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Abstract: The interrelatedness of micro and macro practice has been a pervasive theme in my decade of work with Rhode Island's homeless community. Lessons learned along my professional journey and several current practice examples highlight how these spheres of practice are inseparable. Integrated practice elicits philosophical and logistical questions, including how to balance systems-level and client-level work, respect epistemic privilege, acknowledge commonality with our clients, navigate ethical challenges, cultivate frustration tolerance, and maintain multiple accountabilities. It has ramifications for how we teach, manage programs, and practice as individuals and as a profession. I have found that embracing the opportunities and challenges presented by integrated micro and macro practice can lead us to be more impactful in our client- and systems-level work and more creative and fulfilled as practitioners.
Keywords: homelessness, social justice, integrated (micro-macro) practice, experiential learning, interdisciplinary learning, social work education
This year marks my tenth year of doing work with the homeless community and my first as a newly minted MSW graduate. While my degree is recent, I feel that the whole of this past decade has contributed to my worldview and practice as a social worker. My career thus far has reinforced time and time again that finding ways to integrate micro, mezzo, and macro practice leads to clients and communities that are more connected and better served and to practitioners who are able to practice more creatively and sustainably. To me, these benefits make it well worth navigating the unique practical and ethical challenges that come with melding the two.
This reflection considers how my focus on the interconnectedness of the micro and macro spheres has emerged organically from my personal and professional trajectory and is highlighted in my current position. I then consider several themes emerging from those interconnections and discuss how these have shaped my thinking about social work education, program development, and our roles individually and as a profession.
A Natural Progression Toward Social Work
Hindsight has a way of filtering out what is relevant from the background noise. When I look back on my undergraduate years, I remember few things as clearly as my first interactions with Rhode Island's homeless community: I remember my first visit to a shelter, my first evening of outreach, my first...