Psychology Tutor: Mentor (PSI) Psycho-Social Incarnation

This post is to give more information to those who are here searching for reflective journal/essay tips.

Although it is not made explicit, reflections or being reflective depict a behaviour, not a concept~ it is a piece of research that you do. On you. It’s all about you in an explicit way, in that you write it in First Person.

Here are notes (copy and pasted) that I put together in an outline to be re-written by the social work student. It is critical that your opinion be linked back to theories and models already in existence. Science is the provision of directions and paths to take, it is what prevents the remaking of the wheel or ignoring key information.

As you can see, many in-text citations on this version of notes have still to be added:

Introduction [You want this section to be about a page in length, double spaced].

[Introduce the principles and values that are important for this critical analysis of your relationship with the non-human world; modernity; anthropocentricity and the ecological approach]

The culture of modernity (Kelly, 2002). Modernity was born in the West, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but it is not inherently tied to the history or customs of any one society. It is a constellation of universal values-the secular culture of reason, science, individualism, progress, democracy, and capitalism-that have spread worldwide in different forms and to varying degrees.

The culture of modernity is one of these permanent contributions-the most important. Though Western in origin, it is not a Western good per se but a human good. It has vastly expanded our knowledge of the world; brought a vast increase in wealth, comfort, safety, and health; and created social institutions in which humans can flourish.

It represents an advance in civilization as such.

A predominant theme in environmental philosophy is the claim that we need to correct an Anthropocentrism bias in our attitudes to the nonhuman world, and in particular to extend moral concern across time and across species.

This is the central claim of “deep ecology“, which maintains that the uncritical acceptance of Anthropocentrism values has abetted reprehensible practices with respect to the nonhuman world. In this paper I argue this central claim of “deep ecology” is mistaken and provide a defense of qualified Anthropocentrism (Grey, 1993).

[Write a paragraph about why this critical analysis of your relationship with the non-human world is important., i.e., to inform your future social work practices]

And the nature of the current ecological crisis of a particular type of relationship between humans and the non-human world. The modernist paradigm has also shaped the nature of social welfare theory and practice A new paradigm, based on an expanded ecological awareness is proposed as a pathway forward.

However, if we as individuals, and as future social welfare practitioners, hope to make a contribution to the social transformation suggested by this material, then we must also become critically conscious of the ways in which the dominant paradigm has shaped our own understanding of, and relationship to, the non-human world.

In other words we must use the tools of critical reflection to expose and understand the nature of our own lived experience and the connection between this unique biographical story and the broader issues of eco-social justice.

[You don't have to re-write this if you don't want to, it is an outline for the reader of what is to come in your paper]

This paper will provide a critical reflection of my relationship with the non-human world to show my understanding of the theory and principles used in 21^st century social worker practice. Firstly I will provide a critical reflection of my relationship with the non-human world. Secondly I will identify the implications the principles and values of an ecological approach to my future social work practices. Finally, a conclusion will synthesise the main points of the paper to demonstrate the value of an ecological paradigm and the skill of critical reflection in the best practices of social work service delivery.

Reflection of my Relationship the Non-Human World

[Keep this fairly general, how have you interacted with nature and wildlife through your life? This is a REFLECTIVE assignment- you are expected to write about your opinions, and to use the word "I". It will be critical in the sense that you will find the strengths and weaknesses in how you interacted with the non-human world across your lifespan,e.g., My first real memory of interacting with the non-human world is when I was about 8 years old.

There was a massive flood in my town, due to a cyclone crossing the coast further south. My sisters and I spent our days off school rescuing insects, even cockroaches! From drowning. We used mum's tea sieve and other kitchen appliances. She didn't seem to mind, and even encouraged us to "help" the critters in need. I think my actions at this time demonstrate anthropocentric thought in that my sister's and I truly believed that these insects had feelings, and that they were scared and confused or even in pain- because this is how we would feel if we were drowning.

Also, we had never been in a flood before so I think at the time I was afraid of dying, or maybe just beginning to realise what death was about, and so projected these feelings onto the critters we wanted to help. It is interesting that we helped the cockroaches as well, even though we were scared of them, and they gave us a creepy feeling inside. It just seemed right to help those in trouble, and at this time I do not believe I differentiated between animal and human. Lucky insects! ....As an adult, now, I have strong Hindu//Buddhist/Christian etc values that emphasise the interrelationships of all things and that I am not in isolation from others or my environment. This is clear to me when I see how we are killing our species through technology and "civilization" yadda yadda-insert theories where appropriate]

[Give an example from your life for each paragraph to show how you relate theory to your life; maybe take a chronological approach, then you can reflect on how your relationship with nature has changed/remained stable across time]

Modernity as a paradigm is deficient for providing a satisfactory ethic of obligation and concern for the nonhuman world. This concern, it is claimed, needs to be extended, in particular, toward nonhuman individuals, wilderness areas, and across time and species (Grey, 1993).

