Importance of Self-Compassion and Self-Esteem in Social Work Practice Essay Example

and depression. Besides, I turned into a heavy drinker. These two occasions are a critical piece of my own encounters in building up a self-concept, which helps in my social work practice. I believe I have a better understanding of my clients in helpful occasions and settings as I have learned much from my experience.

Leary (2004) recognizes the fact that some people may roll with the punches of life and face any failures, problems, and losses with equanimity whereas other people may be maladaptive in regards to the adversities and challenging situations they face in life (Leary, & MacDonald, 2003, p.420). However, rather than worsening my pain, too much ruminating on life disasters, and rebuking myself on the weaknesses I confront in life, I have chosen to come out stronger and use my life experiences to be a better person enriched with a strong personality. Besides, I have been able to develop self-compassion, which has been essential in enhancing my compassion towards others in social work and therapeutic relations that I encounter with similar or related situations and adversities like those I faced in my own life in the past. This has also been essential in developing my self-esteem.

Neff (2003) acknowledges that just like me, being moved and open by one’s own suffering, experiencing feelings of kindness and caring towards oneself, being understanding, not being judgmental about the failures and personal inadequacies, and realizing that my personal suffering is part of the commonest human experiences is essential in ensuring that I have had positive outcomes in social work by relating well to other’ situations of similar nature. My high self-concept and self-compassion have been important

in looking at my shortcomings and weaknesses but viewing them from a positive angle and reacting with similar kindness and compassion to others instead of being harsh and responding to criticism. Therefore, self-compassion has been essential in my experiences by buffering me against negative events and avoiding endangering of positive self-feelings in times when adversities present themselves, and life is not as good as always. In this regard, self-esteem has also been an important parameter, which has been essential in remaining positive all through my practice as a social worker.

This is high because it is highly normal and the probability is always high to come across persons that have been in similar situations once in their lifetime such as mince- people that have been addicted to alcohol or other substances, as well as people that have had alcohol addictions from the past. In therapeutic relations with such persons in my many encounters in social work, I have been able to boost and capacitate similar feelings of self-compassions in such persons by either sharing my personal experiences and how I have been able to overcome the past experiences and keep them from hindering my progress in life as at current or by using those experiences as the basis of my social work and therapeutic relations.

My self-esteem has been important in illumining similar feelings and perceptions in other people so that they may increase a more positive feeling about oneself and possess the belief that they are valued by other people too. I also try to develop similar feelings of self-compassion on others and make sure that they can take more care of themselves and not get

subdued by any shortcomings in life. In essence, self-compassion is the mother of self-esteem and ultimately ensures that the people I come across in my practice with similar predicaments and related adverse experiences (Leary et al., 2007, p.132) realize more positive outcomes in life.

Essentially, my experiences have been critical in the cognitive and emotional processes I have used to help people in my practice in therapy and in finding their footing. Clients, who look at it as a challenge as they seek to achieve similar stability and overcome their past challenges, receive my experiences, once shared, well and positively. Most of the people I come across in social practice look at me as a strong person, who has been able to come out of all the stress, anxiety, and depression that came with teenage pregnancy as well as recovering from alcohol addiction and finally getting my act together and becoming, even more, stronger in life. At the end of the day, self-compassion has proven to buffer people against the negative effects, low self-esteem makes people feel undervalued and hence causes negative consequences with the opposite (high self-esteem) enhancing positive outcomes. Generally, self-compassion and high self-esteem attenuates people’s reactions to negative effects in beneficial ways (Trevithick, 2011, p.25).

Presently, I am not confronting any negative issues or inadequacies that may have an adverse impact on my life and rise or influence my practice similarly. I have rather turning into a living case to numerous customers and patients confronting comparable circumstances that I experience a wellspring of motivation and a companion in their excursion towards getting back progressing nicely and discovering their balance even with misfortune.

Notably, many social

workers face challenges that may inhibit their ability to maintain professional optimism in social work practice as much as it is important to have and retain capable practitioners in the field (Beddoeet et., al 2013). Therefore, social workers need to be resilient and strong in their practice in spite of the adversities and shortcomings in their personal lives (Trevithick, 2011). It is in this regard that I have tried as much as possible to remain resilient and strong in the face of similar situations with clients to those that I encountered: coupled with strong self-compassion and self-esteem to help me in positive social work practice. In the same way, Cath (2014) notes that developing moral character is suitable and essential in social work practice.

References

1. Beddoe Liz, Allyson Davys & Carole Adamson. (2013). Educating Resilient Practitioners. Social Work Education.Routledge.Vol. 32, No. 1, 100–117, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2011.644532
2. Cath Holmström (2014) Suitability for Professional Practice: Assessing and Developing Moral Character in Social Work Education, Social Work Education: The International Journal, 33:4, 451-468, DOI: 10.1080/02615479.2013.847914
3. Leary Mark R, Eleanor B. Tate, Claire E. Adams, Ashley Batts Allen, and Jessica Hancock. (2007). Self-Compassion and Reactions to Unpleasant Self-Relevant Events: The Implications of Treating Oneself Kindly. Personality Processes and Individual Differences
4. Leary, M. R. (2004). The curse of the self: Self-awareness, egotism, and the quality of human life. New York: Oxford University Press.
5. Leary, M. R., & MacDonald, G. (2003). Individual differences in selfesteem: A review and theoretical integration. In M. R. Leary & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), Handbook of self and identity (pp. 401–418). New York: Guilford Press.
6. Neff, K. (2003). The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion.Self and
   

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