One of my biggest challenges as a community mental health therapist has been how sedentary and indoor the lifestyle is. Physical movement and nature exposure are key to my mental health, and I know many of my clients have struggled to integrate these things into their own schedules as well. I have worked with a lot of clients who have ADHD and depressive symptoms who have expressed that movement and greenspace are helpful to them as well. I am extremely intrigued by the possibility that therapy sessions on trail could expand clients' window of tolerance when dealing with difficult material, or otherwise support the achievement of therapeutic goals. I also know for sure that I would be a calmer and more focused clinician if 20% of my sessions happened on a trail (or perhaps while working in a garden), especially at times when I'm carrying a higher caseload.

I'm seeing on other posts that folks are mentioning that jobs in community mental health where they have met at clients' homes or in the community in places that worked for the clients. I am also seeing some argument that private practice requires different boundaries. When I look at jobs in the troubled teen industry, it seems clear that public lands are routinely used by private companies for therapeutic work, including individual therapy sessions. However, it seems very rare in other contexts.

What prevents this from being a common practice? For those of you who have provided therapy in locations other than an office: how do you handle privacy concerns, and what other challenges tend to arise? What do you do to manage boundaries and expectations when meeting in non-office settings? Would you ever consider providing private practice therapy from a hiking trail? If not, why not?

In my fantasy future, I host a private therapy forest complete with all-terrain wheelchairs. In the meantime, I feel passionate about pursuing this in other ways. .

I just started a job in long term care as an “assistant” social worker. There is a single other social worker and she’s been there for three weeks. She is technically my boss. The things is this: -I’m 27 with an msw and experience in long term care/hospital work/hospice/etc not many years but over 3 -she is probably about ~35 and has a bsw and has never worker any kind of long term care hospital hospice etc but has years of being a “social worker”

Now I know what your going to say I’m jealous because she has a better role then i do even though i have more experience and more schooling…kind of yeah but the really big thing that gets me IS SHE CANT WORK UNDER PRESSURE!!! If anything goes wrong she blames everyone else and freaks out!! She says she’s used to everything being perfectly organized!! LIKE WTF!! We work in a long term care- nothing is perfectly organized. Also she will just disappear and not tell me anything then get mad that i did do something!!! I WASNT TOLD WHAT THE FUCK TO DO!! And like shouldn’t I be involved in your meetings? “Well know you are just an assistant, take my phone calls please…”

God!!

Ps all the nurses hate her the DON even called her a c*nt.

I live in Australia and recently found out that some states have very loose laws on reporting child abuse where as other states mandate to report nearly everything.

In Western Australia, apparently mandated notifiers are only required to report on sexual abuse concerns.

Whereas in other states South Australia, your basically mandated to report on anything, emotional, physical, sexual, neglect, dv etc etc.

Second question, how do you report? Does your state allow you to report online via a form or phone calls only?

I’m a clinical social worker in social services. I work mostly with parents and their kids. I tough everything was going great with my clients until maybe 3 weeks ago. I did my evaluation with the mother (separated parents) and the next appointment I forgot to present to her the results because she brouht up a situation she wanted to talk and i totally forgot. The next session I was supposed to do it but she cancelled the appointment. I caller her back and she told me she felt the sessions were useless (saw her 2 times and one time with her child) and that I didn’t give her tools or help her with her kid at all. She felt we were just talking like friends wich is not what she expected. (And I didn’t think I was doing that at all) I explained how I usually proceed (evaluation first than tools adapted to the situation) but she said she saw other social workers before and they could help her right away. So she basically told me I was bad compared to the other social workers she saw. I feel bad I couldn’t help her even if I rationalize telling myself I didn’t have time to help her. Now i question all my cases, wheter I am really helpful. I feel like I don’t even know anymore how to do my job. Anyone else had that happen to them? How do you reconstruct your ego and confidence?

