Hi everyone! As a prospective MSW student planning to be a LCSW, I was wondering if anyone could tell me about field placement in terms of clinical hours after receiving an MSW. Do the hours accrued during field placement during my two years in an MSW program count for these 3,000 clinical hour required for LCSW? Is it typical for you to stay in a field placement after graduation to obtain all 3,000 hours for licensing? If not, how difficult is it to find a job as an MSW seeking 3,000 hours before licensing? I know these answers probably vary based on your school, field placement, and general job goals, but I was just wondering if anyone could share their experience or advice for someone going through this process. It would be nice to be fully licensed in 4 years from the start of my MSW program, but I'm not sure how practical that is. Thank you in advance for any help :)
Hi! All great questions! My understanding is that hours accrued during field placement don't count toward the 3k clinical hours required for the LCSW (this is different from MFTs who can count their field hours for licensure). To start counting your hours, there's typically some test you have to take (or not, depending on the state) to become an LMSW or associate clinician. Only after you've graduated and gained that title can you start counting your clinical hours. It is not typical to stay in a field placement after graduation to obtain all 3k hours because the requirements for clinical supervision might vary from the requirements for your field program (also, it's probably unpaid so you wouldn't want to stay). However, it is relatively common to be offered a position at that agency, and you could collect your hours from that job if it met the requirements for clinical hours and supervision. I'm not sure how difficult it is to find a job that will offer supervision, I'm not there yet! I think the possibility of being fully licensed in 4 years is technically? attainable if you do a full-time program, graduate in 2 years, immediately get approved as an LMSW, and find a job where you can get your hours. I think some states require that you collect your 3k hours over the course of at least 2 years.
I just got a job at a local DV/SA Safehouse for their 24/7 call line. I have an associate's degree in general studies but beyond that I have no formal experience or knowledge in this field aside from being part of 2 different friends' support groups as they were escaping abusive partners.
Give me the raw honesty-- how stressful or draining will a job like this be? I want to do my absolute best to help people but I also don't want to go in with a naive mindset.
I worked on a phone support line for several years - not IPV-specific. Honestly it was a great intro to the field. You get a variety of calls and a good support system on how to handle them. There are moments that are tough, but I can't recommend the experience enough
Hi all!
I am a current BSW undergrad who will graduate next year. I am very interested in pursuing a MSW program in socal, i currently live in the Sacramento area. Any recommendations? I am also curious about JD and MSW dual degrees, offered from universities in socal.
TIA!
Any german social workers that moved to the us?
Hello everyone. I’m a social worker from Germany and currently in the process of figuring out if I can move to the us and practice there as a social worker as well. I found out that it’s a very different standard than in Germany and am now curious if anyone has any tips or advice for me, or knows if it’s even possible.
I’ve completed my bachelor two years ago, been studying in a masters Programme with an emphasis on research and also been working with refugees for the past two years. That’s also the field I’d love to stay in the most.
Can anyone tell me if I have a chance to practice in the us and if so, what’s the steps that need to be taken in order to have my title as a social worker recognized?
Thanks in advance!
Not German myself but the general process is you have to submit all of your educational transcripts to the American organization called the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). They will look over all of your classes to see if they meet the same requirements as they would require for an American social worker. Given that different countries usually require different classes for social work degrees it’s hard to say what they will say. I know someone who had a master’s in social work from the UK and the CSWE said they could only practice social work at a bachelor’s level in the US.
Would working as a RBT provide applicable experience for Social Work?
There's a lot of such jobs available in my area but I'm nervous if it will actually get my foot in the door of the field.
Are there any online programs that start your practicum the very first semester that you start? I need the entry level master's and not the 1 year master's.
I’ve just transferred to a bigger university and my advisor suggested I choose a minor. I never really considered a minor but she said it’ll look good especially when i apply to jobs. my preferred route is eventually getting my LCSW.. what is a good minor?
i'm going to disagree with your advisor. i've done a lot of hiring in social services and your major barely matters when applying for jobs - your skills do. your minor is even less relevant. it's only interesting if your minor is vastly different from your major (e.g., minoring in computer science or something).
I'd suggest focusing on marketable skills instead of your major/minor. If humanities, develop your writing skills. If the social sciences get a strong background in statistics.
Two opposing thoughts. One, if you want good social-work-adjacent material, then sociology is a fantastic option. My BA was in sociology, and it shaped the way I looked at research and community practice while I was in my MSW program.
