Why Don't We Self-Reflect on the Small Encounters? A Question Posed by a Japanese Student during a Multicultural Field Placement.

This paper illustrates my (Yamashita's) critical self-reflection as a female social work student from Japan living in Australia while conducting my first placement in an organisation that provides refugees and asylum seekers with holistic mental health support. The selfreflective process on a small miscommunication enabled me to learn lessons and identify strengths as a future social worker by unpacking the influence of my own cultural background. The main implication of this paper is that, particularly in the multicultural setting, applying selfreflection and self-critique even to small encounters enables social workers to grow as professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]