Just heard the most impassioned speech of the century from my dear lecturer, who's spent the last 20 or so years doing social work and is still every bit passionate about the profession. It's really not often that I get inspired by someone who believes so much in her cause.
1. A little anger don't hurt, she says. If not, how're you going to fight against injustice? How're you going to advocate for your clients?
2. Best if you find good supervision after you graduate, she says. Best way to learn. But, if you don't find a good supervisor in your agency, don't get trapped in a mode of learned helplessness. Search out your own mentors, like what she did. She turned to her lecturers for help with her casework.
3. I don't buy burnout, she says. There's no such thing as burnout. If you think you are burnt out, then it was you who brought it upon yourself. You didn't know how to manage your work. If you find the work doesn't suit you, by all means look for another profession. But don't use burnout as an excuse.
4. Don't be so hard on yourselves as beginning social workers, she says. For the first three months, you are going to get so much feedback about what you are doing wrong, and your self-esteem is going to go from there (she gestures with her hand above her head) to there (she brings her hand real low, near her knees). By the fifth month, your esteem will rise a little, and by the end of one year, you'll feel like you're only beginning to function as a social worker. You'll need at least three years to feel that you're really competent enough. But don't be hard on yourself, the feedback is the best way to learn.
And she goes on to talk about threats she has faced from violent clients, tricks of the trade, and lots of other things. Can't say much about the specific cases, tho they are really interesting, cos I have to abide by the code of ethics - confidentiality.
But I must say that ever since going through this course, I've learnt the big difference between a volunteer and a social worker. I never knew that so much training went into producing a social worker, and I feel really inadequate about coming out to practise after I graduate. I'm not ready!
It's really quite a science to do social work. You need to do accurate assessments of the client's situation because if you get them wrong, then your intervention methods will be erroneous. And you need to listen actively and observe keenly for the underlying problems that clients don't tell you. Quite stressful. And during all this time, you have to demonstrate empathy not only in your non-verbals, but the way you craft your sentences to reflect feeling and content (all these are skills we learn in class).
Seriously, it's not just about having a big heart in social work. It's really about being trained as a professional with the proper skills and theoretical frameworks to partner the client in handling their issues. And it's not just problem-focused. It's also about exploring their strengths and resources, thereby helping them see that they are capable to get themselves "unstucked" from their situation.
And many more things to take note of in the profession....I'm getting quite scared! I'm so not ready!
