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mirah56

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  1. Upvote
    mirah56 got a reaction from b39 in Canadian Universities MSW. The waiting game 2015 admissions   
    That is likely for the MSW for working professional program out of U Windsor as they're based out of either Windsor, Mississauga, and Oshawa. I highly doubt you would have to drive to toronto 4 times a week it's unreasonable to ask.
  2. Upvote
    mirah56 got a reaction from Academicat in Can a field placement be too dangerous, or am I being stupid?   
    Regardless of what population you work with, regardless of whether there is a history a of violence of not, YOU ARE AT RISK. This is the nature of the business. It doesn't have to be someone physically assaulting you, they can be verbally abusive as well. We work in a field that deals with strong emotions at times, and you just never know. This is why social workers make assessments. Safety is fundamental and if you don't want to be at risk (any kind of risk) you have work to do!

    Ps - you cannot transport client until you have the right insurance to do so.
  3. Upvote
    mirah56 reacted to Figaro in Can a field placement be too dangerous, or am I being stupid?   
    I apologize for being too harsh in my delivery and for the sarcastic tone, but still think you should re-consider your career choice. Whether you do or not is of no concern to me personally, but for the sake of your future clients, it seems a little more reflection might be a good idea. I reacted as I did because whenever anyone automatically assumes that as a group, people with any one of a broad number of mental issues are more likely to be more dangerous than anyone else feels like a direct attack on some very much loved family members of mine and it hurts me because those attitudes hurt them and people in their same boat. I have loved ones who have suffered doubly from mental illnesses. Firstly, from the illness itself and secondly, from the stigma associated with it, which causes people like you to draw very harmful and unfair conclusions about them.Stigma limits their opportunities and harms them in many other ways.  I grew up with these issues. Nobody at my house was ever scared of people with MIs. When someone wasn't well, the family helped them as best they could, just as we would have if one of us had cancer or diabetes. You said that you have a mental illness. You named depression.  Let me ask you this: should your co-workers and fellow students be afraid of you when you begin working and studying with them? Of course not, you're likely to say. That's silly.That's som ething for you to think about. How would you feel if someone was afraid to drive you somewhere just because you have a history of depression?  That stings, doesn't it?  Again - you won't be working with people with untreated MIs. Your clients will be in treatment. That's a really big difference.
    Your original post on this subject said that you were told that in the entire experience of the person you spoke with, there had only been once instance of a case manager being somehow assaulted by a client, yet you see that as a significant danger warning. I don't how that would work out statistically in light of the total number of people that place has worked with, but the rate of violence among any population of people, when working with the public, might be expected to be higher than that. You didn't say you were going to be working as case manager. You said that your job was to transport people to appointments and such.  That's another important distinction. Case managers deal with dicier problems and issues than driving people.
    There's no guarantee of safety anywhere you go, no matter what you do in this world. If you spend some time reading about this subject, you will discover that the stats don't support your level of fear of people with MIs. People with MIs are far more statistically likely to be victims than perpetrators of violent crimes. Overall, their rate for violent crime isn't any higher than the general population. Substance abuse is more of an indicator of violence potential. There are so many factors when it comes to mental health and danger.
    I never said I was better than you, i just questioned the fitness of this career path for you, given the things you have written.  I'll be working in Philadelphia and doing home visits. My family is more worried about me getting mugged going back and forth to those home visits than they are about my clients. They bought me pepper spray, and I'll take precautions, but this career can never be 100% safe. You can't be 100% safe even if you never leave your home.
    If you go forward with this, then I hope you take a class on mental illness. If not, then please spend some time reading about this subject so you aren't scared to work with what is a good chunk of the population of the country. It would not be good for people if you communicate fear when you work with them. That's just insulting and offensive if they sense that from you.  Maybe you will be more comfortable if you brush up on the subject. Here's an article from psychcentral.com for you if you care to peruse it...
    http://psychcentral.com/archives/violence.htm
  4. Upvote
    mirah56 reacted to esimanon in Can a field placement be too dangerous, or am I being stupid?   
    1. The term self-righteous is a little derogatory. 
     
    2. Little Darling states that she feels unsafe merely because she would be in close-quarters with people who have mental illness. I don't believe that I was being self-righteous by pointing out a larger feeling (based off of stereotypes and biases that Little Darling seems to be holding) in American culture that results in/perpetuates a society that shuns people with mental illness.
     
