My Husband is So Smart

TODAY MY HUSBAND CALLED OUT TO ME from his office to mine: "Was your last blog post on February 14?"

I replied: "Yes."

There was a long silence...

I went on: "Everything I want to blog about is negative, and I don't feel safe writing about it."

His reply: "Why don't you write about how you aren't blogging because everything feels negative?"

Wow. (How'd I get so lucky to marry such a smarty-pants?)

So here's the deal. I don't want to write about the not-so-great parts about graduate school. In 12-step meetings they say: "Carry the message, not the mess." I must have internalized that somewhere along the way.

The husband-guy is on to something, though. If I don't write about how I am feeling, I may find it hard to break through and keep posting about the grad school experience, in general.

I was angry about an experience at school. Because I felt I had no place to appropriately vent the anger, it turned into depression. The truth is: I have been depressed for almost two months. And, try as I might, I just could not shake it off.

Graduate school is tough. I can see the stress on my classmate's furrowed brows. I've listened as others share that they've had to go on meds (anti-anxiety, sleep aids, anti-depressants, etc.). Since one of my blessings and curses is to be an achiever, sometimes it is difficult for me to say, "No," even when it's a good thing--for me, for my family, and for the good of my education.

So, how did I get through it?

I let it go. That's what I did. And, like it most often does, it worked itself out. Don't get me wrong: I've learned some tough lessons about trust and professionalism.

Here's the kernel: Sometimes we get to learn about how we do not want to be.

In the process, I learned a bunch about who I am--and who I want to become--as a social worker, a human being, and as a loving, caring, forgiving woman.

~Ms. T. J.

More Social Workers Jumping on Social Media Bandwagon

http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthamm/ // CC BY NC 2.0

fyi, Linda and I were quoted in an article titled "More social workers, researchers using social media to raise awareness" published by the UNC School of Social Work Contact Magazine. The article discusses how social workers, especially in academia, are starting to use social media. Here's a peek:

That more social work researchers and clinicians are starting to embrace social media doesn’t surprise Karen Zgoda, a licensed clinical social worker and Ph.D candidate at Boston College Graduate School of Social Work.

“I think one of the biggest arguments for using these tools is that clients are already using them,” said Zgoda, whose research focuses on the role of technology in social work. Zgoda writes a regular column on the subject for The New Social Worker Online magazine.

“As social workers, I think it is important to go where the clients are and understand how they are using these tools and how we can use them to help folks,” she added.

...

Linda Grobman, publisher and editor of The New Social Worker, and a licensed social worker, counts herself among the “early adopters” of new social media, though she has been using the Internet for social work networking for years. She expects other social workers to eventually invest in the communication tools.

“I think today’s traditional-age students already know about it because kids are growing up with technology-assisted learning,” Grobman said. “They already know about Facebook, text messaging, iPhone apps, YouTube and so forth. So as younger people enter the social work field, there will naturally be more social workers using social media.”

Online Child Welfare Training

FOR THE GREATER PART of the past two and a half days, I have been completing required online training for child welfare--CPS intake, investigations, and family preservation services courses, to be specific.

I have to say it is helping everything fall together: the classes in my MSW program; my field practicum; and the child welfare agency operations in general. It's interesting, enlightening and overwhelming all at the same time. It's interesting because Child Protective Services is so important; it's enlightening because I am learning about policies and procedures; and it's overwhelming because the charge to protect children is kind of daunting.

There are so many pieces to each procedure, and while it is repeatedly stated that I can call for back-up (discuss with supervisor, call law enforcement), for the most part when I'm out in the field, it'll be my eyes and ears, common sense, and intuition (backed by evidence, hopefully) that will be called upon to make sure the kids I investigate are not at risk now, or in the foreseeable future.

One cool part of the training is that often, when I am formulating a question in my mind about the work, it is addressed on the next page. I can tell when I have had enough--some of the courses have more than a dozen sections--and my concentration and comprehension abilities seem to vanish. (It's then time for mindless TV or a couple of short stories from "The Portable Dorothy Parker.")

When I finish the online courses, there is instructor-led training, and a final examination.

I hope this is helpful to anyone going into child welfare, or who may have an interest in this aspect of social work.

~Ms. T. J.

Social Worker Licensure

I'VE STARTED LOOKING AHEAD to the licensure exam which means I am scouring the Internet for Master's Exam study guides.

I would love to hear how you plan to prepare and, if you'd like to, please share the tools and guides you plan to use. I recently ordered a package from Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), the board that "develops and maintains the social work licensing examinations used across the country and in several Canadian provinces" (http://www.aswb.org/). The association is a source for information on the legal regulation of social work.

I will let you know what I think of it. I have been considering flash cards and other stuff to help me succeed.

It would be great to hear from YOU! If you have already taken the exam, and have any "words of wisdom" or tips for us newbies, please bring it on! Whether you passed or failed, please let us know your thoughts.

~Ms. T. J.

Feeling the Good Stuff

YESTERDAY I RECEIVED PRAISE at my field practicum. An administrator sent an e-letter to my field instructor as well as several other managers and administrators to highlight some work I had done last week during crunch-time.

In the note, she praised my openness to learn, responsiveness to guidance, and ability to quickly learn a complex computer system. She also made positive remarks about my "very good" interviewing skills and stated I handled several client situations with poise and maturity.

During these challenging days and nights of juggling 24 hours of field practicum, four classes, agency module training, studying for the Masters Examination, and trying to give time to my family, it feels kind of good to get an "atta girl."

I'm just sayin'.

~Ms. T. J.

Speaking My Truth

TODAY I FOUND MY VOICE.

As I get ready to retire for the night, I am feeling a bit vulnerable and a lot empowered. For the past couple of months, I have felt pressured and bullied by a system that ought to be encouraging and supporting me.

I had internalized the feelings of anger and disappointment because I didn't feel like it was a battle worth fighting at this stage of the game. What was happening was that I was getting really depressed. I was feeling hopeless.

What I believe today is that if I cannot advocate for myself, I will not be able to do the same for others. I cannot let fear get in the way when situations are unfair and unreasonable.

While it may require courage to stand up for what I believe, the price I will pay for not speaking my truth is much too high.

~Ms. T. J.

Trusting the Process

JUST WHEN I THINK I AM SITUATED AT MY FIELD PRACTICUM, something changes. I have been in four different "spaces," so far this semester, and I am currently back in the first office where it all began last term.

I believe I'm being offered some huge life lessons about flexibility, and going with the flow, and being a team player. And, I am digging it. There is something about the uncertainty of each day that is, ironically, helping to keep me balanced.

Yeah, I don't get it, either.

I sometimes get caught up in my need for structure. This experience is showing me how strong I can be when it comes to jumping in and doing "the deal," as it is sometimes called in 12-step circles. It basically refers to the act of doing the "next right thing," which means staying clean and sober, as well as choosing the healthiest, kindest, most loving way of being in the world.

I'm not saying that it's always easy. And, I do feel bedraggled at times, and I get befuddled. I am learning stuff really quickly due to the volatility of the agency.

And, it feels good.

I am rolling my sleeves up and helping out. And, I'm not whining or complaining about doing the work.

I feel alive. And, you know, I think the world really needs us to come alive.

~Ms. T. J.