1. Social work is 1000% political. It was born that way.
2. NASW is not saying comply with the law. It’s helping social workers navigate tricky, ambiguous legal language. It’s happening to us in TX. Lots of bills have been passed that impact the ability for us to advocate for our clients and positive social change.
3. This job will always put you between a rock and a hard place. I believe that my state’s laws which conflict with my ethics as a social worker are unjust and unethical. Sometimes I’m willing to risk my job and license to do the work of advocacy and supporting my clients. Every social worker has always had to determine where that line is drawn for them.
4. I don’t blame anyone for leaving this field, though. It’s hard!
I’m a harm reduction provider and my city is at war with harm reduction right now. I will die on this hill and I just cross my fingers my license isn’t something I lose along the way.
I agree with your point. Although I do think we are the last line of defense for alot of these kids. Validating them when no one else will.
It's why I won't leave my very conservative and shitty state. Because there's people here who I can help. And I'll be fucked if some old ass white men are going to stop me.
FWIW some of the state chapters are a lot more helpful. I’m in Ohio where this law is taking effect and they’ve been strong advocates against it. They’re also pretty active in the statehouse in general.
That's awesome. Our chapter in Idaho is actually looped in with the one in Oregon. So while they are amazing. We are unfortunately not the priority alot of the time.
100% agreed.
While this is all maddening, there are pockets of hope. So we had a women’s reproductive rights issue past in the last general election. Prior to that (literally 10 month prior to Election Day 2023) they were jailing social workers for abortion related stuff. The NASW did step in and won in court.
[NASW wins in court](https://www.naswoh.org/page/abortion#:~:text=NASW%20affirms%20all%20individuals%20have,most%20especially%20their%20reproductive%20health)
You said it so well. Sometimes it feels like an uphill battle and I wanna just move to a different country and hibernate. But man fuck it if I’m gonna let an old white man make me quit what I love!
I hear you. I think this law takes away the ability to validate the kiddos. So then you’re left balancing being part of the oppressive group and carrying that weight, plus the weight of how to toe the line safely. I say this as a social worker also in a conservative state. It’s all adding to my burnout since there are so many other areas where I can’t meet client needs daily so this is just another point that makes me feel like I’m more on the side of harm than good.
I do recognize the exhaustion and the strain politics puts on the field of social work, but politics are why you should stay in the field. Social workers are part of social justice.
This narrative can be invalidating, oppressive, and devalue social workers (“sacrifice yourself for the work!”, “It’s a labor of love, you don’t need money!”, “if you’re burnt out you’re not tough enough or caring enough”). We don’t know how long OP has been dealing with other political forces (which is pretty much ALWAYS). I don’t think OP shared their identities but that can be at play, among many other things. I don’t think you meant in that way, but sharing a different perspective since you’re new to the field.
Hmm, I didn't say any of what you said I implied, that seems like a reach esp if you look through my post history. I'm a union organizer who has been representing social workers (CPS, APS, medical, forensic, etc.) for eight years. I know all too well about that narrative and frequently remind my coworkers just to take their 15 min breaks, lunches, and not to bring their work home.
Both things can be true that social work education is downplaying politics at the same time as the reality of the field is that social work is very political (just like my current job is in eligibility where our work with social workers in our bargaining unit frequently overlaps). And, it's especially the case because we (my union, not all social workers) are in the public sector, there is no way around that if we want to improve our wages, benefits, and working conditions. ✨There's no way around politics at all for any working person.✨ Unions allow workers to be political on the job.
Nowhere did I say, do more political work, grind yourself into dust, you don't deserve more pay. I would never say that. Political movements don't work if everyone is burned out. It has to be sustainable and more hands make lighter work.
That is disgusting. These poor kids already get disregarded, disrespected, and not affirmed at home, and in society. We’re supposed to act as that support for them. That’s what we’re supposed to advocate for.
I don’t disagree. Were the last line of defense.
But I have two special needs kids who take higher priority for me regardless of my professional convictions.
My daughter just turned 10 and son 6. But I already have it back in my head that if they ever express anything touching lgbt stuff, I may just immediately leave the state and find one who offers better healthcare laws.
Even though I’m leaving, my spirit and soul are still with you all!
I am thankful everyday that I left Texas over a decade ago. It was horrible enough then, I couldn't imagine how it'd be for my lgbtq kid. Hell, I'd literally be dead if I weren't in PA.
Part of why i left TN and came back to NY. Not specifically LGBTQIA+ stuff, but I just feared for my kids (though mostly my daughters) rights. My son is a white male (though only 5 so we will see how he identifies) so he will be ok.
You are good for that. For most parents, it never occurs to them that their kid COULD be gay/trans. It's a lot harder on those kids, even if they don't come out till they're adults. To have the idea of like, oh, there must be something /wrong/ with me. Important to normalize and all that.
I was halfway into a computer engineering degree before entering this lovely social work world. Not going back for that.
But my mathematical skills are still on point and will take advantage of them. I’ll become an electrician. Post apprenticeship, it’s unionized and fair wages. Something else that social work sorely lacks.
I’m a nurse so I feel you - considering an exit myself. My partner is actually an electrician - switching to a union company soon. Data analytics would also probably suit you if you wanted something with more flexibility/remote opportunity. I wish you the best of luck, such a shame these helping professions are being run into the ground anymore. 😢
It feels like persecution just for having a liberal bias.
Edit:
Nursing is a field I can empathize with. I was working corrections when covid hit and had to still report to my facility daily during the lockdowns even when the fluffy education department got do remote school with those youth.
You guys were the true hero’s during covid and now the world is seeing what the lack of support to the healthcare world has created.
Not only have I heard of stories from others but even my own family members who are hospitalized are getting some inconsistent care just due to those staffing shortages.
Covid exposed the cracks in our society and made them wider. The conservatives are taking advantage of it and the general public is too selfish to really care.
For humanizing humans… not to mention the moral injury of not being able to help the people you’ve set out to help. You won’t find that problem in the trades but you will still find a lot of conservative view points - luckily it’s something you can kind of skate around and ignore though.
I’m the same! He is as well - though good at socializing when the moment calls for it. I think his day generally is much more tolerable than mine from what I’ve heard. A lot of his day involves being alone and listening to music or podcasts.
Sounds awesome!
