Social Work | Page 2 | INFJ Forum

Social Work

I think a lot of NF's enter this field being too idealistic about it and what they can accomplish. I was brought up with very NT leanings despite my true nature. At some point, in my head, a certain "self preservation switch" clicks on and I just stop caring about people. I believe in that saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink:" and that's how I have to handle situations in this field (Yes, I have tried it in the past).Teach them how to do things, show them right from wrong, but I don't believe in "babying" people for months on end - after that, I believe in Darwinism...

Social work really is a field that people burn out in. As an INFJ, I might point out that "J" standing out at the end. That part of us likes closure and organization. It likes to know a situation has a beginning, middle and end. Social working is an ongoing cluster-f*** of problems piled on top of more, endless problems. I don't feel it's a natural state of a person, especially with our pesky need for closure, to be subjected to throughout their careers.
 
Disclaimer: I'm in school to be a Social Worker - one semester away from getting my Masters, then studying for my Licensure, so I have no clue what direction I'll end up going after that.

I think it depends, in part, in where you end up. I am in a part-time program, which means I'm in classes on Saturdays, and at (unpaid) internship two days a week. My first internship was at a foster care agency, where I really was overworked. I was put in charge of 6-7 houses, several of which had clients in a "medically fragile" program, which consisted of weekly home visits instead of bi-weekly home visits. Some of whome lived over an hour away. However, this year my internship is at a local major hospital, helping to run a weekly group therapy program for kids on the Autism Spectrum Disorder. While it has been equally busy, it has been much more manageable - at the foster care agency, I used to have to do my paperwork at home, even on days I worked at my place of paid employment, in addition to my regular homework. At the hospital, aside from occasionally having to look for resources (which I can easily do on a day off while vegging out in front of the TV or sitting outside), I haven't had to do much outside of the office, even though there are only about 5 of us actually running the program. It's much closer, I think, to what I would be doing if I were a private practictioner, rather than somewhere like DSS or community mental health systems, which truly is horrid, at least here in SC.

Social Work actually brings a lot more variety than a lot of people realize. Even now, most people think of people who take kids away in neglect allegations, work for DSS, food stamps, etc. (imagine my frustration when, while paying at a K-Mart a few months ago, the cashier struck up a conversation, and upon learning I was in school, and for what, she responded "Oh, so you'll be giving out food stamps?"). Granted, it's a long, expensive process, but once you get your licensure, you can get your LISW, LCSW, LISW-CP (I'm still not sure yet what all those are), etc. You can be a therapist, diagnose someone on the DSM-IV, make assessments... the way I understand it, the only thing you can't do that an LPC (Licensed Practicing Counselor) can do, is testing (such as the MBTI, interest inventories, etc.), and of course you can't prescribe meds - you have to be a psychiatrist for that, and go to med school. It seems it's mainly a matter of (1) the job outlook in the area you live in, and (2) being willing to work the more stressful jobs until you get the experience necessary to get to the aforementioned points in your career.
 
I'm not so certain I have heard of social work practice in hospice care. Would this be associated with a non-profit organization? Would this be inpatient hospice at a center/hospital or hospice set up in a residence? Look into the requirements of both, as an inpatient hospice care job would be highly competitive and difficult to come by (like any other social worker position in a hospital.) Hospital social workers are normally required to carry an MSW, but if you are also considering the counseling side of it you will be required to obtain your LCSW.

There are a variety of jobs within the government sector for those with social work degrees. Highly underpaid? YES Highly underpaid with an MSW? YES

One thing you will have to remember is that out of college, regardless of your internship you will be required to have so many years of experience before landing a "decent" job. This normally means going into Department of Family and Childrens Services as a foster care case worker. You'll learn very quickly the failures of our society to provide for the children, while trying to maintain confidence in your job. You have to be understanding of the changing system, which unfortunately revolves around a child dying while in care. Your position within this career is highly scrutinized by many ... parents, children, society, courts, and your superiors. It's a horrible place in which to be, HOWEVER WE NEED YOU. An INFJ would be fantastic with this job, but I think succumb to the negatives over time.

Being a volunteer CASA, I am one who is watching what DFCS is doing to the children in my cases. The social workers themselves are not to blame, but the system as a whole. It's an interesting perspective to have.
 
