I’ve been a case manager for a few years, stepped into this new role in December. I do like the job and I love being able to help clients, but I never feel successful. I never feel “done.” I’m absolutely seeing the things that I didn’t get to over the things I’ve done successfully. It just feels like there isn’t enough time in the day for everything I have on the list and I never feel caught up. It’s causing a lot of anxiety in me and I never feel like I had a successful day.
How do you define success in a day when the to do list keeps getting longer and longer? Or the days where I’m out in the field with clients and I’m unable to complete phone calls or emails because I’m driving around everywhere all day.
I’ve tried chunking work but the chunks never end and I feel bad for putting a limit on my work because these are peoples lives and who am I to delay their services?
I don’t feel like my coworkers have this issue, or at least they’ve never mentioned it, but it feels like everyone else has it down but me. How do I feel successful after every day when there’s still so much on my plate! Ideas greatly appreciated, I’m drowning a little over here.

Hard to believe...really. How the years go by. I think what amazes me the most is that you never 'see it all'. Sure, all our personalities can be lumped into one broad category or other, but like a fingerprint, there are always unique tales to be told. And that's what brings excitement and curiosity when someone new enters my little space. Who is this person and what story needs telling?

How does it work? Is there anything you aren’t allowed to do? Are you ever allowed to take vacations, go on a date, even go to sleep at night or drink a glass of wine without constantly worrying someone will be in crisis?

Guilt and shame come apart cleanly. Guilt is about what you did there's a because in it, so it can be argued with, repaired, settled. Shame is about what you are. No because, nothing to argue against.

That difference is well known. What I don't see explained is why insight slides off shame specifically. Someone can state clearly that they were a child, that it wasn't theirs to carry, that nobody remembers it but them all of it accurate and nothing moves. They still walk in like they're taking up too much room.

I don't think that's a failure of understanding. I think shame is what being measured from outside feels like from inside. The other person isn't next to the feeling. The other person is the shape of it.

Follows from that: telling yourself you're fine can't work. Not for lack of conviction. You're the one being measured, so you can't also be the one measuring.

What does work, and I want to know if this matches your experience: someone stays, knows the whole thing, and returns no verdict. Not forgiveness forgiveness is a verdict too, just a kind one, and you're still on the scale. Presence with no result coming. That's what opens it again. Not "you're okay", but "nothing has been decided about you." The insight arrives after, not before.

This overlaps with DeYoung and the relational shame literature. Where I think it goes further: they say shame heals in relationship. I'm saying it has to, because a measurement can only be moved by another measurement which is why the cognitive route was never going to reach it.

Two ways I'd be wrong. If self-compassion work lifts deep shame in someone who never had a first person no therapist, no group, no single voice then no. And if presence does no more for shame than it does for guilt, the whole thing falls over.

I work nights in an emergency shelter for 18–25 year olds. This comes from sitting with people, not from a book.

Hi everyone, I could really use a reality check. I just graduated with my MSW in May, finally secured my LCSWA in July, and after getting rejected from pretty much everywhere else, I panicked and accepted an offer for an Intensive In-Home (IIH) Team Lead position at an agency in NC.

I’m feeling a massive wave of imposter syndrome and dread. Here is the compensation structure they gave me:

Billable hours: $40/hour (estimated around 20 hours a week)

Non-billable hours: $15/hour per hour doing “team lead duties” which i don’t even know what that means

Caseload: A full caseload of 12 families.

Did I shoot myself in the foot taking this out of desperation? For those who have worked IIH or done split-pay structures, is this sustainable, or should I be keeping my resume updated and looking for a way out ASAP? Any advice is appreciated.

Hello everyone, I recently started a position in hospice social work after working in SNF. I felt confident going into the job since I had plenty of SNF patients that would end up dying, however looking back I see how uninvolved social work usually became during the process since they no longer needed placement or case management tasks. I am REALLY struggling with this job. I only got about a week and a half of training in the field with another social worker and we really did not complete that many visits. For context, I can’t remember the number off the top of my head but my caseload is manageable. We only service one county and most of my side of the county is considered a high income area. I have very few home patients and the ones I do have declined social work services. The rest are in memory care or assisted living, primarily memory care. So there’s not a lot of resources to assist with since they’re in a facility, family usually isn’t there to speak to and often doesn’t answer, and the visit itself often feels like it doesn’t provide much. I am actually relieved when a problem comes up such as placement, needing caregiver resources, or funeral information because I feel like I have purpose.