    3. I agree that Little Darling should get more direct care experience to demystify her fears and become an ally to her clientele. 
  5. Upvote
    mirah56 got a reaction from nugget in Canadian Universities MSW. The waiting game 2014 admissions   
    I was accepted today! I had checked a few times already this am and no change until about 1145am when the status changed to accepted final! They received my application on April 16th so three weeks and two days for me! I hope you get accepted!!! Keep checking I'm sure you'll get a response by the end of this week!
  6. Upvote
    mirah56 got a reaction from louise86 in Can a field placement be too dangerous, or am I being stupid?   
    Regardless of what population you work with, regardless of whether there is a history a of violence of not, YOU ARE AT RISK. This is the nature of the business. It doesn't have to be someone physically assaulting you, they can be verbally abusive as well. We work in a field that deals with strong emotions at times, and you just never know. This is why social workers make assessments. Safety is fundamental and if you don't want to be at risk (any kind of risk) you have work to do!

    Ps - you cannot transport client until you have the right insurance to do so.
  7. Upvote
    mirah56 got a reaction from louise86 in Can a field placement be too dangerous, or am I being stupid?   
    Hi there,

    I just wanted to shed some light on this issue. I work as a social worker on an assertive community treatment team, and we transport clients in our vehicles. The individuals I work with have severe mental illness, and a number have histories of violent behaviour. I also supervise social work students and the expectation eventually is they work independently with clients. I would never put a student in a situation that I believe would put them at risk. The expectation prior to my students going out independently is they become fluent with conducting a mental status examination, which they will practice while shadowing myself and other clinicians. This is important because a change in mental status is telling of more important issues. I don't think you're being ridiculous because staff and client safety is extremely important. I think it would be a good idea to bring up some of your concerns with your advisor and see what is put in place to ensure your own safety (training, carrying a work cell phone, exit strategies, etc). It doesn't go without saying that I absolutely agree with esimanon - while you need to know that the risk is there it doesn't mean that it can happen again. You are there to learn and ultimately support the individuals you work with, and you would be doing them a disservice by not being able to fully develop a therapeutic relationship with them. And you would be missing out on an extremely rich learning opportunity. It would not be offered as a field placement if it were considered too dangerous. This is the reality of social work! Remember you're not there to work, you are there to learn. You don't have all of the answers and it is OK to say to a client "I don't know but I will get back to you" - and to play the student card. And remember your supervisor and the other workers at the agency are there to support you!
  8. Upvote
    mirah56 got a reaction from LittleDarlings in Can a field placement be too dangerous, or am I being stupid?   
    Hi there,

    I just wanted to shed some light on this issue. I work as a social worker on an assertive community treatment team, and we transport clients in our vehicles. The individuals I work with have severe mental illness, and a number have histories of violent behaviour. I also supervise social work students and the expectation eventually is they work independently with clients. I would never put a student in a situation that I believe would put them at risk. The expectation prior to my students going out independently is they become fluent with conducting a mental status examination, which they will practice while shadowing myself and other clinicians. This is important because a change in mental status is telling of more important issues. I don't think you're being ridiculous because staff and client safety is extremely important. I think it would be a good idea to bring up some of your concerns with your advisor and see what is put in place to ensure your own safety (training, carrying a work cell phone, exit strategies, etc). It doesn't go without saying that I absolutely agree with esimanon - while you need to know that the risk is there it doesn't mean that it can happen again. You are there to learn and ultimately support the individuals you work with, and you would be doing them a disservice by not being able to fully develop a therapeutic relationship with them. And you would be missing out on an extremely rich learning opportunity. It would not be offered as a field placement if it were considered too dangerous. This is the reality of social work! Remember you're not there to work, you are there to learn. You don't have all of the answers and it is OK to say to a client "I don't know but I will get back to you" - and to play the student card. And remember your supervisor and the other workers at the agency are there to support you!
  9. Upvote
    mirah56 reacted to esimanon in Can a field placement be too dangerous, or am I being stupid?   
    I strongly believe that one of the most important aspects of being a social worker is the ability to have compassion for your clients that overshadows your own fear or insecurities.
     
    The goal should be providing services to those who are suffering versus holding fear around their disorder. Having worked in a mental health hospital - I too struggled with fear of the unknown and for my safety. Yet, I soon realized that having fear for your client perpetuates the very issues that you are trying to alleviate them from - a society that doesn't understand them and (therefore) alienates them. 
     
    You need to overcome this fear to be truly effective in your work and to ensure that your emotional well-being is not compromised by your work. 
  10. Upvote
    mirah56 got a reaction from Morgs14 in Canadian Universities MSW. The waiting game 2014 admissions   
    Hi Morgan!
     
    I am also interested in knowing - I should have my application for the MSWwp program in this week (cutting it close, I know!)
    This is the only school i've applied to as well and I have just over 3 years of post BSW experience - I currently work as a Social Worker for a psychiatric hospital (with inpatient, outpatient, crisis experience).  
    Good luck!  Let me know how it goes!
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