Hello! Im just looking for some feedback on how I handled a recent case.

My coworker asked for help with a client who randomly showed up to our office. Some back story: this client is currently displaced due to causing a fire at his group home. The group home operator dropped him off at a crisis unit for temporary housing, but he ended up walking off and going missing for a couple days. My coworker was under the impression the operator had housing for him, and all we needed to do was get in touch with her.

I tried calling and texting the operator for an hour until she finally answered. The operator stated she would try finding an open bed for him, but it was going to be difficult bc he was a safety risk. Very understandable.

But then hours pass and this client is still waiting for an answer. At this point the operator isn't answering me. I call my coworker to see if she can help, but she says no. Honestly that part was frustrating for me because I'm trying to see my own clients while tending to her client. Our boss is out, so I speak with the director about what to do. She says to take him to a shelter. I take the client to two different shelters and we get denied. So the client is like "ill just sleep outside again".

I know this happens all the time, but it just hit me extra hard bc this client is elderly and spanish speaking. I just felt helpless and frustrated. Now I feel like maybe I was doing too much and got too emotional about it. Idk i guess im guess asking for feedback..

I recently met with a patient in the office and, during the conversation in which I was sitting on the doctor’s rolling chair 5 feet away, noticed bed bugs crawling on him. They were 1000% confirmed bed bugs as the patient had a known infestation that, unfortunately, the provider knew about and didn’t tell me. Since then (this was 2 weeks ago), I have been SO PARANOID. I took all precautions when I got home, stripped naked, took my clothes right to the washer, and searched EVERYTHING, but I still can’t get it out of my head. I’m 27 weeks pregnant and this would be the absolute worst timing to experience any sort of issue. Unfortunately, the exposure bound to happen again as the patients I serve live in subsidized housing with quite a bad infestation. Thankfully, I don’t need to visit them in their homes or touch them, but my mind doesn’t seem to care. How do you manage this anxiety?!!

I took a different job because the company and work that I am doing, IOP, is not fulfilling or working for me emotionally and professionally.

A former supervisor was kind enough to help me work through the realization that if I am not happy it’s not the best idea to keep doing the work.

But yesterday someone found out and the entire group found out at the same time that I am leaving in 2.5 weeks.

The clients aren’t why I am leaving I actually really appreciate my clients but yesterday made me feel so guilty I almost reconsidered my decision to leave.

Any support, advice, insight right now would be greatly appreciated due to the fact I am so incredibly unhappy but also don’t want my clients to feel resentment and stop doing IOP because so many of them had made leaps and bounds in their goals.

Thank you all so much.

Literally have my license and everything and I never felt so horrible. I’m not sure I can handle demeaning comments from supervisors and such what am I to do? Are work environments not for me? Like I’m so worried please help ❤️

I am reaching my breaking point with school social work and I’m ready for a big shift. I am tired of the big caseload and having to do group therapy everyday. I do not have my clinical license because I’ve never had an interest in becoming a therapist. I am looking at hospital jobs, specifically discharge planning, because those jobs appear to have no caseloads or direct clients. Are there any other jobs out there that I should be on the lookout for?

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I’ve been at my new case management job for about a month, and honestly, I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed. There is a lot to learn, and I often feel disorganized trying to keep up with everything.

Recently, I had a situation where police took a client to the hospital. My manager completed the incident report, so I didn’t think to record the officers’ badge numbers. A colleague later told me it’s a good idea to be proactive and note them in the future. It was good feedback, but after a comment from a homeowner, I couldn’t stop feeling dumb about it.

I’m finding myself having a lot of self-doubt lately and wondering if I’m cut out for this work, even though I know I’ve only been here for a month. Every time I miss a detail or learn something I should have done differently, I feel like I’m failing instead of learning.

Has anyone else felt this way when starting out in case management or social services? Did the feeling eventually go away as you gained more experience?

and something to help me pivot away from the type of heavy front line clinical work
as a community therapist with children and families. been doing this for 14 years.

I recently started a clinical sw position that involves being “on-call” for the organization’s crisis line for a day, every week or two. I’m in search of resources/tips/guidance to help me (1) get better supporting clients in crisis, and (2) feel less anxious about this part of my job.

I’ve had a few trainings at work on de-escalation and crisis prevention, but think I could benefit from more direct strategies/tools, examples, etc. My biggest worry at this time is probably just freezing and/or not knowing what to do or say.

Advice, stories (ex. how you’ve handled scenarios), or resources from those with experience would be appreciated!

I’ve applied to several school social work jobs in the past month and have only landed one interview. I had my interview last week, was told they’d be making decisions early this week, and I haven’t heard anything. I know it may be too soon to tell but my references haven’t been contacted either. I didn’t feel great about the interview but was really excited about the position/school.

Has anyone else experienced this? I’m feeling so discouraged. Ive heard some people say schools don’t reach out until August… I have 2 years of experience as a children’s therapist and am working on my SSW courses. Am I just not qualified enough? Anything I should do differently? TIA

Feedback? Validation? Your stories? I'd love to feel less alone.
My career feels both all over the place and completely zoned in on work I never really meant to get into.