8-5 hourly is soul sucking. I think I’d take 3-12s but am a mom so working that also sounds a little rough too. I’d settle for half day Fridays. I don’t know if I am made for therapy either and I know that is one way to have some more flexible hours.

https://youtu.be/aWsKLcQCinc?si=LB5ze2csuwD5Zm2l

Edit: love all the feedback! Sounds like many have some really great schedules and flexibility. Awesome to see that things are progressing in many places. I should add, since many of you mention 4 10s, that these companies are doing 4 8 hour days. I think any way you slice it, 40 hours just is no fun. They discuss having more focused time to get work done and how roughly 8 hours with meetings chatting with coworkers, tech issues waste about 8 hours every week anyways. I truly think I’d be more productive with a condensed week. Not to mention a better mom and human.

Edit 2: I also am hourly and once licensed will move to better pay and salary which may make this feel less annoying.

Hey everyone! I work in community social work in the USA and I was wondering if anyone knows about a similar app to Google voice where it's a separate number that can do voicemail, DND hours, and recieve calls that can also schedule messages like a regular android text? I often work hours that aren't congruent with a regular schedule in my planning phase and need to be able to send a message at different times of the day. If you have any suggestions let me know, but I've tried to find something and it's been so difficult.

Edit: Forgot to mention I do use Google workspace with a BAA for HIPPA compliance and would absolutely need it to have the BAA available.

I work full time, salaried, for a startup mental health company. I can't complain much and I have it pretty good where I'm at. However, everyone says private practice is the way to go once clinically licensed bc you seem to have even more freedom as far as truly making your own schedule goes, scheduling breaks, and so forth. But it seems like a hassle having to get more credentials for insurance billing, or finding someone to manage the billing, doing taxes 4x a year, having to buy insurance off the marketplace unless you're fortunate to have a spouse with insurance, and not having any company match for retirement . So I question if private practice is worth it? Is it financially difficult to wait for insurance reimbursement? Is only accepting out of pocket/self pay pay the way to go these days rather than dealing with insurance?

All this being said too, how do you manage meal breaks when you are back to back to back over 6-7 hours with clients 3x a week with no real break, unless you decide to build in 30 minutes which just means you'll have to make up that break time regardless ? Lol.

Im curious how do you guys deal with clients or their own family members who feel enabled at times for example with long term care or even home health aides. Its wild how many times family members will bring their parents and ask for an aid or long-term care, without wanting to deal with the steps. Sometimes family members will come and literally drop off their parent and say, “can I leave him here.” Like I will speak to the family for example and explain I understand your parent is alone in his home and you live elsewhere but maybe move them in with you? Or try to get a private aid, or ill even explain the clients Medicare/Medicaid benefits. But it’s like talking to a wall, people want instant results.

I’m curious:

how do you deal with family members of clients who don’t want to deal with their parents and want to essentially pass off their responsibility to me? What are some things a new social worker could say to patients and there loved ones when they become a bit defensive and difficult?

Hi all! I have a question for folks using Owl Practice for virtual sessions. Particularly for those with sub-par internet reliability and strength - have you had any issues with video sessions? My download speed is around 55 and my upload is around 4, and I’m wondering if this will be strong enough for video calls with clients. Feedback appreciated!

Would it be better to do a 50/50 split with a company who does billing and pays taxes or do a 70/30 split with just billing covered and taxes coming out of own pocket? Or is a 55k year secured position something better to consider for a new practitioner with inter experience?

As title suggests, I’m in a bit of a pickle.

In the program I work for, potential clients are referred to us externally, we then hold info sessions with potential clients, and have those who are interested in working with us sign a consent form before we start support. Pretty standard stuff.

On the consent form, there are a couple of extra questions around whether the client would like to be part of an evaluation process in which we gather contextual info about them at the beginning and end of each year, mostly for comparative data used to support the efficacy of the program. There is a tick box to tick for clients who are interested, if not they leave this blank. Completely optional and voluntary.

Here is the issue I’m having. My higher ups are really pressuring me to call the clients who did not agree to evaluation (did not tick the tick box) and ask them again whether they would like to be part of evaluation, despite already giving a pretty strong no by not ticking the box.

