Ending and Beginning

            This week was a pretty busy week.  I had my usual intakes, crisis line shifts, and group.  In addition to this, we had a big event this week.  We had beauty schools come in and give the women manicures, haircuts, styles, and blowouts; as well as having a yoga instructor come in and teach a few methods of relaxation and meditation.  Women’s Day was a big hit for the women we serve because it gives them an opportunity to practice self-care and get pampered for a couple hours.  Most of the staff – myself included – ran childcare which was organized chaos with almost 40 kids running around a small building.  It was exhausting for everyone, but everyone was happy and relaxed by the end of the night making it completely worth it.

            A challenge that I faced this week was one of the children in group disclosing abuse at home which resulted in us calling DCFS.  It’s a hard conversation to have with a child, and it’s difficult to think about how the call can affect them while their family is being investigated.  This puts stress on the child because one or both parents are on edge due to the investigation, and they might blame the child for telling someone or not hiding it well enough.  Either way, the child feels guilty about the situation.  I hope that in the future, I will be able to support the child in group.

Ending and Beginning

            I feel like we’ve talked about “where we go from here?” a lot this past year, but I also think that my answer has changed quite a bit throughout this time.  Right now, I am applying to a couple jobs at domestic violence shelters and agencies.  I am excited and nervous to see how this goes.  Over the summer, I will be applying to the University of Chicago for their accelerated master’s program.  If I get accepted, I will be going back to school sometime next spring!

            I’m so grateful for getting the opportunity to be part of the team here at Sarah’s Inn and for being accepted and treated as a professional.  I’m grateful for having the chance to experience a wide range of the social work profession.  Reflecting back on the past few months, I’m proud of myself for branching out and taking on difficult tasks.  I believe I asked questions when it was necessary, but also took a chance at being independent.  If I could change one thing, I would want to have more client interaction by having another intake slot or more crisis line shifts.  I thought these were great experiences and I wish I could have had more of them.  I think I’m ready to be a professional social worker because I feel out of place right now.  Like I said at seminar on Friday, I know that something needs to change when I feel out of place.  It’s finally sunk in that I’m nearing the end and I’m not “comfortable” anymore.  I’m ready for the next part in my life, and despite being a little nervous, I’m ready for the change.  My best advice for the next student who comes to Sarah’s Inn is to not take ANY work home with you.  Leave the people and the problems at the office.  I’ve had to explain to my family that I don’t want to talk about my internship at home because it’s hard; not necessarily the work, but the emotional toll it can take on you.  The first month was emotionally difficult for me but I’ve learned how to manage it.  Do your best and work hard while you’re there, and then forget about it until you go back.

Evaluation

            This past week I continued my usual tasks of working my crisis line shifts, planning and leading children’s group, and attending my usual meetings.  This week was rewarding because children’s group went smooth and we didn’t face many challenges (two weeks in a row!).  I also was able to bring two of my three research projects to my supervisor and show all of the work I have done so far this spring.  It felt great to have finished up two projects and to know that they will be incorporated into future 40 hour training sessions.  The one major difficulty that I faced this week was having a client show up 45 minutes late to an intake.  Intakes are generally scheduled for an hour time slot, so it was difficult trying to give the client the space and opportunity to talk while also filling out paperwork.  It turned out that she just wanted to talk and decided it would be best to come back another time, but it was still pretty stressful on my end.

Evaluation

            It seems that everyone meets regularly with their supervisors to discuss any challenges they face.  In terms of clients and services, we administer service evaluations every few months in all of our groups.  In my group, service evaluations have been going on almost every week for the past month or so because it’s an open group, so sometimes kids will come and other times they won’t.  For individual services, I believe service evaluations are administered every six months to see if we are doing an effective job as well as if our clients are meeting their goals.  The children’s group service evaluation goes over what the children have learned from being in the group.  The questions are: what topics have you learned about?  Where is a safe place to go if your parents are fighting?  Who is a safe person to contact if your parents are fighting?  If your parents are fighting, what should you do?  Most of these questions are multiple choice, and we stress that there aren’t any wrong answers.  These answers determine whether we are educating the children on appropriate topics or if we need to cover certain topics in more depth. 