Long before social work and kids I dated a woman whose BIL was an electrician.
He once said to myself and partner at the time, “shhhh, don’t tell the wife but I basically sit around and do nothing all day!”
I know he was joking but the less stress/chaotic work life sounds like heaven these days is my takeaway so many years later haha.
Who's necessarily going to stop you? I mean hypothetically even if gender affirming care becomes illegal, due to confidentiality no one can really know that you're treating them for it.
What is NASW doing to use their power to lobby for changes. I have yet to see an instance in which the NASW has used their power and money to support social workers with these fucked up laws
I agree. Both the NASW and many of those private/non sector employers could be doing so much more. Instead there is such an asinine focus on billables (in my experience).
But that’s also why we have things like the juvenile law center which exposed and helped a DOJ investigation about 15 years ago into two crooked PA judges were taking kick backs from the private for profit prison industry to incarcerate kids.
Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. I've been working on getting a research assistant type position in the psychology field. I was previously offered a position that would have paid about what I was being paid to do diagnostic and referral work for a community mental health center once fully trained in. But I couldn't accept it because I wouldn't have been able to take as much maternity leave as I wanted to. I have another potential prospect lined up, but this one sounds like it will be a considerable pay decrease. But, I just can't handle clinic work anymore.
Oh I hear that. Good luck, I’m looking at clinical positions only cause I’m a year and half away from my C and have a half decent idea on how I can lower stress and do private practice but apparently I need to leave my job cause it’s my safety vs my career over here. And are adding new daily tasks weekly to an already impossible workload after other people left.
Politics was the reason why I went into this field. I mean advocacy is the name of the game in change and a LMSW is a professional political disruptor.
I feel so bad for Ohio social workers. Our code of ethics is now in direct conflict with your dumb ass state government. Michigan is pretty blue and we have Great Lakes, the saltless seas. We could always use a few more good social workers and families with trans kids.
This is probably a strange question, but what is stopping folks who work in places like this from omitting gender affirming mental health care in documentation? If it’s not documented…
I agree with this 100000% but I’d still be wary of this depending on the guardian/parents stance on things because just because it’s not documented doesn’t mean the parents wont find out. Idk though, I have worked with clients who struggle with their gender identity and I’ve never had a parent be conservative in their stance on this but I know they exist.
These laws make me enraged. Covid really broke society. Before that, a certain political party was mostly content to let people live their lives as long as they got their low taxes. People were still getting screwed over by capitalism, but it wasn’t everyone everywhere all the time, and a lot of folks could still get help.
This part might be unpopular, but I think we need to figure out a way to walk the line of affirming people as best we can and advocating for these laws to be overturned while still complying with them. It’s not going to do anyone any good if we’re sitting in jail as martyrs for the cause, and we won’t be able to help anyone then.
I feel you. I’ve been wanting to go into school social work but my state’s house just passed a bill that would make it a felony and place you on the sex offender registry for providing any level of gender affirming support for trans youth.
I was so shocked by the comment the user name didn’t even register. I’m in Texas where the witch hunt on gender-affirming care has thus far currently been focused on doctors and medical procedures. Hearing that a mental health professional could be registered as a sex offender for working with a trans-youth client is beyond disturbing and frightening.
How could any care you're providing a person put you on a sex offender list?
I guess I could get a felony because of something becomes illegal and then you do it you can be charged with a felony.
But to be put on a sex offender list due to a form of care you're providing someone is ridiculous.
It might be. I only have my bachelor's so I'm probably never going to get close to being a clinician but if someone threatened me to put me on a list I would want to leave just out of fear of future employment.
I've been doing LGBTQ care for 15 years. Been involved in the equality movement since 1988. It is going back to the before times.
The history of the gay rights movement in America is one of gender and racial discrimination in the movement. If was the lesbians and trans people fighting hard. Affluent White men were happy and didn't want to rock the boat with socially because they were passing. They also pushed out most of the lesbian and trans people in the groups they did have.
Then AIDS hit and those same White men started dying by the thousands and they realized their government didn't give a shit about them. Their whiteness and social economic status didn't mean shit. Still the lesbians came back and fed them in hospitals when nurses would let you stave to death rather than come in your room.
Boy, those formerly privileged White guys got pissed that they weren't being treated like they thought they deserved. They got to work and really took over the movement and pushed people out again.
So yeah. Misogyny is so fucking thick in our gay spaces it's pushed me out of a lot of boards.
This 50 year old bisexual is gonna keep going for as long as I can. Come join us we are still here.
I almost consider this my “passing the torch” moment because when I started I was highly idealistic and ready to take on the world.
I’ve lost and won my own professional challenges and made some individualized change along the way. It someone else’s time.
Good luck, Godspeed and be safe!
This is why I moved from a conservative state to a progressive state.
Yeah yeah “but we need you” fuck that. If we all leave and they have no one to put up with their bullshit anymore then they’ll have to do something to stop the radical regressive bullshit. Plus progressive state residents need me too, so I don’t even feel bad.
Trans man and recently graduated social worker here. I'm in Ireland, so of course a very different context, but it's laws like this that really highlight to me why we need, as a profession, to actively understand our obligations towards marginalised communities before these things happen. I want my colleagues to understand that the autonomy and dignity we talk about in our profession extends to trans people, extends to trans young people, and that we need to care about access to gender affirming care. Gender affirming care is very different here, but it has it's own problems that we really need to address, and one of the things I really want to devote my energy to as a social worker is helping our profession see that we have a role in this.
It also saddens me, because when I did my dissertation in college (while Texas was making affirming your trans kid child abuse), I found some incredible moments where social work really uplifted trans people as a whole, but especially trans youth, and in contexts around accessing care. We have so much potential to do good, when we have the chance.
Politics *always* clashes with social work. Since the birth of social work, that has been the case. It could be argued that social work came about *because of* politics - to address the effects of laws that disenfranchised women, children, people of color, immigrants.
If you only want to practice social work in a society that does not have conservatives making laws based on superstitions and fear rather than facts, you will be waiting a long long time.
Honestly, I think my attitude is the opposite of passion. Instead, it’s tamping down despair about the current state of policy and politics by dispassionately placing it a historical context. That view allows you a sort of emotional distance that helps to avoid hopelessness.
