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Article Excerpt: Tips for New Social Workers
by Lisa Baron, MSW, LCSW
Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from an article from the Spring 2010 issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER. Read the full article at:
I have been a clinical social worker for 26 years. I have seen adults, adolescents, and children in a variety of clinical settings, including agencies, schools, hospitals, and private practice. I have worked with clients who have presented with depression, anxiety, relationship concerns, and many other issues. Many clients come to me hopeful for help, yet somewhat skeptical of the ability to change. Through our trusting relationships, step by step, many clients do begin to make the changes they hope for. Some are quite successful over time, internalizing the work that we do to the point at which they move on from the therapeutic arena.
However, not all succeed. It is in consideration of this second group that I developed some “Tips for New Social Workers,” who come into the field wide eyed and ready to change the world.
Five years ago, I began teaching students at the graduate level. These students are training to be professional social workers or professional counselors. During this time, I have noticed some belief patterns in many of the students I teach. They have chosen a helping profession based on a belief that, with their love of people and good intentions, all clients will benefit from their services.
When we begin to address some of their beliefs, myths, and paradigms, at times it is a rude awakening. The fact is, not all clients change. Not all clients want to change, or they are unable to for a variety of reasons. Maybe it’s too frightening for them to change. Maybe they are not ready. Maybe they are not certain that change is what they seek.
Some students don’t believe that this is possible when they first enter the helping professions. Often, I will have these same students contact me months later, agreeing that this work falls within the context of reality–sometimes wonderful, sometimes hard, sometimes disappointing, sometimes confusing. It is from this perspective that I have developed the following tips.
I would preface this list by saying:
Dear Student,
I write this list with your very best interests in mind.
It is a great honor to work with you as you enter a very important career of working with people. That said, people are complex, and you will be amazed, mesmerized, frustrated, disappointed, angered, sometimes all in a given day...yet, for even the smallest changes that you see your clients make, you will be incredibly gratified. Some of your clients will be forever grateful, internalizing some of the hard work that the two of you do together, in order to improve their day-to-day lives. Some clients will not proceed in the way you would hope. However, remember that those clients may have benefited as well, maybe not in the way you envisioned. Change takes hard, hard work. You will touch the lives of all you work with, in different ways. Be realistic about what to expect. Read the list, take it in, try it on for size. Through your own experiences, you’ll be able to add to it, over time.
1. I can help all clients at all times.
This is a fantasy that many of us have when we enter the field of social services. We are ready and willing to embrace whoever and whatever comes our way. We envision our clients being so happy for the help that we offer them that they will be forever thankful. In preparation for the first day of our graduate internship, we choose a special outfit. We have map-quested our destination and arrive 30 minutes early to make sure that we are on time. Upon entering the building, we anticipate the receptionist greeting us with a smile, perhaps giving us a freshly cut bouquet of flowers as a welcome. Although in fact, this might occur, it is unlikely that it will. You may receive a smile and flowers, or you may greet a receptionist who is overworked and underpaid. Your first client may come in cheerfully or could be a mandated client who does not want to be there. Or, your first client may not show up for the appointment at all. The fact is that you can’t help all clients at all times. You can help the clients who want to be helped. Those clients will need to have some level of motivation for change.
2. This work will not touch me personally.
You probably entered this field being a sensitive person. You have probably always been interested in people and intrigued by interactions. You are most likely a loving and kind person. There are clients who will touch you in a personal way. Their stories will be sad. Their words will trigger thoughts and feelings in you. You will need to breathe deeply in sessions, so you can keep the focus on your client. It’s important to consider your own personal therapy and to also use supervision to process feelings that clients trigger in you. This is a key part of your work—understanding and working through clinical countertransference.
Read the rest of this article at:
Additional articles from the Spring 2010 issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER include:
…and more!
