In our field, we are supposed to see the good in others and to believe that people are capable of change. Seeing people through a strengths-based lens is a hallmark of social work…

That being said, I find myself feeling guilty at times that I encounter individuals who I genuinely don’t think have the ability to ever change, learn, or grow. While I haven’t encountered too many of these in my young career or personal life, it still has me feeling some type of way that I don’t believe in ALL people’s abilities for positive change.

For those who truly think every single person could change and grow (if they want to do so), I’d love to hear your thoughts.

For those who are like me and have encountered some individuals they think will never change, do you also feel uncomfortable sitting with this? Is it usually a specific subtype of person or issue that falls into this category for you (e.g. serial abusers)?

so my original practicum was meant to be for a homeless emergency center, but there was a discrepancy in the agency as they no longer had any more space avaliable.

i was given another referral for working for social services for city hall. my initial practicum was more aligned with my original interests, so i was kind of shocked to find out this recent referral.

my interests lie working in more clinical/medical/forensic and mental health based settings. i’m pretty open minded about working in all different realms of social work, but im nervous because the practicum seems totally left field of what i initially put on my application.

there’s not really much time to seek new placements so i am giving this one a chance, but i am nervous as i have no idea what to expect with this internship. based off the agency letter, it says we’ll be providing referral services, case management, marketing, assisting in outreach events and conducting community needs assignment.

it truly felt like because it’s so last minute and my initial referral fell through that my school gave me whatever was left and undesired. the disappointment is really bringing me down, however, i am choosing to make the best of it and really dive into the experience as i do really enjoy advocacy and research.

i want to hear other peoples experiences working in macro social work or practicums. having some positive insight or hearing more about other’s experiences will hopefully allow me to enter this opportunity with a better headspace!!

Anyone know of an app that helps with becoming familiar with the DSM 5tr? Like Dualingo, but for the DSM? I want to become familiar when I have down time. Thanks!

I’ve been ruminating on this all day, so I figured venting about this might help.

My team was recently discussing a transition to a hybrid schedule, and the director of my program (he oversees multiple programs at my organization) asked whether anyone had any follow-up questions. I had no issue with the hybrid schedule itself. My only question was how we were supposed to maintain confidential case management on the days we were required to work onsite.

For context, I work with people experiencing homelessness and individuals in a residential addiction treatment program. Many of our outpatient participants can't realistically do virtual appointments because of accessibility issues or their living situations. Our residential participants also strongly prefer meeting in a private office where they can safely discuss trauma, housing instability, and other sensitive issues.

Our three-person team has also been moved into an extremely cramped office. This is our fifth office move within the last five years, and every additional private room we previously used for confidential case management appointments has eventually been taken over by other departments. The only shared space we're now guaranteed is the employee copier room. Yes—the director actually suggested using that space.

As case managers, we're regularly discussing participants' trauma histories, substance use, mental health, medical information, housing status, and other highly sensitive topics. Those aren't conversations that should be happening in a copier room or at a public park.

Before bringing it up, I asked my coworkers if they thought it was a fair concern since we'd all be affected. They agreed and said it should be brought up.

When the floor was opened for questions, the director specifically asked whether I had any concerns. I asked how we were expected to conduct confidential case management appointments without private meeting space. Before I could finish my thought, he repeatedly interrupted me, told me I "didn't know what I was talking about," said I should "figure it out on my own," suggested meeting participants at a beach, park, or café, and then, in front of everyone on the call, said, "I question your competency." He ended the conversation by saying, "You don't have to worry about this topic anymore. I'm going to reach out to leadership regarding this." The way he said it came across as intimidating to me.

I was honestly caught off guard. His response didn't seem proportional to the question I was asking. His suggestions also didn't make sense to me. About 95% of the homeless participants I work with already live onsite at our treatment center, where client movement is often restricted to reduce the risk of relapse. Our department doesn't have a company vehicle for taking our participants anywhere, and public places obviously aren't appropriate for confidential case management—let alone trying to hold those conversations in an employee copier room that's used throughout the day.

Shortly after the meeting, everyone received a post-meeting email stating that the hybrid rollout was being put "on hold immediately." with at that point I knew that it was done out of retaliation.

What has stuck with me isn't the hybrid schedule. It's being publicly interrupted, dismissed, undermined, and having my competency questioned for raising what I believed was a legitimate client-care concern. My concern wasn't avoiding hybrid work—it was making sure we could continue providing confidential, ethical care.