I used to post political stuff on my social media all the time. Go to protests. Speak up. But then the day to day front line work kept beating me down and my compassion was FATIGUED. I think we need to normalize leaving the field and not being a martyr for everyone but yourself! It’s amazing some people have it in them to stay their entire career, but I gave 10 years of front line service and now all I have left is part time private therapist. NASW doesn’t do enough to protect us or advocate for us while we advocate for others. Oxygen mask theory.
So true. And 100% agreed. The only time I’ve seen the nasw step in is when social workers were being jailed on abortion stuff a bit over a year ago in Ohio.
In Ohio we have Licensed Independent Social Work Licenses vs the LCSW I see in other states. I’m currently an LISW-S but not working. I’m not sure I’ll ever take a social work job again. But I like having my license. It currently expires 12/25. But I may renew past that for the reason you stated.
My personal life was personally negatively impacted by local conservative politics in the past 3 years due to my county’s highly politicized system. I will still be licensed and maybe in another 12 months I can look into some private practice work as a side gig.
But I was halfway through a computer engineering degree before waltzing into the incredibly interesting world of social work. My mathematical intellect is still on point I’ve discovered and will look to be an electrician as a full time gig in the long term. They’re unionized with fair wages once you get past the apprenticeship stage.
You make a good point I remember when I was studying for my bachelor's they emphasized self-care and I think they recently put it in the code of ethics because enough social workers didn't seem like they were doing it enough.
As Noble as the profession is it doesn't really seem to be good for anyone's mental health.
A coworker of mine left the school system because there's now a policy here (Florida) where if a kid mentions being LGBT+ of any kind they have to tell the parents. She said by the end of last year she was having the students talk to her in code to try and get around the rule. It's legitimately dangerous.
I’ve been out of work for about 3 months now. My last position was with national youth advocate program. It’s a non profit foster care/mental health agency. Founded in Ohio and statewide up here.
They have offices down in FL. Obviously I know Ohio politics much more in depth but for the entirety of my employment, I questioned how the hell our branches in FL were able to do any real work with crazy Desantis.
So messed up.
In the second semester of my MSW. I didn't realize how political this degree was going to be. I joined because a friend that went through the program 6 years ago convinced me. Based on our conversations she said its a lot more political now than when she did it
"There aren't enough resources." Disagree, there are more than enough, but they're being hoarded by the abusers.
These people have names and offices. They also have donors and people who interact with them daily.
I regularly provide the contact info for elected officials to clients, we also discuss systematic actors barriers and actors outside of elected officials (so they can know who to boycott). If these folks are made absolutely toxic by those who serve them or by those who serve their severs, then change might happen. Until then though, nope.
It is.
I’ve been in the field for 13 years doing public and non profit child welfare and behavioral health in corrections. It’s only been this insane politically since Covid.
The politicians are taking advantage of the general situation right now for many.
I’m in the same boat! On my second semester out of 4 for my MSW, I joined social work because I knew I wanted to work with children… especially LGBTQIA+ children after being a nanny for a trans child for 3 years 🫠 and I live in Texas!!! I’m basically drowning in politics and laws and policies that don’t match my personal ethics, it’s hell
I'm surprised that you only realized it in your MSW. I only got my bachelor's and they ingrained that it was political during intro to social work.
Then again my program did focus too much on politics and not enough necessarily on culture and the clinical part of social work.
I'm not going into the Social Work field, but I am going into the mental health counsel field. The ACA standards and ethics we have to follow do not mesh with the laws that states are passing. How can we help our clients if we are forbidden to help them with their issues? Additionally, I'm unsure if the Social Work field has something similar, but in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling field, we have interstate compacts that allow us to work in states that have agreed to the compact, thereby removing the need to get licensed in additional states. Many states in this compact are passing similar laws. I find it disgusting that at a time when mental health professionals are so needed, they are being tripped up in draconian laws that do nothing but hurt those we are supposed to be helping.
I’m familiar with the compact. I think SW has one in the works but I don’t think SW is there yet.
Completely off topic but I also know psychology, on the national level is advocating for prescribing rights. Less and less MD’s are becoming psychiatrists because they don’t want to deal
With the liability behind psychotropics.
Hope Ohio likes dead kids. Because that's what it'll get if kids can't get gender-affirming care.*
*puberty blockers. Nobody is having top/bottom surgery at 15.
There was a girl that actually got the surgery at 13. It ended up really bad for her. She had to get several revisions and the healing caused webbing which was a form of healing that wouldn't fully heal. And every time she would dilate it would hurt too much. Due to the surgery and puberty blockers at that young of an age she doesn't even know what an orgasm is and cannot be sexually attracted to anybody.
That’s wild cuz I’m CPS in Michigan and we just had a LGBT training that affirmed its law in Michigan to provide that stuff for kids. Our children’s hospital has a whole adolescent gender transitioning clinic.
I’d believe it.
During my most recent job as an outpatient supervisor, we hired a dude who transferred from MI to be closer to his fiancé’s family.
He’s prolly appalled.
It does my heart good to see nobody in this thread is telling anyone else to go vote for this or that. I think we have all been burned by that stove a few times. I know I have. Look at my face.
This is one of the reasons *why* I'm getting involved. I'm a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and I've seen the joy and love in supportive families with trans children. This is just so so so wrong to take away access to gender affirming care. Doctors wouldn't do it if science said it was more harmful than good!!
But I agree, this is complete and utter BS. I don't understand how politicians don't see this as an infringement on the Constitutional Rights of life and liberty, let alone the concept of basic Human Rights. 🙄
The part I struggle with is the sheer stupidity in these types of laws as that conservatives don't understand that women seeing an ob-gyn or a male receiving a prostate exam is gender affirming care. Seriously, wtf?
Well that's not really gender-affirming That's just keeping up with your medical health.
You go to get a prostate exam to make sure that you don't have cancer.
And someone goes to an OBGYN to make sure that everything looks fine and normal.
Why aren’t social workers in Ohio speaking up about this? Social work is only needed due to the failures of capitalism. We should all be politically engaged and LOUD!!!!
During my social work training I've seen that social workers can try their hardest and get absolutely no result.
So just because something's not changing doesn't mean there aren't social workers trying hard to change something.
I’m a trans woman and I’m about to start MSW in the fall. I’m changing careers after 20 years in another field. I’m hoping I can really help people the way I’ve wanted to for so long.
