Highlights from Year 1
While I will not speak to every class I have experienced in this program, it is worth mentioning that when I reflected on this journey there was something substantial that I learned from every professor and at least one of the assignments or group projects they had us engage in. Some classes served as repetition as we re-learned from different perspectives something we had learned many times before. This also made for a nice throughline as there were specific topics, methods, models and approaches that I was able to continually focus on from class to class, deepening my theoretical knowledge and understanding of the complex and dynamic relationship between things.
As I share here, my intention is to highlight the throughlines that will serve the greater purpose of integration.
My first two classes on the program were:
History and Foundation of the Profession SOWK 621
Social Policy and Social Justice SOWK 632
In SOWK 621 - History and Foundation of the Profession - we were introduced to the history of harm that paves the foundation of social work and how this harm was ignored and hidden beneath a cloak of benevolence, dominant culture’s narrative of morality, and good intentions. A sobering and exciting start to the program as I appreciated the honesty of the complex and messy beginnings of this profession and the recognition that we are at a potent time in the trajectory where there is a reckoning and a commitment to do better. Naturally there is a considerable amount of fear and hesitation expressed by many students as we do not want to perpetuate harm or blindly be conduits of oppression.
In SOWK 632 - Social Policy and Social Justice- we learned about the importance of coalitions within communities, non-profits, and businesses that are centering their work on social justice, as macro level change requires working with governments, public policy, and public education. This has to be about the long game, which requires stamina, immense creativity, and teamwork. We learned how to create a policy brief to practice outlining a problem and proposing a solution with language that aligns with the current government, and specifically does not illicit defensiveness. This was an important learning as I was reminded that how we curate collaboration in our internal system is reflected in how we can do that successfully in our external relationships and systems. Patience, considering the long-game, advocating for teamwork and modeling how that looks, and using language that appeals to the audience you are seeking collaboration with. Approaching with a sense of curiosity and wanting to understand, not blame or to simply point out problems. To offer proposed solutions based on research and data, and ensure those listening know that they are not alone and you are here to work with them.
SOWK 645 - Issues in Social Work Research. Another angle on the harms and injustice perpetuated in this field as we look at the history (and present day) use of extractive research that is seeking information, data, and maybe recognition and awards, rather than centering the focus on the people being researched and the authentic relationships fostered before, during and after the research. A humbling and uncomfortable learning for me was grappling with the realization that I had not considered the possibility of asking a community what research they would like to engage in and collaborate on, rather than coming in with a question or topic and finding a way to make that happen. The phrase “nothing about us, without us” is a sentiment that I am deeply moved and changed by (Brown & Strega, 2019, p. 3).
In this class I focused much of my own research on the work of Resmaa Menakem, who was a main inspiration and influence for me prior to this program as I began the work of understanding racial bias that infected my own internal system like a virus. He refers to change within the larger systems of society as being ineffective unless we also work with dismantling the white-body supremacy virus inside our body’s with somatic practices (Langbert, 2020). Menakem illuminates that systemic change internally and externally won’t happen without engaging in repetitive practice (Jany, 2018). For me, this emphasized that social justice is a lifestyle and it is vital that we surround ourselves with a community that is also doing this work.
I became more aware of the illusion of separation and the emphasis on individuation that is rampant in our western culture. According to Okun (2023) these are traits or toxins that the dominant white culture touts as “normal” and encourages through a capitalism and anthropocentrism. This is seen in much of what is communicated regarding self-care. According to Morales (2023), black feminist’s have made it clear that you cannot separate our sociopolitical environment from the individual, and in fact, “…the fractured, commodified, feel-good cult of individualistic self-care, claiming to heal the world by healing ourselves alone, using one appropriated and decontextualized ancestral tool at a time, are dangerous and unaffordable” (Page & Woodland, 2023, p. xx).
It’s important to me to not perpetuate the silo of individual experience and ensure I am continually expanding out to include the ecosystems that we are a part of.
In SOWK 627 - Practice with Organizations and Communities - I became more aware of how an organization can perpetuate ignorance and oppression on individuals when there is not consideration and acknowledgement of the impact of systemic oppression, and how EDI programs are a powerful way to weave this reality into the culture of an organization and community. I am inspired by the idea of working with large corporations and small businesses to explore what EDI means to them and to their staff or teams. Exploring the purpose of such conversations and considerations, and the unique and authentic ways this can be implemented. We all need to have the skills and understanding to feel equipped to broach the topic of race, ethnicity, culture, oppression, what makes us different and what makes us the same. This requires training, opportunities to practice, and a culture that supports leaning into what is uncomfortable until we get comfortable with that feeling.
As I sat with the notion that colonialism, supremacy/domination, racism and all forms of “power over” are not only built into the systems we operate within but also embodied and perpetuated like a virus most of us are unaware of, I became more interested in what to do about this. In SOWK 637 - Human Behavior in the Environment - I was moved to research and flesh out the reasons why people do not seem to be able to grapple with race, privilege, power and inequity. I wanted to get more clear for myself how to approach this topic with others in a way that calls them in rather than calls them out (*will create hyperlink).