Is this coercion or am I being too sensitive to ethical standards? I’ve been feeling a bit uncomfortable about it.

Hi. I am a desperate social worker and coming here as a last ditch effort. Long story short, I have my clinical license, but it now has a restriction on it. I am currently in a year of supervision. Are there ANY telehealth platforms that will allow someone with a restricted access to work? Something similar to BetterHelp, Talkspace Etc? Please? I am not okay right now. Also, for the record, I did nothing wrong.

Hi! I'm a licensed MSW looking to get some certifications under my belt to help me specialize in some practices. I'm a recent grad and don't know where to look. I'm mainly interested in mental health, Healthcare advocacy, and child focused Healthcare- but I would like to look at any resources you have available! Thank you in advance!!

Looking to hear from people who decided to join or start a practice and what led to those circumstances. I get excited about the idea of doing private work but my last therapy role burnt me out. I didn't have much control over my caseload and I think I would in a private practice. I really love the flexibility of making my own work schedule but dislike the networking and building myself as a brand portion, hence why I've looked into group practices.

I know the kind of clients I want to work with and been in the field for many years doing community and private insurance outpatient care, been fully licensed for 3yrs but doing the work for over 10 (late bloomer with my masters degree). How did you know it was time and likely the best choice versus doing other work such as macro work or less intense therapy?

I know questions about licensure aren’t allowed. This isn’t a question about licensing requirements—more so a plea for tips for someone navigating bureaucracy and disability while trying to maintain said license.

I’ve been on disability going on five years now. Prior to this I was working as a LISW in a clinical setting. I have kept the license up to date (CEUs, background checks etc) so that I could hypothetically return to work asap. I’m classified as permanently disabled but have been told that if my current treatment plan is successful I can go back to work. Fingers crossed.

I’ve recently learned we may be moving out of state, either to Pennsylvania or Maryland. To transfer a license, Maryland wants to see you have been practicing five out of the past ten years. Pennsylvania doesn’t do reciprocity with licenses, you must apply by endorsement, but they indicate you must be actively practicing. I obviously don’t meet those requirements.

My question is this, am I just out of luck here? I really want to continue to focus on my health and eventually get back to work but these requirements are making me feel as if that won’t be in the field of social work. This is breaking my heart. I loved my work and put so much effort and time into getting that license. I’ve scoured the websites looking for answers and have emailed both boards with no response.

TLDR: Does anyone have experience with folks on SSDI trying to gain licensure in another state after a long work gap? How would you suggest I approach this process? I’m considering contacting the epilepsy society but don’t want to be seen as adversarial.

I currently work as an independent contractor in a private practice. I have a client, a young trans woman who is struggling to feel safe attending places in the community to purchase things that would enhance her confidence and would be gender affirming. More specifically, she mentioned that she would love to buy makeup but is terrified of being outed or having someone make a comment. She has never done this and does not have any informal supports that would be willing to accompany her.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I believe that gender affirming care is incredibly important and the lack thereof can be a detriment to the mental health of any member of the trans community. I've interpreted the request for accompaniment as a type of gender affirming support opportunity. I do not intend to do this outside of session time and understand the importance of appropriate boundaries.

I've reviewed the code of ethics and feel that this type of support could be therapeutic and beneficial to the client as long as proper boundaries continue to be maintained. I do not intend to do this on an ongoing basis and simply want her to build up the confidence to be able to go alone. If she could have a positive experience with this, I feel that it may increase her capacity to access supports independently. Does anybody feel that this is inappropriate or outside the bounds of the therapeutic relationship? Unfortunately, we live in a small town so there aren't any LGBTQ+ specific agencies to whom I can refer this client. I've accompanied people to hospital appointments and things of the like in the past but have not done this type of thing. I want to ensure I'm acting in a way that is ethical and beneficial to the client.

If this is not the right sub for this, could somebody guide me to the right sub?