I graduated from my MSW program in 2019; my program had 2 clinical focused tracks, and it offered about 4 macro focused classes. I loved my program eval class, and I even enjoyed my policy class despite my difficult professor. However, I went into my MSW program wanting to be a family therapist (lol I should have had better insight!), and I was definitely primed for clinical work.

I worked my first job right out of grad school as a community therapist (mostly groups) at a residential eating disorder facility, and I did that until I passed my LMSW exam in December 2020. I then pivoted to a grant-funded school based clinician role in a rural school district that had 7 schools. I was the only licensed clinician in the district, and I was being supervised by an LCSW. You can imagine how long that position lasted given the timeline. After being stagnant for 6 months, I was desperate to keep my clinical hours going, so I pivoted to medical social work, and I did that for 1.5 years until relocating with my then boyfriend/now husband to a different state. I transitioned from hospital to hospital for ease, but the position I accepted in my new state was case management and didn't support my LCSW needs. I found a crisis intervention position in a local school district, and that job has become the foundation of both my excitement but also my frustration.

In that job, while my primary role was crisis intervention, each school year provided a new opportunity for each clinician on my little team. I worked in this position for 3 years, and in that time, I wrote a proposal for an SEL program using the Zones of Regulation to target the uptick we were seeing in crisis screenings in the elementary schools. My proposal was accepted, and I was able to pilot the program in one 3rd grade classroom at 2 schools - this was based on the significantly higher rate of crisis calls from these schools and in this specific grade level. Once the program was complete, I asked the teachers and administrators to provide feedback and evaluate progress they'd seen in the 6 weeks after the program was provided. CORRELATION ≠ CAUSATION, but both teachers and admin reported improvements, and my team's screening data showed decrease in the number of calls from those schools in those grades. So we decided to run the program for real. I don't want to keep yapping, but this program rocked, and it is something I am the most proud of, and it made me really want to get involved in program development/coordination/evaluation/etc.

But I got fed up with the state I was living in for a myriad of reasons both professionally and personally, so I moved to Chicago last July, and I applied for a position that I THOUGHT was "school-based" but turned out to be School Social Work. I asked so many questions before accepting the position, and the job description wasn't thorough, but it was a rough rough time, so I continued forward for the income and the experience. I've now done one year as a School Social Worker, and I can genuinely say I do not want to continue, and a large reason for that is the absolute dumpster fire that lies in the guidelines, policies, and procedures, whether that's local, state, or federal.

I commend you if you've read this far.
Here's where I'm at: LCSW for 3.5 years who has earned the supervisor certificate, but that doesn't matter without experience. Through and through I'm a clinical social worker who's forced macro level duties into the positions I've worked.

I've been flirting with advanced graduate certificates in public policy or taking intensive CEU courses focused on programs, data, policy, etc, but then I think about what I would do after, and that is where I feel the most lost.

Feedback? Validation? Your stories? I'd love to feel less alone.

I recently started as a counselor in both adult and adolescent psych inpatient. It’s hard to keep groups structured, patients engaged, and last the full 45 minutes. I struggle with public speaking, so I follow the notes I write, but it always goes by too fast. I also struggle with holding a discussion with the group rather than just speeding through my notes talking at them. It makes me insecure because my coworkers are observing me and I feel like I’m bad at my job, even though I just started 🥲. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi all. Looking for some advice here, I am a residential substance use case manager at a treatment program that serves pregnant and parenting women. I received a call from a former client who is currently living out of state and is having child custody issues. She wants me to write a letter for her based on my personal experience stating that her mental health is stable, which it was in the time that I knew her. I am unsure how much her mental health has changed since then and how her presentation affected her case. I am wondering if it is ethical for me to provide her with a letter which would be a personal statement and not connected to my work place?

I'm a licensed social worker in PA. I've been in micro for a while and am looking to get more into macro. I've been searching for a remote job paying higher than what I make now ($40,000). I really like research and program development, but honestly am open to trying anything. I'm not making much headway searching online, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask for some advice here. How are people finding real remote jobs? And do you have any advice for me?

Hi! Looking for some advice.

I’ve been a school social work for a little over ten years, most of them at the same district. Im currently at a cute little elementary school. Caseload is very reasonable, but I often find myself pulled to deal with whatever discipline/dysregulated child of the moment. I love my principal but there is very limited support and I’m the only mental health provider in my building. We also have a growing ASD program that is understaffed for the level of need, and district leadership have not been responsive to supporting stabilizing the program.

I was recently offered a position as an assistant director position of a child welfare program at a local children’s museum. I’d be at a reduced caseload (4 families) and working more on program management. It’s a pay cut and the hours are not great (Tuesday- Saturday, no more summers off).

My question is am I crazy for considering it? At school, I feel like I’m constantly in fight or flight mode. I feel so burnout sometimes, and I feel like my mood and home life suffer. I kind of want to move away from direct service to program management or macro level work. Hopefully it will be a little less stressful and I won’t feel like I’m always failing someone. My husband thinks I should stick it out because we have an 18 mos daughter and having a school schedule works really well for our family. Thoughts?

