Just met a dad from MTV's show Teen Mom

Okay. Not really. I didn't actually meet a dad featured on the actual MTV but I might as well have.

One of my new cases is with a young dad (19 years old) and a young mom (17 years old) who are no longer together but share a 1 year old together. And boy all the drama from that MTV show from the name calling to the short skirts and makeup definitely made me feel like I was watching tv. Whewww. Oh and all this was only from the one meeting I've had with them so far. They are going to be...interesting and different to work with. Most of my clients are older (early 20's to 30's) who are single moms and no longer involved with baby daddy.

The only positive thing I'm finding is that at least in this case I can use my youthful age to my advantage to hopefully build a trusting relationship with them. That's gotta come in handy one day right?

In other news, I see I have 8 questions to be answered from the last post! Who-hoo! This is a success and I am not being sarcastic. I was seriously expecting...1 or none. But thanks! I will get to them soon!

Until our next visit,

NEW BSW

What do you want to know?

Motivated by some comments/questions on here and on Twitter, I think it would be interesting to do some question & answers about being a new social worker.

So shoot. Do you have anything you want to ask this newbie?

And don't you all overload me at once ;)

Until our next visit, New BSW

Silence/Self-Care in Progress

I wanted to start out this looong overdue blog post with an apology for being so quiet lately here but...then I thought about it and I've decided not to apologize. I'm not sorry for not writing because I needed to "do me" (as many of the clients I work with put it.) I've been drowning in the work and have been out of balance. So I've been taking some time off for some self-care (Lucky magazine anyone?) and to re-prioritize.

In the meantime, my iPhone is still attached to my hands so catch up with me on Twitter!

I want to hear about how all of you balance work and life? How do you care for yourself so you can do that for your clients?

Until our next visit, New BSW

The reason.

This is the reason why I chose to be and stay as an underpaid and overworked social worker.

Sharpening needed!

Just as a surgeon or barber needs their tools to be sanitized and sharpen, this social worker needs maintance on her body, soul, & brain.

Self care, people.

Until our next visit,
New BSW

Head is spinning.

Sorry for my lack of posts. It's difficult to blog when things are not going well. But with this blog's aim at trying to document the "reality" of newbie social working, I'm trying to remember to blog through the good and the bad.

Lately, it's been bad. So be prepared for some venting. Or wailing.

I'm feeling sooooo overwhelmed. And confused.

You see, when you're sitting there in class or in trainings, it's energizing. You want to run out as soon as you can and start "helping." Then when you do, when you're sitting in a tiny apartment with a stressed out mother and her children who are bouncing off the walls from boredom, it's very easy to feel...at  loss. And it does not help that my agency does not run with a "program" for me to fall back on during these times.

Some days I feel hopeful. Then other days, I feel hopeless. I often am left thinking "Did I make a difference? What am I doing? What am I trying to do?" In this field where the outcomes are not as concrete or visual, it's very difficult to gauge your work.

And at the moment, I can't see it :(

Until our next visit,
New BSW