This is a weekly thread for discussing leaving the field of social work, leaving a toxic workplace, and general venting. This post came about from community suggestions and input. Please use this space to:

• Celebrate leaving the field
• Debating whether leaving is the right fit for you
• Ask what else you can do with a BSW or MSW
• Strategize an exit plan
• Vent about what is causing you to want to leave the field
• Share what it is like on the other side
• Burn out
• General negativity

Posts of any of these topics on the main thread will be redirected here.

Just this year Australia has had 31 women murdered, that is a pretty significant number for our country and the deafening silence from our politicians and people with power has been very disheartening.

I work in a frontline role where I frequently support people fleeing family violence, it has been confronting and challenging but I have actively been involved in learning as much as I can. I involve myself in protests, social media activism, engage in as many trainings as I can and frequently racking my brains for how / what we can do.

I personally am so angry over what is happening here, but I also feel disappointed in the deafening silence from people in my life. I understand being a social worker often means we see the world through a social justice lens but when they ask about work and I raise the abhorrent murders occurring, they often reply with “oh wow, that sucks. I didn’t know” and conversation is over.

Have others experienced similar? Any advice for how to continue working in this space when it feels as though you’re fighting a battle on your own?

It’s a tough space to be in but at the rate women are being murdered I couldn’t imagine not doing the role I do.

I work in child protection myself, however I have heard that nobody really wants to work in the adolescent teams because of the challenging behaviours that teens present.

As I just came off a 20 minute bus ride with a group of loud & obnoxious ones who had no qualms about harassing other passengers, it makes me think - these teens who are within the youth justice or child protection system (under 18) - is there any hope of rehabilitation for them?

Especially here in Australia, we have a large problem with youth crime at the moment and nobody (i.e. Government) knows how to fix the issue.

I’m from a family of social workers in CA, and they asked me to use my coding skills to build a free website to help them track their licensing hours (since Track Your Hours is $200 for 3 yrs). it’s free and currently works for folks getting an LCSW in CA! if you’re from another state/license and want us to expand, if you're a supervisor with ideas, or you just have feedback/ideas, please comment or send me a message, i would love to learn about your experience and needs.

licensejourney.com

I’m looking to change positions within the social work field and wondering if school social work is hard to get into? What do you like/dislike about it?

For background, I have about a year of working with children and families.

Hey everyone! I’m a social worker for my state (so what most view when talking about CPS/DHS) and I work with biological and foster families daily. I have a bio family who wants better communication from foster parents about appointment changes and things of that nature. The foster family wants to support this, but isn’t quite comfortable giving them their phone numbers at this time. Does anyone have suggestions on how to bridge this gap for them? Thank you in advance!!

I recently quit my horrible job to be a SAHM. My workplace was highly taking advantage of its workers, and severely underpaid, to the point a union was started. I was telling my newish friend about this, and her response was “I’m usually all for unions, but you don’t go into this field for the money!” I responded, “I also didn’t get in to it to be abused by my workplace.” She was silent. What is with this idea? Am I supposed to just volunteer my time, mental health, and boundaries for laughable pay? Talk about social work being a thankless field 😵‍💫

This is your weekly thread for all questions related to licensure. Because of the vast differences between states, timing, exams, requirements etc the mod team heavily cautions users to take any feedback or advice here with a grain of salt. We are implementing this thread due to survey feedback and request and will reevaluate it in June 2023. If users have any doubts about the information shared here, please @ the mods, and follow up with your licensing board, coworkers, and/or fellow students.

Questions related to exams should be directed to the Entering Social Work weekly thread.

Hi fabulous social workers in Melbourne,

I have been offered a placement opportunity at The Salvation Army dealing with domestic violence and outreach services. As I would like to get the most out of my placement experience and not knowing too much about the industry, I am unsure if accepting this offer is a good move. I have a suspicion that my placement team may have been upselling this opportunity, as they are dealing with 100 other students with their placement and may not have wanted to organize something else, but I am not certain.

For those who have worked at The Salvation Army, what was your experience like? like their work culture, salary, career development opportunities, etc.

