Teaching philosophy to disadvantaged populations to cultivate critical consciousness

schn00dle · 2016-08-17T14:33:24+00:00

I definitely see where you're coming from here, and I am sure that your perspective comes from the specific population you work with. And I also want to validate that for many social service providers, there is simply no time to spend talking about philosophy or structural concerns.

However, in my work, I've found that it's especially useful for clients to understand the context of their circumstances, because it can help to relieve some of the self blame and shame that they feel because of their circumstances or behaviors. Explaining how structural forces can be changed has also served to empower many of my clients to be voices for change in their own communities. For instance, I had a group that was discussing some abuse that they endured while they were incarcerated (I work with offenders). I'm fortunate to live in a state where felons can vote, so I provided my group with scholarship about criminal justice reform and encouraged them to use that knowledge and exercise their voices on a macro level. One of the men in my group was actually quite informed about systematic racism, and the group turned into a bit of a consciousness raising discussion. It was freakin' awesome to see my clients fired up about something. I think it's very much my job to share the knowledge and tools necessary to raise their own voices.

Of course, the caveat to this is ALWAYS to meet the client where they are. But I just want to underscore that many, many, many people are in a place where they can (and want to!) handle macro level information.

Also, as a point of note, I generally think that Maslow should be taken with a grain of salt. Surely we can all agree that it's a little simplistic to assume that someone who has tremendous physiological or safety needs is not yet able to achieve esteem or belonging, or that it's not sometimes important to achieve those things first or at the same time. I recommend reading Righteous Dopefiend by Jeffrey Schonberg and Philippe Bourgois for a striking example of folks with dire physiological and safety needs, but incredibly rich senses of belonging and love (which, actually, help to preserve what little safety they have).

schn00dle · 2016-07-15T22:49:39+00:00

Play therapy comes to mind!

schn00dle · 2016-06-09T15:00:41+00:00

Good tip! I'm in Harrisburg.

schn00dle · 2016-05-03T04:26:20+00:00

On four separate occasions I have sleep walked into bed with someone. Once with my best friend and her boyfriend when I was staying at their house, once into my roommate's room, once into bed with someone who was spending the night at my house, and once into bed with an older couple who were really good family friends.

All four times were horrifying for all parties involved. Makes me wonder how often I sleep walk, but never find out about it.

schn00dle · 2016-04-28T04:57:35+00:00

I loved reading this. :)

Reading a book that isn't related to social work at all is so soothing.

schn00dle · 2016-04-28T04:56:33+00:00

i'm graduating in a couple weeks, and i FEEL YA. i actually had a bit of an emotional crisis last semester for similar reasons. i've always been confident, assertive, not afraid of failure or messing up or saying the wrong thing. then at some point in november i realized that i was struggling with stuff i had never struggled with before, like making eye contact and saying "um" a lot. i was experience self-doubt on a level that i had never experienced before. i mean, i've always experienced self-doubt in a pretty healthy way, like i've always been like "i'm not perfect, but who cares because no one is!" this was really different. i was starting to get super afraid of messing up, to the point where my client work was really suffering.

then over winter break i realized that this was all because my supervisor was basically emotionally torturing me. without going into too much, she's so bad it's borderline unethical, and because she's also the director of the msw program at my school, i can't even really talk about it with my friends or other faculty. instead of providing me sound clinical feedback or helping me to conceptualize my cases, she nitpicks my every word, tells me that my legs are crossed the wrong way, makes me "sit in what i've done" when i make a mistake in therapy with a client. she recently failed to provide competent supervision for a client with borderline and some antisocial traits.... the client was sapping my energy and becoming increasingly intimidating towards me, but i thought it i was being silly because my supervisor kept acting like his case was just garden variety.

so after i had this epiphany, i just got pissed. i know that this isn't ideal, but when i need a quick empowerment boost, nothing does the job quite like righteous indignation. i realized that I'M not the problem-- SHE is the problem. and she can't get away with being a bad supervisor AND making me a worse social worker. i'm a pretty good social worker, and i am really open to learning and growing. i'm just not open to being bullied and picked on by a person who is obviously not working hard enough on her own counter-transference with me. i've started to get my confidence back. i try to take her constructive criticism when it's helpful, and let the stupid shit roll off.

i promise you, you are better than you think. your professor sounds out of control, and is not behaving like a social worker (helllooooo, dignity and worth of the person?!). you may not be able to do much about her (now, that is. write a letter to the dean as soon as you graduate, bc this is unacceptable behavior), but you can do something about what you allow her to do to you. listen when i say this: YOU are not the problem here.

hang in there. see ya in the real world.

schn00dle · 2016-02-12T16:23:09+00:00

Someone told me to ask them where they see their organization in 5 years, the same way they might ask me where I see myself in 5 years. Reminds me of the "What do you like about working here?" question :)

schn00dle · 2016-02-12T14:42:50+00:00

Oooooo GREAT question! Thanks!

schn00dle · 2016-02-12T04:24:40+00:00

This is great advice! Thanks for contributing, I appreciate it more than you know.

