| Course | MSW 505 Direct Practice I (Individuals and Families) |
|---|---|
| Week | 8 |
| Paper type | Skills reflection |
| Length | About 460 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSW 505 Week 8
Practice Skills Reflection: The Skill That Changed Is Holding Silence, Shown From My Own Recordings, Termination With J. and R. Answered Properly, What Is Still Difficult and Goals Sized for a Field Placement
Student Name
Chamberlain University
MSW 505: Direct Practice I (Individuals and Families)
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Practice Skills Reflection: The Skill That Changed Is Holding Silence, Shown From My Own Recordings, Termination With J. and R. Answered Properly, What Is Still Difficult and Goals Sized for a Field Placement
A Skill That Changed
In week 1 I counted myself filling 9 of 11 pauses on practice calls. The skill that has changed is holding silence long enough for a client to answer.
Evidence From My Own Work
In the October 13 process recording, I held a 12-second silence after asking J. whether "I'm sick" was true; J. answered "Both," which opened the real problem. In the week 2 analysis, my two misses both came when I moved to advice instead of waiting. On my last recorded practice call, I filled 3 of 10 pauses, down from 9 of 11.
Termination Answered Properly
My work with J. and R. ends when my placement ends on December 12. On November 17, I told them the end date and what happens next: the agency will assign a new worker if they want one, and J.'s referral to the school-based therapist goes ahead regardless. J. asked, "So you're just leaving?" I said yes, on December 12, and that I would spend the last two visits looking at what had changed and what J. wanted to keep doing. The NASW Code asks social workers to plan termination and the transfer of services so clients are not left without needed help (National Association of Social Workers, 2021).
J. went quiet after my answer, and I let the silence run. After a while J. said, "At least you told me." I took that as a sign that saying the date plainly, early, mattered more than softening it.
What Is Still Difficult
Silence with R. is harder than with J. R. fills pauses too, and when we are both talking, neither of us waits. I have not solved that.
One idea from supervision is to name it with R. directly: to say that we both tend to talk over pauses and ask whether R. minds if I wait longer. I have not tried it yet.
Goals at the Scale of a Placement
For the next placement: hold a 10-second silence at least once per session, record whether I did it in my session notes and review the count with my supervisor monthly. That is a goal I can meet in a placement, not a promise to become a different kind of person.
References
National Association of Social Workers. (2021). NASW code of ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
Reading the MSW 505 Week 8 instructions
The final week asks for a reflection about a skill rather than a feeling. Name something you now do differently and show it from the term's own documents, such as a process recording or skills analysis, since those are evidence a reader can check. Answer termination properly: how you are ending with a client, when, what they were told and what happens next. Say what is still difficult. Close with goals sized for a field placement, measurable within it. Using your process recordings as evidence is encouraged. Termination carries weight because it is easy to handle badly and hard to undo. Keep the reflection to a few pages. Cite the standard behind termination practice.
Inside the MSW 505 Week 8 example
The skill is holding silence, with a week 1 baseline of 9 of 11 pauses filled. Evidence comes from the October 13 recording, where a 12-second silence led to "Both," from the week 2 analysis, where both misses came from moving to advice, and from a last practice call with 3 of 10 pauses filled. The termination section reports telling J. and R. on November 17 that work ends December 12, explaining the transfer to a new worker and the therapist referral and answering J.'s "So you're just leaving?" directly, citing the NASW Code of Ethics. The difficulty is silence with R., who also fills pauses. The goal is one 10-second silence per session, recorded and reviewed monthly.
MSW 505 Week 8 rubric: what full points look like
Reflections are graded first on whether a skill changed and whether the change is shown. Feelings about growth, without a named skill and evidence, earn little. Evidence from the student's own documents is weighed heavily because it can be checked. Termination is graded closely: a date, what the client was told, what happens next and how the client's reaction was handled. Naming what is still difficult earns credit for honesty. Goals sized for a placement, with a way to measure them, complete the core. The termination standard should be cited in APA form.
MSW 505 Week 8 help from the desk
Practice reflections tend to describe how much the writer has grown without saying what they now do. Another frequent gap is termination mentioned in a sentence, with no date or plan for the client. Some reflections also set goals too large to measure. If your skill or client is different, send the skill, the documents that show it and your termination plan; we would name the skill, show the change from your own work, answer termination fully, name what is still hard and set placement-sized goals. If your process recordings are the evidence, they would be quoted directly. If your placement ends on a set date, the reflection would show how and when the client was told and what happens to the work after you leave.
Get a MSW-505 Week 8 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 8 prompts your section issued along with a line on what changed in your own practice, and a custom example is written to those prompts and returned inside 24 to 48 hours. The first one is free. Whatever actually shifted in your own practice is yours alone to report.
More MSW 505 papers and MSW samples
- MSW 505 Week 1: First Session Worry Post
- MSW 505 Week 2: Engagement Skills Analysis
- MSW 505 Week 3: Process Recording
- MSW 505 Week 4: Family Biopsychosocial Assessment
- MSW 505 Week 5: Goal Negotiation Role-Play Analysis
- MSW 505 Week 6: Family Treatment Plan
- MSW 505 Week 7: Intervention Case Write-Up
- MSW 504 Week 8: Theory Integration Reflection
MSW 505 Week 8 questions, answered
Why does termination matter so much in the grade?
Because it is the phase beginning workers handle worst and notice least. Endings get avoided, rushed, or softened for the worker's comfort rather than the client's, and faculty know it. A reflection that describes what was difficult about ending, and what was done about it, answers a required element that many submissions cover in a single line.
Can I use my process recordings as evidence?
Yes, and they are the best evidence available in this course, because the change is visible on the page. An early internal column set against a later one shows a difference nobody has to take on trust. Refer to them rather than reproducing them, and keep any client material out of the reflection itself.
How long should the reflection be?
Whatever your section sets, and most are shorter than students expect. Where several prompts are listed, share the words out among them instead of answering the first one fully and the rest in a line each. Depth on one change beats coverage of the term, and the rubric is nearly always weighted that way.
Where can I find a free MSW 505 Week 8 sample paper?
A complete MSW 505 Week 8 practice skills reflection on holding silence, with termination handled, is on this page.
How is termination handled in the MSW 505 Week 8 sample?
The family is told on November 17 that work ends December 12, with a new worker available and the therapist referral going ahead, and the teenager's question is answered directly.