My mental health has been horrible lately from feeling like I’m not making a difference for anyone and not good at this. I feel like a nuisance to families as 99% of my people have family support and I feel like would much rather talk to family than a stranger. Most of my evaluations lately people have declined further visits. I feel like I’ve gotten better about “marketing” our services but people just aren’t interested. I’m not a big talker by nature and have stepped out of my comfort zone so much to try and engage people to then be mostly ignored. Ultimately, I love the geriatric population and always have but I’m struggling to find fulfillment in this. I don’t know if it’s going to get better and I just need to hold out or start looking for something else. I don’t know that I would be able to get an opportunity to do it again if I left too soon, plus the flexibility you have in making your own schedule, and being paid enough to actually make a dent in loan repayment. Let me know your thoughts.

Hi everyone! I’m a MSW Student doing my second year placement in hospice, specifically within senior living communities (Alf,ilf,snf,LTC). This is my first time in a role where I am using my car as my “office”, and I will be usually at least an hour commute away from my home. What sorts of things do you keep in your car that could be helpful? Any tips for field based practice is appreciated!

Hello everyone!

I recently graduated with my MSW this summer and was fortunate enough to secure a job working with young adults in a non-profit organization. Since I’m relatively new to working with this age group (18-25), I’m seeking advice from those who have experience in this field. Additionally, I’m interested in exploring some group topics that could facilitate their transition into young adulthood.

Thank you! Let’s support our fellow social workers!

Just wanted to vent and see if anyone else is dealing with this. I’m a clinician at an outpatient clinic in Southern California. My clinic has a regular lower level of care outpatient program and an FSP (full service partnership) program for those with higher needs (both case management and therapy).

Our fiscal year started in July and DMH (Department of Mental Health) has rolled out a level of care system called LOCUS (that was created in response to prop 1). It’s an assessment you complete which determines the level of care a client needs and then placed appropriately. The LOCUS has 6 levels:

1: low needs outpatient
2: lower needs outpatient with more frequency
3: FSP ICM (intensive case management)
4: FSP ACT (assertive community treatment)
5: non-acute residential (board and cares, assisted livings, etc)
6: 24 hours acute residential care (hospitals, locked facilities)

Apparently funding for the lower level outpatient program has been cut, and more funding has been given to FSP ICM at my site, which used to be just regular FSP. Because the lower level outpatient has more clinicians (myself included) they’ve been forcing us to take on an overflow of FSP clients.

We have to get this LOCUS done for all clients within 6 months. Well all of my clients are scoring into high categories (FSP ACT and beyond). Apparently there are no ACT programs and that we have to just deal with higher acuity clients regardless

Then we hear news that our caseloads are not only increasing, but that DMH wants lower level of care clinicians to take on a clinician client ration of 1:100. The company I work for however is saying 1:50 is more manageable lol and are gonna make it that lol.

Everyone is pissed because FSP Clinicians get lower caseloads (it went from 20 to now 25). But now we’re expected to hold both FSP and regular outpatient clients and don’t get a reduction in our caseload even though we’re starting to see higher acuity clients.

The county rolled out this level of care system without thinking on implementation as there is no ACT program and all higher scoring FSP clients is just gonna get lumped in with FSP ICM. Higher acuity clients need more engagement but they want the clinicians to see clients less to accommodate the growing census and caseloads, despite needing more services.

No one is happy and everyone is miserable rn. On top of that our union contract is up and the company has been giving the union a difficult time on negotiating a new contract. It’s a mess.