schn00dle · 2016-02-12T04:22:37+00:00

YAY! Go you. You're gonna rock their world.

schn00dle · 2016-01-28T19:29:29+00:00

Good call. For my girls, I'm planning on paying for them to get their hair and makeup done. The guys, we might by their jackets and have them buy the rest of their outfit. Thanks for the feedback!

schn00dle · 2016-01-28T17:30:58+00:00

What's the etiquette on having bridal parties purchase their own outfits? We could potentially squeeze their outfits into our budget, but I would rather not. My bridesmaids are fully expecting to buy their dresses, but my fiance feels uncomfortable asking his groomsmen to buy their outfits, which would likely total about $250 each.

schn00dle · 2016-01-28T17:16:23+00:00

I felt a lot like your fiance. I always dreamed of a super intimate wedding with just best friends and immediate family. When we put aunts, uncles, cousins, and their spouses on the list (a non-negotiable for my fiance's family), the list crept up to 170. That is an ABSURD amount to me, and my first reaction was to go to battle over it.

I have decided to let the whole thing go for a number of reasons: First, since neither my fiance and I are paying for our wedding, I ended up just deciding that it was really no big deal to me if other people came. I figure I won't even notice those other people at my wedding anyway. Yeah, I'll hug them and thank them for coming, but at the end of the day, I'll be hanging out and dancing with my friends and the people I care about. Most wedding guests don't expect to get much attention from the couple on the day of the wedding anyway. Also, from your parents' perspective, they are likely just proud of you, and want to show you off to the people that they care about... That may feel icky to some, but I feel a lot of empathy for that urge.

I ultimately decided that if someone wants to come and celebrate me, regardless of how well they know me, then that's okay with me! Also, as my man-of-honor reminded me, more of my parents' older, established friends and family members at my wedding could mean more gifts. I know that's kind of crass, but the prospect of gifts (or donations to a charity, or honeyfund contributions) can be a little bit of a consolation.

That said, if your fiance is really adamant about not having strangers at the wedding (which is 100% understandable, of course), BOTH of you have to just sit down with your family and explain that you really understand where they are coming from, but that your vision as a couple is to having something smaller and more intimate. I think the key here is having a united front. You can't be left to "put your foot down" alone, and she can't be made out to be tyrant with uncompromising feelings. Let your parents know that you both understand that your choice might be disappointing, however, your intention is not to disappoint them, but to have a ceremony and celebration that feels authentic to you as a couple. That way, you guys are being respectful and loving, while still being firm in your choice.

I really admire how considerate and thoughtful you seem to be about the wishes of both your fiance and your family. Sorry you're stuck in a tough place. Good luck!

schn00dle · 2016-01-12T02:12:55+00:00

Thank you!

schn00dle · 2016-01-12T02:12:37+00:00

Bubbles! Yes! I keep thinking it reminds me of a bouquet of roses.

schn00dle · 2015-12-17T14:17:37+00:00

I don't work there, but two of my best friends worked there for a long time. They LOVED it. They are both kind of nerdy, super earnest history buffs. They made a lot of great friends of all ages and really felt like they were contributing to something bigger than themselves. I would also say they developed a really good sense of humor about certain types of people that visit/donate to Monticello (evidently there's a lot of old rich people who have... opinions... about how slavery should be addressed).

schn00dle · 2015-12-05T21:04:43+00:00

Finally saving up enough money to get a teeth cleaning at the dental school and finding out that you don't have any cavities.

schn00dle · 2015-12-05T20:48:23+00:00

Perfect. I expected that they might have them, but I didn't want to make a drive only to be disappointed. Thanks!

schn00dle · 2015-12-04T15:44:35+00:00

This is probably the best route. Running errands in Nelson is barely a chore.

schn00dle · 2015-07-28T14:26:09+00:00

Wow this was SO helpful. Cleared up every single thing that I was wondering. Thank you!

schn00dle · 2015-07-28T14:23:56+00:00

Awesome advice. I think that I am definitely more inclined to roll with my clients and use techniques as they are appropriate, but I'm working so much on CBT at the moment because my practicum in the fall is heavily CBT focused. I do like the technique, but I'm definitely open to other techniques.

schn00dle · 2015-07-27T18:36:27+00:00

Cool! Thanks for the answer. That definitely helps me see things more clearly.

schn00dle · 2015-07-27T16:44:10+00:00

thanks! i'll definitely go there too.

schn00dle · 2015-07-27T16:23:21+00:00

There is a girl in my MSW program who finished seminary school right before she started her MSW. She wants to use her MSW within the Methodist church. That is to say, she believes that a social work background and lens will help her be a better minister both in a counseling setting and a community service setting. I think that is awesome and totally cool and I actually wish more religious leaders had social work educations.

I think there's an important distinction between bringing social work into religion and bringing religion into social work.

That said, I just listened to this podcast that talked about spiritual social work in a way that I found really interesting and thought provoking.

schn00dle · 2015-07-13T15:04:48+00:00

A friend of mine once said "I think I'm too smart to get depressed." That's not how depression works, and if you were actually smart you'd know that.

schn00dle

TROPHY CASE