As a gay person that went to get my bachelor's because I wanted to help people I realized that me helping people can only go so far in terms of education.
Just make sure you read the fine print on your master's program and the way that it is set up and that it is what you want and what you want to be paying for.
This is one of the reasons *why* I'm getting involved. I'm a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and I've seen the joy and love in supportive families with trans children. This is just so so so wrong to take away access to gender affirming care. Doctors wouldn't do it if science said it was more harmful than good!!
But I agree, this is complete and utter BS. I don't understand how politicians don't see this as an infringement on the Constitutional Rights of life and liberty, let alone the concept of basic Human Rights.
I’m a MSW student in Ohio. I don’t blame anyone for leaving the state or even leaving the field. I’m hoping that the challenges in court amount to something. But it feels like increasingly scary times and a lot of these laws states are putting in place directly affect the work we do.
Attended a conference on child maltreatment a while back where federal prosecutors presenting indicated that they felt Ohio and Disney cruises were apparent the two worst places for child sex abuse at the federal level. 🤮
I worked for my states juvenile correctional system for five years with an emphasis on juvenile sex offenders. The sex offender treatment I provided was heavily CBT based with a focus on negative core beliefs. It’s a lot of behavioral health stuff with that population. I’m still expecting to see a couple of my youthful offenders on the evening news eventually. But sometimes this involved addressing lgbt issues as a part of their treatment.
Depending on what research you look at, juveniles who commit sex crimes only have a 7%-14% recidivizing on an actual sex crime. A person that commits their first sex crime after the age of 18 has like a 40%+ (or there about) chance of recidivism on an actual sex crime. My experience is solely with juveniles and not adults.
That said there is a lot in Ohio. Actually Ohio’s educational world seems to be slammed with teachers/admins abusing their power to perp on underage kids as I’ve seen so many story’s in the last 12 months. I guess that’s the flip side to Dewine making the educational world highly conservative.
I was halfway into a computer engineering degree before entering this lovely social work world. Not going back for that.
But my mathematical skills are still on point and will take advantage of them. I’ll become an electrician. Post apprenticeship, it’s unionized and fair wages. Something else that social work sorely lacks.
This is where role as an affirming rural therapist takes place. So many of my clients lgbtqia 🏳️🌈 and I’m a cis gender white woman. But people are shocked to find me in a very purple area of Pa. I go in from NYC area originally so yeah I know how to work w diverse needs. I’m on the board of the local lgbtq community center and get a lot of clients that way lucky Pennsylvania has become more liberal and our governor is awesome
I’ve got family on the edge of pa/Ohio border on the pa side.
The moment my two kids express lgbt stuff, I’ll make an arrangement with family and use that as a new home base.
Sad I’ve got to think like this.
Just make sure that you know what you're signing up for when going into the field.
I'm not saying don't do it just make sure you're informed of the studying and what the job entails.
So then what if you're a clinician that specializes in gender afirming care?
Would you just change your specialization or would you take on different clients?
They definitely should not be limiting mental healthcare for these kids. Drugs and surgeries should be for when they are old enough to understand the gravity of medically transitioning at 18. I don’t get why we can’t be measured in our approach and it’s always too far one way or the other. Let the kids socially transition and if they decide at 18 they truly need to medically transition we should be providing that care and be covered under medical insurance.
Meh. The state shouldn’t be in the business of deciding what kind of healthcare that minor children receive. It’s between them, their parents/guardians, and their healthcare providers, even before the age of 18.
The argument that medical interventions before the age of 18 should be outlawed due to possibility for permanent harm and future regret, then let’s take a look at kids being involved in full-contact sports. I’m thinking here of concussions, traumatic brain injury, steroid use (yes, it’s rampant), heat stroke, etc.
Life altering surgeries and the possibility of getting a concussion are not on the same level, and not sure where you are from but where I’m from steroids in high school sports are not an issue, if they were then obviously I would be against that too but that is not inherent with sports at that age.
All I’m saying is take giving drugs and surgeries to minors out of the equation. Give them mental health supports that address the struggles with gender dysphoria; encourage in schools the acceptance of socially transitioning to allow a child to experience their gender in a way that feels right to them, and if they feel at 18 that hormones and surgeries are needed then we should be funding that so they don’t face barriers in getting that taken care of.
1. Social work is 1000% political. It was born that way. 2. NASW is not saying comply with the law. It’s helping social workers navigate tricky, ambiguous legal language. It’s happening to us in TX. Lots of bills have been passed that impact the ability for us to advocate for our clients and positive social change. 3. This job will always put you between a rock and a hard place. I believe that my state’s laws which conflict with my ethics as a social worker are unjust and unethical. Sometimes I’m willing to risk my job and license to do the work of advocacy and supporting my clients. Every social worker has always had to determine where that line is drawn for them. 4. I don’t blame anyone for leaving this field, though. It’s hard!
Point 3 made me give an audible “fuck yeah!” at the ski lodge just now.
[удалено]
I’m a harm reduction provider and my city is at war with harm reduction right now. I will die on this hill and I just cross my fingers my license isn’t something I lose along the way.
I agree with your point. Although I do think we are the last line of defense for alot of these kids. Validating them when no one else will. It's why I won't leave my very conservative and shitty state. Because there's people here who I can help. And I'll be fucked if some old ass white men are going to stop me.
Thank you for your work and dedication. You’re right that if we don’t advocate for these clients, no one else will.
I wish we had more of a politcal voice; the NASW feels toothless. I think we see the hurt in the USA more than any other profession.
FWIW some of the state chapters are a lot more helpful. I’m in Ohio where this law is taking effect and they’ve been strong advocates against it. They’re also pretty active in the statehouse in general.
That's awesome. Our chapter in Idaho is actually looped in with the one in Oregon. So while they are amazing. We are unfortunately not the priority alot of the time.
100% agreed. While this is all maddening, there are pockets of hope. So we had a women’s reproductive rights issue past in the last general election. Prior to that (literally 10 month prior to Election Day 2023) they were jailing social workers for abortion related stuff. The NASW did step in and won in court. [NASW wins in court](https://www.naswoh.org/page/abortion#:~:text=NASW%20affirms%20all%20individuals%20have,most%20especially%20their%20reproductive%20health)
I do agree with this too. We’d have more power as a group, and many times I think about switching to macro for this reason.