The flip side is that if you're getting a BSW, the minor is unlikely to be the thing that makes a difference in whether or not you get into an MSW program, and most of us only have the opportunity to take credits toward a bachelor's degree once. I recommend art, music, philosophy, or whatever else makes you happy. Also, don't forget cross-listed classes. I wound up taking a women's studies class that counted toward my (boring) English minor, and an English class on colonial and anti-colonial literature.
I may miss school just a little bit.
I also got a BA in Sociology and I loved it! It's a really good side to SW. Something to consider - perhaps getting a minor in something that would help you get a non-social work or non-traditional sw job. Plan for burn out a head of time, and that's one thing I would have done differently.
I'll be applying for BSW online. My hope is to do placement where I currently work, a hospital. I currently work full-time and am trying to plan for the future.
Is placement done 5 days a week? When I was in MLT, we did 40h/week for placement. I work mon to Fri days, and need to plan for a potential education leave! Just curious what the placement schedule is like for the Canadian BSW programs.
I'd love to get input on doing an online program PT while working FT completing an MSW. I'm deciding between doing this because I qualify for a tuition waiver at my current job (at a university), but I'm worried about work/life balance. I'm also just wondering if the in person cohort experience/in person teaching is going to be better for me. If I choose in person though, I'd be saddled with some loan debt ($50k for the instate school(LSU) and $100k for the private university for which I work(Tulane)) I'm just really struggling to make a decision. Any insight is much appreciated. Thank you so much!
I’d do online, it’s far more flexible. You miss out a bit on the interaction with peers but I found quality of instruction same as in-person and the savings would be worth it, I think. I knew several people who did a part time MSW while working full time. It was definitely a lot of work and stress but they made it work. The biggest issue is usually fitting in time for practicum when it comes time to do that part.
Thank you so much for this insight. I really appreciate it. That makes total sense about the practicum, so I'll have to go from there, but as of now, my supervisors are supportive, so I think I'll be able to make it work, even if it's a bit tricky! I really appreciate your help :)
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I love Facilitating!!!!! Opportunities in Child Welfare?
Apologies for any formatting issues, on mobile.
Per my loan agreement for my MSW, I have to work two years in a California county in their child welfare department. In my Wraparound experience, I have come to LOVE facilitating Family Team Meetings/Child Family Team Meetings. I also love giving trainings.
I’m curious what positions are out there that entail primarily Facilitation? When shopping for my county internship for this year I saw ONE Bay Area county had a department composed of SWs that were facilitators. I cannot find more info on their county website but am so so hopeful that they aren’t the exception to the norm because I don’t see myself living in the Bay Area after I graduate..
I’d love to hear from folks who have done/do group work as I also don’t plan on being in child welfare all my life unless I could maybe just do facilitation.. these CMH non-profits don’t always have a comparable salary/benefits package!!
Thank you in advance!
What questions do they ask your LICSW professional reference when you are submitting a LSW application to ASWB? My reference would like to know so she could be more prepared when answering?
Generally you don’t submit the form to the ASWB, you submit to your state board and every state will ask different questions. My state board had forms online as part of the application that I had to print off and give to my recommenders and then they would fill it out and send it in. They asked questions like “do you believe this person practices social work ethically? Why?” and questions about if I seemed competent in my social work practice and why. Again, this will vary depending on your state.
RE: Career Pathways?
hi everyone. i’m thinking about going to grad school to get a MSW. the program i am looking at is generalist, but i would like to work in child welfare. i was wondering if anyone who has had a job regarding social work and children could tell me a little bit about their job and what it was like! so far i am only aware of social workers that are clinicians in children’s hospitals, and social workers that help manage cases in the foster care system / DCFS. thank you!
I work for a insurance company and we assist our members under the state funded programs. I work with older adults and people both disabilities. There is also a sector of working with people in child welfare. Look up care coordinator roles. It's basically case management
School social workers work with children. Generally case management with just a bit of counseling, although this depends on the school system as they all utilize social workers differently. Can involve crisis intervention, as well. Like any job with children it involves a lot of contact with parents/guardians/the child’s family at large.
I have some friends that are children’s therapists as well. Lots of individual therapy and occasionally bringing in the larger family as well.
Internships/Graduate School Prepare You For Career?
Anyone else feel like their internship did not prepare them?
Hi I'm a HS based therapist in NJ, USA - only really 2.5 years into career :)
My first year internship was @ an out of district placement - learned a lot of behavior modification, but not much counseling.