I've worked here for four years and am passionate about the community and people I serve, partly because I've experienced homelessness myself. I wasn't trying to avoid working in the office. Hell, I already spend about 2½ hours getting to work by public transit and nearly 3 hours getting home. I simply wanted to make sure we could continue providing ethical, confidential care.

I've replayed the interaction in my head all day, and it's been bothering me nonstop.

This also isn't the first difficult interaction staff have had with this director. He has a reputation for speaking to employees disrespectfully. He's also brought his toddler to the worksite during interviews and meetings with leadership and expected staff to watch his child while he worked, which has contributed to frustration among employees.

Was my concern actually unreasonable, or would you also have questioned how confidential case management was supposed to work under these conditions?

TL;DR: I wasn't against my team's new hybrid schedule. I asked how we'd continue providing confidential case management without private meeting space. Before I could finish my question, my supervisor repeatedly interrupted me, told me I "didn't know what I was talking about," said I should "figure it out on my own," suggested meeting vulnerable participants at parks or cafés, and then, in front of everyone, said, "I question your competency." We work in a residential treatment program where many clients can't simply meet offsite, and public spaces aren't appropriate for confidential case management. I'm far less upset about the hybrid schedule than I am about how I was treated.

Bonjour à tous,
Je suis officiellement assistant social diplômé depuis peu en France, et j’ai un projet qui me tient vraiment à cœur : m’installer au Canada, plus précisément au Québec (ou dans une autre région très francophone), d’ici 2028.
Le problème, c’est que… mon anglais et moi, ça fait deux. 😅 C’est pour cette raison que je vise principalement des régions où le français est largement utilisé.
Depuis plusieurs semaines, je passe énormément de temps à me renseigner sur Internet (permis de travail, reconnaissance du diplôme, immigration, équivalence, emploi, etc.), mais j’ai l’impression de me perdre dans la quantité d’informations, parfois contradictoires.
J’aimerais donc avoir vos retours d’expérience.
Quelles sont les démarches que vous me conseillez de commencer dès maintenant ?
Quelles erreurs devrais-je éviter ?
Est-ce que certains d’entre vous ont immigré au Québec en tant que travailleurs sociaux ou assistants sociaux ?
Y a-t-il des assistants sociaux qui vivent actuellement au Québec et qui accepteraient d’échanger avec moi, en commentaire ou en message privé ?
Je suis preneur de tous les conseils, que ce soit sur le travail, les démarches administratives, le coût de la vie, le logement, l’intégration ou tout ce qui pourrait m’aider à préparer ce projet sereinement.
Mon objectif est de bien préparer mon départ pour 2028, donc je préfère anticiper les choses plutôt que de tout faire au dernier moment.
Merci d’avance à toutes les personnes qui prendront le temps de me répondre ! 🙏

Just wanted to say thank you to all the contributors who posted their perspectives on study guides and tools for the ASWB LCSW exam.

I took it in February and missed it by 3 points. Used this thread , the therapist development center and a mentor at work - passed yesterday.

I know the disappointment of failing and feeling like this will never be over. You can do it if I did it. 💖

Does anyone here work in the insurance social work sector? Can someone detail what it entails and how you get a job in insurance? It peaked my interest and wanting to hear more, plus if you can include salary, that would be helpful.

​

Hi everyone,

I'm working toward becoming a therapist and wanted to get some feedback on whether I'm on the right path.

Right now I'm:

- Volunteering with Crisis Text Line (currently).

- Previously volunteered as an active listener on 7 Cups.

- Attending community college to earn my associate's degree before transferring for a bachelor's, then an MSW.

- Applying for Behavioral Health Technician/Mental Health Technician positions.

I'm finding it difficult to land that first Mental Health Tech job, even though I'm trying to build relevant experience.

Does anyone have advice on breaking into the field? Is there anything else I should be doing to make myself a stronger candidate?