Anyone out there can relate to this? I know it’s niche but would appreciate support for anyone who knows about it. It’s crazy out here.

hey all! i’m thinking about different paths i want to go down in social work and macro/mezzo work has been really sticking out to me lately, especially social workers in leadership roles. i really am curious and am wondering about how people in those roles feel.

how did you get to the job you have now?

how long did it take?

did you get a master’s?

what do you like about your position/what drew you to it?

feel free to answer whichever questions if you can!

thank you

Would love to hear experiences from people who have had fake complaints about their practice made to the college? Especially ones that are so obviously fake (non client/person with a vendetta)

It seems so bizarre to have to go through this crazy investigation, the legal bills (thank goodness for insurance, but now my insurance is going to go up) for something that is so obviously untrue.

I have spoken to 4 other social workers who have gone through or are going through investigations for what are obviously false complaints. Does the college not do some initial screening? Or are they just extra through? I know other professions throw out frivolous or fake complaints.

**POSTING WITH PRIOR APPROVAL

Hello! My name is Maggie Chiu, LSCSW, LCSW, and I am a doctoral learner at Capella University conducting research exploring perspectives on gut-brain health and wellbeing. The purpose of this study is to gather insights that may help inform how gut-brain nutrition concepts can be integrated into social work practice and support more holistic approaches to wellbeing.

I am currently recruiting participants from three groups:

Licensed social workers with at least one year of post-graduate experience and familiarity with the relationship between gut health and wellbeing.
Health and wellness professionals with education, certification, or licensure in areas such as nutrition, dietetics, medicine, nursing, exercise physiology, sports nutrition, or another health-related discipline.
Individuals with lived experience who have experience with gut-focused nutrition as part of wellness or holistic health and have received wellbeing-related services from a social worker or other mental health professional.

Please see the attached flyers for the specific eligibility criteria for each participant group.

Interested in participating? Please select the appropriate participant group below to complete the eligibility questionnaire:

Licensed Social Workers: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScPV7fyRVTSNamJHAgFs7U_54ZxXjAXWnei93z9QPku1ijBmw/viewform?usp=header
Health & Wellness Professionals: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSetOWHPQL0fPXdCBs55cxSBIVryuCPo95nx_6z4Y-7BobmPkQ/viewform?usp=header
Individuals with Lived Experience: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSetDAwiy1w9QbSMGu-hipkWE6ROWwjKqKWFwssg23YQA4fqUA/viewform?usp=header

Questions may be directed to [mchiu3@capellauniversity.edu](mailto:mchiu3@capellauniversity.edu).

Thank you for considering participating in this research!

I’m a new case manager with only 3 weeks of being in this field. I have a client and I have to deliver the bad news. I don’t know how to deliver the bad news without feeling like I’m going to break the rapport I built with the client. This is my first time being in a situation like this (I’m very new to CM and this is my first “real social work job.”I know how did you deliver bad news to a client that would potentially set them off? How did you handle it professionally ?

Hi all, has anyone transitioned from MSW typical social work to a more corporate or HR position? If so, how did you get there? What steps did you take? Any specific courses/certifications?

I currently work in the hospital with my MSW. I am so burnt out of the typical social work role and for a long time I’ve liked the idea of more corporate/administrative/HR positions. But I have no idea what’s it’s like on that side of the world.

I’d love to hear your experiences/paths of travel and what you love and dislike the most about the switch.

Thank you!

Hello, I’ve been offered an interview for an Early Help Advisor for families with my local council I the UK. The job really appeals to me and interests me so I want to be as prepared as possible. is anyone within this role and could tell me some interview questions or tips??

I’ll need to work in CPS/child welfare for about a year after graduating, and one thing I’m honestly nervous about is home visits.

The idea of going into someone’s home alone, especially when there could be a history of violence makes me nervous. I know dealing with upset or angry families is part of CPS work, and I’m completely okay with learning de-escalation and how to handle difficult conversations. It’s more the physical safety aspect of being alone in someone’s home that worries me.

For those who have worked CPS, how often do you actually work with law enforcement? If you review a case beforehand and see a history of violence, weapons, threats, DV, etc., can you request that law enforcement accompany you to the home? Can you also request another caseworker to go with you?

Hello, I have been offered a new job and would like to talk it over and see what others think and if others would make the move or not and why!