Ethics

            This week I was able to be back in the office full-time, and I am feeling much better than last week.  I was able to get back into my normal responsibilities of operating the crisis line, leading a group, and doing my usual research projects.  In addition to my office work, I was able to go down to Springfield for Advocacy Day, which was an amazing experience, and I hope I can do it again next year!

            The two biggest rewards I had this week were having a great time with my classmates in Springfield, and having the opportunity to join hundreds of other social workers as we petitioned and met with our representatives.  The House was in session, so none of us could meet our representatives, but some of us had the opportunity to meet our Senators.  The other reward this week was having a productive children’s group, and it not being chaotic.  Sean (the other group leader) wasn’t able to come to group because he recently got another job, so another counselor stepped in to help me with group.  She suggested having a schedule that the children help make that way our time is structured and they can see what we have accomplished, and what else we still need to do.  It was very useful, and the activity we did was very hands-on which kept them busy and focused. 

            The only real challenge I encountered this week was waking myself up early Tuesday morning before going to Advocacy Day.  It was a very long day, but a great experience.

Ethics

            Some ethical dilemmas we face at the micro level are making sure we start where our clients are at.  This is much easier said than done, and in supervision and meetings it’s a common theme that gets brought up.  Some of our clients are in very overwhelming situations and they can only focus on one aspect of the problem at a time, and we need to be there with them.  One situation that is coming to mind is a woman who just left her abuser is trying to find a job.  She is educated and certified to be a nurse, but isn’t hearing back from any of the places she’s applied to.  Her advocate has suggested possibly finding a temporary job outside of the medical field just so she has an income as a way to support herself and keep her from getting evicted.  Currently, she is not ready to focus on the possibility that she could be homeless if she doesn’t pay rent soon.  In this situation, we are caught between respecting the self-determination of our client, while also trying to plan and prevent the possibility of her being evicted and homeless.  In this situation, we are reminded that we can’t make decisions for our clients, and that we are here for support no matter what they are going through.  In this situation, the client just wants to work on job applications and getting back into a career, and that is what we’ll do.  If the situation changes, we will work from there.

Levels of Practice

            This past week I was only in the office for half of the week because I was pretty sick with a cold or sinus infection.  The two days that I was in the office, I attended my usual meetings, children’s group, and then did some research around substance abuse.  My supervisor has mentioned that volunteers need more training around how to assist clients who have mentioned that they abuse a substance while working on the crisis line, and I believe this is good information to know anyways.

            This week was rewarding because I have grown closer with the other interns at my placement and I feel like part of the team.  I also found it rewarding to learn more about substance abuse and how different drugs affect people, as well as some of the symptoms of withdrawals that individuals face.  It was very interesting, and I think this will be useful in any aspect of my life.

            Some challenges I faced this week were being sick and not being able to do anything for a few days, as well as managing a rambunctious group of kids.  In my group, there are two young boys who feed off of each others behavior, and it causes chaos for everyone else in the group.  The other facilitator and I have tried a few different strategies to reign in the bad behavior but nothing seems to be working so far (if anyone has any ideas, I’m open for anything!). 

Levels of Practice

            Throughout my time here at Sarah’s Inn, I have noticed that my colleagues practice social work values by advocating for our clients at the micro and macro levels.  Some advocates go with their clients to court or when they meet with their lawyer; our legal advocates assist our clients to obtain orders of protection as well as educate them about the legal system; and other staff members track important pieces of legislation and educate the rest of the staff so we can contact our representatives or create witness slips online. 