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April is Child Abuse Prevention Month
Increasing public awareness of the need to ensure the safety and welfare of children led to the passage of the first Federal child protection legislation, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), in 1974. While CAPTA has been amended many times over the years, most recently by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003, the purpose of the original legislation remains intact. Today, the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal agency charged with supporting States, Tribes, and communities in providing programs and services to protect children and strengthen families.
In the early 1980s, Congress made a further commitment to identifying and implementing solutions to child abuse. Recognizing the alarming rate at which children continued to be abused and neglected and the need for innovative programs to prevent child abuse and assist parents and families affected by maltreatment, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives resolved that the week of June 6-12, 1982, should be designated as the first National Child Abuse Prevention Week.
The following year, April was proclaimed the first National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Since then, child abuse and neglect awareness activities have been promoted across the country during April of each year. The Office on Child Abuse and Neglect (OCAN) within the Children's Bureau coordinates Child Abuse Prevention Month, providing information and releasing updated national statistics about child abuse and neglect each April.
In 1989, the Blue Ribbon Campaign to Prevent Child Abuse had its early beginnings as a Virginia grandmother's tribute to her grandson who died as a result of abuse. She tied a blue ribbon to the antenna of her car as a way to remember him and to alert her community to the tragedy of child abuse. The Blue Ribbon Campaign has since expanded across the country, and many wear blue ribbons each April in memory of those who have died as a result of child abuse.
In Title II of the CAPTA amendments of 1996, the Children's Bureau was charged with identifying a lead agency in each State for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) grants. These grants support the development, operation, and expansion of initiatives to prevent child abuse and neglect, as well as the coordination of resources and activities to strengthen and support families to reduce the likelihood of child maltreatment. CBCAP grantees within each State often take a leadership role in coordinating special events and preparing materials to support Child Abuse Prevention Month.
In 2003, as part of the 20th anniversary of the original Presidential Proclamation designating April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, OCAN recast the National Child Abuse Prevention Initiative as a year-long effort. This initiative was launched at the 14th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, which was devoted to the theme of prevention. A national press conference there was the setting for the release of the publication Emerging Practices in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
The expansion of the Child Abuse Prevention Initiative was consistent with priorities of the Administration for Children and Families and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. OCAN and Child Welfare Information Gateway (formerly, the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information) partnered with the broader child abuse prevention community to raise awareness of the issue through a variety of tools, resources, activities, and public awareness events. Many of these materials have been made available in print and on the web to related Federal agencies, organizations, and concerned citizens in communities nationwide.
In 2004, there was emerging consensus among national child abuse prevention organizations and related Federal agencies that building public will for child abuse prevention required engaging the public in efforts to strengthen and support families and enhance parenting skills. Building on this national momentum, OCAN shifted the focus of its child abuse prevention resources to incorporate a family strengthening message promoting parenting and community support. Today, the Child Abuse Prevention Initiative is an opportunity for communities across the country to keep children safe, provide the support families need to stay together, and raise children and youth to be happy, secure, and stable adults.
Free Child Abuse Prevention Resource
Order free copies of Strengthening Families and Communities: 2010 Resource Guide. Developed for service providers, the guide highlights strategies to strengthen families by promoting key protective factors that prevent child abuse and neglect. It also includes tip sheets in both English and Spanish to share with parents.
The Resource Guide is produced annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, Child Welfare Information Gateway, and the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention. The 2010 guide was developed with input from numerous national organizations, Federal partners, and parents committed to strengthening families and communities.
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CSWE Develops New Mental Health Recovery Curriculum for Social Work Over 5 Years With $350,000 SAMHSA-Funded Grant
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) has been awarded one of the five $350,000 subcontract grants funded by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to develop a curriculum to raise awareness among social workers about mental health recovery. SAMHSA’s direct grantee, Development Services Group, Inc. (DSG), has awarded CSWE funding through March 2015 to fund the social work education portion of its national outreach.
