Advanced practice with families and children provided me with practice knowledge and skills to apply family-centered and child-centered interventions that are relevant for diverse family models and the family and child’s unique circumstances. I have gained more confidence in my own capacity for culturally competent practice with families and children and in family and child assessments with regard to family structure, communication patterns, and family life cycle and use of various strategies and techniques for working with families and children.
Through my involvement in class discussions and participation in experiential activities such as interactive small group exercises and role plays, I was able to practice my own therapeutic …show more content…
73). However, I was able to understand that it really takes time and practice to develop empathic listening into a natural response in the context of child-centered play therapy. As a result, my group members and I decided to leave our comfort zone and share not only the final “product” of our video recorded presentation but also the whole process and challenges of working on it. We consciously employed and approach of “learning by …show more content…
However, when I reflected on our skills demonstration group work, I also noticed that adults have problems with tolerating silence. Moreover, it occurred to me that by constant questioning, praising, offering advice and suggestions to children we unconsciously participate in adultism.
My group demonstrated the four skills of child-centered play therapy: structuring (playroom entry, use of bathroom, playroom departure, and playroom cleanup); empathic listening (handling the child’s questions, naming the toys, frequency and intensity of empathic listening statements); child-centered imaginary play (asking questions within a role, not about the role); and limit setting (stating the limit, giving a warning, and enforcing the consequence).
I also gained knowledge about determining the unit of intervention and identifying risk factors concerning abuse occurring within the family. Assigned class readings and handouts helped me understand how to determine the best intervention modalities and how to establish the therapeutic relationship. Furthermore, I became more aware of ethical and legal issues in social work practice with minors, especially regarding informed consent, informed assent, confidentiality, and the implications of federal and state laws for ethical