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Step 1 in the Create Your Own Case Toolkit is to reflect on your experiences working with families. Read more about this step and complete exercises designed to help you think about families with whom you have worked.

INTRODUCTION:
The first step in the process of writing a case is to reflect on the work you are currently doing with families or work that you have done with families in the past. Reflection is a critical component of any position that involves engaging families. It is an important way for you to take time to think deliberately about your experiences and make sense of them. Time for reflection allows you to consider what worked well, what you could have done better, and how you might approach situations differently in the future. By reflecting on your experiences working with families, you are brainstorming different situations you might write about in your case. 

READ:
Case 2: Reaching John: When Disengagement is Not What It May Seem, by Christopher Hope. You’ll notice that Christopher focuses his case on how his experience with John stood out to him and taught him an important lesson about establishing trusting relationships.

COMPLETE:
Exercises 1.1 and 1.2. These exercises are designed to spark your thinking about a family that you have worked with and experiences with them that might make good cases.

• Exercise 1.1: Reflecting on Families You Have Worked With, is a reflection record and presents a series of prompts that help you think about certain families that you have worked with.
• Exercise 1.2: Using the Empathy Map, is a tool that allows you to explore more deeply the thoughts and feelings of a family member you have worked with.

THINK ABOUT:
When you’ve completed Exercises 1.1 and 1.2, ask yourself: Is there a family I wrote about more than once? Is there a particular experience with a family that I would like to write a case about?

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