I am strongly influenced and aligned with the model of Internal Family Systems, a couple reasons being that it creates connection. By listening and understanding the needs being protected by extreme parts, we can guide and organize our systems to cultivate harmony internally and externally. If the goal is participation and collaboration, it is essentital that all parts/people feel heard and understood.
With that, my objective in this research was to understand the defensiveness, the dismissiveness and the aversion to race and privilege-based topics, so I could enhance my ability to approach these conversations with patience and compassion.
One of the more mind-boggling and frustrating classes in this program was SOWK 641 - Models of Practice. In this class we focused on various ways of knowing, the nature of being, a multitude of models of practice and their belief or approach to change. As someone who is quite averse to black and white thinking and is constantly looking for ways that ideas intersect and can work together, I struggled with the prompts to focus on a model of practice and become clear on the category it fits within.
I grappled with polarizations inside of me as I could lean in and align with positivism and its stance that change is expected and happens at the individual level, yet I could also easily align with the constructivist viewpoint, that states that while change may happen, it is not the goal, rather, the goal is simply to understand or see more clearly (B. Archer-Kuhn, personal communication, October 20, 2023). I am a both/and kind of girl. I can imagine scenarios where shifting one’s perspective on change would be beneficial and appropriate.
I am cautioned by positivism’s lack of conceptualizing the dynamic and complex nature of the multicultural and intersectional domains of human psyches, environments and relationships (Shaw, 2016, as cited in Carey, 2019). I could feel myself want to reject positivism but was also encouraged to remain open. I appreciated Houston (2019) who emphasizes the importance of incurring a broad paradigm of understanding and practice in social work.
I found myself intrigued as I considered the relational focus within IFS and how that appeared to weave a constructivist and positivist approach. I have experienced many sessions with clients where simply mapping out their internal system and listening to parts’ stories of why they protect or behave the way they do leads to mental and emotional relief and an organic reorganization internally that leads to change and growth.
I was also pleasantly surprised to recognize that IFS has a strong inclusion of narrative therapy, and according to Bharati Acharya (2010), it is closely knit with social justice when used with clients who experience various forms of oppression. For those who have been raised with cultural messages stemming from systemic racism, the dominant narrative of the oppressed and marginalized is often one of hopelessness, unworthiness, and failure (Mahoney & Daniel, 2006). With the narrative therapy component of IFS and the Indigenist understanding that any change we seek begins in the fostering of healthy relationships internally (Schwartz, 2013; Wilson, 2019), voices that are often silenced or criticized are able to recall and express their story, or existential pain, with a sense of continuity, potentially uncovering the meaning of their life (Mahoney & Daniel, 2006). It is from this place of individual integration, empowerment, and relationality, that more people access the internal resources needed to deconstruct and co-construct a new reality that embodies equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice. In other words, when we embody radical inclusion, we have skills to foster that interpersonally and systemically.
I came to realize that positivism has its place within the IFS model and my approach to practice in general, as there will be times when individual change is the goal, quantitative research is necessary, and my position as a specialist is warranted (Carey, 2019). And as I reflect on this class now, I also see how my internal struggle with the directive part within me played a role in my frustration and confusion regarding how to include positivism as I was already becoming quite aversive to any hints of “power over”. (More to come about “the directive part”).
My goal is to be a specialist in relationships, and not assume that I am the specialist in someone else’s journey or story. I am a co-creator, collaborator, and exemplifier of the healing power of healthy relationships, which includes humility, remaining open to what is unmeasurable, and a deep respect for others being the expert of their own experience.
Soon after this class was the arrival of my first practicum. For chorological details of that project, blog #1 of my practicum series here). I do not feel the need to repeat myself again and I know that as I get further along in this project I will refer back to aspects of my first practicum. So, in this next step I will jump ahead to reviewing and reflecting on the first few classes of year 2 and the lead up to my final practicum.
References:
Acharya, B. (2010). Narrative Foundations and Social Justice. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, 2010(3), 33–39.
Brown, L. A., & Strega, S. (2019). From resistance to resurgence. In Research as resistance: Revisiting critical, indigenous, and anti-oppressive approaches (p. 3). introduction, Langara College.
Carey, M. (2019). Paradigm shift? Biomedical science and social work thinking. M. Payne & E. Reith-Halls (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of social work theory (pp. 68-80). London: Routledge.
Houston, S. (2019). Theorizing social work in the domains of culture, politics, and society. In M. Payne & E. Reith-Halls (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of social work theory (pp. 55-67). London: Routledge.
Langbert, L. (2020). Resmaa Menakem on why healing racism begins with the body. Conversations on compassion. University of Arizona center for compassion studies. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
Mahoney, A. M., & Daniel, C. A. (2006). Bridging the power gap. The Prison Journal, 86(1), 75–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885505283879
Morales, A. L. (2023). Foreword. In Page, C. & Woodland, E., Healing justice lineages: Dreaming at the Crossroads of Liberation, collective care, and safety (pp. xvii–xx). North Atlantic Books.
Okun, T. (2023). White Supremacy Culture. WHITE SUPREMACY CULTURE. https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/
Schwartz, R. C. (2013). Moving from acceptance toward transformation with internal family systems therapy (IFS). Wiley Online Library. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/10.1002/jclp.22016
Wilson, S. (2019). Research is ceremony: Indigenous research methods. Langara College.