Student Process Recording in Practice with Children

ABSTRACT

Written process recording (PR) is a traditional means of teaching social work practice in field agencies. However, schools of social work and field supervisors do not sufficiently differentiate the process of recording adult sessions from the process of recording sessions with children. Social work students and their supervisors are sometimes uncertain about how PR of child interviews should be written. This study examines the experiences of four supervisory pairs (students and supervisors) who wrote and used PR of child sessions in field supervision. The four pairs were drawn from different social work field practice settings, a residential treatment center, two outpatient mental health services, and a public school. The findings of interviews reveal four key points: (1) PR reflects a stage-wise learning process; (2) students' strong emotions are revealed in PR; (3) PR provides opportunities to teach theories and techniques relevant to a child perspective; and (4) outcome-driven expectations do not negate the usefulness of PR. These findings are useful for students and supervisors interested in practicing with children.

KEYWORDS:

• Practice learning
• process recording
• social work field practice
• social work supervision
• social work with children
• supervisory alliance

Additional information

Notes on contributors

James J. Canning

James J. Canning, PhD, Associate Professor, Springfield College School of Social Work, Springfield, MA.

Walter J. Mullin

Walter J. Mullin, PhD, Associate Professor, Springfield College School of Social Work, Springfield, MA.