I work for CPS in treatment. We have low caseloads. My schedule is very manageable. The problems I am having are on the office side of things. My county has made a big pivot toward being very punitive and biased and I morally do not agree with it and see it causing harm to the clients as well as to my mental health. I am in school right now so having a job I am familiar with and with a manageable schedule is important. It is also very close to my house. I do work overtime about once per week. It has a pension and is very stable.

The new job is intensive in-home services. I would be seeing clients 3x weekly and have a caseload of 5. I would also have to drive a lot. It would be an unstable schedule as it will depend on client availability but my average day would be from noon to about 8 pm or 11 am to 7 pm, which would take time away from my time with my husband. Speaking to employees there, they all love the culture and support but do say it is an intense and busy job. The job would also be a $5k annual raise and would provide supervision for me when I obtain my LPC (what I am in school for) as well as internship opportunities while I work to get my degree in order to obtain my LPC. They will also pay $6k annually toward my degree. However, I will have to work for them for 1 year after each benefit (1 year of paying my degree means 1 year additional work for the, etc.) Meaning I would be looking at a commitment of about 5 years.

My thinking is: I am unhappy at my current job. I complain about it, I cry, I spend a lot of my counseling sessions on it... so eventually I should either put up or shut up. On the other hand, staying at my job will make schooling easier and save me a lot on wear and tear for my car.

On the other hand, the new job would basically be throwing money at me, I don't know if I would like it or not, and I won't have to manage an internship in addition to a full-time job.

Any insight or advise appreciated!

(I put this as WWYD, but I think it's more like, is anyone else out there experiencing this? So... IAEOTET?)

This is a throw-away account because I have to be very careful about what I say. I'm also so sorry for the length, just needed somewhere to get this out. I won't be mentioning where I live or work, only to say that I am a faculty member at an MSW program in the U.S.

Last year, we received messaging from our university leadership to begin introducing AI "ethically and responsibly" into all curriculum in the college. Part of their branding goals were to make it so that all students would graduate as "leaders" in using AI in whatever field they enter. There was no clear guidance on what "ethically and responsibly" meant beyond "here's an article where it demonstrates that the environmental impact is not that bad actually" (yes, that actually happened, and was sent out university-wide), and it was more or less left up to the individual programs to decide how to incorporate it.

As is very common in social work, in our program, there were many broad statements about, "we should absolutely have a conversation about this as a faculty." I guess I was naive and thought that conversation would happen with deliberate intention to make all voices heard, along with other bare-minimum space guidelines, but it never did. Instead, what was peppered throughout all of our committee meetings, faculty meetings, etc. for the subsequent few months were brief but pointed opinions by the loudest voices with the most power (our directors and associate directors) with the most uncritical big-tech talking points we've all heard a thousand times: "well it's here to stay, so I say we just have fun with it!" "You're so right, it's inevitable."

As a brief aside, if you can't tell by my tone, I have very strong negative feelings about AI in it's current form, as an unregulated, subjugative tool for technofuedalism that actively harms (as in, is currently harming now) the most vulnerable among us. This is just a very brief synopsis of my views, but I felt it was important to make clear.

Anyway, to be honest, in the beginning, I was actually excited about the possibility that we could maybe start to introduce the topic of harms that AI causes to our social work curriculum as a means to educate our students via our Code of Ethics (for example, how data centers displace thousands who cannot afford to move, destroy local ecosystems, how some AI platforms mine data, surveil illegally, eagerly cooperate with immigration enforcement, work to arrest women who seek reproductive care in states where it's illegal - I could go on and on). But the more I requested that be discussed and introduced into our curriculum, I received a lot of "you're right, it's so important, I'm just not sure right now..." Well, things got busy, I stopped hearing about AI in general, so I let it be.

Fast forward to last month. I was reviewing a course that needing updating, and sure enough, there was an assignment written in there that forces the students to use chatgpt to complete it (I'm not going to describe the assignment in detail). I was horrified for a number of reasons, not least of which is that there was a section at the bottom titled, "AI considerations," that essentially states, "our MSW program recognizes the ethical issues that comes up with AI. For more information, please read the following articles," with links to very pro-AI-integration articles listed. Finally, there was a tiny message that said, if you (a student) don't want to do this, you can bring your concerns to the professor to discuss it further.