We are by our very nature as human beings limited to an understanding of the universe that is anthropocentric.  To be human means to see the world in a certain way.  In this sense at least, Anthropocentrism is inevitable (Kazlev, 2004).

One strand of environmental thinking provides a challenge to a further alleged bastion of Anthropocentrism or human chauvinism. Just as we have abandoned our geocentric cosmology, our anthropocentric biology, and related conceits; so, it is claimed, we should give up our anthropocentric morality.

Indeed the search for a credible non-anthropocentric basis for value in nature has been the central preoccupation of environmental philosophy. Anthropocentrism is the focal issue of this paper. Part of the challenge is to find an appropriate scale for concern about our biotic fellow citizens, a concern which extends across species and across time (Grey, 1993).

Deep ecology has been stimulated largely, as the name ‘ecology’ suggests, by discoveries in natural science. For it is the biological sciences, and the science of ecology in particular, which have revealed a complex web of interdependencies in the biological world which support the life of individuals and populations.

And it is the extravagant and reckless interference with these life support networks which has motivated many of the writers mentioned above to call for a new set of moral constraints to curtail our destructive behaviour with respect to the natural world.

It is precisely the failure of traditional moral constraints to curtail human behaviour, and to allow intricate biological interdependencies to be compromised, that exposes a profound deficiency in the received moral view (Grey, 1993).

Implications for My Social Work Practices

[Discuss the implications of your biographical experience and conceptual understanding for your own social welfare practice discuss the implications of your biographical experience and conceptual understanding for your own social welfare practice]

However, if we as individuals, and as future social welfare practitioners, hope to make a contribution to the social transformation suggested by this material, then we must also become critically conscious of the ways in which the dominant paradigm has shaped our own understanding of, and relationship to, the non-human world.

Can study how people successfully navigate social networks and learn from these to contribute to best social work practices (Greene, 1999).

An ecological perspective looks at context-specific behavior (Green, 1999).

* I can observe a client/family’s behavior across different environments to note when change occurs, and look at the biopsychosocial and environmental factors that may be contributing to negative behavior

Social networks and their day-to-day functions from an ecological approach have informed social work practices. There is a focus on “problems in the living” that influence a client’s ability to maintain quality of life. The blending of social and health services and environmental factors are used to redesign lifestyles and coping abilities so that the client and their family have a better adaptive “fit” (Greene, 1999).

An ecological approach provides a common base for social work practice that leads to a cross-skilling of social workers so that they can enter the therapeutic relationship with a client at any point so that help is available when and where needed.

The aim is not to intervene with a client as an individual but to see how they are part of a network of interrelationships; no human lives in isolation per se (Greene, 1999).

The result is an interdisciplinary teaching, learning, and practice environment brought together for the purpose of creating sustainable interventions directed toward improving the functioning of individuals, families, groups, organizations, institutions, and communities.

[The following example can be used to give you ideas about how indigenous Australians may be affected by an ecological perspective in social work, and how you could benefit such a group]

This article describes an investigation of ecological factors related to the experience of American Indian grandparents raising their grandchildren. Elements of American Indian culture and history, and United States policy, were used to generate explanatory hypotheses that were subjected to a thematic analysis of qualitative interview data.

This approach was used to apply ecological theory and test the derived hypotheses. Results of the thematic analysis indicate that participants value maintenance of traditional culture in their efforts to parent their grandchildren. Support also emerged for the hypothesis that participants would evidence distrust of government and mainstream programs.

The hypothesis that the assimilation policy and its use of boarding schools would increase participants’ reluctance to access services encountered mixed results, but some participants expressed strong beliefs that this legacy is a contributing factor. The hypothesis that the Indian Child Welfare Act would facilitate participants’ efforts to parent their grandchildren also met mixed results, but some clear descriptions of its effectiveness were offered (Mooradian, Cross, & Stutkzy, 2004).

Conclusion

Summarise the main points and demonstrate how your argument was supported.

References

Besthorn, F. (2001) Transpersonal psychology and deep ecological philosophy: Exploring linkages and applications for social work. Social Thought: Journal of Religion in the Social Services, vol. 20(1/2).

Flexner, A. (2001) Is social work a profession? Research on Social Work Practice, vol. 11(2), 152-165.

Greene , R. R. (1999) Human behavior theory and social work practice. New York: Aldine Press.

Grey, W. (1993). Anthropocentrism and deep ecology. Australiasian Journal of Philosophy, 71, 463-475.

Kelly, D. (2002) The war against modernity. Navigator (May), Retrieved September 1, 2008 from http://www.objectivistcenter.org/cth–513-The_War_against_Modernity.aspx

Spaargaren, G., Mol, A., & Buttel, F. (2000) Environment and global modernity. London: Sage Publications.

Quinn, T. (2002) Conservation medicine: Ecological health in practice. New York: Oxford University Press.

World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) From one Earth to one world: An overview. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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