This is a great tool to take a snapshot of a person’s life at a point in time. It keeps challenges in perspective and assists a person to identify their strengths. For social work students and social work practitioners, this is a great intervention to acknowledge the good in you and to reassess your own growth, value, and mindset at this present moment.
I made this self-assessment after seeing a similar version on the Center for Financial Social Work’s site. But because I like pretty colors, tasteful fonts, and have a lust for good design [which I tried to implement], I made my own version to share with you, dear colleagues and readers.
“Downloadables” section is below, after the break.
For clients, this is a great empowerment exercise which can help them to identify what their needs are and help them to think about their strengths.
In implementation of this intervention, be mindful:
The stronger your self-awareness is, the greater power you have to make change!
Field Tested
I used this with freshmen college students at a workshop. To be quite frank, my colleague was the one who implemented it (and she did a darn good job with it!). The students spent a five minutes filling it out and reported back that it was very helpful in getting to know what their needs are, who they are, and the strengths they have within them.
My Self-Assessment
As this was in “beta” [which is nerd-speak for “not ready for prime time”], I figured I would try this myself. I got a request from a colleague to post this intervention after they saw it on my SocialWorkTech tumblr site. Here’s a daily dose of grandiosity 🙂
Pro-Tip: Take a picture with your smartphone and upload it to your “Professional Development” folder in Evernote!
Downloadables
Click here to download PDFs:
Color Sheet
Black and White Worksheet
A Note on the Social Work Tech logo on my images/PDFs
While I am not the creator of the original model of self-assessment, I ask that you not alter my logo or remove it from the PDFs or images I put on this site – I would like other social workers to know about the great resources I put on my site. I also think that these tools serve as a great recruiting tool for acceptance of mental health to non-social workers. Ethically speaking, if you use any of these images in your presentations, you should be citing your sources!
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Hey Ignacio. Just wanted to say that I am printing this one out and using it today with my teen clients. Your assessment worksheets have been super useful to me in my work. I really like the Cycle of Change one as well. I always look forward to your posts and the tech tips that are so easy to apply.
Thanks for sharing! I’ve done similar exercises with clients through collage. I plan on adding this to my toolbox.
Nice job, Ignacio. See you around campus!
Hi Ignacio,
Just wanted to thank you for your website & handouts! I will be using the self assessment in my grief support groups this week.
Your website is refreshing 🙂
Thanks!
I am considering using this in my Career course with teenagers. I do a unit on setting SMART goals. This might be a great place to start. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Thanks.