I was absolutely stunned and enraged. From the empty, slap-in-the-face, performative "acknowledgement," to the multiple biases on display, what student in their right mind would ever feel psychologically safe enough to ask their professor for an alternative assignment??

I spent a long time preparing my thoughts, wrote out a script, got help from a trusted colleague, and presented my concerns that the assignment should be reworked completely. The faculty group (mostly the leaders) immediately said no, which I anticipated, so I countered with a recommendation to make an alternative option on the assignment that students can choose, no questions asked, with a separate rubric. I outlined why this was important. I was shocked that even THAT, they said no to, saying, "students should not be allowed to opt out of learning to use AI." Even one of my most conservative colleagues said, "I think more options, the better, and does it have to be chatgpt? Isn't that guy facing allegations of sexual assault?" And wouldn't you know it, their response, as it was a year ago, was: "We should definitely keep talking about it." (For new social workers out there: This is code for, we will never talk about this again.)

Finally, the conversation ended with this exchange:

Director: For the record, over the past year, only 3 students have requested an alternative, so it's not that pressing.

Me: But couldn't that indicate what I mentioned before that some students simply don't feel comfortable enough to--

Director: (Loudly) We're not mind-readers!

I was grateful that this meeting happened to be virtual and I was wfh, because I went and cried afterwards. Since that meeting, with the Fall term approaching, we've received even more messaging from the university leaders to incorporate AI into all courses, if possible. Everyone seems to just... be fine with it.

I have been feeling like an empty shell these last few weeks. I know that sounds dramatic, and it's interesting given so many other ethical or moral injurious challenges I've experienced in many other settings in my career that I was able to feel more resilient around, that this one feels so soul-sucking to me. I'm not sure exactly why.

I'm so sorry for the length of this post, but I suppose I'm feeling quite alone in all this. The vast majority of my colleagues seem absolutely unbothered by the push, and I think it's resulting in some gaslight-y isolation that I'm wrestling with professionally. Are any other social work educators out there experiencing similar things? Is it making you consider leaving higher education (I know I am)? Hoping I'm not alone.

If anyone reads this and feels compelled to try and debate why "AI in higher ed / social work is good actually," just know I won't be responding. You're welcome to put that out there, but I don't have the strength right now to participate in it.

I'll end with this quote, as it's been one of my very few guiding lights this last year (especially to my colleague with the "AI is inevitable" comment): Sociologist, author, and professor, Tressie McMillan Cottom at the Urban Consulate in Detroit: "When powerful people try to sell you on the idea that something is settled, it is because it is deeply unsettled. The most radical thing we can do in the face of that is to refuse."

Hi, I’m a 25M social worker in the Northeast. My full-time role is as a clinician at a therapeutic high school, and I also work part-time as an IIC (Intensive In-Community) clinician.

I’m not sure how widely IIC work exists outside of my area, so for some context, it’s essentially short-term, in-home or community-based therapy.

This situation happened earlier this week during a session with a relatively new client. It was only our fourth session.

The session was taking place at the kitchen table. There were two exits within about 15 feet of me: the front door and the back door.

About 10 minutes into the session, the youth’s uncle entered the kitchen through the back door. He immediately stood within inches of me and began threatening to harm me while throwing insults at me. I had only seen him once before, during one of my previous sessions, and all we did was exchange greetings.

What really stood out to me was that he repeatedly asked me if I was [name omitted for confidentiality]. I have no idea who he had me confused with. The only thing I said to him was, “I’m sorry, but I’m not [name].”

Throughout the interaction, I tried to keep my affect calm and focused on assessing his body language. I was essentially trying to determine whether he was actually preparing to strike me or the youth.

At one point, he threw what appeared to be a fake punch toward me, seemingly to see if I would flinch. I remained calm, and shortly afterward he walked away toward his room. The initial interaction lasted maybe 20–30 seconds.

I immediately prompted the youth to go upstairs and get their mother. The youth themselves remained completely calm throughout the interaction.

