Your Assistance Is Needed

I want to remind everyone not to forget to donate to Haiti. Now that the telethons are over and the media has decreased their coverage on this tragedy, the residents of Haiti will continue to need our assistance to overcome many obstacles. Visit http://salvationarmyusa.org/ to donate. To my surprize, I received an email from Idealist announcing they are having financial problems. They are a non-profit agency that provides job and volunteer opportunities in the social service industry. I used this website one year and four months ago to obtain my current position as a Supervising Social Worker. Please visit http://www.idealist.org/ to find out how to donate. It would be unfortunate to lose a website which has assisted so many social service professionals.

Face to Face Counseling vs. Internet Counseling

When we hear the word "counseling" we automatically think of meeting a counselor in a white sterile office. As service professionals do not hear any information in school or at work about internet counseling. We live in a fast paced environment and people do not have time to go to a traditional session with a therapist. We have conducted sessions using the telephone which is more accepted through "emergency hotline numbers". Technology is becoming more advanced and social services needs to be included in this movement. Of course counseling through the internet comes with debate. What comes to mind: will the insurance companies pay for this form of treatment, will the information be kept confidential, we cannot see how the patient is reacting through body language, will the patient misunderstand what is being said by the therapist without visual cues, or will there be a language barrier. These are controversial topics which deserves more exploration and exposure. There is a research paper called "The Practice of Internet Counseling" written by the National Board for Certified Counselors and Center for Credentialing and Education http://www.nbcc.org/. It's an interesting read about a topic that is practically nonexistant.

Welcome to the Social Worker Support Blog

I want to introduce to you the Social Worker Support Blog. This blog was formed in New York City and it was created for social workers to share ideas and resources when working with clients. As professionals, we are concentrating on treating and analyzing our client's feelings that we often oversee our own self care. Here social workers can have a gathering place to connect with other entry level or seasoned workers. I will post weekly, but I encourage all social workers to visit this blog as much as possible to gain the support that is much deserved.

I came across a site that has an article about why social workers blog. Please post your thoughts and opinions. Go to http://socialworkworld.blogspot.com/.