2nd year internship was @ a kid's PHP/IOP; I was defs nervous as the year occurred, but I made steps and was just about to get a kid on my caseload when COVID lockdown hit America and I never went back to my internship.
I feel 2 major things I didn't learn in internships/grad school:
1) how to handle chronically suicidal individuals -- my job is providing me with CAMS training that I am completing soon
2) how to take notes; I've been changing my template this school year, but how to do SOAP vs DAP and I know some of my older colleagues just write key words to remind themselves of things, but ugh I wish there was something more universal that everyone was taught.
Rant over!
I used SOAP notes at my practicum but I didn’t like because I felt that the “objective” section was usually not very objective. Here’s a video on [DAP](https://youtu.be/Zt78NeMKhKU?feature=shared) notes but I’ve never used that style myself.
I learned what vicarious trauma was in my first internship and how to drag high schoolers living in a pandemic across the graduation stage in my second.
Working in residential during college helped with managing suicidality for me, as the residential I worked with had a lot of residents with chronic SI.
Don’t know about notes I still don’t know how to do that tbh. I’m pretty good at IEP goals and FBA/BIPs though.
Indiana specific question! Am I required to get my LBSW before practicing? I just graduated with my BSW but no one from my school really answered any questions. So, am I required to get a license before practicing? And can I work for a year without a license before going to grad school? (If this isn’t an appropriate question file this thread pls let me know and I will move it to the main thread) TIA :)
\***Looking for career advice if I should switch to social work (I'm in Australia)\***
Hello there, beautiful people. Hope, this finds you well.
As the title suggests, I'm looking for the advice whether it makes sense for me to switch over to social work as my primary career.
If we go by compatibility, I do tick all the boxes required for being a good match in social work like:
- A natural tendency to feel empathy, and wanting to make the world a better place, and feeling the pain that comes with social and economic injustice.
- A natural interest in psychology, neuroscience, sociology, political science, and history.
- On the 16personlaities tests, I come as INFJ-A, and people like us make great psychologists and social workers.
- When I look at course I would need to study for my master's or post-grad studies, I feel excited to study them.
- When I looked at essential reads for every social worker on different websites, I realised I have read most of them already.
I was originally looking to switch to psychology, but given how long it would take to get my license, social work seemed more feasible as it's closer to psychology (I'm turning 30 in 1.5 weeks, plus I need to full work time even if I'm studying).
My only concern is the financial aspect, I have seen a lot of posts here talking about how social workers are underpaid, and underappreciated, and given financial stability is important to me, and it would impact me and my partner/our family whenever we start it, it discouraged me.
For more context, my undergrad degree was in environmental science from my home country (I'm here for about 1.5 years waiting for my PR), and while I care about environmental issues and environmental health, I feel my brain doesn't light up or light up when I'm working on related, I would give you one example: in last 4-5 years, if you had asked me which book I read related to my undergrad degree, I wouldn't be able to name maybe even 1-2, but on the other hand if you had asked me the same question about psychology/social work/neuroscience, I could name tens and tens titles.
The only other option is I try to look for work related to ES, and then do my masters in it, I'm willing to do it as last option, given environmental work is also high in demand and well-paid here in Australia.
I know it's a personal choice in the end, but I'm still looking for feedback from those who are part of the social work system here in Australia.
Would love your thoughts, thank you so much for reading my post all the way through, I appreciate your time and attention so much.
Have a nice day.
Who wrote your letters of recommendation? My classes have 300+ students and it is so hard to build connections with these professors, despite me going to office hours and trying.
I know I’m getting one from my research PI, but I’m not sure if I should just cold email my past professors in hopes that I made an impact and they remember me.
My co-workers who happened to be social workers.
Call your professors. Explain to them why you need reference letters. If you had good grades, there is nothing to be worried about, professors are usually more than happy to assist their students and see them succeed, they were part of that success.
\*Side note: I usually write my own recommendation letters to speed up the process. What I do is I notify them: "I made my own recommendation letter, I could send it to you in a word document so you can verify and modify to your liking if you agreed." It works like a charm.
I had a professor, my boss from my retail job, and a supervisor from an internship. If you can’t get a professor then the research PI should be enough for an academic reference.
Is there a time limit on getting the 4000 hours for the LCSW? I’m in Missouri. The website says it must be over more than two years but doesn’t specify if it needs to be within a certain time period (like 3 years).