[MENTION=4423]Sriracha[/MENTION], I know what you mean.... I personally have been pretty fortunate compared to some others. Even though I'm still in school, I've been in the mental health field overall since around 2003 (with exception of a period from 2007-2008 where I was unemployed all together). My current paid place of employment, where I work part-time, is at a local mental hospital/residential treatment facility for teenage boys. I've been working there for 4 years. And I'm hoping that experience will help in seeking out higher level employment after I finish school. So I have seen the good, bad, and the ugly of the mental health field. I remember one time, with one of my medically fragile clients when I interned at the foster care agency. He was basically quadriplegic, and his elderly foster mother had difficulty getting him into and out of the bathroom to bathe him. Upon learning from connections I had, I learned that there could be ways to get the local Disabilities Board to pay for widening the bathroom area for her. So I called, they made the appointment, and my supervisor agreed to attend the meeting in my absence, as I was going to be out for Spring Break. The person from the Disabilities Board never showed up, and I don't think that she ever did get those renovations made. And I've seen several cases where someone goes home when they really shouldn't be (for example, a few years ago there was a high profile case here where a woman tried to give her baby to an elderly couple at a bus stop, and they turned it over to DSS. The courts gave the baby back to the mother, so she killed it!) , or, as in the case of the mental hospital where I work, staying there way too long (one "kid", a 20 year old, has been in there almost 5 years, and the place is doing nothing for him but taking his family's money).

In all honesty, I don't know that I'll ever really be fully burned out in this field. I've been working in this so long, I don't think I really know how to do anything else. So while I fully recognize that at some point I'll probably burn out in a particular place of employment (hell, the only reason I stay at the mental hospital where I work is because it's flexible with my school schedule), I don't know that I'll burn out in the field as a whole.

In regards to social work in hospice care, I'm sure a lot of it is nonprofit, but I'm not sure. My internship this year is at a local regional hospital that has a childrens' hospital, emergency room, cancer research center, and a bunch of other things - it's basically our equivalent of Duke University, e.g. houses a little of everything and is the "go to" place. My internship is on the outpatient floor of the psychiatric facility there. I've been told that in recent years, *because* of the wide range of places Social Workers are qualified to work, a place looking for a therapist will often hire an LMSW over an LPC.
 
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[MENTION=4985]FindingMyself[/MENTION]

I don't think I noticed your age in your previous posts, but you obviously have firm experience in this field and know what you want. Kudos to you for wanting to be in the helping field. I'll always be drawn to the social work field; however my schedule now does not allow for it, so I do what I can to fulfill that desire through volunteer work. You have your work cut out for you!

The largest consistent problem I see in DFCS (as it is termed here) is the apathy children grow towards recieving therapeutic help after being moved from facility to facility. Each time they move to a new, their therapy starts all over again. I don't know about you, but I'd get a bit sick of repeating myself over and over ... like beating a dead horse, knowing it is for nothing until you are moved again. For the others who do not understand why children are moved: depending on age 1) they may break a rule/rules that would force them out of the facility, 2) the facility is temporary and only able to house children for a short length of time, 3) the stay for the child is temporary until a permanent residence is found, 4) there may be several facilities around but the child may not have a high enough per diem behind them to be moved there (children with dual diagnosis have higher per diem than "normal" children.) ........

I interned at a transistional program for boys aging out of a residential theraupeutic facility. I hate to say it, but the kids sent to this place were BAAAAD. Many were JJS referrals, sex offenders and children with multiple diagnosable behavioral problems. I seriously cannot say that these children were ready to embark on the real word. The sad thing is that they have the most resources b/c of the higher per diem, but also a higher rate of failure (by committing a crime, etc.) So all of these "normal" children who go through the system and have a higher success rate fall through the cracks.
 
Its a busy job, patience's essential, I've done it, part time, Didnt really enojoy it initially, I suppose it just depends on your character, and the genre of people you would like to be surrounded bye. Certainly, worked well for me.
 
[MENTION=4423]Sriracha[/MENTION], I know what you mean. I have seen a lot of that too, and it's sad. I work with sex offenders at my paid place of employment, and it's very difficult and frustrating sometimes. I've seen plenty of kids who are so used to moving around, and are so unable to attach to people (or follow rules), that they intentionally do things to disrupt their placement in order to get out. One foster kid I had on my caseload at the foster care agency threatened suicide for that very purpose. Very sad.
 
Maegan said:
I am really interested in Social Work and was wondering if anyone on here is one or plans to be. Right now I think I'd like to work with Hospice. I'm also interested in counseling and psychology, so I am also thinking things I can do with all of those majors. Any experiences and opinions?
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If you go into social work, I can't emphasize enough that you need to be getting as much work experience as possible while in school, even if that means you have to work for free. Out of grad school, most employers will not even look at an MSW unless they have 2 years of experience. The transition from an academic setting to a practice setting is particularly difficult for fields like social work. It is similar to being a doctor and it is very much trial by fire. Most people who go into social work and survive the transition are people who are already involved in the field and who want to expand what they are allowed to do. In other words, they are already established and know what they are getting themselves into and are willing to commit themselves to it. If you want to get a decent job out of school then you need to be building connections and gaining experience within the community you want to work well before you are finished with school. Anyone who is motivated can get a MSW degree, it will actually be the first couple years out of school that determines whether a person can make it as a social worker.

