Shamekia Schoffner

CONTENT
(WHAT DID YOU SEE?)

S.W. 4010 Group Therapy

SOCIAL WORKERS
GUT-LEVEL
FEELINGS

In the group meeting the overall

purpose of the group was to
acquaint and orient new interns.
The meeting was facilitated by
Marilyn, the co-supervisor.
Marilyn is not a social worker;
however I take direct orders and
supervision from her. I come to
her for questions, feedback and
advice.
The goals of the group was to
ensure that our educational
needs are met as interns, for us
to present new ideas without
negative feedback or criticism
and also for us to foster a
setting for us to put in what we
expect to get out.

LOGICAL
INTERPRETATION OF
CLIENT INTERACTION
Non-verbal communication of
providing eye-contact when one
speaking was displayed in the
interaction amongst the interns a
facilitator.

There was a consensus of everyo

being in tune with what the
facilitator was saying in the
meeting.

Because this was our first

meeting; it was very informal.
We sat in a roundabout circle in
the back intern office at our
desks. Marilyn, discussed the
purpose of the meeting in the
beginning, she eased any
apprehension by explaining to
us that she wasnt there to be
very militant about her
expectations but more so if she
asks for something, she expects
for it to be done in a reasonable
time-frame.
We all were considerate to our
colleagues, waiting to speak and
giving each other respect.
In the beginning phase of the
group we were given a folder
with new intern rules and
guidelines. There was some

I was nervous initially

There was a little commotion in t

beginning because the sheets we
out of order and someone was
missing a page from the orientat

Shamekia Schoffner

S.W. 4010 Group Therapy

information that wasnt correct

so we waited until that situation
was handled.
We were acquainted with the
expectations of each intern.
The middle part of meeting we
were asked by the facilitator if
we had any questions; no one
had anything to say at the
moment.
The ending of the meeting went
well. Overall, the meeting was
short, straightforward and
informative. The packet of
information had pertinent
information for us to know such
as contact numbers, call-ins and
behavior and appearance
information.

packet.

I felt very calm and atease

Everyone was attentively listenin

to the facilitator and nodding in
response to the facilitator.

I felt everything was going

to go smoothly. I felt
confident.

The facilitator was smiling at the

end of the meeting. Smiling to m
suggests that everything is going
well

Diversity Summary:

The meeting was comprised of three women; two EuropeanAmerican and I; African-American, and one male; of European
and Venezuelan descent.
One disparity was the 1:4 ratios of women and men. In social
work, it is not uncommon that there are more women in the field
of profession than men. In the group dynamics; the male intern
did not appear to be out of place or feel uncomfortable.
One thing that personally stood out for me at the agency I am
placed is that I am the only African-American at the agency.
There are volunteers who are African-American, but they are not
employees. Being the only African-American has its advantages

Shamekia Schoffner

S.W. 4010 Group Therapy

and disadvantages. Some of the advantages of being AfricanAmerican is that a large amount of the consumers are AfricanAmerican and they can relate to me culturally. One of the
disadvantages is that I dont feel like the consumers see a true
representation of diversity of the staff.
In summary, the meeting went well. We discussed obligations,
responsibilities and expectations of the agency. We all took turns
speaking and raising questions, the facilitator made us feel at
ease by her calm demeanor and warm personality. The meeting
was only about 15 minutes in length.