HSBC Social Work Scholarships 2011/2012 - hcyuen@swk.cuhk ...

Her words gave me a lesson. No skills and
theories would be a panacea for all kinds of
problems and situation. Sometimes I sought
opportunities to practice newly learnt therapies
or skills, yet, I forgot the very heart of social
work – empathetic understanding – to feel the
client’s feelings, being sensitive to the client’s
needs.
As a fresh social worker, I was aware that
lacking practical experience leads to a sense
of uncertainty during the encounter with a
client. As this sense of uncertainty grows, I
deliberately practice complicated therapies or
skills in order to ease the feeling of insecurity,
some of them were even too complicated for
me to well handle. Apparently, the way it works
serves the worker’s needs rather than putting
the client’s needs in the first place. When I look
back, I found that I overlooked the importance
of being presence during the interview, not
only physically but also emotionally presence.
Indeed, a caring, deeply human meeting
between the two souls during the therapy gives
rise to the greatest therapeutic function.
This is a significant experience in my
professional development. Since then, when I
face my service users, I would always remind
myself, “what are his needs”? Simple but true,
they always starts from where the client is.
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