Posts under ‘Social Work’

Even within the field of social work, there are those that are excellent at what they do and those that aren’t. While it may be that they are having a bad day, there can also be signs of a bad social worker. Here are some things to think about when you encounter a bad social worker:

• Understand that it may not be a good fit

  The therapeutic relationship between a social worker and a client may not always work in harmony. While social workers are trained to establish rapport with clients of different personalities and backgrounds, the client may not feel comfortable with a certain social worker. An effective therapeutic relationship is based on trust and any number of factors can contribute to not being able to establish a good rapport.

1. When they talk about themselves and aren’t listening to you

   The sessions are not about the social worker, it is about the client! However social workers are humans too. There are unfortunately, as with all professions, social workers that don’t act professionally.

2. When they just give out resources and don’t explain anything

   Social workers do more than give out resources and letting the client handle it. Although many social workers empower their clients, they also advocate for the clients, counsel them through difficult times, and give them the right tools.

This is a list that I came up with from my experience of the stigmas that surround the therapeutic community. It is merely my experience and I believe these aspects exist with clients, but does not describe all clients as therapy may seem to imply.

• Must be the clients fault

  No way! Actually it’s the opposite. Everyone has their weaknesses and it is rather admirable for someone to know it and want to enhance their life.

• Steep tuition

  Anytime you go to college, one grimm reality is the tuition cost. In particular, private schools have a higher tuition rate. However, the good news is that each school offers financial aid which includes loans, scholarships and work-study.

• Observation

  It is always important to visit the schools that you wish to go. In this way, you can get an instinctual idea of what the school is like, meet the students, and meet some of the faculty.