Personal Narrative: A Career In Social Psychology

I began my social work studies over twenty-five years ago at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. I never questioned my decision to pursue a career in social work; I loved my classes and worked hard to learn as much as possible. But the information I gained in undergraduate school simply opened the doors of my education. Most of my learning has come through constant questioning, personal research, and especially through work and life experience. Through these experiences I have encountered the challenges faced by individuals, families, and society and have been able to further access and develop the innate personality traits and abilities that originally led me to study social work as well as learn and practice the many skills necessary to be a successful mental health counselor.

Social work professions need to understand the importance of how individuals interact both with other people and their environment, to have an understanding how individuals are affected by these interactions (Rogers, p. 2). According to Rogers (2016), “Social workers are knowledgeable about human behavior across the life course; the range of social systems in which people live; and the ways social systems promote or deter people in maintaining or achieving health and well-being. Social workers apply theories and knowledge from the liberal arts to understand biological, social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual development (p. 2). Their work with clients begins with assessments to evaluations of intervention and is based in and supports of the core value system of the profession.

According to NASW, sixty percent of mental health professionals are clinically trained social workers, compared to 10% of psychiatrists, 23% of psychologists, and 5% of psychiatric nurses (Mental Health, n.d.). Clinical social workers work with clients range from substance abusers, domestic violence victims, schools and even with war veterans. Even though other mental health professionals’ skills overlap with social work, clinical social workers have specific training that other professionals do not have. Clinical social workers are not able to do psychological testing or prescribe medication. However, they do psychotherapy, assessments, evaluations, and individual and group therapy. Another job function that clinical social workers do

First, I was correct about my own understanding of what a social worker is required to do. “[Social workers] act as allies to some of the most vulnerable populations in the United States, including people who are young, elderly, economically disadvantaged, and physically or mentally disabled” (Lin et al. 7). This quote made me smile because I have never given a thought about how important this job might be and how valuable a social workers help might be to some people. “Social workers may be engaged in a variety of occupations ranging from hospitals, schools, clinics, police departments, and public agencies, court systems to private practices or businesses” (Leaver 969). This quote from another scholarly journal provided proof to me that I was correct about my assumptions about the social work career but it also brought out some new information to me. I was already aware that social workers can work in hospitals, schools, and clinics but I never knew that they can also work in the police departments, public agencies, and court systems. This new information was fascinating to me because I was never aware that a social worker could work in even more

Historically social work has been a field aimed at helping improve quality of living for all people. Understanding the mission and values of the profession enables social workers to empathize with the groups and individuals they aim to help. Professional social workers must be able to understand situations from multiple perspectives to make the best informed decisions.

someone. One of the hardest responsibilities I've ever had to take on, was when I had to babysit, Brennan, my little brother. I thought I would not do a good job, but I knew it was something I had to learn how to do. Also, when I babysat my brother, I felt that it would help my parents if I knew how to take care of him. Although I was very nervous, I told my parents that I would babysit my little brother. Something that I didn't know, was that I was learning a lot about taking responsibility for things in life. It was a very interesting learning experience for me.

Reading over your discussion post I have to say I agree with you 100%. Especially when you stated “just because they saw “black” people does not necessarily mean they were from Africa”. My reasoning for agreeing with this statement is because people come in many different shades of colors what made him so sure that they were African? Like I mention in my initial post I believe that his whole theory was based off of assumption. I think if he would’ve had more concrete information it would be more than just a theory.