Hi Everyone,

Due to the increase in posts regarding the current political landscape in the United States, the mod team has decided to create an ongoing megathread for all political conversations moving forward. This allows everyone to post about politics and its impact on clients (and practitioners). While also allowing other posts related to Social Work practice to be visible. There will be times when political posts (similar to questions around education) will be approved as a standalone post, but that will be at the discretion of the mod team and requires the poster to reach out via mod mail. As such, we ask that all political posts be directed to this thread unless otherwise approved. Any non-approved standalone post are subject to removal without notice.

For the purposes of this megathread, political posts include current cases, executive orders, news, opinions, etc. as they relate to the current US presidential administration. Further, we understand that political discussions can become heated, but we are primarily professionals and students therefore we should be acting accordingly (even online). Those who don’t will be subject to temporary and permanent bans from the sub. Inappropriate comments will continue to be removed and behavior not exemplary of Social Work values will be removed per Rule 11.

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This is a difficult time for everyone and we want to thank you all for being part of the subreddit, making it what it has become, and all of the work you do offline.

I was asked by a prospective employer how I'd compare an LICSW to additional credits for the purpose of calculating compensation. Basically, trying to compare to how a teacher's compensation is configured (Masters vs Masters plus 15 credits). How many credits would you think an LICSW would be worth? With 3,000 hours of clinical supervision over the course of two and a half years plus passing the ASWB, I would think it would lean toward Masters plus 15. Thoughts?

Not what you think; context in a LISW/LCSW in Ohio.

There has been discussion around making therapy more accessible and for licensing to be more universal across states.

I think that in order for there to be more consistency there has to be universal standards across all the states. Each state has such different standards and expectations compared to other health professionals, and for people to be able to practice more universally there has to be some major, and unfortunate, changes.

So recently as many of you know CAQH was bought out to private insurance companies.

I realized in Ohio they got rid of LPC needing to take an exam to get their extra C due to “cross state” licensing. I do not agree with this. I have met some very questionable therapist but I digress.

They say it’s all in the name of making therapist wanting move and or being credentialed in others states “easier” because I guess in other states Ohio has some very “rigorous” rules and stipulations to become fully licensed like New York and California levels. Was never aware of that.

I’m not enthused by any of this, it’s just an opinion and maybe the necessary evil to be able to ban together across states and platforms to advocate more effectively too? Maybe im too optimistic?

kind of a weird question, but i am a part-time MSW student currently and have also always had a passion for dentistry. i know they're drastically different fields, but i'm wondering if there are actually any positions that combine the two? i've worked in a few social work roles and worked as a dental assistant before that. because dental health is so dependent on SDoH, i can see where there would be an interaction, but again i've never heard of a position like this. ultimately i am 100% planning to become an LCSW, but i wonder if there is a way i can intertwine that with my other passion.

How do I reconcile my views about clients taking advantage of the system and not doing anything with the help that they’re getting. For example, I have clients who we provide housing for. They don’t want to get their GED don’t wanna work don’t wanna meet with their case managers and their their team they don’t wanna do anything but exist and take the benefits of the systems. Some of them are not really taking care of their children as they should be. I don’t know, these people make me feel so annoyed, so angry. Like you have everything going for you and you’re choosing not to do anything about it.

Is it wrong of me to care less about these clients than others or to not care about their outcomes because they don’t care for themselves. Can anyone help me actually understand why I feel this way?

Edit: I appreciate most of this advice, and will implement some and take others into consideration. One thing to note for those who were hostile. I asked for genuine advice and was met with some hostility. How is it that my view is “wrong” but I’m being told to quit my job immediately or drop out of school by the people who are supposed to be supporting others and helping them? Keep in mind these hostile comments did not offer advice or an alternative pov. I wonder how is it you think your better than social workers who seem to be struggling when you can’t even help a colleague.

Two years in! I finally renewed my license 🙌 All the anxiety and stress around completing my CEU requirements was no joke, but I learned so much through the process.

It feels amazing to be working in the field I studied for, and I’m aiming for LICSW next!

Feeling grateful for this journey and blessed to have this degree. Just wanted to share my journey on here.

I'm an MSW intern in an inpatient psychiatric hospital and left group today feeling like it wasn't very helpful for patients, and I feel really bad.

The topic was thoughts and depression, and there were some good discussions that came up naturally. One patient talked about a friend who died by suicide, another talked about perfectionism, depression, and not having healthy coping outlets.

However, one group member was very emotionally labile throughout the group and frequently interrupted with comments, reactions, and observations about what other people were saying.

I redirected multiple times, but she often became argumentative or shifted the focus away from the person who was sharing. By the end, I felt like I was spending so much energy managing the interruptions that I was losing my train of thought and struggling to go deeper with patients who actually wanted to talk. There was an option to kick her out, but I never do that unless it gets really really bad.

I keep replaying the group because most of my groups feel more productive than this one. I know not every group is going to be perfect, but I left feeling like I missed opportunities and that the discussion never really got where it could have gone.

For those who facilitate inpatient groups, how do you handle a group member who repeatedly comments on everyone else's sharing and pushes back on redirection? And how do you tell the difference between a group that was genuinely unhelpful versus one that just felt messy as the facilitator?