I get many e-mails and comments from people telling me of their interest in studying social work and entering into the human services field but being discouraged about how to afford this. There are some posts I have on various scholarships, but I wanted to also mention the scholarship for lefties.
Most families, even middle class, cannot afford to pay for higher education out of pocket. With the rising cost of education, scholarships are becoming not only important but necessary. Any advantage or opportunity can make the difference between going to school and not. One of the most unusual scholarships is for lefties. Not only is it important to know how to apply, but it is important to know how to write the scholarship essay. (more…)
The Hunter College School of Social Work is a public institution of learning that offers many different means of obtaining a Masters of Social Work degree. The college is a New York City Social Work school that specifically works with urban communities through support of social agencies. Hunter College has ties to numerous social agencies, which helps to assist students with placement according to their area of specialty. (more…)
There’s a code of ethics for social work on the NASW site, which stands for National Association of Social Workers. The NASW Code of Ethics is a guide that will help social work professionals to conduct themselves properly. It defines what is to be expected and consists of four areas. (more…)
I’ve received some e-mails from a number of people that told me that going undergraduate to study social work is their dream but finances are the obstacle. I wanted to mention that there are also some odd scholarships aka weird scholarships as well as traditional ones. What do I mean by this? Well, there’s some for people that are left-handed for example. At Vassar there’s a scholarship for someone willing to change their middle name to Huntington (more…)
Have you ever wondered about how people become qualified to work in a counseling or mental health administration capacity at schools, hospitals and clinics, department of children and family services,
homes or mental health centers, Catholic Charities and other organizations? It started from an inner seed to help others and make a difference in the world. If you are thinking about going to college, looking for a career change or are involved in volunteer work and wish to enhance your skills in social services, you should look into the social work field and available related programs. (more…)
Many single mothers find it difficult to even contemplate going to college because not only do they have one or more children to care for; many of them have jobs as well. Add to that equation the concept of having to pay for college out of their pockets and many single mothers give up the dream of going to college altogether. Thankfully, there are scholarships for single mothers as well as federal grants and loans that single mothers may qualify for. (more…)
I wanted to mention that I have a part-time assistant but am also looking for another person or two for a few hours a week that has a master’s degree in social work or mental health counseling and enjoys working with individuals, couples or family with issues related to depression, anxiety and psychological issues. (more…)
Social work and the elderly is a wonderful combination. I have worked at assisted living facilities part-time over the last several years and have learned so much from the wisdom of senior citizens. Also there is a lot of sadness in many of their situations and reasons why they’ve moved into a facility. There are a number of other settings for working with the elderly as well including outpatient counseling agencies, medical social workers at hospitals and doing home visits to seniors through a case management service. (more…)
If you are thinking about college, whether as an undergrad or returning for either grad school or to change your career entirely, you may feel stopped in your tracks due to the financial hardship issues. First of all, Obama is very aware and appreciative for the need for college education to better one’s own life and the life of society. This is something he spoke about in his talk to students that was publicized in the fall of 2009. (more…)
A social work forum is basically an online social network of people involved in the social work field or those considering it as a career themselves. The message boards are monitored by employees who make sure that the communication stays within acceptable perimeters. These sites are a great way to stay abreast to new ideas in the area of social work as well as a way to remain social and get into issues with others with a bsw, msw or dsw degree. They are usually designed in order to connect like-minded people who want to share information. (more…)
Addiction is usually used in the context of drugs or alcohol but it applies as well to other situations including internet, overeating and more broadly to habits we have that we repeat and feel we can’t live without. It is a state of mind that needs to be uprooted. (more…)
I’ve gotten some feedback from other friends in the field so wanted to add more info to my early post. The average social worker salary may be higher than you thought. There is a bad rap for the social work field of having a reputation as a low paying career. After all, many people in this profession work for non-profit or government organizations…not the best payers in the world in most cases. However, the appeal of the profession is high among those who want to make a real difference in the world. People who do this work help keep children safe, assist adults in creating better lives for themselves, and help families learn to live together and love one another more effectively. It can be very rewarding. But, can you live on the money you make? (more…)
