Client Situations

What Clients May go Through

By Tammy Stevens on April 20, 2016 at 11:24am

What you may deal with as a social worker:

• Abused children
• Substance abuse 
• Single moms 
• Domestic Violence
• Mental illness                                      

Child abuse is a physical, cruel mistreatment of a child. According to "americanhumane.org" child abuse can take place in many different forms and each one has different percentages. These are the percentages of children who experienced maltreatment in 2005:

• Neglect 62.8%
• Physical abuse 16.6%
• Sexual abuse 9.3%
• Emotional/psychological abuse 7.1%
• Medical neglect 2.0%
• Other 14.3%

"In 2001, more than 903,000 children suffered from abuse or neglect, representing a rate of 12.4 maltreated children for every 1,000 children in the general population and nearly one-third of these children were younger than three." Knowing this information makes you realize how many innocent children are abused.  "naswdc.org" goes more in depth about abused children. This website also has recommendations for working with abused children as a social worker which can be really helpful. 

Working with abused children is not easy because they have had a traumatic experience. Abused children could have physical health concerns, development issues, scarring and permanent damage, and interpersonal and intrapersonal issues. These are few of the many other problems that an abused child can have. 

                            VIDEO!!!!

Domestic abuse is another concern that social workers deal with. Domestic violence is abusive behavior by one intimate partner against another this can include: physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and emotional abuse. Domestic abuse can happen to anyone no matter race, background, or culture. There are many signs of a domestic abusive relationship according to "helpguide.org". These signs include:

• Your partner has a violent behavior 
• Your partner is controlling 
• Your partner belittles you 

If anyone is having these problems or other ones mentioned on this website they should seek help immediately. Social workers want to do all they can to help their clients in domestic violence and other types of situations like mental illness. 

Mental Illness has a wide range of mental conditions this can affect your mood, thinking, and behavior. Some mental illness examples include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and addictive behaviors. Complications that people with a mental illness can have are legal and financial problems, poverty/homelessness, and self harm/ harm to others. Mental illnesses can cause many problems in your daily life such as school, work, or in relationships. Some mental illnesses can be treated with medication and psychotherapy. According to "newsweek.com" 42.5 million (18.2%) adults in the U.S. suffer from a mental illness every year whether its depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia. Social workers who work with mentally ill clients do psycho social assessments. In order for a social worker to work with severe mental ill clients they need to have a masters degree. 

Social work ups and downs

The pros and cons in Social work

By Tammy Stevens on April 11,2016 at 11:55pm




Being a social worker is hard work and has many different situations that are not easy to deal with. Some difficulties can be that the job is dangerous, you don't get paid well, and it is emotionally draining. Not all social workers have to deal with danger but in some social work field you may have to. Social workers who work with inmates or violent individuals deal with dangerous situations a lot. Since social workers in this field work so closely with their client they can sometimes put themselves in harm. All social workers should be cautious no matter what field they work in. With all the hard work and time that social workers put into their job you would think they might get paid well but that is not true.  Salary all depends on what field you work in and the state you are working for. Even the highest salary still is not enough for what a social worker should be making. Social workers can become emotionally drained from the type of work they do. Sometimes social workers are unable to help individuals or the individual is unwilling to let you help them in the way you want to. When resources a client needs is not available it can be upsetting or even disappointing because you want to assist your client in anyway possible. In this profession a social worker is constantly dealing with challenges which makes it hard to keep the ability to have hope. Although there are some negatives to working as a social worker there are many postives too. If you visit "thenest.com" you can see what the cons are in the social work profession.





The pros of being a social worker are: you can work in different fields, the workplace is flexible, and you have the ability to make a difference . Some fields a social worker can work in include DCF(Department of Children & Families), Mental health, Adoption, and Drug abuse. These and many other fields in social work give the social worker freedom on choosing what best interests them, which leads into having a flexible workplace. Since a social worker is able to choose the field they want to go into, this allows them to help others in a way that is most meaningful to them. No one wants to work a job that they don't have an interest in and by choosing your field you have the ability to make a difference in someones life. There are not many jobs in which you get to make a difference and help others, but with this profession you can. Helping those in need is what a social worker is able to do on a daily basis. Working as a social worker is very rewarding and has a different motivation than other jobs. By visiting the website "work.chron.com" you can learn more about pros of being a social worker.
                                                                                                  Video!!!!