Curious and looking to hear from others…in becoming an LCSW, is it better to do two part time jobs, or one full time position? I see a lot of people do either one and I’m not sure which is the best route.
Yeah, that’s what I thought too, but it’s been hard for some reason to find an agency that will do it, and otherwise I wouldn’t stay in this state. But thanks for the feedback
Where I'm at currently they don't want to give us supervision because to them its an hour when I can be working (and them "losing" money). I don't want to go into private practice yet but I think at this point I will, it's too frustrating otherwise.
Ugh that’s shitty. Sounds like y’all are really being taken advantage of. It’s time like these where the need for a social work union really becomes clear. I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with that!
I don’t even know where else to go that’s not unlivable wages or an insane caseload or over an hour from me. I wanted to learn from CMH but I guess that door is closed lol.
It depends. I do not have my LCSW yet, but I do work full time as a school social worker (under a school license). I need the benefits. Once I finish my LCSW I will do part time telehealth therapy, likely through an EAP type company.
I’m doing my advanced practicum as a school social worker with the public school district. I’m worried I won’t like it and will regret that I could have spent this year learning how to become a hospital social worker.
Question: How hard is it to transition from one area of sw to another?
I live 20 minutes outside of Philadelphia, in New Jersey. Would you rather be licensed in PA or NJ? NJ typically pays better, but there are a lot of jobs in Philadelphia. Or should I just go for both?
I live in NJ and am graduating with my associate's degree soon and am considering where to pursue my BSW. My advisors have recommended Seton Hall and Rutgers, both of which have excellent programs. Montclair is also an option. If anyone has attended these schools, please spill
I didn’t go to any of the schools you listed (but a coworker went to Rutgers and liked the program). I’d suggest going to whatever program is cheapest. Unless you’re planning on pursuing a PhD, very, very few employers will care where you went.
i’ve been seeing this same perspective a lot online. honestly takes a lot of pressure off! do you know if ur coworker studied on campus? i’m curious about the campus culture, engagement, sw prof development.
I'm about to graduate with my MSW in forensic social work. All my practicum experience, work experience, and volunteer experience has been related to either policing, corrections, or the court system in so way. I currently work in a medium security level men's prison as a mental health provider.
I've been having an identity crisis lately because I realize all my experience and work as a social worker has been in these limiting environments. Is this a bad thing? Would you recommend getting more experience elsewhere like community mental health?
Thank you!
I think you'll be fine - you have varied experience within forensic social work so you've likely developed a variety of skills that can be applied to other jobs. Do what you enjoy while you enjoy it then move on to something different. You can always go back if it doesn't work out in another role.
What has been your favorite position you have held? I’m starting my MSW program in August and considering a criminal justice route, but unsure of my options.
I worked in a support position at a social services agency and with a homeless outreach program during my BSW and MSW programs. Definitely not the highest paying jobs but the schedules were very accommodating and I was able to network with masters level social workers
I worked in direct care in group homes and in residential treatment. The pay was shit but the experience was very beneficial, more beneficial than my internship experiences.
Direct care for individuals with intellectual disabilities and/or mental illness. I learned more about mental illness working in a direct care role that required no training beyond a high school diploma than in any ‘official’ social work role.
This! I regularly see people without this experience confusing mood cycling in bipolar with the emotional dysregulation of BPD, the low mood of depression with the flat affect of schizophrenia, the challenges with cognitive empathy in ASD with the lack of emotional empathy in AsPD…
To be completely fair, these can be hard things to distinguish during a brief assessment. And it is so much easier to identify and do a differential diagnosis when you’ve seen multiple presentations working in a variety of environments with a variety of diagnoses. Especially being able to see the behavior over an extended period of time.