CSWE will collaborate with its extensive social work education network and organizational partnerships to expand the amount of mental health recovery resources available to educators and practitioners at DSG’s Web-based Recovery-to-Practice Resource Center. Educators will receive a collection of academic assessment and e-learning toolkits to teach baccalaureate and master’s level social work students about mental health recovery.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in developing and implementing such a holistic mental health recovery effort,” said CSWE Executive Director Julia M. Watkins. “CSWE has access to more than 600 university field placement networks through its program members, uniquely positioning us to connect educators and practitioners to an array of experiential learning opportunities.”
The 10 components of mental health recovery that will guide CSWE’s assessment and development of resources for social workers are self-direction; individualized care; empowerment; peer support; respect; responsibility; hope; nonlinear and holistic approaches; and the need for clients to build on their strengths to create new, positive life changes. CSWE-produced, client-driven resources for direct practitioners will focus on day-to-day client interactions, such as observation check lists, recommended activities for client therapy sessions, and case studies from agencies with successful recovery programming.
The Recovery-to-Practice Resource Center will be Web-based and include a depository of recovery materials, quarterly Webinar trainings, and an e-newsletter. The site will also provide training and technical assistance staff, who will respond to telephone and e-mail requests and arrange for more lengthy consultations.
DSG is also working with other key members of the mental health community—psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, and other professionals—to disseminate recovery resources. DSG received its principal funding from SAMHSA in September 2009.
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HEALTHY LIVING PROGRAM FOR NATIVE AMERICAN YOUTH DEVELOPED BY UB SOCIAL WORK RESEARCHER
A University at Buffalo School of Social Work researcher has developed and tested a "wellness curriculum" designed to improve the health of Native American urban youth shown to be at higher risk to develop health problems, including cancer.
Hilary N. Weaver, UB professor of social work, whose professional interests include multicultural social work and social welfare policy -- in particular for Native Americans -- tested her "Healthy Living in Two Worlds" wellness plan with 16 Native American youths between the ages of 9 and 13 staying at a summer camp.
The wellness curriculum, which targets the children's diet, exercise habits, and recreational tobacco use, earned the approval of parents of the children attending the summer camp. Now, Weaver's team will study the possible benefits of the health program and develop a plan that can be used with other Native American youth. Native youth in Buffalo and Niagara Falls and their caregivers were interviewed for the study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, to find out more about their health behaviors and home environments, Weaver said. Prior to the study, this information had not been collected on urban Native American youth in the Northeast.
This information was then used as a foundation for developing Weaver's "Healthy Living in Two Worlds" curriculum.
"This program targets an urban population," says Weaver, who grounded her program in the culture of the Haudenosaunee tribe prominent among Western New York Native Americans. "Native populations in cities are generally overlooked by programs and funding streams, even though the majority of Native people have not lived on reservations for a long time now.
"The primary goal was to gather information on health behaviors, then use this information to shape a culturally grounded wellness intervention," she says. "This is a first step in a larger process, rather than a project designed to produce generalized knowledge.
"The next step is to take what we have learned here, refine the curriculum, and see if it can be developed as an effective template that can be adapted for use with different urban Native American communities and different segments of Native populations, including hard-to-reach youth."
The project seeks to address three major risk factors for cancer: diet, use of tobacco, and a sedentary lifestyle. All are behaviors people can change to decrease their risk of developing cancer, Weaver says. "Unfortunately, Native Americans are particularly high on all these risk factors," notes Weaver, who is Native American. "We smoke more than other populations -- and often at a younger age. We are now also considered to be the most obese population in the U.S., which says a lot about poor diet and being sedentary." Weaver says targeting this age group is "ideal" for instilling life-long habits to increase healthy living.
"Young people these ages are faced with choices about smoking and are making more choices about what they eat," she says. "This also is a good time for them to develop good habits around being physically active. The combination of targeting this age group, these risk factors and a population that has particularly high behavioral risk factors makes for a solid overall wellness initiative with the potential to decrease cancer risk in the future."
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