Social Work Career

Social work positions:

By Tammy Stevens on April 11,2016 at 11:55pm

There are different types of social work positions. This depends on the people and the setting you want to work in. Social workers can work in a school, hospital, mental health, and substance abuse setting. Each of these jobs have there own difficulties and there own rewards. More social work positions can be found on "socialworklicensemap.com".



Social workers who work in mental health play a role in addressing and treating metal health issues. These social workers have an opportunity to help improve on their clients lives. Social workers who provide mental health services are required to be licensed by which ever state they are practicing in. If the social worker is proving therapy they are required to have a masters degree. A social worker working in this type of setting can experience trauma or even emotional stress helping clients manage difficult situations. Social workers make sure that the mentally ill get the care they need. Since the number of individuals diagnosed with a mental illness keeps rising, more social workers in this field are needed. You can read about what a social worker in mental health on "careerinpsychology.org". Social workers are needed in other fields too such as in a hospital setting.




                     



Usually the activities a social worker working in a hospital varies. Social workers working in a hospital setting looks over a patients social, emotional, financial, and support needs. A social worker working in a hospital not only works with the patient, but with the patients family too. The social worker makes a plan for care of the patient his or her home or living arrangement. To work as a social worker in a hospital you are required to have a masters degree. The social worker needs to make sure that a patient needs is in place before the patient is discharged. The types of people who could benefit from the care of this type of social worker are people with chronic degenerative illnesses; the terminally ill; people with mental illness; transplant patients;, homeless people; people with multiple social, financial, emotional, and housing problems. There are many other positions in which social workers play a huge roll in.


By watching the video below from "youtube.com" you will learn about what a social worker in a school setting does.

A school social worker helps parents, students, and the school staff identify the problem that is interfering with the students learning. Once they figure out what the interference is they provide services the student needs. Social workers in the school setting not only work with special education students, but with other students too. They help students resolve social, emotional, and behavioral problems. School social workers help in many different areas and are only one of many other social workers who make a huge difference in peoples lives.

MSW degree

Why it is better to have a Masters degree in social work?

By Tammy Stevens on April 12, 2016 at 9:25am

The higher degree you  have the better off you will be in your social work career. The higher your degree is the more choices you will have. Yes, you will also make more money when you get a higher degree. Supporting yourself and your family is extremely important and by going for your masters degree you will not only have more job choices, but you will also make more money. By visiting  "socialworklicensure.org" it tells you more about receiving a higher degree in social work.

     
There are many different reasons why people should get a masters degree in social work such as; Increase in job opportunities, higher salary, possible promotions, and to learn. Increase in job opportunities only happens with higher degrees and you only get this opportunity with positions where you are more likely to have a large impact in your clients lives. The second reason to get a masters degree is for a higher salary. According to "careerealism.com"  "In 2009, social workers holding MSWs made an average of $15,000 more per year than their counterparts without advanced degrees." This is pretty good for social workers since they do not get paid a lot as it is. Another reason is because you can have possible promotions. Promotions are important because you can work higher up in your career which will then lead to you getting paid better. The last reason to get a masters degree in social work is to learn. Taking classes to get your masters is important because it can help you earn knowledge that you did not have about the social work career before. You also learn about the training you can receive and what you can do with it. Most people do not want to take the time to get there masters degree because it is more work, but in the end it is worth it.

A social worker with a BSW on average gets paid $46,438-$58,834 depending on a variety of factors. This amount of pay is not too bad but a social worker with an MSW gets paid $53,482-$65,790 as of March 24,2016. More information on the salary of a social worker can be found on "salary.com". Depending on what job you choose in social work the salary may vary. Each social work job is different and in every state the salary is different.




This video I found on "youtube.com" talks about the salary for social workers and how much it is suppose to expand from now until 2020. By watching this video you can learn about the jobs in social work and what each of the salaries are. You will notice how they will differ from each other.