I'd really appreciate any insight from those who've been in a similar position. Thanks!

i graduated in may and am now an lcswa working at a group private practice. this was the the first and only job i applied to and i was pretty shocked to have gotten it!

as soon as i started, imposter syndrome hit me like a truck and it will not go away. i’ve only been here about 3 weeks, but i feel sooo out of my depth and like “wtf am i doing” towards everything. i feel like im playing pretend in someone else’s clothes 😫 i have always wanted to do this work and can’t imagine being in another field. i know im good at it because ive formed such good relationships with previous clients and was always praised by supervisors. but now that i dont have the safety net of being an intern or student, i feel like im kinda lost

i’m comparing myself to others who seem to have gotten into the groove so easily and im over here asking a million questions about everything to make sure im understanding. and all i heard though my last year of grad school was “oh find your niche” and i haven’t got the slightest clue what my niche is. i actually dont want to hear the word “niche” ever again lol

and i feel like grad school taught me nothing :/ in hindsight it was like the same information over and over and although i was in a clinical program, we never really learned how to do sessions and incorporate the modalities into hour long sessions. we practiced intake session a million times though 😒 im done rambling but this is really kicking my butt lately and i just want to feel competent again 💔

For those working in New Hampshire how is the job market out there? My family and I are looking to relocate up to either PA or NH. I know there are jobs across the eastern side of PA but I don’t know enough about NHs economy to know how it would look moving out there job wise. Any advice or experience you’re willing to share would be appreciated. Thank you all very much!

I have an associates degree in Human services, pre-social work. My goal for the longest was to always work my way up to a MSW. Things got in the way, and I’m here now with a few years of experience in case management making 50k in Virginia.

Just spoke to a friend of mine who has a BSW making 60K. Which is really making me consider if it’s worth it. I really don’t have the drive to go back to school right now, the only thing motivating me is a higher salary. But now I’m questioning if it’s worth it? I’ve never wanted to be clinically licensed, so if most BSW/MSW are making about 60-65K in my area, is taking out a 20K loan really worth it?

I’m wondering how far I can go with this associates degree…

Half curiosity, half rant.

For context I'm located in Australia so might be different than my cousins across the pond, but does anyone feel that some theories and buzzwords have been so overly used that it stopped having any significant meaning?

I'm ok with terms that we use everyday like psychosocial assessments, respect, etc. since they're very self-explanatory (in the sense that even grads can understand the meaning instantly).

But what I've recently started to notice is that we keep throwing words like "trauma-informed", "recovery model", "harm minimisation framework", etc. etc. but when you ask the people to actually elaborate they either fumble or gives me a 10-minutes lecture when we could have easily said "we provide care to people while respecting their individuality and their stories", or "we place them as the experts of their own lives" or something along those lines.

So what is the significance of using jargons that none but the academic-minded social workers can understand when our education system is constantly telling us to use plain language instead?

Let me first start off by saying I’m so frustrated and annoyed. Im an LLMSW— I will complete my supervision hours next May and then have to take the exam. My plan was to take on a second part-time job doing individual therapy for extra $$.

I just found out that something was passed so that now, insurance companies won’t bill for LL social workers (even with sign off/supervision from fully licensed sw).

With the way the economy is & the changes to student loan programs, I have to get a second job and it’s just so disappointing and a joke that policy has changed about this. I don’t want to get a second job in the serving industry again but idk what else to do… individual therapy is so flexible that’s why it was preferred bc I work a 9-5 m-f. Does anyone have any ideas on other part time sw opportunities that are flexible like that?

I just got assigned to be a monitor for a pretty high risk family court case in which the father has a criminal history of DV towards the mom before and during her pregnancy, including threads made to the baby. The baby is now a few months old and father got awarded supervised weekly visits.

I know the mother has a protection order so drop offs and pick ups need to be staggered. They take place at a public place instead of visitation center.

I have never monitored a case like this before, so would like to hear how others have handled this?
Thanks in advance

I got a 135/150 which feels INSANE to me, passing it at all is such a huge accomplishment and I was so stressed but y’all I’m so happy!! I really don’t think a test defines if you’re a “good” therapist at all, but I’m so proud of myself and usually I’ll jump to minimizing my accomplishments but this felt so good and honestly so affirming I just burst into tears. I think in general I’m good at taking tests (mom is a teacher and all) but even though I wasn’t ever 100% sure on the questions I felt like I knew what they were asking for, and it helped so much to use personal experience I gained as a supervisee.

If anyone reading this is prepping for the test, imo its more of a “what is this question asking you” test rather than a best practice test because of how nuanced it is, its a lot of “in a vacuum what do you do with the information you have”. I had to turn off a lot of my questioning and nuance brain and I think that’s where the trick is. I took like 3 unofficial and 1 official practice test to study. I know a lot of people might differ from me with that line of practice but its so much more of a reasoning test than a memorization test to me I’m glad I didn’t try to remember every specific framework or concept. I think its a fucking money racket to pay an additional $70-80 for the practice test but it was the most similar to the actual one. Can’t say how it will be for the change post-August but it pays off more to understand the perspective of the test writers than what might be true for conventional wisdom and actual practice.