Social work isn't a field to get into for "helping people" anymore than people go into medicine to "cure people". The reality is that any help you do provide may take years to actually make any difference in a person's life. It is often not even clear whether you have helped someone or not. You plant seeds and you hope they take root. There is little compensation or appreciation for social workers and it is one of the only fields where the pay does not increase with the demand for workers. This field also demands time management skills on a expert level if you want to be anything more than a glorified secretary endlessly trying to keep up with the paperwork on your caseload. You have to learn how to be an expert at prioritizing the events that come up in your life and adapting to a work schedule that can change in a minute.

This is also a field that requires a sharp and critical mind. You aren't just going to be sitting around talking to people about their problems, you are going to be assessing them, coming up with a plan, finding resources, establishing a baseline for an intervention, and then evaluating that intervention. It is a scientific approach. You need to be able to look into research and know what is a crock and what is useful. You have to have the guts to ASK QUESTIONS! That means you have to learn the right questions to ask and you have to be willing to pursue them until you have an answer, which most people are not wiling to do.

If you want to get into this field you have to ask yourself what your core values are. You are going to waste a lot of time in your life if you pick a job based on anything other than how it fits into your core values. Most people ignore the things they don't want to see. Social workers are the people who choose to deal with reality as it is no matter how uncomfortable that may be, to accept their own limitations in changing it, and to invest their energy into incredibly difficult situations that may never change.
 
That last bit of advice is important, especially for this kind of work.

I considered social work long ago but realized I was too self-interested and inflexible to deal with others on this level. Someday, perhaps. It does seem to be a rewarding way to help others if one is dedicated.
 
Social work is not principally about counselling, and this misleads a lot of people going into this profession. It is a professionalised human services / welfare profession which requires a range of generic skills and knowledge in working with individuals, families, groups and communities. It draws much from the social sciences, especially psychology and sociology (and you'll be required to undertake study in these diciplines). In practical terms, many social work graduates become disenchanted with the profession and move out of it. This is because most of them can obly find employment in statutory human services areas, like child protection, youth justice, mental health, and so on. There they are asked to undertake 'assessment' and case 'management', and liaise with other professionals and the legal system - often to engage in what some of us would label 'oppressive' practice. Like other human service professions, social workers are among the most bullied people in the workplace, and especially subject to lateral bullying (from other workers) and by clients. Many burn out after prolonged exposure to working with individuals and families 'at risk' whom they aspire to help achieve 'the best that they can be' within an environment that offers little justice to marginalised people. So if you still want to be a social workere, here are some handy URLs:
http://www.socialworkers.org/
http://www.ifsw.org/
http://www.aasw.asn.au/
http://www.monkeysee.com/play/17262-getting-your-social-work-degree
http://www.amaranth.org.au/information/resources/what-is-social-work/
 
Hello Maegan
I am a social worker, but right now i'm taking a break to return to university to continue post graduate study in english literature - creative writing. i live in australia, so there are probably some differences with regards to payment and employment opportunities. generally speaking, social workers are paid less than clin psychs. unless you plan to work within a counselling role, social work takes a somewhat different approach to human services as well. social workers often work within a case management role, where you are expected to take on administration work as well as maintain regular contact/support with your clients. as mentioned, the field of social work is far ranging and there are many areas where you can find your niche. as you would already know social work is not a prestigious profession and it does not carry a particularly high status. however, that does not seem to be a problem for you as you seem to have very empathic attributes, - someone who is genuinely interested in the work itself. it can be very rewarding, and sometimes very demanding. i have worked largely with families and children. as a young social worker that did present some challenges, like not feeling mature/experienced enough.
getting involved in work experience is a great idea and will give you a much better idea of the reality of social work. if your heart is in it, take note of the negative comments, but don't let it put you off. i am passionate about social work and there is certainly a shortage of them here. I
 
I'm doing a health and social care course in april, i tried a counselling course because i thought i would be great but took the course and found that it didn't make me hunger for more of that subject, they can be intense courses. they make you look at things in your own life. it was brilliant but for me i think social care would be better. all i can say is find out about all the careers you are intersted in see if they offer tester courses. I want a career where i wake up and can't wait to go to work and also help.
i hope you find what you are looking for x
 
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