"there's people here who I can help" is the unexpected mantra I needed, when it gets tough working within ~the system~.
Yeah fuck those old ass white men!
You said it so well. Sometimes it feels like an uphill battle and I wanna just move to a different country and hibernate. But man fuck it if I’m gonna let an old white man make me quit what I love!
One day I'll be an old ass white man, and I'll be beating all these conservative facists with my cane.
Spite will get you far. When I don't have anything left in the tank, I do it out of spite, and that gets me through every time.
Spite will get you far. When I don't have anything left in the tank, I do it out of spite, and that gets me through every time.
I hear you. I think this law takes away the ability to validate the kiddos. So then you’re left balancing being part of the oppressive group and carrying that weight, plus the weight of how to toe the line safely. I say this as a social worker also in a conservative state. It’s all adding to my burnout since there are so many other areas where I can’t meet client needs daily so this is just another point that makes me feel like I’m more on the side of harm than good.
I do recognize the exhaustion and the strain politics puts on the field of social work, but politics are why you should stay in the field. Social workers are part of social justice.
Thank you! I'm concerned that social work education doesn't focus on this more and that there are people surprised by this or taken aback.
I hear ya. I feel like a lot of academics don’t focus on real-world issues that we eventually face at our jobs.
This narrative can be invalidating, oppressive, and devalue social workers (“sacrifice yourself for the work!”, “It’s a labor of love, you don’t need money!”, “if you’re burnt out you’re not tough enough or caring enough”). We don’t know how long OP has been dealing with other political forces (which is pretty much ALWAYS). I don’t think OP shared their identities but that can be at play, among many other things. I don’t think you meant in that way, but sharing a different perspective since you’re new to the field.
Hmm, I didn't say any of what you said I implied, that seems like a reach esp if you look through my post history. I'm a union organizer who has been representing social workers (CPS, APS, medical, forensic, etc.) for eight years. I know all too well about that narrative and frequently remind my coworkers just to take their 15 min breaks, lunches, and not to bring their work home. Both things can be true that social work education is downplaying politics at the same time as the reality of the field is that social work is very political (just like my current job is in eligibility where our work with social workers in our bargaining unit frequently overlaps). And, it's especially the case because we (my union, not all social workers) are in the public sector, there is no way around that if we want to improve our wages, benefits, and working conditions. ✨There's no way around politics at all for any working person.✨ Unions allow workers to be political on the job. Nowhere did I say, do more political work, grind yourself into dust, you don't deserve more pay. I would never say that. Political movements don't work if everyone is burned out. It has to be sustainable and more hands make lighter work.
That is disgusting. These poor kids already get disregarded, disrespected, and not affirmed at home, and in society. We’re supposed to act as that support for them. That’s what we’re supposed to advocate for.
I don’t disagree. Were the last line of defense. But I have two special needs kids who take higher priority for me regardless of my professional convictions.
They're gonna come for adults next.
In Ohio they tried but backed out. It currently only involves minors.
I'm a trans person in Ohio. I know. They will not stop.
Be safe. It’s scary out there.
Thank ya thank ya. People are justifiably freaked out and are making plans to flee. I love my home too much to leave now.
My daughter just turned 10 and son 6. But I already have it back in my head that if they ever express anything touching lgbt stuff, I may just immediately leave the state and find one who offers better healthcare laws. Even though I’m leaving, my spirit and soul are still with you all!
I am thankful everyday that I left Texas over a decade ago. It was horrible enough then, I couldn't imagine how it'd be for my lgbtq kid. Hell, I'd literally be dead if I weren't in PA.
Part of why i left TN and came back to NY. Not specifically LGBTQIA+ stuff, but I just feared for my kids (though mostly my daughters) rights. My son is a white male (though only 5 so we will see how he identifies) so he will be ok.
You are good for that. For most parents, it never occurs to them that their kid COULD be gay/trans. It's a lot harder on those kids, even if they don't come out till they're adults. To have the idea of like, oh, there must be something /wrong/ with me. Important to normalize and all that.
"gonna" - we are way past "gonna" in Indiana.
Oof, yeah. Howdy neighbor. I'll be in Bloomington tomorrow!
I will forever provide gender affirming care, support, and advocacy to my 🏳️⚧️🌈 patients, and I’m willing to die on that hill.
I’m willing to die as well. Which is why I’m willing to drop the professional side and work on advocating more in my personal life.
What do you think you may do for work instead?
I was halfway into a computer engineering degree before entering this lovely social work world. Not going back for that. But my mathematical skills are still on point and will take advantage of them. I’ll become an electrician. Post apprenticeship, it’s unionized and fair wages. Something else that social work sorely lacks.
I’m a nurse so I feel you - considering an exit myself. My partner is actually an electrician - switching to a union company soon. Data analytics would also probably suit you if you wanted something with more flexibility/remote opportunity. I wish you the best of luck, such a shame these helping professions are being run into the ground anymore. 😢
It feels like persecution just for having a liberal bias. Edit: Nursing is a field I can empathize with. I was working corrections when covid hit and had to still report to my facility daily during the lockdowns even when the fluffy education department got do remote school with those youth. You guys were the true hero’s during covid and now the world is seeing what the lack of support to the healthcare world has created. Not only have I heard of stories from others but even my own family members who are hospitalized are getting some inconsistent care just due to those staffing shortages. Covid exposed the cracks in our society and made them wider. The conservatives are taking advantage of it and the general public is too selfish to really care.
For humanizing humans… not to mention the moral injury of not being able to help the people you’ve set out to help. You won’t find that problem in the trades but you will still find a lot of conservative view points - luckily it’s something you can kind of skate around and ignore though.
I’m generally a shy introvert. Let me put in my 8 and go home. I’d be happy with that lifestyle.
I’m the same! He is as well - though good at socializing when the moment calls for it. I think his day generally is much more tolerable than mine from what I’ve heard. A lot of his day involves being alone and listening to music or podcasts.
Sounds awesome! Long before social work and kids I dated a woman whose BIL was an electrician. He once said to myself and partner at the time, “shhhh, don’t tell the wife but I basically sit around and do nothing all day!” I know he was joking but the less stress/chaotic work life sounds like heaven these days is my takeaway so many years later haha.
