Ask a Social Worker
Question on a new policy, a new career option, or alternate ways to handle a difficult client?
Social workers help individuals, families and members of groups and communities restore their capabilities to function in society — but social workers also help each other. Use this forum to add your own responses to questions or ask a new one and get real answers from seasoned Social Workers.
Recent Questions
The Clinical Significance of Pets
Case Study: Working Clinically With Clients & Their Pets *In efforts to protect client anonymity, names in the case examples included in this article have been redacted and the shared content is purposely not credited to the contributing clinical social worker. Client: "Losing my cat was like losing a family [...]
10 More Documentaries on Netflix for Social Workers
For social workers looking to educate themselves, gain perspective, or see a different side of a particular topic or issue, documentary films are a great place to start! Thousands of social, cultural, historical, and political documentaries are streaming on Netflix, and many provide in-depth looks at subjects relevant to social [...]
Social Work Values: What We Do as Social Workers Matters
Social Work Values: What We Do Counts So much of what we do in social work, from micro to macro level practice to social work values, is essentially arriving at new ways of trusting the process and committing to the journey while advocating for ourselves. Not so different from what we [...]
How to Help Someone Having a Panic Attack. What Social Workers Need to Know
Panic Attack Help Social Workers Panic attacks can be a truly harrowing experience for both the client and clinician. Working in clinical social work, your likelihood of encountering someone who experiences panic attacks is significant. As a Social Worker, knowing effective panic attack help strategies is important. A recent US [...]
A Social Worker’s Personal Reflection on Social Work Research: My Thoughts on Social Work Research as a Social Worker
Social Workers and Social Work Research Social work as a profession is widely recognized as having a commitment to social justice and social change, to go beyond merely conducting research about individuals, groups, communities, to designing studies with and for the individuals, groups, and communities being observed through social work [...]
Working With People With Paranoia: What Social Workers Need to Know
Tips for Helping People with Paranoia Social workers are highly likely to encounter people exhibiting some paranoid features at some time in their careers. From features of psychotic disorders like schizophrenia to degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's to effects from some prolonged substance dependence disorders and even some personality disorders, [...]
Working with Clients Who Exhibit Paranoia Symptoms: A Social Worker’s Experience with Paranoia
Working with Clients Who Exhibit Paranoia Symptoms I have worked in Community Mental Health for a number of years, addressing the needs of some of the most vulnerable populations in our society, and paranoia symptoms are something with which with I've become rather familiar. I’ve worked with folks who have refused [...]
Having a WRAP Plan: How Social Workers Can Help Clients with Mental Health Issues
Working with Clients with Mental Health Diagnoses When a loved one is living with a mental health diagnosis, it is life changing not only for that person but also for their family members. Regardless of age having to raise a child with a mental health diagnosis can be very overwhelming. Addiction to [...]
Social Work Ethics: Q & A on Social Work Practice
Setting the Right Boundaries in Social Work Practice Ever since I became a social worker, my friends have come to me for “free” help and therapy. I used to enjoy it but now I find that some of them have become dependent on me. Any advice on how I can [...]
New to Social Work? Start Here
On Being New to Social Work Whether your title is therapist, counselor, case manager or the like, becoming a social worker the field can be scary. You question your skillset, your ability to best help your clients, if you’re prepared enough, if you can handle difficult situations, which techniques to use, which theoretical [...]
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Shari Davis, MSW, LISW
Natalie A Hock, MSW
Brandon Haydon, LCSW