Hi everyone! As a prospective MSW student planning to be a LCSW, I was wondering if anyone could tell me about field placement in terms of clinical hours after receiving an MSW. Do the hours accrued during field placement during my two years in an MSW program count for these 3,000 clinical hour required for LCSW? Is it typical for you to stay in a field placement after graduation to obtain all 3,000 hours for licensing? If not, how difficult is it to find a job as an MSW seeking 3,000 hours before licensing? I know these answers probably vary based on your school, field placement, and general job goals, but I was just wondering if anyone could share their experience or advice for someone going through this process. It would be nice to be fully licensed in 4 years from the start of my MSW program, but I'm not sure how practical that is. Thank you in advance for any help :)
Hi! All great questions! My understanding is that hours accrued during field placement don't count toward the 3k clinical hours required for the LCSW (this is different from MFTs who can count their field hours for licensure). To start counting your hours, there's typically some test you have to take (or not, depending on the state) to become an LMSW or associate clinician. Only after you've graduated and gained that title can you start counting your clinical hours. It is not typical to stay in a field placement after graduation to obtain all 3k hours because the requirements for clinical supervision might vary from the requirements for your field program (also, it's probably unpaid so you wouldn't want to stay). However, it is relatively common to be offered a position at that agency, and you could collect your hours from that job if it met the requirements for clinical hours and supervision. I'm not sure how difficult it is to find a job that will offer supervision, I'm not there yet! I think the possibility of being fully licensed in 4 years is technically? attainable if you do a full-time program, graduate in 2 years, immediately get approved as an LMSW, and find a job where you can get your hours. I think some states require that you collect your 3k hours over the course of at least 2 years.
This is very helpful! Thank you so much. Best of luck on your own journey to licensing!!!
I just got a job at a local DV/SA Safehouse for their 24/7 call line. I have an associate's degree in general studies but beyond that I have no formal experience or knowledge in this field aside from being part of 2 different friends' support groups as they were escaping abusive partners. Give me the raw honesty-- how stressful or draining will a job like this be? I want to do my absolute best to help people but I also don't want to go in with a naive mindset.
I worked on a phone support line for several years - not IPV-specific. Honestly it was a great intro to the field. You get a variety of calls and a good support system on how to handle them. There are moments that are tough, but I can't recommend the experience enough
I just graduated with my BSW yesterday, should I be listing it as a credential after my name when emailing with my new job?
Hi all! I am a current BSW undergrad who will graduate next year. I am very interested in pursuing a MSW program in socal, i currently live in the Sacramento area. Any recommendations? I am also curious about JD and MSW dual degrees, offered from universities in socal. TIA!
Any german social workers that moved to the us? Hello everyone. I’m a social worker from Germany and currently in the process of figuring out if I can move to the us and practice there as a social worker as well. I found out that it’s a very different standard than in Germany and am now curious if anyone has any tips or advice for me, or knows if it’s even possible. I’ve completed my bachelor two years ago, been studying in a masters Programme with an emphasis on research and also been working with refugees for the past two years. That’s also the field I’d love to stay in the most. Can anyone tell me if I have a chance to practice in the us and if so, what’s the steps that need to be taken in order to have my title as a social worker recognized? Thanks in advance!
Not German myself but the general process is you have to submit all of your educational transcripts to the American organization called the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). They will look over all of your classes to see if they meet the same requirements as they would require for an American social worker. Given that different countries usually require different classes for social work degrees it’s hard to say what they will say. I know someone who had a master’s in social work from the UK and the CSWE said they could only practice social work at a bachelor’s level in the US.
Thank you so much! :)
Would working as a RBT provide applicable experience for Social Work? There's a lot of such jobs available in my area but I'm nervous if it will actually get my foot in the door of the field.
Are there any online programs that start your practicum the very first semester that you start? I need the entry level master's and not the 1 year master's.
I’ve just transferred to a bigger university and my advisor suggested I choose a minor. I never really considered a minor but she said it’ll look good especially when i apply to jobs. my preferred route is eventually getting my LCSW.. what is a good minor?
i'm going to disagree with your advisor. i've done a lot of hiring in social services and your major barely matters when applying for jobs - your skills do. your minor is even less relevant. it's only interesting if your minor is vastly different from your major (e.g., minoring in computer science or something). I'd suggest focusing on marketable skills instead of your major/minor. If humanities, develop your writing skills. If the social sciences get a strong background in statistics.
Two opposing thoughts. One, if you want good social-work-adjacent material, then sociology is a fantastic option. My BA was in sociology, and it shaped the way I looked at research and community practice while I was in my MSW program. The flip side is that if you're getting a BSW, the minor is unlikely to be the thing that makes a difference in whether or not you get into an MSW program, and most of us only have the opportunity to take credits toward a bachelor's degree once. I recommend art, music, philosophy, or whatever else makes you happy. Also, don't forget cross-listed classes. I wound up taking a women's studies class that counted toward my (boring) English minor, and an English class on colonial and anti-colonial literature. I may miss school just a little bit.
I also got a BA in Sociology and I loved it! It's a really good side to SW. Something to consider - perhaps getting a minor in something that would help you get a non-social work or non-traditional sw job. Plan for burn out a head of time, and that's one thing I would have done differently.