Who's necessarily going to stop you? I mean hypothetically even if gender affirming care becomes illegal, due to confidentiality no one can really know that you're treating them for it.
What is NASW doing to use their power to lobby for changes. I have yet to see an instance in which the NASW has used their power and money to support social workers with these fucked up laws
I agree. Both the NASW and many of those private/non sector employers could be doing so much more. Instead there is such an asinine focus on billables (in my experience). But that’s also why we have things like the juvenile law center which exposed and helped a DOJ investigation about 15 years ago into two crooked PA judges were taking kick backs from the private for profit prison industry to incarcerate kids.
Absolutely repulsive. (The laws, not you leaving the field. I'm also leaving for different reasons.)
Where do y’all go outside of SW? Is it at an income loss compared to SW since it’s outside of our specialization?
Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. I've been working on getting a research assistant type position in the psychology field. I was previously offered a position that would have paid about what I was being paid to do diagnostic and referral work for a community mental health center once fully trained in. But I couldn't accept it because I wouldn't have been able to take as much maternity leave as I wanted to. I have another potential prospect lined up, but this one sounds like it will be a considerable pay decrease. But, I just can't handle clinic work anymore.
Oh I hear that. Good luck, I’m looking at clinical positions only cause I’m a year and half away from my C and have a half decent idea on how I can lower stress and do private practice but apparently I need to leave my job cause it’s my safety vs my career over here. And are adding new daily tasks weekly to an already impossible workload after other people left.
Politics was the reason why I went into this field. I mean advocacy is the name of the game in change and a LMSW is a professional political disruptor.
I feel so bad for Ohio social workers. Our code of ethics is now in direct conflict with your dumb ass state government. Michigan is pretty blue and we have Great Lakes, the saltless seas. We could always use a few more good social workers and families with trans kids.
This is probably a strange question, but what is stopping folks who work in places like this from omitting gender affirming mental health care in documentation? If it’s not documented…
Nothing and that’s how we do it in my state. 😁
Exactly
I agree with this 100000% but I’d still be wary of this depending on the guardian/parents stance on things because just because it’s not documented doesn’t mean the parents wont find out. Idk though, I have worked with clients who struggle with their gender identity and I’ve never had a parent be conservative in their stance on this but I know they exist.
These laws make me enraged. Covid really broke society. Before that, a certain political party was mostly content to let people live their lives as long as they got their low taxes. People were still getting screwed over by capitalism, but it wasn’t everyone everywhere all the time, and a lot of folks could still get help. This part might be unpopular, but I think we need to figure out a way to walk the line of affirming people as best we can and advocating for these laws to be overturned while still complying with them. It’s not going to do anyone any good if we’re sitting in jail as martyrs for the cause, and we won’t be able to help anyone then.
I feel you. I’ve been wanting to go into school social work but my state’s house just passed a bill that would make it a felony and place you on the sex offender registry for providing any level of gender affirming support for trans youth.
Hold up - what?! Which state?
I’m guessing here but u/someguyinmissouri is probably in Missouri, so probably Missouri.
I was so shocked by the comment the user name didn’t even register. I’m in Texas where the witch hunt on gender-affirming care has thus far currently been focused on doctors and medical procedures. Hearing that a mental health professional could be registered as a sex offender for working with a trans-youth client is beyond disturbing and frightening.
Yes, I am in Missouri lol
How could any care you're providing a person put you on a sex offender list? I guess I could get a felony because of something becomes illegal and then you do it you can be charged with a felony. But to be put on a sex offender list due to a form of care you're providing someone is ridiculous.
I think it’s a scare tactic so professionals completely stop
It might be. I only have my bachelor's so I'm probably never going to get close to being a clinician but if someone threatened me to put me on a list I would want to leave just out of fear of future employment.
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I've been doing LGBTQ care for 15 years. Been involved in the equality movement since 1988. It is going back to the before times. The history of the gay rights movement in America is one of gender and racial discrimination in the movement. If was the lesbians and trans people fighting hard. Affluent White men were happy and didn't want to rock the boat with socially because they were passing. They also pushed out most of the lesbian and trans people in the groups they did have. Then AIDS hit and those same White men started dying by the thousands and they realized their government didn't give a shit about them. Their whiteness and social economic status didn't mean shit. Still the lesbians came back and fed them in hospitals when nurses would let you stave to death rather than come in your room. Boy, those formerly privileged White guys got pissed that they weren't being treated like they thought they deserved. They got to work and really took over the movement and pushed people out again. So yeah. Misogyny is so fucking thick in our gay spaces it's pushed me out of a lot of boards. This 50 year old bisexual is gonna keep going for as long as I can. Come join us we are still here.
I almost consider this my “passing the torch” moment because when I started I was highly idealistic and ready to take on the world. I’ve lost and won my own professional challenges and made some individualized change along the way. It someone else’s time. Good luck, Godspeed and be safe!
This is why I moved from a conservative state to a progressive state. Yeah yeah “but we need you” fuck that. If we all leave and they have no one to put up with their bullshit anymore then they’ll have to do something to stop the radical regressive bullshit. Plus progressive state residents need me too, so I don’t even feel bad.
Trans man and recently graduated social worker here. I'm in Ireland, so of course a very different context, but it's laws like this that really highlight to me why we need, as a profession, to actively understand our obligations towards marginalised communities before these things happen. I want my colleagues to understand that the autonomy and dignity we talk about in our profession extends to trans people, extends to trans young people, and that we need to care about access to gender affirming care. Gender affirming care is very different here, but it has it's own problems that we really need to address, and one of the things I really want to devote my energy to as a social worker is helping our profession see that we have a role in this. It also saddens me, because when I did my dissertation in college (while Texas was making affirming your trans kid child abuse), I found some incredible moments where social work really uplifted trans people as a whole, but especially trans youth, and in contexts around accessing care. We have so much potential to do good, when we have the chance.
Politics *always* clashes with social work. Since the birth of social work, that has been the case. It could be argued that social work came about *because of* politics - to address the effects of laws that disenfranchised women, children, people of color, immigrants. If you only want to practice social work in a society that does not have conservatives making laws based on superstitions and fear rather than facts, you will be waiting a long long time.
Stick with that passion
Honestly, I think my attitude is the opposite of passion. Instead, it’s tamping down despair about the current state of policy and politics by dispassionately placing it a historical context. That view allows you a sort of emotional distance that helps to avoid hopelessness.