Telehealthcare is quite popular recently, but text is still mostly treated as a supplementary support like a single session emotional support, or a crisis support line. Even for some online services who provide text counselling, the practitioners often eventually encourage the clients to use video or at least phone counselling instead (I believe it is for more $$, or basically the centre still doesn't trust text counselling).

I am working in a text-based counselling service for like 4 years now, and we are very into it. Most clients report significant changes and it reflects on the test and assessment as well. Our centre even found a university to cooperate with us to do research and proved that text counselling can be equally effective using a similar skill sets.

While the limitation are quite obvious - no non-verbal messages, need time to type... we all feel that it is much easier for the clients to speak out and to focus on mind and thoughts. Mostly when we use face to face counselling or video counselling, it takes time for clients to trust us and to disclose the main issue that they want to share, but in text, it is like an immediate thing. Skills like solution focused and CBT are also still applicable in text environment. We also found it beneficial to the therapist as well because we have time to think the most suitable message before we send it - no BS. Minimize mistake. Hit the point.

I am not from the States, so maybe I make mistake, but it seems that social workers here are not familiar with text counselling and even don't believe in its effectiveness. What is your opinions?

​

I'm a social worker doing 40 hours as a care navigator with accommodations for scheduling things like doctor's appointments because I have lupus. There are some months when I am in really rough physical shape and other months when I don't need much assistance or accommodations at all. It really does just sort of ebb and flow without a definite pattern. I earn 46,000 a year and I really struggle to support myself. In the last few years the cost of rent and food and everything else has just gone up and up and up.

I was recently offered a job which will pay me 20,000 more per year. However, it requires travel 4-5 days a month and I'm not sure if I can physically do that. I might be able to, but I literally just don't know for sure. During the times that my body is less mobile, it is difficult for me to travel so I haven't really pushed myself to do so in about 15 years when I'm going through flares. I don't know if this can be accommodated because travel is part of the job. I am struggling trying to figure out whether or not I should take the new job earning more money and risk not being able to do all the requirements or stay where I am, where I am not required to travel but literally don't have food sometimes because money is that tight. I have done cost benefit analysis and I just don't have anybody in a similar situation with a similar medical condition and similar concerns. I am split right down the middle, I don't know what to do.

I did contact HR but they said they can't discuss accommodations until I accept an offer. If I accept the offer and then they can't accommodate it, then I'm out of luck. So I feel stuck.

Can anyone provide insight or personal experience about how you made this kind of decision? Especially if you have physical limitations as well. Thank you.

I am an LMSW intent on becoming an LCSW. Would taking a case management job for period of time be a detour on the road to clinical licensure or good experience?

I’m wondering what your thoughts are on wearing expensive items to work such as jewelery or bags? Is it dependent on your job site?

I recently purchased a Louis Vuitton purse that I love. It’s so practical and holds all my files etc. I work in a psych facility and feel embarrassed that clients may see me with the bag because I’m aware that the the majority of the clients here have low income. On the other hand, I’ve worked really hard to purchase the bag and think I should wear it proudly.

Edit: I’m surprised at how much engagement this post received so quickly. I’m really enjoying reading all of your comments even though some are quite judgmental towards me. I would like to add that the bag is very practical for work to carry everything I need to. I don’t do home visits or outreach so I’m wearing the bag to and from work and have it locked in a cabinet during work hours.

The comments have highlighted how some of us feel that social workers cannot profit or financially advance because of our ethics. It’s interesting because I also think a lot of us feel that we are not paid what we should be (a lot of us have our masters). I genuinely love what I do and care deeply about helping others however, I also live in a city where the average price for a house is one million dollars and I absolutely do also come to work for a pay cheque. I don’t think it makes me any less of a social worker to admit that.

Thank you all for the discussion.

I am a graduate student and I am curious if electives you take matter post grad? I want to take Narrative Therapy but the class is currently full. Is this something I can still learn post grad or find online "course" in? I know that either way I won't be a professional and there is always CEUs but I feel like it gives a good starting point. Any thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks!!