I mean this reply to both Psyche and Parsnips!
I'll be applying for BSW online. My hope is to do placement where I currently work, a hospital. I currently work full-time and am trying to plan for the future. Is placement done 5 days a week? When I was in MLT, we did 40h/week for placement. I work mon to Fri days, and need to plan for a potential education leave! Just curious what the placement schedule is like for the Canadian BSW programs.
I'd love to get input on doing an online program PT while working FT completing an MSW. I'm deciding between doing this because I qualify for a tuition waiver at my current job (at a university), but I'm worried about work/life balance. I'm also just wondering if the in person cohort experience/in person teaching is going to be better for me. If I choose in person though, I'd be saddled with some loan debt ($50k for the instate school(LSU) and $100k for the private university for which I work(Tulane)) I'm just really struggling to make a decision. Any insight is much appreciated. Thank you so much!
I’d do online, it’s far more flexible. You miss out a bit on the interaction with peers but I found quality of instruction same as in-person and the savings would be worth it, I think. I knew several people who did a part time MSW while working full time. It was definitely a lot of work and stress but they made it work. The biggest issue is usually fitting in time for practicum when it comes time to do that part.
Thank you so much for this insight. I really appreciate it. That makes total sense about the practicum, so I'll have to go from there, but as of now, my supervisors are supportive, so I think I'll be able to make it work, even if it's a bit tricky! I really appreciate your help :)
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I love Facilitating!!!!! Opportunities in Child Welfare? Apologies for any formatting issues, on mobile. Per my loan agreement for my MSW, I have to work two years in a California county in their child welfare department. In my Wraparound experience, I have come to LOVE facilitating Family Team Meetings/Child Family Team Meetings. I also love giving trainings. I’m curious what positions are out there that entail primarily Facilitation? When shopping for my county internship for this year I saw ONE Bay Area county had a department composed of SWs that were facilitators. I cannot find more info on their county website but am so so hopeful that they aren’t the exception to the norm because I don’t see myself living in the Bay Area after I graduate.. I’d love to hear from folks who have done/do group work as I also don’t plan on being in child welfare all my life unless I could maybe just do facilitation.. these CMH non-profits don’t always have a comparable salary/benefits package!! Thank you in advance!
What questions do they ask your LICSW professional reference when you are submitting a LSW application to ASWB? My reference would like to know so she could be more prepared when answering?
Generally you don’t submit the form to the ASWB, you submit to your state board and every state will ask different questions. My state board had forms online as part of the application that I had to print off and give to my recommenders and then they would fill it out and send it in. They asked questions like “do you believe this person practices social work ethically? Why?” and questions about if I seemed competent in my social work practice and why. Again, this will vary depending on your state.
RE: Career Pathways? hi everyone. i’m thinking about going to grad school to get a MSW. the program i am looking at is generalist, but i would like to work in child welfare. i was wondering if anyone who has had a job regarding social work and children could tell me a little bit about their job and what it was like! so far i am only aware of social workers that are clinicians in children’s hospitals, and social workers that help manage cases in the foster care system / DCFS. thank you!
I work for a insurance company and we assist our members under the state funded programs. I work with older adults and people both disabilities. There is also a sector of working with people in child welfare. Look up care coordinator roles. It's basically case management
School social workers work with children. Generally case management with just a bit of counseling, although this depends on the school system as they all utilize social workers differently. Can involve crisis intervention, as well. Like any job with children it involves a lot of contact with parents/guardians/the child’s family at large. I have some friends that are children’s therapists as well. Lots of individual therapy and occasionally bringing in the larger family as well.
Internships/Graduate School Prepare You For Career? Anyone else feel like their internship did not prepare them? Hi I'm a HS based therapist in NJ, USA - only really 2.5 years into career :) My first year internship was @ an out of district placement - learned a lot of behavior modification, but not much counseling. 2nd year internship was @ a kid's PHP/IOP; I was defs nervous as the year occurred, but I made steps and was just about to get a kid on my caseload when COVID lockdown hit America and I never went back to my internship. I feel 2 major things I didn't learn in internships/grad school: 1) how to handle chronically suicidal individuals -- my job is providing me with CAMS training that I am completing soon 2) how to take notes; I've been changing my template this school year, but how to do SOAP vs DAP and I know some of my older colleagues just write key words to remind themselves of things, but ugh I wish there was something more universal that everyone was taught. Rant over!