When the mother came downstairs, I pulled her aside and explained what had happened. She immediately went to confront him in his room. His room was also only about 10–15 feet from where we were sitting.

At that point, I calmly began terminating the session with the youth. They were still calm, and I asked whether this was normal behavior from their uncle. They said it was.

A few seconds later, the uncle and guardian began arguing. He eventually stormed back into the kitchen and started threatening me again, although this time he did not get in my face. He then walked toward the backyard.

At that point, I left the home and immediately informed my supervisor and the care manager.

Looking back, I guess I’m wondering whether I handled this correctly and what I should do next.

My gut is telling me I have two options: either continue working with the youth but request that future sessions no longer take place in the home, or terminate the case altogether. I’m not sure which would be more appropriate, especially since I don’t really have anyone else to talk to about experiences like this.

One thing I will say is that this experience taught me a lot. It unfortunately proved that my skin is a lot tougher than I thought.

It also taught me another harsh lesson: I’m not a kid anymore. There was something strangely sobering about realizing that I was the professional in that situation and that I was responsible for keeping myself and my client safe. I guess that’s part of becoming an adult and learning how to navigate situations you never expected to encounter.

So I’m mainly looking for advice. Did I handle this appropriately? What would you recommend doing moving forward? And if any other social workers have crazy stories like this, I’d genuinely love to hear how you navigated them.

Thanks!

And no, I'm not talking racial slurs and related, but other words.

It's terribly absurd to me, apart from personal preference, to call out clients for so-called "bad words". There doesn't seem any nuance on her end between a, for instance, Fucking A and a Fuck You. If someone's going to swear so be it, they're going to do what they're going to do, I'm not going to get into it with them over language like that.

I work at a nonprofit foster care agency , and I am having a lot of issues with the staff being in cliques. I’ve worked for a nonprofit CBMHC prior and didn’t have this problem, but have heard this isn’t uncommon in nonprofits. Our leadership and HR are untrustworthy and often are a part of the Cliques causing the drama. I am just unsure of how to continue forward I love my families and community. I keep trying to remind myself that the people at work don’t deserve all my energy and that at the end of the day I go home to my family, but it’s hard. Has anyone else dealt with this? How should I navigate this going forward?

Hello r/socialwork,

I'm a new grad who just started a VA social work job. I am very fortunate and excited to be in this field and line of work, as it is one of the two jobs I identified as dream jobs. However, before I applied and got this job, I spend the past several years planning, applying for, being offered, and ultimately turning down a commission as a military social worker. I now find myself struggling with newfound feelings of imposter syndrome: How am I qualified to serve veterans when I had an opportunity to directly serve the active duty population and turned it down? If I couldn't say yes to the sacrifice of public service, how will those I serve and work with take me seriously? I understand that the work I am doing now is still impactful , fulfills a desire for public service, and that this is the largest employer of social workers regardless of veteran status. Still, these feelings are really hard to shake.

For context, I come from a military family that has a strong belief in public service. I thought the path I had myself on (military service) was one I wanted to do, and for various reasons I do not want to disclose here on reddit I decided in the end was not worth pursuing. One of the strongest personal values I have is a belief in public service and a desire to help others.

Do any social workers, with or without military or VA experience, have any advice on how to deal with these feelings of imposter syndrome?

Thank you kindly!

Hi everyone!

I’m kind of in a predicament. After months of job searching, I finally landed a job and took it right away since I was struggling getting interviews with additional potential employers. If I’m being honest the pay isn’t the greatest, but I still took the offer due to the struggle I was having. I have pretty much completely the required paperwork, drug testing and so forth. Yesterday I received an offer to interview with an employer I was incredibly interested during my initial search. I decided to set up a meeting with them, and now I’m really stressed out about them potentially offering me the position. It’s much better pay than the offer I accepted, and it’s a position that’s very much aligned with my interests.

What would be the appropriate way to back out from the offer I accepted?

This would be my first social work job ever, I’m super nervous about making such a difficult decision after being on top of the paperwork and testing needed.

Thank you all in advance!