SOCW 6500 Week 10 Self-Care Plan Example

Course	SOCW 6500 Field Education I
Week	Week 10
Paper type	Self-care plan
Length	About 610 words, 5 pages
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Walden University
Program	Master of Social Work (MSW)
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for SOCW 6500 Week 10

What I Will Do in a Hard Week: A Self-Care Plan for a First-Year Field Placement, Grounded in the NASW Code's Mention of Professional Self-Care, Naming Personal Warning Signs, Setting Practices in Three Domains With Realistic Conditions and Ending in an If-Then Page

Student Name

Walden University

SOCW 6500: Field Education I

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title names the plan's centerpiece, the if-then page for a hard week, and its foundation in the Code.

Why a Plan

The NASW Code of Ethics names professional self-care in its statement of purpose, noting that it is important for social workers' ability to meet their professional obligations (National Association of Social Workers, 2021). The demands of field work make that concrete. This term I have heard clients describe grief, fear of eviction, family conflict and illness, often several in one day. I have noticed myself thinking about clients on the drive home and, twice, lying awake. Lee and Miller (2013) proposed a self-care framework for social workers that includes both personal and professional self-care and argued that self-care should be planned and practiced, not left to chance. This plan is my attempt to do that.

What this page is doingThe plan opens by tying self-care to the profession's own expectations, so it reads as part of practice rather than a private wellness list.

My Warning Signs

These are specific to me, drawn from this term and from earlier hard periods:

1. Sleep: falling asleep after midnight or waking before five on two or more nights in a week.

2. Irritability: snapping at my partner over small things, or noticing impatience with clients, as in my Week 3 process recording.

3. Withdrawal: canceling plans with friends two weekends in a row.

4. Rumination: replaying a session on the drive home for more than the first ten minutes.

Practices in Three Domains

Table 1

Self-Care Practices, Frequency and Realistic Conditions

Domain	Practice	Frequency	Realistic condition
Physical	A 30-minute walk	Four days a week	On field days, at lunch; on class days, before dinner
Physical	Lights out by 11:30	Five nights a week	Phone charging outside the bedroom
Relational	Dinner or a call with a friend	Once a week	Planned on Sunday for the week ahead
Relational	One evening with my partner without discussing school	Once a week	Thursday, by agreement
Professional	Raising one hard case in supervision	Every supervision session	Written on the agenda the night before
Professional	A five-minute note after the last client of the day, then closing the file	Every field day	Done in the car before driving

Frequencies are set at what I kept up during the first half of the term, not at what I would like to do.

If-Then Page for a Hard Week

If I notice two warning signs in the same week, then I will tell my field instructor at the next supervision and ask to reduce new intakes for one week.

If I lie awake thinking about a client, then I will write the thought on a card by the bed and bring the card to supervision rather than solving it at night.

If I cancel plans with friends twice in a row, then I will call one friend that day, even for ten minutes.

If a client's situation reminds me of my own family, then I will name the connection in my journal and in supervision before my next session with that client.

If I skip walks for a full week, then I will walk the next day before doing anything else, even if only for ten minutes.

If two or more of these happen in two consecutive weeks, then I will contact the university's counseling service, which is free for students.

What this page is doingThe if-then page states what will happen when warning signs appear, because a hard week is when good intentions are least likely to survive.

Review

I will review the plan with my field instructor at the end of the term and adjust frequencies to what I actually kept. Gollwitzer (1999) found that if-then plans, which link a specific situation to a specific response, help people act on their intentions; the hard-week page is built on that idea.

References

Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54(7), 493-503. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.7.493

Lee, J. J., & Miller, S. E. (2013). A self-care framework for social workers: Building a strong foundation for practice. Families in Society, 94(2), 96-103. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.4289

National Association of Social Workers. (2021). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

What the SOCW 6500 Week 10 instructions ask for

Week 10 asks for a self-care plan of three or four pages, part narrative and part working document. Open by connecting self-care to the profession's expectations, citing the NASW Code, and to the specific demands you have met in your placement. List your own warning signs, specific enough that you would notice them. Set out practices in at least three domains, such as physical, relational and professional, each with a frequency and a realistic condition that makes it likely to happen. The centerpiece should be an if-then page: for each warning sign or hard situation, what you will do. Name when you will seek outside help. Close with how you will review the plan. Cite sources on self-care.

Inside the SOCW 6500 Week 10 example

The plan opens with the Code's purpose statement and the student's own experiences of a full day of other people's distress, citing Lee and Miller. Four warning signs follow: late sleep, irritability, canceling plans and rumination on the drive home. A table lists six practices across three domains, from lunchtime walks to a five-minute note in the car after the last client, with frequencies set at what the student kept up before midterm. The if-then page gives six responses, from telling the field instructor and reducing intakes to calling a friend the same day, ending with the university counseling service. The review section plans an end-of-term check, citing Gollwitzer.

SOCW 6500 Week 10 rubric: what earns full marks

The if-then page carries much of the grade. Every response should name a concrete action linked to one warning sign or situation, since general intentions rarely survive a hard week. Warning signs should be personal and observable, not generic. Practices earn credit when frequencies and conditions are realistic, ideally based on what the writer has actually sustained. Including professional practices, such as supervision, shows that self-care is part of practice. Naming when to seek outside help shows judgment. Plans that list wellness activities without conditions, use generic warning signs or omit an escalation point fall into the middle range.

Common SOCW 6500 Week 10 mistakes, and how to avoid them

Look back over the term and note when you felt most drained and what you noticed first in yourself; those are your warning signs. Choose practices you have actually kept up, not ones you wish you did, and attach each to a time and place. For the if-then page, take each warning sign and write the specific thing you will do when it appears. Include supervision and a point at which you will seek outside help. Keep the plan where you will see it. Review it with your field instructor. Put the if-then page somewhere you will see it on a bad day. A tutor can help make your plan realistic, and the self-care plan above includes the full if-then page.

Get a SOCW 6500 Week 10 example written to your instructions

Include any self-care template your section provides with the prompt and the rubric. A plan with warning signs, domain-based practices and an if-then page returns in 24-48h, and your first sample is free. The strains named in it are general to practice, so you can swap in the ones your own work actually brings.

More SOCW 6500 papers and MSW samples

SOCW 6500 Week 10 questions, answered

Where can I find a free SOCW 6500 Week 10 sample paper?

The field placement self-care plan, if-then page included, is reproduced above.

What does the NASW Code say about self-care in the SOCW 6500 Week 10 sample?

Its statement of purpose names professional self-care as important to meeting professional obligations.

What are the student's warning signs?

Late sleep, irritability, canceling plans with friends and replaying sessions on the drive home.

What is the if-then page?

A list of specific responses the student will make when each warning sign or hard situation appears.

When will the student seek outside help?

If two or more if-then situations occur in two consecutive weeks.