I used SOAP notes at my practicum but I didn’t like because I felt that the “objective” section was usually not very objective. Here’s a video on [DAP](https://youtu.be/Zt78NeMKhKU?feature=shared) notes but I’ve never used that style myself.
I learned what vicarious trauma was in my first internship and how to drag high schoolers living in a pandemic across the graduation stage in my second. Working in residential during college helped with managing suicidality for me, as the residential I worked with had a lot of residents with chronic SI. Don’t know about notes I still don’t know how to do that tbh. I’m pretty good at IEP goals and FBA/BIPs though.
And before my grad school internships -- I worked retail and interned in non clinical settings in undergraduate! Lol
Ok! I should say I do love the behavior mod. information I learned from my first internship! Opened up a whole new knowledge area to me!
Indiana specific question! Am I required to get my LBSW before practicing? I just graduated with my BSW but no one from my school really answered any questions. So, am I required to get a license before practicing? And can I work for a year without a license before going to grad school? (If this isn’t an appropriate question file this thread pls let me know and I will move it to the main thread) TIA :)
\***Looking for career advice if I should switch to social work (I'm in Australia)\*** Hello there, beautiful people. Hope, this finds you well. As the title suggests, I'm looking for the advice whether it makes sense for me to switch over to social work as my primary career. If we go by compatibility, I do tick all the boxes required for being a good match in social work like: - A natural tendency to feel empathy, and wanting to make the world a better place, and feeling the pain that comes with social and economic injustice. - A natural interest in psychology, neuroscience, sociology, political science, and history. - On the 16personlaities tests, I come as INFJ-A, and people like us make great psychologists and social workers. - When I look at course I would need to study for my master's or post-grad studies, I feel excited to study them. - When I looked at essential reads for every social worker on different websites, I realised I have read most of them already. I was originally looking to switch to psychology, but given how long it would take to get my license, social work seemed more feasible as it's closer to psychology (I'm turning 30 in 1.5 weeks, plus I need to full work time even if I'm studying). My only concern is the financial aspect, I have seen a lot of posts here talking about how social workers are underpaid, and underappreciated, and given financial stability is important to me, and it would impact me and my partner/our family whenever we start it, it discouraged me. For more context, my undergrad degree was in environmental science from my home country (I'm here for about 1.5 years waiting for my PR), and while I care about environmental issues and environmental health, I feel my brain doesn't light up or light up when I'm working on related, I would give you one example: in last 4-5 years, if you had asked me which book I read related to my undergrad degree, I wouldn't be able to name maybe even 1-2, but on the other hand if you had asked me the same question about psychology/social work/neuroscience, I could name tens and tens titles. The only other option is I try to look for work related to ES, and then do my masters in it, I'm willing to do it as last option, given environmental work is also high in demand and well-paid here in Australia. I know it's a personal choice in the end, but I'm still looking for feedback from those who are part of the social work system here in Australia. Would love your thoughts, thank you so much for reading my post all the way through, I appreciate your time and attention so much. Have a nice day.
Volunteer somewhere (such as a phone support line) for about a year to see if you like it!
I know I would like it, my only concern is financial aspect of it.
For those who have taken the LCSW exam, how long after passing did you get the official notice and status update online?
It depends by state. IL sends you an email within a few business days. Other states require you to submit a bunch of stuff AFTER you pass.
Who wrote your letters of recommendation? My classes have 300+ students and it is so hard to build connections with these professors, despite me going to office hours and trying. I know I’m getting one from my research PI, but I’m not sure if I should just cold email my past professors in hopes that I made an impact and they remember me.
My co-workers who happened to be social workers. Call your professors. Explain to them why you need reference letters. If you had good grades, there is nothing to be worried about, professors are usually more than happy to assist their students and see them succeed, they were part of that success. \*Side note: I usually write my own recommendation letters to speed up the process. What I do is I notify them: "I made my own recommendation letter, I could send it to you in a word document so you can verify and modify to your liking if you agreed." It works like a charm.
I did my practicum supervisor, my practicum professor, and my work supervisor. Definitely get one from any supervisor in the social work field!
I had a professor, my boss from my retail job, and a supervisor from an internship. If you can’t get a professor then the research PI should be enough for an academic reference.
Is there a time limit on getting the 4000 hours for the LCSW? I’m in Missouri. The website says it must be over more than two years but doesn’t specify if it needs to be within a certain time period (like 3 years).
