Reference no: EM133489097

Describe a situation in which you found it necessary to ask someone for help. The request need not have been made of a professional, but it should not have been a trivial matter. For instance, it should not be a superficial experience, such as asking a friend for help finding an apartment. It should be a time when you needed help . . . not when you needed guidance to help a client. This is about a personal need for help. Describe your feelings before, during, and after this experience.

The focus of this assignment is on the thoughts and feelings you experienced in relation to asking for help, rather than on the situation itself. Reflect and respond to the questions below.

Questions:

1. Having reflected on your own experience of help-seeking, and who actually provided help, what moves people to turn to professional or formal help?

2. Given your own experience and your feelings in requesting help, what are some alternative ways of interpreting the act of seeking help?

3. What have you learned about help seeking from this experience of asking for help and the obstacles to help seeking?

4. What might be some of the deeper concerns people have with regards to needing the help of a professional?

5. In what ways has your thinking about those in need of help shifted as a result of this self-reflection?

6. Discuss how your own experience relates to the way professional helping in social work has been presented in your readings and in class discussions thus far.

7. How does this information inform your philosophy of helping and your approach to those who are coming to you for help?