in particular. I am not about to change my name to "happy", but it does start to get complicated when people ask what department I am in and I have to reply "happiness" or when the agenda for team meeting asks for the happiness report. It could read something like this...

"Many people have been involved in making the daily lives of the residents much happier. The craft club got off to a roaring start with a breakfast at the centre. All the residents who are getting ready to make items for sale at the Christmas markets were involved. A Bingo morning was run by volunteers with lots of spot prizes and was enjoyed by many of the residents and this resulted in a games morning being set up with card games and board games.

The Rugby World Cup opening ceremony and all the Springbok pool games were shown on a big screen at the centre and hot dogs and tea and coffee were served."

So with that in mind how do residents in a setting for those who are in their older years go about pursuing happiness? I am of the opinion that those who have a reason to get up in the mornings and have regular contact with others in their house or community enjoy a happier life than those who are secluded or hidden away from sight. The beauty of independent living in a community is that life is far more extensive than the confines of the room or house but includes trips to the library or the clinic or just to have tea and play a few games of cards with music in the background at the community centre.

In hindsight I have never been happier as I am now working with a human attitude as an objective as opposed to those targets that are financially driven or related to statistics. These do play a role in reporting in order to ascertain whether the programme is having an effect and maybe sometime soon I will come across a measurement tool to assess happiness.

Translating theory into practice...

So now I have this new job that I was looking for... Now what. It is very easy to talk the talk but now its time to walk the walk. Not on my beloved mountain here at the southern tip of Africa but in the day to day walk at work. I know a lot, I have been studying for 4 years, ok, so maybe I have also forgotten a lot. But I look forward to the challenge of starting to be able to put into practice all those ideas and ways of being that are described so well in the textbooks and that I have spent hours putting into assignments that test my knowledge.

So where in actual fact do I begin. I think Carl Rogers four conditions for being person centred come into play here. Congruence, empathy, respect and unconditional positive regard. What a way to be with people! So there are also times when I might feel a bit stressed and having to meet deadlines, both for the organisation and with the end of year exams, and all might fly out the window. But I have the grounding and a few years of experience to build on, its not that its going to be a huge mind shift - like being sent to Ethiopia, its just down the road in my own city, so its not going to be too foreign.

The first week of orientation is behind me, to get acquainted with the structures and mindset of the business and all seems well. I imagine that week two is where delivery is expected and there are already a few ideas that are running around my brain/mind that may be worthwhile exploring at our weekly team meetings.

So look out for some more posts of a student social worker in the field of older persons in a changing South Africa.

Ready for work?

Every now and then a position becomes available that seems just right for the part-time student seeking part-time work that does not entail working on an ad-hoc basis in a bookshop (as interesting as this can be) or waiting on tables (as lucrative as this is made out to be by others.) So now I need to go through that checklist again for the interview as it has been more than two years since I was last interviewed.
So first the updated CV which looks pretty good with my improved computer skills and a few more years of practical experience behind me. I can already see or hear some of the questions coming from the panel regarding my lack of experience working with older people in community housing....
What to wear, oh what to wear? To dress up or dress down? Yes, even males ponder these questions every now and then. I have always shied away from suits, far too uncomfortable at the best of times but at the opposite extreme jeans and a hoodie may be frowned upon. OK, the middle path then.
The dreaded question, "what would you expect to earn?" I am not going to be a Lotto winner on this question but at least my experience with NGO's gives me an idea of what may be viable for them. I also know that some candidates have literally priced themselves out of a position by expecting too much renumeration. So lets hope that my math is right so that I get what I need and the organisation can afford it. A negotiation without any union support...
Next thing - listen to the questions and answer as fully as possible  within a short space of time to allow the interviewers to ask all their questions. Don't forget they have also prepared and want to find out about the candidate but they don't have all day to hear my opinions on government policies or knowledge of the person centred approach to facilitating change...
Fingers crossed

The joy of reading

I may have mentioned my passion for reading in a previous post, but I think it deserves further attention. To tell you the truth there is nothing more enlightening for me than reading an academic text (or novel) that is really well written and draws me into the world of experience as understood by the author. It makes studying so much easier when it seems that the person responsible for putting all the words together has such a good understanding and insight into the subject matter, combined with a passion for the field of study, that it reads like a gripping story of human endeavor rather than a university textbook. I had such an experience at the beginning of my course in social work where I had just received my study guides from the university. After opening the package I thought that I would spend an hour just browsing the material. I couldn't put the book down and I lost all track of time, so much so that I had to phone and apologise for not making a meeting that I had scheduled and had to use words to the effect of "I got caught up reading." I think it may have been the first time that the receptionist had heard that apology but I did detect a smile on the other side of the phone and was given the chance to reschedule.

Another reason that prompted me to write about the joy of reading is Alan Paton, author of "Cry, the beloved country" and "Ah, but your land is beautiful." Alan Paton describes South Africa as it was in the 1950's and 1960's using the most exquisite prose and descriptions that I have come across. In both books the harshness of apartheid South Africa are spoken about and lived by fictional characters. Although fictional and the dialogue imagined by the author, the stories of these characters is so well described it is as if I am walking alongside as the story reveals itself. Although Alan Paton died in 1988 and did not see the transition to democracy, he leaves behind two powerful stories that tell part of the struggle for a democratic South Africa.