Got a Happy Story is a community gathering every Monday night where we share stories large and small that have put a smile on our face. It is a time to acknowledge the joy and wonder we experience. The Happy Story diary exists as a way to anchor the community in hope and comfort while we do the hard work of taking back our country. Everyone and all sorts of stories and pictures are welcome. May we find joy and strength here.
Nineteen years ago, right about now, I was waiting to hear from the graduate schools to which I had applied. Less than 3 years before that I had never even considered social work as a profession. But during those three years I had the good fortune to work in the Social Work department at a major teaching hospital. I watched those social workers in multi-disciplinary teams, providing services for patients, and identifying systemic needs in both the hospital and the community. I watched their passion for their work, their patients, their colleagues, and for social justice. And I realized that Social Work was the profession for me.
In the years since then I have never regretted my choice.
People who become social workers do so because they seek a purpose for their career, and recognize that there are many different paths where a social work degree might lead. We know that social workers are passionate, purpose-driven individuals who want to do an excellent service for individuals and communities. future...
We also know that social workers have the unique training and educa tion to see the purpose and possibility in the lives of those they serve. Professional social workers are educated at a program or school of social work in the theory, practice and policy of social work. Through their education, social workers participate in field placements that allow them to get hands-on experience with individuals, families and communities. They understand that the potential of clients and communities is plentiful. NASW
There are more than 600,000 Americans with a degree in Social Work. Seventy-nine percent of social workers active in the profession hold graduate degrees. More social workers workers provide mental health services for children, adults, and families than psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses,and psychologists combined.
Here are the roles that I have held as a social worker:
* I worked with chronically and terminally ill homebound patients and assisted them in connecting to community resources. I did the same for women on the inpatient OB-GYN unit.
* I was an intern in the sexual abuse unit at a child guidance agency where I learned how to provide therapy for children who had been abused and for sexual offenders.
* I was an intern in a community mental health agency where I learned to work with people who were struggling with situations in their lives or with major mental illness.
* I performed sexual abuse and sexual offender evaluations in consultation to the state child welfare agency. I provided psychotherapy for individuals, families and groups who were impacted by trauma. I trained foster parents and child welfare workers to understand trauma and its aftermath.
* I worked in a trauma clinic where I performed trauma assessments, supervised clinicians, and treated children. I presented at symposia, taught in an advanced certificate program, and testified as an expert witness.
* I directed the child and adolescent clinical program at a domestic violence agency.
* I provided consultation to the Catholic Church on issues related to sexual abuse and sexual offenders when the crisis of child sexual abuse by priests was revealed.
* I set up a private practice where I specialized in working with cases that no one else wanted.
* I directed the clinical program at a residential treatment facility for adolescent sex offenders and fire setters.
The scope of my work has been narrow and specialized. But I have always known that I could use my degree to open doors in many other arenas. I love my work and that is a happy story for me this week.
So what is your happy story this week?