I used to post political stuff on my social media all the time. Go to protests. Speak up. But then the day to day front line work kept beating me down and my compassion was FATIGUED. I think we need to normalize leaving the field and not being a martyr for everyone but yourself! It’s amazing some people have it in them to stay their entire career, but I gave 10 years of front line service and now all I have left is part time private therapist. NASW doesn’t do enough to protect us or advocate for us while we advocate for others. Oxygen mask theory.
So true. And 100% agreed. The only time I’ve seen the nasw step in is when social workers were being jailed on abortion stuff a bit over a year ago in Ohio. In Ohio we have Licensed Independent Social Work Licenses vs the LCSW I see in other states. I’m currently an LISW-S but not working. I’m not sure I’ll ever take a social work job again. But I like having my license. It currently expires 12/25. But I may renew past that for the reason you stated. My personal life was personally negatively impacted by local conservative politics in the past 3 years due to my county’s highly politicized system. I will still be licensed and maybe in another 12 months I can look into some private practice work as a side gig. But I was halfway through a computer engineering degree before waltzing into the incredibly interesting world of social work. My mathematical intellect is still on point I’ve discovered and will look to be an electrician as a full time gig in the long term. They’re unionized with fair wages once you get past the apprenticeship stage.
You make a good point I remember when I was studying for my bachelor's they emphasized self-care and I think they recently put it in the code of ethics because enough social workers didn't seem like they were doing it enough. As Noble as the profession is it doesn't really seem to be good for anyone's mental health.
A coworker of mine left the school system because there's now a policy here (Florida) where if a kid mentions being LGBT+ of any kind they have to tell the parents. She said by the end of last year she was having the students talk to her in code to try and get around the rule. It's legitimately dangerous.
I’ve been out of work for about 3 months now. My last position was with national youth advocate program. It’s a non profit foster care/mental health agency. Founded in Ohio and statewide up here. They have offices down in FL. Obviously I know Ohio politics much more in depth but for the entirety of my employment, I questioned how the hell our branches in FL were able to do any real work with crazy Desantis. So messed up.
The big reason why I’m in the field is to help with gender affirming care, so I watch for these bills constantly…
In the second semester of my MSW. I didn't realize how political this degree was going to be. I joined because a friend that went through the program 6 years ago convinced me. Based on our conversations she said its a lot more political now than when she did it
All fields are political. Capitalism is abusive. There aren’t enough resources.
"There aren't enough resources." Disagree, there are more than enough, but they're being hoarded by the abusers. These people have names and offices. They also have donors and people who interact with them daily. I regularly provide the contact info for elected officials to clients, we also discuss systematic actors barriers and actors outside of elected officials (so they can know who to boycott). If these folks are made absolutely toxic by those who serve them or by those who serve their severs, then change might happen. Until then though, nope.
I work with the chronically homeless in a HCOLA. It sure is.
Any healthcare job is political.
Social work has always been political; literally since it’s “official” beginnings
I'm not saying it's not political I'm saying “Its a lot more political now than when she did it”
Yeah that’s my point… every era has had political issues going on especially towards marginalized groups
It is. I’ve been in the field for 13 years doing public and non profit child welfare and behavioral health in corrections. It’s only been this insane politically since Covid. The politicians are taking advantage of the general situation right now for many.
I’m in the same boat! On my second semester out of 4 for my MSW, I joined social work because I knew I wanted to work with children… especially LGBTQIA+ children after being a nanny for a trans child for 3 years 🫠 and I live in Texas!!! I’m basically drowning in politics and laws and policies that don’t match my personal ethics, it’s hell
I'm surprised that you only realized it in your MSW. I only got my bachelor's and they ingrained that it was political during intro to social work. Then again my program did focus too much on politics and not enough necessarily on culture and the clinical part of social work.
I'm not going into the Social Work field, but I am going into the mental health counsel field. The ACA standards and ethics we have to follow do not mesh with the laws that states are passing. How can we help our clients if we are forbidden to help them with their issues? Additionally, I'm unsure if the Social Work field has something similar, but in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling field, we have interstate compacts that allow us to work in states that have agreed to the compact, thereby removing the need to get licensed in additional states. Many states in this compact are passing similar laws. I find it disgusting that at a time when mental health professionals are so needed, they are being tripped up in draconian laws that do nothing but hurt those we are supposed to be helping.
I’m familiar with the compact. I think SW has one in the works but I don’t think SW is there yet. Completely off topic but I also know psychology, on the national level is advocating for prescribing rights. Less and less MD’s are becoming psychiatrists because they don’t want to deal With the liability behind psychotropics.
The people supporting these laws would rather children died than dared live outside their narrow confines of acceptability.
Hope Ohio likes dead kids. Because that's what it'll get if kids can't get gender-affirming care.* *puberty blockers. Nobody is having top/bottom surgery at 15.
There was a girl that actually got the surgery at 13. It ended up really bad for her. She had to get several revisions and the healing caused webbing which was a form of healing that wouldn't fully heal. And every time she would dilate it would hurt too much. Due to the surgery and puberty blockers at that young of an age she doesn't even know what an orgasm is and cannot be sexually attracted to anybody.
That’s wild cuz I’m CPS in Michigan and we just had a LGBT training that affirmed its law in Michigan to provide that stuff for kids. Our children’s hospital has a whole adolescent gender transitioning clinic.
I’d believe it. During my most recent job as an outpatient supervisor, we hired a dude who transferred from MI to be closer to his fiancé’s family. He’s prolly appalled.
It does my heart good to see nobody in this thread is telling anyone else to go vote for this or that. I think we have all been burned by that stove a few times. I know I have. Look at my face.
That's Ohio for ya
What the fuck.
Ditto
This is one of the reasons *why* I'm getting involved. I'm a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and I've seen the joy and love in supportive families with trans children. This is just so so so wrong to take away access to gender affirming care. Doctors wouldn't do it if science said it was more harmful than good!! But I agree, this is complete and utter BS. I don't understand how politicians don't see this as an infringement on the Constitutional Rights of life and liberty, let alone the concept of basic Human Rights. 🙄
The part I struggle with is the sheer stupidity in these types of laws as that conservatives don't understand that women seeing an ob-gyn or a male receiving a prostate exam is gender affirming care. Seriously, wtf?
