Personal Narrative: A Career As A Clinical Social Worker

The history of mental health in the United States show a robust movement towards the mental healthcare system we have today. Prior to the 19th century, individuals with mental health issues were widely considered to be demonically possessed, thus contributing to the stigmatization of mental illness and the proliferation of poor treatment conditions. However, in the 1800s, there was a dramatic change in mental healthcare in the U.S. The government took a proactive role in treating the mentally ill, leading to the dawn of state psychiatric facilities.

I am passionate on helping people and making changes in others’ lives. Like I stated before, my mother had been trapped herself in the apologetic emotion for years. The mental burden had made her down. Therefore, I decided to help my mother get rid of the self-accusation, by using the knowledge I learned in the Human Services major. To illustrate, I was telling her that it was not her fault of divorce, and she was not showing me the negative image of a marriage. Instead, I admire her braveness of ending a marriage when it was necessary, especially in the time when people were stereotyping divorced women and at the place where people were being judgmental. Now, her self-blameless has been reduced, and she told me that she was not felt as guilty

“I want to live.” She said. She lifted her feet off the small coffee table and set them gently on the floor as she continued to look through me, too interested on the inner workings of her own mind.

As an aspiring occupational therapist, my essential goal is to provide services and opportunities to impaired individuals, specifically in under-developed communities, that may not have the proper resources and guidance. What made me want to dedicate my life to assisting individuals is from observing my grandmother take care of my great-grandmother until she passed away. While trying to maintain her own health, my grandmother helped her mother with tasks such as feeding, changing, and more all by herself. Watching her struggle with no support made me wish I could make life simpler for her. Also, I wished my great-grandmother had the utilities to help her interact with my family without dilemmas. Considering my great-grandmother and my future

During my last clinical rotation of my adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner graduate program, I worked closely with an orthopedic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. He frequently became exasperated when residents would present new consults and focus solely on imaging. He wanted to know what the history and physical revealed. One morning on rounds, he grabbed my hands and exclaimed, “Always look at your patient! Touch them!”

Though I have another year and a half before I complete my schooling, it is always important to find out as much information about my future field of work. Knowing what is to be expected when going in for a job interview will not only be a bonus for myself, but allow me to feel confident when giving answers.

Without mental health nurses, this world would be crazier! Nurses are what change the lives of many people, but mental health nurses are what change the lives of many people battling emotional disorders. I chose this career because working with people, in general, allows me to help them and make them feel better.

Over the course of my internship, I have attended additional trainings and received certifications for my anticipated career in Mental Health Counseling. I have had the opportunity to attend a training and become CPR certified, become a Suicide Prevention QPR Certified Gatekeeper, in addition to registering for a Mental Health First Aid training. Within the agency, I was provided trainings on Credible, our documentation database, EVS to run client’s state funded insurance, and Navinet to run commercial or private insurance for clients. Human Services, Inc. provides one hour of training on Credible, which I believe should be improved. Also, more training should be provided when it comes to insurance because knowing and understanding insurance

My interest in community service began in high school when I joined Key Club, a community service and leadership building organization focused on volunteer work. As time went on, I became the Junior Board Director, representing and guiding eleventh grade students during volunteer projects. We raised money for ZZ (UNICEF) and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (ZZ), organized social carnivals for Big Brothers Big Sisters, and helped set up and run-walks for March of Dimes and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, to name a few. I enjoy volunteering because it gives me a chance to share my many skills while learning new skills and working with people of all

The sharp scent of chlorine fills my nostrils as I crane over the microadjuster, determining whether my Platinum/Iridium wire tip is done reacting. Waving away the fumes, I observe the bubbles fizzling out, turn the voltage off, and twist the tip out of the machine. At 163 nanometers wide, it’s the sharpest tip I’ve etched this summer.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a passion for helping others. This passion has led me to work in a Primary Healthcare Clinic in the inner city of Jackson, Mississippi. Every day I work to understand and build awareness to the needs of the patients who come into our clinic, realizing there is a great need for social workers in the primary healthcare setting to help patients accept, understand, and manage their chronic health issues so they can live full active lives. I provide integrated care that focuses on chronic care and mental health supportive services with brief interventions to improve our patients overall health and well-being.

My first day on the job as a new Licensed Bachelor Social Worker and my client is about to walk through the door, my feelings would be all over the place. I would first feel excited because it took me a long time to get where I am at and I’d be very proud of my accomplishments, but then after the moment of excitement passes the feeling of nervousness comes. In the moment of being nervous all of my confidence would fly out of the window and I wouldn’t be very confident about my skills of truly helping the client with their issue. I would be freaking out and think that everything that I learned in college that would prepare me for my first time with my client was forgotten completely but really it would have just been forgotten for the moment

Ethics is defined as, “an area of study that deals with ideas about what is good and bad behavior” (citation). As a social worker we must abide by the National Association of Social Work Code of Ethics and follow the “rules” and withhold the set of morals and values in practice. Sometimes we are placed in certain situations that go against these values and we as professionals need to become aware of that and act upon them appropriately.

I became a supervisor in June 2009, previous to this I had worked as a case manager in the group that I would now be supervising. When accepting the position I was confident that even though I had worked as a peer with the staff that I was now supervising this would not be a significant issue as I had worked at an offsite location and did not have day to day contact with the other staff. Unfortunately, I had convinced myself that my work location would make it easier. This was not the case, no matter how closely you work in a group they always have a preconceived idea of how you will act, lead or fail to lead in the future based upon what they know about you. Getting past preconceived ideas can be a very difficult task because these ideas

Do you believe that your role as a therapist will end at the end of the day or will it be present in your personal life also?