HOW I INTEGRATE WHAT I'VE "LEARNED" INTO MY WORK WITH CLIENTS
How I Will Integrate What I've "Learned" Into My Work With Clients
(Even When It Makes the System Squirm)
Somewhere along the line, the social work profession has failed to remember it was about serving Vulnerable people, giving voices and support to those who required it — along side spreading hope and advocating for social justice — not compliance.
BUT........ The past century has changed social work into an academic authority, controlled profession, established on theories of social science, social work and humanities
I didn’t enter this profession to be a quiet, and compliant sloth.... Oh no, no, no, I am more like one of those crazy little goats you see on videos in Goat Yoga; all up in your face, all over the place, and loudly bleating (Bleating is the noise a goat makes BTW) .... Anyways, I came into this profession to tell the truth, to serve vulnerable people and to give voices and support to those who require it.
And "What I’ve learned?" Well we already went through that a few pages back, where have you been? Alright well, how about this...... I have learned that Most systems only support advocacy when it’s neat, silent, and doesn’t threaten their power.
And I’m Not Here For That Kind Of Social Work- I'm The Social Worker Your Mom Warned You About
I’m here to practice in a way that reflects what the CASW (2005) calls the “pursuit of social justice,” even when justice is inconvenient, uncomfortable, or completely off-brand for the system. I’m not trying to be agreeable. I’m trying to be effective.
TRUTH BEFORE RECONCILIATION:
NINE YEARS AND STILL COUNTING
Social Work Was a Weapon of Colonialism
P.1
Social work didn't just participate in harm-it engineered it.
It was social workers who helped enforce the removal of children into residential schools (Sinclair, Hart, & Bruyere, 2009).
It was social workers who played key roles in the Sixties Scoop, where thousands of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children were placed in non-Indigenous homes, losing their language, lineage, and connection (Bennett et al., 2020).
More of What I've Learned
I've learned that this system isn't broken-it's doing exactly what it was designed to do: manage, monitor, and assimilate Indigenous peoples under the appearance
of protection.
I've learned that First Nations families aren't failing. The system is failing them. I've learned that social work, unless it's decolonized and re-imagined,continues to be a tool of control.
And I've learned that reconciliation without Indigenous sovereignty,
land back, and child welfare reform is BS and more empty words.
While doing my final practicum with FESA I had the honour and privilege of taking part in 2 facilitator training's that they offer. The first one being " I/-Workplace Learning Circle/ and
" I/-Parenting and Violence-New beginnings." These are both filled with lesson plans and more, that I plan to 1000% use in my future practise with clients.
How I Will Integrate This into My Work
I am not here to repeat harm. I am here to interrupt it. As an Indigenous woman and future social worker, I will:
- Practice from a decolonizing, trauma-informed lens (Gone, 2013).
- Center Indigenous voices and kinship systems.
- Support First Nations jurisdiction over child welfare (Gonzalez, 2020).
- Refuse to be silent in oppressive systems.
- Walk beside my clients, not above them.
THE SYSTEM ISN'T BROKEN-IT'S DOING TO US EXACTLY WHAT IT IS MEANT TO DO
(PART 1)
The system is doing exactly what it was built to do: uphold colonial control and erase Indigenous identity, culture, and sovereignty — just now with different packaging.
Residential schools didn’t disappear — they morphed. Today, they’re called foster care, group homes, the child welfare system and youth detention centers. The pipeline from birth to apprehension to incarceration is alive and well.
And let’s be real: renaming genocide doesn’t undo it.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQ+ people. That’s not a tragedy — it’s policy in action through neglect, under funding, racism, and outright violence.
Over 50% of kids in care are First Nations kids That’s not an accident — that’s a continuation of the Sixties Scoop.
Jails full of Indigenous people also not a coincidence — that’s colonialism with handcuffs.
Canada’s systems — child welfare, policing, education, justice — are not neutral. They are instruments of control. This is cultural genocide dressed up as bureaucracy.
The calls to action, the public apologies, the commemorative days — they mean nothing if the violence doesn’t stop.Your words matter. Don’t silence them. Keep naming the harm. Keep telling the truth.
This isn’t history — this is now.
I Respect Dignity — Not Policy
According to the CASW Code of Ethics, social workers must “uphold each person’s right to self-determination” (CASW, 2005, p. 4). That doesn’t mean supporting people only when their choices look tidy. That means backing them even when their choices challenge norms. Even when they use substances. Even when their healing doesn’t fit into 12-week timelines.
I Know That Survival Doesn’t Always Look Pretty
The ACSW Standards of Practice (2023) state we must engage in ethical decision-making and support informed choice. But the moment someone discloses substance use, suddenly they’re no longer “ethical enough” for help?! Nope. That’s not a practice problem. That’s a double standard.
You can’t promote self-determination out of one side of your mouth and punish people for it out of the other.
I Don’t Just “Advocate” — I Disrupt
The Standards of Practice say I must promote social justice (ACSW, 2023, Section 2). So when I see racism, systemic failure, or two-faced policies I say something. I’m not afraid of being labeled “difficult.” If your silence keeps people comfortable but suffering, I’d rather be loud.
Bottom Line
Don’t ask me to follow a code of ethics and then punish me for doing exactly that.
Don’t ask me to empower people and then clip my wings when I try.
And definitely don’t expect me to choose a pay check over my values.
Let’s be honest—formal education taught me how to cite my sources, but life taught me how to listen. The classroom gave me theories; my lived experience taught me resilience, resistance, and real empathy. So, when I say, "what I've learned," I’m talking about what that one teacher taught me and what my practicums taught me- more than textbooks and APA formatting. I’m talking about navigating systems, surviving injustice, and showing up for others in a way that’s rooted in truth—not performance.
At my first practicum with AAWEAR, I learned the deep value of harm reduction, radical acceptance, and real advocacy. It wasn’t about fixing people—it was about meeting them where they are, honouring their autonomy, and recognizing that survival is strength. And complete abstinents isn't everyone's reality.
At my current practicum with the Further Education Society of Alberta (FESA), I’ve expanded my knowledge into literacy-based empowerment and facilitation. I’ve had the privilege of leading group work and earning two facilitator certificates:
- New Beginnings – Indigenous Parenting After Violence, And
- Indigenous Workplace Learning Circle.
Through this work, I’ve not only developed my facilitation skills, but also deepened my understanding of the 7 Sacred Teachings, which I carry with me as guiding principles: love, respect, courage, honesty, wisdom, humility, and truth.
All of the things I learned—are tools I will actively integrate into my work with clients. Whether it’s holding space without judgment, advocating with and not for, or facilitating conversations that support healing and empowerment, I will bring a blend of lived wisdom, relational practice, and culturally grounded knowledge into everything I do. Because real social work isn’t just about policy and theory—it’s about presence, trust, and action.
HOW I INTEGRATE WHAT I'VE "LEARNED" INTO MY WORK WITH CLIENTS
- I will hear my clients
- I will never judge my clients
- I I will always give my clients a safe space to talk, be heard, seen and understood.
- I will advocate for the voices that cannot advocate for themselves.
- I will never be a hypocrite or contradict what I teach.
- I will never be silent. Ever!