The social work career on a local scale. While doing my research, I struggled to find social work positions that interested me that were in or around Fresno. I decided to extend my search through California. There were multiple openings in and around the Los Angeles area. One such position was a Case Worker and it is in the city of Gardena in California. The pay rate for this position is $21 dollars an hour and a Master’s degree is required. In this position, the case worker would be assessing youth on bio-psycho-social factors, and assessing their risk of delinquency. The case worker would also help to create and put in to action a service plan for their individual clients, and make referrals to any corresponding agencies. It would also be mandatory for the case worker to fill out any required documents

In my three years of being here I’ve learned so much. Managing time is key. In the beginning I was pretty good at it but as I got better I’ve learned how to better my time. Really in my opinion you can’t teach someone maybe to some extent you can but not really. It has to do with experience with time management you need to fail once or twice before understanding the importance and how much it really does help. In life I’ve always had an easy time with managing my time so this wasn’t much of an issue with me. My career goals have been magnified since being here, realizing that what I want to do in life might actually be my reality. In this day and age not many people can say that. Through the Ferris classes I took here I was able to save fifteen thousand

"Louis McClymont, the nurse will see you know."As I took the dreaded walk to treatment room B, my fear of needles began to take over, the only time I ever had a jag before was when I was a baby, and that was too long ago to remember. I took a seat on the administering table; the nurse could see my body was shaking with fear. She tried to distract me from the enormous needle that was heading my way. "You're having a jag for yellow fever, where are you going?"

Career-long learning is important for social workers due to the constant change in the society. The different technologies and new practice system on how to help clients is always developing different strategies that is why every social worker will have to be knowledgeable on how to handle issues in the professional social work practice, and prevent any form of ignorance as an excuse in resolving problems.

There is one major skill and experience that I discovered I had. It was junior year and I was in trigonometry taking a test, after each question I had an uneasy feeling in my gut. I felt that I was going to flunk the test and get an F on the test. The day passed and I learned that I got a ninety-percent on the test. From that day forward I learned that I should go with my gut. I learned that I could trust my mind with what I was doing. The knowledge is there, all I needed was to apply the knowledge. Throughout my eighteen years of living, I have learned that life is full of decisions. Learning that I can trust my knowledge to succeed, I have discovered that making decisions is starting to come easier to me. To myself, learning this skill is

It is no doubt that I consider psychology an exceedingly interesting field, but if I were to pick an alternative career path, it would most likely be social work. According to the University of South Carolina (n.d.), social work is defined as “a helping profession; the main goal of social work is to improve a society’s overall well-being, especially for the most vulnerable populations.” This field of work is highly focused on direct action to communities and individuals who need help in some form or another. The social work interview with Dr. Natalie Cawood (n.d) also mentions social work’s “emphasis on social policy issues,” due to their impact on the vulnerable populations that they work with. This emphasis on vulnerable populations is one

Some of the more common disorders that might be treated include learning disabilities, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. On the other hand, Clinical Social Work is a healthcare profession based on theories and methods of prevention and treatment in providing mental-health/healthcare services, with special focus on behavioral and bio-psychosocial problems and disorders. With this specific type of social work the job focus would be to “provide support services to clients with emotional, mental and/or behavioral issues. This type of social worker usually works in a hospital, clinic, skilled nursing facility or private practice. They typically utilizes a multi-faceted therapy approach, with a focus on helping clients improve their emotional, physical and/or financial status.” According to, Psychology School Guide, a credible source because the main focus of the website is all things psychology related, and the website clearly sites it’s references. The references for this particular article are American Psychological Association. (2013).What Do Practicing Psychologists Do? and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But also, in many cases you may be able to become employed by having a similar degree such as psychology or sociology. As of now I am currently enrolled in LaGuardia community College majoring in psychology. My plan is to transfer to Hunter College to get my bachelor’s degree. However, I do not plan to end there. I’ve learned that in the state of New York, a competitive and demanding need for social workers, a bachelor degree may not be enough to earn a successful position. I plan to complete my master’s in social work (MSW). From what I’ve learned on the Occupational Handbook, “a degree in almost any major is acceptable” to enter the MWS program. This means that with my bachelor’s in psychology I would be able to get in the program. In the MWS program it may take an additional two years to complete and in the state of New York it also requires a license (LMSW) as well to become a social worker.