The Joys and Perils of Social Work
A glimse in the world of Social work
The instinctive yearning to help, to change someones live positively, to impact the world are a few of the reasons most of us begin our journey in the field of social work. Many of my colleagues will readily agree it's also probably the biggest factor in their decision to stay in the field. For me, it certainly was, hence, the reason for me to start this blog in the first place.
As you will see from my profile, I have always been actively involved in community life so when my first love of pursuing a career in Journalism did not materialize I turned to what came naturally to me, social work. Over the last 18 years of working in various capacities in this field, I have gained a level of experience where I can confidently address some of the challenges in the field.
Consequently, I felt I can use this space to create a forum for people in the field to read about some of the paradoxes of socal work . On one hand, this field is complex, stressful, unrewarding, yet on the other it can be exciting, gratifying and life changing. Finding a healthy mix is sometimes the hardest.
In this blog, I hope to bring a level of honesty, integrity and intuitive ability to the discussion of social work and it's impact on the service provider, client and society. I also want to provide resources to practising social workers and those interested in pursuing this field helping you to actively participate in "Self Care." This is a critical personal and professional area many service providers and organizations neglect, leading to a high percentage of "burn outs" in the profession.
Further, compounding the issues of burn outs is balancing job security and assigned duties, constants in the world of social work, as many jobs depend on some level of funding from a variety of sources both public and private. These are a few of the issues I felt strongly my first blog should examine in " the joys and perils of social work. For all the dedicated social workers in the field, I know you can give me a land fill of examples of your highs and lows of the job and this very sensitive profession.
While I try to find interesting angles of discussion for you, I hope to motivate you to share your thoughts, anxieties, frustrations, excitements and everything else in-between about social work. To a lasting and meaningful relationship with you.
As you will see from my profile, I have always been actively involved in community life so when my first love of pursuing a career in Journalism did not materialize I turned to what came naturally to me, social work. Over the last 18 years of working in various capacities in this field, I have gained a level of experience where I can confidently address some of the challenges in the field.
Consequently, I felt I can use this space to create a forum for people in the field to read about some of the paradoxes of socal work . On one hand, this field is complex, stressful, unrewarding, yet on the other it can be exciting, gratifying and life changing. Finding a healthy mix is sometimes the hardest.
In this blog, I hope to bring a level of honesty, integrity and intuitive ability to the discussion of social work and it's impact on the service provider, client and society. I also want to provide resources to practising social workers and those interested in pursuing this field helping you to actively participate in "Self Care." This is a critical personal and professional area many service providers and organizations neglect, leading to a high percentage of "burn outs" in the profession.
Further, compounding the issues of burn outs is balancing job security and assigned duties, constants in the world of social work, as many jobs depend on some level of funding from a variety of sources both public and private. These are a few of the issues I felt strongly my first blog should examine in " the joys and perils of social work. For all the dedicated social workers in the field, I know you can give me a land fill of examples of your highs and lows of the job and this very sensitive profession.
While I try to find interesting angles of discussion for you, I hope to motivate you to share your thoughts, anxieties, frustrations, excitements and everything else in-between about social work. To a lasting and meaningful relationship with you.
This is my first blog. I want to inspire you to share your stories within the relm of social work. Together we can laugh, cry and become proactive in shaping our profession.
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