Client Reflection Paper

My reaction to the professional staff was multifaceted. I was impressed with the level of comprehensive care they seemed to provide patients through collaborating as a team, discussing the client cases, and how the community of patients was doing. They appeared to adopt a holistic approach to assessing the patients progress through a person-in the environment and systems perspective. Each professional had a different personality and approach to working with patients, which resulted in different types of bonds being formed and information gathered about the patients, depending on the role of the professional and their relationship with the patients. For example, the therapists had warm demeanors, common factors were observed throughout their therapeutic interactions with patients, and patients appeared comfortable in their presence. The nutritionist and one of the nurses, appeared more ridged and at times hostile when interacting with clients, and some patients appeared to harbor more resistance towards them whereas other patients disclosed withholdings because of their assertiveness. Each helping professional acquired important information about the clients and offered their unique perspective informed by their professional background. Through the team meetings, which included members of the clinical staff from nursing, psychiatry, therapists, and others, it enabled the team to process and make decisions about patient care as a
group.
This information is tremendously helpful to me as a social worker because I am more informed about the signs and symptoms to be aware of when interacting with clients as well as the importance of involving medical professionals in the treatment of clients with eating
disorders. There is a significant risk of suicide, which warrants assessing suicide risk, may involve generating safety plans, and making referrals.