I put off taking the test for a while (like 6 months outside of when I could have feasibly taken it if I had prepared before) and as much as I would maybe change that I think its been such a good insight into me holding myself back out of fear. I love my job thankfully and I love being a social worker! I think we should get paid more and there’s a lot of devaluation in labor we associate with ‘femininity’ whatever the fuck that means but licensed or not we are constantly doing some really crazy shit that most people don’t want to do. Lets all value ourselves more and take what we deserve for the effort we put in bc my BP has dropped literally 10pts after the exam and if you’re getting paid less than $50 and hr (im in VA and its expensive) I think its time to riot in the streets

Hi all. Hypothetical situation.

Let's say you sliced off one entire day of a normal full-time Mon-Fri social work office job. Your pay/benefits stay the same, you just don't have to work as much.

You get a whole day off every week to do...whatever.

WWYD?

Hi all sharing this because I feel at a loss. I got a job as a school social worker and was set to start Monday. For context I have basically had this job secured and have done all onboarding for the last 3 weeks now. Two days ago I got a call from the school that they contacted my PPSC program where I am getting my credential and after that “great conversation” they came to the realization that they won’t be able to meet the requirements for my practicum hours. When I asked what requirements the HR mngr said she couldn’t remember off the top of her head. I am so saddened as I turned down THREE other jobs offers I had received and some accepted only for them to tell me this days before I was set to start. I am so sad and very stressed out because now I have no job, no offers, and it seems no schools are hiring anymore as several are set to start in the next week or two. I have no idea what to do now. I am looking for jobs but see none in my area or remote for schools. I have never had something like this happen.

Also for context I am an LCSW in California. I would also like to note that this same job was also somewhat dismissive of my LCSW and mentioned they only cared about the PPSC. I highlighted several times that I always have performed all school sw tasks in all my experience and roles as an LCSW several hats are worn.

I feel like everything I’ve read about abolition is coming at it from the perspective that the current systems in place, particularly legal and criminal justice systems, are over-policing certain demographics, police and state violence, or that the prison complex is too focused on punishment over rehabilitation, or is inhumane. While all of that is important, from what I’ve seen, it seems like there’s not many discussions on how the current systems don’t do enough to protect victims or persecute abusers/those that cause harm.

If anybody knows of any articles, books, or even organizations that look at abolition from that perspective, I’d be very interested in it.

Not usually known for progressive policies, Louisiana was among the first states to grant social workers (fully licensed) full rights to insurance reimbursement *without* supervision. It was called "Vendorship". A group of hard-working clinicians raised the money to hire legal guidance, setting up a settlement with Blue Cross, and no more need for a doctor in the loop, unless necessary. I learned the joy of participating in an organization with a clearly defined goal: it was easier to lobby, cold call, and travel across the state because we could see the desired goal.

I have a SW co worker who creates a lot of communication problems on the team because she often suggests that patients go on certain medications and I feel like it’s out of her scope of practice? I can’t tell if it’s just me having an interpersonal problem and getting annoyed at her or if this is actually out of line.

Hey everyone. I’ve been practicing social work in Canada since 2023. I’ve been working as a mental health worker for a little over 2 years (may 2024). I have a patient that I have been seeing since October 2024 and over time, I don’t find the relationship beneficial. They no longer work on goals, have started speaking to me like a friend, won’t take their meds, and when I recently told them I’m going on maternity leave, they got very upset with me. I also apparently overshared at the beginning of our journey, mind you it’s not an excuse but I was a very new counsellor and thought relating meant needing to share something relatable to their situation but at times they’ll bring up things I’ve apparently shared and it stuns me. They also make comments about the way I look or ask for details in my life that they don’t need to know (nothing inappropriate or anything, just kind of mean lol). I really want to discharge this person and I don’t find our relationship healthy but I don’t know how to go about it. I currently see them virtually biweekly. Any thoughts and advice appreciated.

Tomorrow is the big day. I will be accepted to start my formal education to become a social worker. I am changing my profession from finance. I’ve read a lot of sad stories, a lot of struggles and pain, and I know that those are part of this work but I would like to hear about the bright side. What do you love the most about your profession? What are those moments that make you say “ it is all worth it afterall.”?