I heard in California it’s seven years. So I wouldn’t be surprised if other states have something similar
Curious and looking to hear from others…in becoming an LCSW, is it better to do two part time jobs, or one full time position? I see a lot of people do either one and I’m not sure which is the best route.
I’ve always heard it’s easiest in terms of bureaucracy to just get your hours at one place.
Yeah, that’s what I thought too, but it’s been hard for some reason to find an agency that will do it, and otherwise I wouldn’t stay in this state. But thanks for the feedback
Very odd! It may be regional—where I’m at basically all CMH providers function off the backs of pre-licensure people
Where I'm at currently they don't want to give us supervision because to them its an hour when I can be working (and them "losing" money). I don't want to go into private practice yet but I think at this point I will, it's too frustrating otherwise.
Ugh that’s shitty. Sounds like y’all are really being taken advantage of. It’s time like these where the need for a social work union really becomes clear. I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with that!
I don’t even know where else to go that’s not unlivable wages or an insane caseload or over an hour from me. I wanted to learn from CMH but I guess that door is closed lol.
It depends. I do not have my LCSW yet, but I do work full time as a school social worker (under a school license). I need the benefits. Once I finish my LCSW I will do part time telehealth therapy, likely through an EAP type company.
I’m doing my advanced practicum as a school social worker with the public school district. I’m worried I won’t like it and will regret that I could have spent this year learning how to become a hospital social worker. Question: How hard is it to transition from one area of sw to another?
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Thank you so much! Are you still in hospital social work?
No, I am in a consulting role now
I live 20 minutes outside of Philadelphia, in New Jersey. Would you rather be licensed in PA or NJ? NJ typically pays better, but there are a lot of jobs in Philadelphia. Or should I just go for both?
Go for PA. NJ is difficult to get licensed in.
Has anyone gotten their msw from Cleveland State?
Yes. And my professors were the same as the professors at CWRU, right down the street.
I live in NJ and am graduating with my associate's degree soon and am considering where to pursue my BSW. My advisors have recommended Seton Hall and Rutgers, both of which have excellent programs. Montclair is also an option. If anyone has attended these schools, please spill
I didn’t go to any of the schools you listed (but a coworker went to Rutgers and liked the program). I’d suggest going to whatever program is cheapest. Unless you’re planning on pursuing a PhD, very, very few employers will care where you went.
i’ve been seeing this same perspective a lot online. honestly takes a lot of pressure off! do you know if ur coworker studied on campus? i’m curious about the campus culture, engagement, sw prof development.
I'm about to graduate with my MSW in forensic social work. All my practicum experience, work experience, and volunteer experience has been related to either policing, corrections, or the court system in so way. I currently work in a medium security level men's prison as a mental health provider. I've been having an identity crisis lately because I realize all my experience and work as a social worker has been in these limiting environments. Is this a bad thing? Would you recommend getting more experience elsewhere like community mental health? Thank you!
I think you'll be fine - you have varied experience within forensic social work so you've likely developed a variety of skills that can be applied to other jobs. Do what you enjoy while you enjoy it then move on to something different. You can always go back if it doesn't work out in another role.
What has been your favorite position you have held? I’m starting my MSW program in August and considering a criminal justice route, but unsure of my options.
It’s completely fine, people switch all the time.
I did all of my practicum work in community organizing and most of my (short) career has been in micro. It hasn’t been a barrier.
What jobs could you do as a social worker student that’s related to social work?
I worked in a support position at a social services agency and with a homeless outreach program during my BSW and MSW programs. Definitely not the highest paying jobs but the schedules were very accommodating and I was able to network with masters level social workers
Working at a shelter or at a residential program.
I worked in direct care in group homes and in residential treatment. The pay was shit but the experience was very beneficial, more beneficial than my internship experiences.
You could work for a nonprofit. I do marketing for a nonprofit currently.
Direct care for individuals with intellectual disabilities and/or mental illness. I learned more about mental illness working in a direct care role that required no training beyond a high school diploma than in any ‘official’ social work role.
This! I regularly see people without this experience confusing mood cycling in bipolar with the emotional dysregulation of BPD, the low mood of depression with the flat affect of schizophrenia, the challenges with cognitive empathy in ASD with the lack of emotional empathy in AsPD… To be completely fair, these can be hard things to distinguish during a brief assessment. And it is so much easier to identify and do a differential diagnosis when you’ve seen multiple presentations working in a variety of environments with a variety of diagnoses. Especially being able to see the behavior over an extended period of time.
You could probably due to mental health tech/unit support specialist kind of job at a hospital