Social Work Jargon

Here is a list of some social work jargon and terms:

Micro level- when a social worker conducts practice, one on one counseling, or small group therapy.It means to be working with one person or small groups.

Mezzo level- Working at a mezzo level means a social worker is working with a medium sized group such as a community, small town, or maybe an organization.

Macro level- Macro level work is done usually on a statewide, county wide, or federal level. It mostly involves legislation, grant writing, and non-profit work.

Systems theory- A theory that explains how an individual (client) is affected by all the systems or groups in their environment. Examples: family, school, church, government

Co-morbid- This is used to describe an individual who has a mental illness along with an addiction problem.

Compassion Fatigue- this is just a fancy/nicer term for "burnout".

DCS- department of children services

DSM-IV- Diagnostic and statistical manual 4. This is a reference for clinicians to use when they're trying to diagnose someone with a mental illness.

HUBSE- pronounced "hub see"  stands for understanding human behavior in the social environment. HUBSE 1 and 2 are classes that social workers must take.

Practice- counseling/therapy. Micro work.

Interview with Keith

I interviewed Keith about his thoughts on being a student here at Belmont University. He said he chose to attend Belmont for three reasons. First, his mom graduated from Belmont. Second, he likes being close to home (30-45 min. away) because he sings in a quartet on the weekends. Third, Belmont has a great music program which is what he is studying. I asked him if the students and professors were friendly, and he said that they were. He said the professors are very helpful. One thing he said he didn't like about Belmont is that the advising is too ambiguous and sometimes confusing. He likes convos and thinks they are a good idea to experience different learnings. Keith also likes the fact that students can pick and choose which ones they want to attend. Overall, Keith had many positive things to say about Belmont and has enjoyed being a student here so far.

The bold letters in the paragraph above were edited. The result is the paragraph below with the changes in bold. 

I interviewed Keith about his thoughts on being a student here at Belmont University. He said he chose to attend Belmont for three reasons. First, his mom graduated from Belmont. Second, he likes being close to home (30-45 min. away) because he sings in a quartet on the weekends. Third, Belmont has a great music program which is what he is studying. Keith said that the students are friendly and the professors are very helpful . His only complaint is that advising can sometimes be confusing because of ambiguity. He likes convos and thinks they are a good idea to experience different learnings. Keith also likes the fact that students can pick and choose which ones they want to attend. Overall, Keith had many positive things to say about Belmont and has enjoyed being a student here so far.

SW map

This crude map simply displays the location of the social work department (shaded area) in the Inman building. This is where professors' offices are located, meetings are held, and students hang out in between classes. The social work department will be an important resource for me as I begin my project. This is where I'll do the majority of my fieldwork. I will interview my professors, talk with other students, and network with people in the office and lounge.

Lists and categories

Unfortunately, I've gotten behind on my blogs. This is a catch up blog and there will be another one soon.

 Lists and especially categories are pretty numerous in the field of social work. First, there are two major types of social work, micro and macro. Micro deals with counseling and small community work while macro relates mostly to policies, grants, and other things on a large scale. Within the category of micro practice, a clinician can work with specific populations such as mentally ill people, the elderly, survivors of abuse, etc. These categories can also serve as lists to help a college student decide which population they want to work with.
The DSM-IV is an example of a book of categories and lists to help a social worker do their job. The DSM is what psychologists, psychiatrists, and clinical social workers use to diagnose individuals with mental illness. There are specific lists of criteria to be met in order to have a disorder. There are also different categories and axes of disorders. Personality disorders, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders are examples of various categories within the DSM. It can also be used as a reference when trying to understand someone with a disorder.
Obviously, this is more of a brief than an exhaustive list of categories and lists in the social work field, but hopefully it gives the reader a better idea of how these lists are used.

Item or symbol of research site/culture.

Our assignment for today was to read chapter 3 in Style Lessons in Clarity and Grace and edit our in class writing.  Bold sentences are the newly edited ones.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has a unique, specific set of values and ethics that social workers adhere to.

Social workers adhere to a set of unique, specific set of values and ethics that is provided by NASW.

In class, these values and ethics are referred to regularly.

We refer to these values and ethics regularly in class. 

These concepts can become tangible when they're printed in a text book, poster, or article.

The concepts become tangible when they're printed in a text book, poster, or article.

  When social workers deal with difficult people and situations daily, NASW values come in handy if a solution to a problem can't be found easily. 

NASW values are useful when social workers are dealing with difficult people and situations. 

Observations....

Here are my field notes from Friday's class activity.  

Record                                                                                   Response

2 guys eating outside                   Why would the eat outside when its so cold? 

                                                                                   To smoke?

People walking by

Middle aged couple walks by

Older guy, business attire                                                  Is he a professor?

Maintenance  man walks inside                I wonder if he's going to fix something.   

Guy eating in smoking session doesn't smoke                                         ?

Piano being played in Neely Dining Room                                 Sort of soothing

Parents and children taking a tour inside              I wonder how man will choose Belmont

Mom and Son leave group                                           Are they bored or out of time? 

Girl walks by, singing                                                             She can't sing well.

I sat in the picnic area outside of Massey (next to corner court) and observed people as they walked to and fro. I shared with the class how I was confused by one of the guys I was observing.  It was 37 degrees outside, he was standing instead of sitting (plenty of available seating), and eating a full meal in the designated smoking area. I found this peculiar but I guessed he might want to smoke after he ate.  My guess was wrong and he just wandered off after he threw his trash away.  It surprised me, and I guess you could say it slightly disturbed me as well.  I also noticed that there was a tour taking place inside Massey for prospective students and their parents.  All of a sudden, a mom and son opened the door quickly and walked away very quickly.  It wasn't very dramatic, but I still was intrigued to find out why they abruptly left in the middle of the tour. Where they late for something else? Angry? Bored? I don't know.  I guess that's really all I saw that was out of the ordinary.

Project Proposal: The Fried Social Worker

There are several facets of the social work profession that are unknown to most people outside of this field of work.  Social workers can work in a macro setting that involves policy making, grant writing, and jobs that deal with legislation, or they can work in the micro realm which involves counseling, case management within agencies, DCS, and psychotherapy.  Despite the vast differences in job title and responsibilities, one of the things that unite social workers is the high likelihood of burnout.  There are many factors that can cause a social worker to burnout.  Listening to client’s stories of abuse, death, and illness on a daily basis can have such a negative effect on social workers that it is considered secondary trauma.  This is just one example of what could erode a social worker’s morale. Being a social work major, I decided it would be interesting and beneficial for me to propose the question, “how can social workers prevent burnout?” 

I’m planning on answering this question by interviewing my professors who have worked in various areas of the profession.  I also plan on reviewing literature that is accessible to me as a student.  Currently, I consider myself to be somewhere in between an insider and outsider of social worker culture.  I have spent a lot of time studying the profession and have picked up on a lot of the dialect, but I haven’t worked in the field like my professors and some peers have.  I’m hoping to discover rituals or strategies that social workers use to cope with their everyday stress.