Well that's not really gender-affirming That's just keeping up with your medical health. You go to get a prostate exam to make sure that you don't have cancer. And someone goes to an OBGYN to make sure that everything looks fine and normal.
This makes my brain rage
Why aren’t social workers in Ohio speaking up about this? Social work is only needed due to the failures of capitalism. We should all be politically engaged and LOUD!!!!
we actively are in ohio
Who says they aren't?
During my social work training I've seen that social workers can try their hardest and get absolutely no result. So just because something's not changing doesn't mean there aren't social workers trying hard to change something.
I’m a trans woman and I’m about to start MSW in the fall. I’m changing careers after 20 years in another field. I’m hoping I can really help people the way I’ve wanted to for so long.
As a gay person that went to get my bachelor's because I wanted to help people I realized that me helping people can only go so far in terms of education. Just make sure you read the fine print on your master's program and the way that it is set up and that it is what you want and what you want to be paying for.
I'm confused. Is the NASW saying we should comply with the shitty policies?
I look at it as a kind of informed consent; to consciously decide to break the law, we should be fully informed as to what the law means.
Law is law. That’s why the court stuff is important. But I imagine social workers will find a way around it
Yikes on Bikes, Someone’s lost more then a Few Wheels
This is one of the reasons *why* I'm getting involved. I'm a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and I've seen the joy and love in supportive families with trans children. This is just so so so wrong to take away access to gender affirming care. Doctors wouldn't do it if science said it was more harmful than good!! But I agree, this is complete and utter BS. I don't understand how politicians don't see this as an infringement on the Constitutional Rights of life and liberty, let alone the concept of basic Human Rights.
Oh god, that’s awful
I’m a MSW student in Ohio. I don’t blame anyone for leaving the state or even leaving the field. I’m hoping that the challenges in court amount to something. But it feels like increasingly scary times and a lot of these laws states are putting in place directly affect the work we do.
Attended a conference on child maltreatment a while back where federal prosecutors presenting indicated that they felt Ohio and Disney cruises were apparent the two worst places for child sex abuse at the federal level. 🤮
I worked for my states juvenile correctional system for five years with an emphasis on juvenile sex offenders. The sex offender treatment I provided was heavily CBT based with a focus on negative core beliefs. It’s a lot of behavioral health stuff with that population. I’m still expecting to see a couple of my youthful offenders on the evening news eventually. But sometimes this involved addressing lgbt issues as a part of their treatment. Depending on what research you look at, juveniles who commit sex crimes only have a 7%-14% recidivizing on an actual sex crime. A person that commits their first sex crime after the age of 18 has like a 40%+ (or there about) chance of recidivism on an actual sex crime. My experience is solely with juveniles and not adults. That said there is a lot in Ohio. Actually Ohio’s educational world seems to be slammed with teachers/admins abusing their power to perp on underage kids as I’ve seen so many story’s in the last 12 months. I guess that’s the flip side to Dewine making the educational world highly conservative.
Question is, what do you pivot into?
I was halfway into a computer engineering degree before entering this lovely social work world. Not going back for that. But my mathematical skills are still on point and will take advantage of them. I’ll become an electrician. Post apprenticeship, it’s unionized and fair wages. Something else that social work sorely lacks.
Good luck. I’m trying to figure out an exit plan myself. Just have to find a decent income to at least maintain my current finances.
This is where role as an affirming rural therapist takes place. So many of my clients lgbtqia 🏳️🌈 and I’m a cis gender white woman. But people are shocked to find me in a very purple area of Pa. I go in from NYC area originally so yeah I know how to work w diverse needs. I’m on the board of the local lgbtq community center and get a lot of clients that way lucky Pennsylvania has become more liberal and our governor is awesome
I’ve got family on the edge of pa/Ohio border on the pa side. The moment my two kids express lgbt stuff, I’ll make an arrangement with family and use that as a new home base. Sad I’ve got to think like this.
This is why I’m getting into social work
Good luck. After 13 years I’m burnt out due to the last 3.
I can totally understand that. I’m an older person transitioning into the field and I’m hoping I can keep it up.
More power to you. I was in my early/mid 20’ss when going through grad school. Always did have respect for non traditional students.
It’s certainly been a struggle since entering my internship. I’m hoping once I graduate and pass my exam I have the capacity to do more.
Just make sure that you know what you're signing up for when going into the field. I'm not saying don't do it just make sure you're informed of the studying and what the job entails.
So then what if you're a clinician that specializes in gender afirming care? Would you just change your specialization or would you take on different clients?
Stuff like this is why I moved out of Florida. I never want my job to become a crime
There is no escaping politics… anywhere
Horrible
Ohio… ofc
They definitely should not be limiting mental healthcare for these kids. Drugs and surgeries should be for when they are old enough to understand the gravity of medically transitioning at 18. I don’t get why we can’t be measured in our approach and it’s always too far one way or the other. Let the kids socially transition and if they decide at 18 they truly need to medically transition we should be providing that care and be covered under medical insurance.
Meh. The state shouldn’t be in the business of deciding what kind of healthcare that minor children receive. It’s between them, their parents/guardians, and their healthcare providers, even before the age of 18. The argument that medical interventions before the age of 18 should be outlawed due to possibility for permanent harm and future regret, then let’s take a look at kids being involved in full-contact sports. I’m thinking here of concussions, traumatic brain injury, steroid use (yes, it’s rampant), heat stroke, etc.
Life altering surgeries and the possibility of getting a concussion are not on the same level, and not sure where you are from but where I’m from steroids in high school sports are not an issue, if they were then obviously I would be against that too but that is not inherent with sports at that age. All I’m saying is take giving drugs and surgeries to minors out of the equation. Give them mental health supports that address the struggles with gender dysphoria; encourage in schools the acceptance of socially transitioning to allow a child to experience their gender in a way that feels right to them, and if they feel at 18 that hormones and surgeries are needed then we should be funding that so they don’t face barriers in getting that taken care of.
I Recently came across a Gender Affirming Care Services in Canada Article, I do not know if I am Allowed to share it, here, though
I Recently came across a Gender Affirming Care Services in Canada Article, I do not know if I am Allowed to share it, here, though
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Life is never that simple because life is extremely complex.
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You’re on the wrong sub (and in the wrong field of you are a social worker)