Social work is a very rewarding career that is all about helping and guiding others toward better lives. There are many specializations in this field. You can work with children who are abused or neglected. You can choose to work with indigent adults in medical facilities, or you may choose to help the poor find services that can help them financially. Then, there is the criminal justice social worker. This is a highly specialized area of the field and requires a special sort of personality to perform the job adequately, as it has a lot of unique challenges. Here’s what one is and what you may have to do if you choose this interesting and in-demand career path. (more…)
Social work is a very remarkable career. If you are aspiring to work in this field, a well written social work cover letter is important. It’s the first introduction to you that an employer will have. It can also have a personal quality to it since the resume that gets distributed is generally identical from job to job application and not customized. You can use the cover letter to highlight some of your unique characteristics. (more…)
Social work is a profession that focuses on aiding the improvement of people’s lives. The focus lies in creating a better place for society. Social workers help others to deal with various situations that have landed them in dire straits as well as just daily coping issues. There is a wide range of people to work with including issues related to homelessness, veteran trauma, unemployment, child and spousal abuse, drug addiction, marital issues and more. The hope is that everyone is represented and receives fair treatment to enable personal growth. (more…)
Katrina is 16 years old and has been caught in the middle of a divorce battle between her parents. After being on the honor roll for many years, her grades have started to slip. She doesn’t want to bother her mother about how she feels because she knows that her mother is sad from what has happened and has her own issues to deal with. (more…)
Social work in New York City can give you a very rewarding career. When you are searching for employment, it’s best to look in areas that have positions to fill. This article can help show you some areas to search the best positions for you in NYC. (more…)
One of the fastest growing emphasis in the field of social work is forensic social work. Forensic social work explores issues and interaction between social work and legalities. Its primary goal is to promote and understand the legal system in regards to child welfare, criminal justice and mental health. Forensic social workers research the assessment, classification and treatment of juvenile and adult offenders. (more…)
Bipolar disorder is a challenge to the patient, family and the therapist. In the past it was called manic-depressive disorder. It usually begins during the teen years or in one’s twenties and can be misdiagonsed for a number of years. This is unfortunate since it delays treatment. Because adolescence already has mood swings and periods of both mania and depression, it can be misunderstood as just a phase. (more…)
School social work is a specialized field in the broad category of social work. It brings the knowledge, experienced and expertise of general social work to the school setting to enhance the life of students. Sadly, due to the violence in schools and colleges today, many are involved in grief counseling after a crisis. School social workers are hired by school districts , colleges and work at alternative educational facilities. (more…)
Anxiety is something everyone discusses and it varies in degrees. For some people it is incapacitating causing minimal sleep, shaking, panic attacks and inability to leave the home. For other people it manifests itself mostly under pressure situations such as exams, presentations or doctor’s appointments. (more…)
The movie “What about Bob” is a classic about a borderline patient in psychotherapy that cannot accept his therapist taking a vacation. Mr. Bean goes to the dentist is a comical look at this problem in the context of seeing a dentist.
In the Mr. Bean dentist visit video he sabotages his appointment in a number of ways. I won’t spoil it! In “What about Bob”, Bob is able to get the phone number of his therapist on vacation in New England. That wasn’t enough: He later went down to the answering service office to get the location of his vacation home. Of course, he shows up and we get to watch Richard Dreyfus lose his control numerous times while the rest of the family finds Bob endearing and child-like. Dreyfus knows he is passive-agressive and doesn’t understand why no one else sees the manipulations.
It is useful to look at our reactions to patients we find difficult. What are the aspects that are challenging? Can you draw lines with people. Is that what may be the underlying issue with a number of difficult patients? Do clients pick up the reactions from the professional and find ways to stop the distancing acts of the professionals?
In the dental video clip we see Mr. Bean playing with various dental instruments and ways he sabotages the authority of the dentist. Seinfeld has also made jokes about how the patient feels powerless in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. The patient-doctor relationship has a complexity to it and it’s good to be honest and see when you fall into a power trip or other forms of ego.
One of my first psychotherapy clients talked about how he’d see two different women at the same time. After a few months of therapy, he started seeing a second therapist. I was able to use this as a context for him to see his own mind. Why does he always need to have two set up in his life?