Documentation

            This week, I have continued to do my usual crisis line shift and co-facilitating one of the children’s group.  One of my supervisors also opened up two intake slots for me, and I was able to do my first intake completely on my own!  It was liberating!  Preparing for my intake was challenging because I was very nervous, but it went fairly smooth and I believe I got all the information needed!

            The two biggest challenges I faced this week were the managing a lot of paperwork now that I am having more client interaction, as well as maintaining my composure and facial expressions when having in person client meetings.  Paperwork has been a challenge because it is important to fill it out correctly, file it in the right spot, and have copies given to various counselors and provide referrals to groups and individual sessions.  It’s a bit overwhelming, but I’m gradually getting the hang of it.  Managing my facial expressions has been sort of challenging because I’ve been told that I display all of my emotions all the time.  So when a client tells me a rough story, or shares something that I was not expecting I need to be conscious of my expression so they can trust me and not sensor what they share.

            Similar to last week, this week was rewarding because I am continuing to get more responsibilities as my time at Sarah’s Inn goes on.  I have two crisis line shifts a week, I am able to assist in planning children’s group as well as do the paperwork for it, I now have two intake slots, and I will be helping organize files for an upcoming audit.

Documentation

            Everything that clients are part of, or any service provided is documented.  Progress notes are kept, service plans and evaluations are updated every couple of months, and everything is kept neatly in each clients files.  If an injury happens at group or in the building before or after an event, we fill out a critical incident report to document any and everything that happens to show that we addressed and fixed the incident.  Recently, there have been updates to a majority of paperwork, so there has been some confusion for everyone.  I am not sure who created or how the paperwork came about, but everyone is capable of requesting improvements depending on client needs and needed information for better service delivery.  Documentation helps us better serve our clients, and if a different advocate needs to work with a client they can find all the information they need from their file.  Also, if these files are subpoenaed, what we document can help our clients prove abuse if they are trying to get and order of protection, gain custody of their children, or get a divorce. 

Communication

            This past week at my placement, I have continued doing a lot of the same tasks I have been doing.  I am continuing to do my crisis line shift, and I will be given two more shifts this upcoming week that will continue on for the rest of my time at Sarah’s Inn.  I was able to observe another intake this week, and I talked to my supervisor about getting my own intake slot.  Because another intern just finished their placement this past week, I might be taking her intake slots and crisis line shifts.  I have also continued working on a research project I was assigned at the beginning of my placement.  Sometime spending a long time on the computer is tedious, and I need to break it up by walking the four flights of stairs in the building, or going and talking with some of the other interns and staff.

            Some challenges I faced, and other staff members faced this week we were two difficult cases.  When I was on the crisis line two weeks ago, a troubled client called looking to get connected with our legal advocates because she wanted to get an order of protection.  One of the staff members that meets with her regularly brought up in our group meeting how she was able to receive a 60 day order of protection, but is still really scared he will approach her or harm her regardless.  She is trying to leave the state to stay safe, but they have a child together and have a pending DCFS case.  This was brought to our group meeting to see if our legal advocates or other staff knew what her rights were, and how she should go about the move if it’s even possible.  This is a challenge because we want what’s best for her, but it has to be done legally so it doesn’t work against her. It was hard.

            It was rewarding to be given more responsibilities, and getting more experience working with clients.  I’m excited and nervous to do my own intakes, but it’s great experience and I’m sure I’m just overthinking it.  In my supervision meeting, it was rewarding to have my supervisor recognize all the hard work I have put into my research project, and to give me helpful feedback to make more improvements. 

Communication

            It feels like everyone at my placement is in constant communication with each other.  Communication flows up and down throughout the agency.  When new procedures or regulations come out, we will hear all necessary information from the executive director and other supervisors.  Other staff members also relay information about whether procedures are meeting the needs of our clients, which gives the supervisors and executives to revise them when necessary.  Most of communication is followed through email, and there are many strands of “all staff” emails that go out each day regarding political news that can impact us, different client situations, and other information.

~SPRING BREAK~

3/6-3/10