empowerment.

I spoke today with a friend who is working with a rural Department of Social Services.  We both lamented the language that is used to discuss the clients... how the clients are really devalued, dehumanized, and treated like pests instead of humans seeking assistance.  This week I will remain cognizant of my words and thoughts when I refer to a client.  I will continue to realize that my job as a social worker (of sorts) is to empower and offer tools to those who are in need, not to dehumanize, remove power, and scold.  It gets overwhelming sometimes.  Sometimes I feel like I am a chauffeur.    But what am I doing to change this?  What tools am I offering?  What kind of power am I modeling?  Good thoughts.

Sometimes I get a little existential crisisy...

What is this "burnout" of which we hear so much?  I recently read a journal article that highlighted the dire issue of social worker burnout. "Burnout and Turnover Intention Among Social Workers:  Effects of Role Stress, Job Autonomy and Social Support" by Hansung Kim and Madeleine Stoner defined the term burnout and discussed the three main predictors of burnout and turnover intention (or intention to leave the job).  If you are able to access the article and you're in the human services field, I'd highly recommend it!  But if you're not, here's the main gist... 

• Burnout "was introduced to refer to a phenomenon observed among human service workers who had to deal with emotionally demanding individuals." (pg. 7)
• Definition of burnout:  "Maslach and Jackson's...definition of burnout has three components:  emotional exhaustion (feelings of being overextended and depleted of emotional and physical resources), depersonalization or cynicism (negative or excessively detached responses to various aspects of the job), and diminished personal accomplishment (feelings of incompetence and a lack of achievement at work)." (pg. 7) 

The article has a lot to say about what your boss can do to prevent burnout, but little to say about what I can do.  We're supposed to have an inner locus of control, right?  At any rate, I will gladly use their definitions of burnout to help me on my path.  Soooo, do any of these descriptions resonate with any of you?   Unfortunately, my over extension reaches across my career as a social worker into the realm of being a student.  How do I replenish my physical resources when there is no time?  I am on my way to keeping up with my yoga and running routine, but I feel like I am constantly failing in this area.  How can I be more consistent?

Luckily, I have not yet reached the point of depersonalizing clients... but how  far off am I really?  I think I am going to start keeping a check on this every time I discuss a client.  Is there really a need to lash out because a client is not quite in a healthy place?  These little personal checks are really helpful.

Finally, though I feel that I have been well-trained and am well-prepared to meet the challenges of work, I often struggle with "making a difference".  As a developmental therapist and a service coordinator I am charged with coordinating concrete services for families and connecting them with basic necessities at the same time as working towards a development plan.  These are two separate full time jobs!  And how can a mom who is struggling to survive even begin to worry about whether their child is talking properly?  These are sincere questions that keep me up at night.  Maybe there aren't answers.  I know a few things.  If I were not there, or perhaps if my position did not exist, there would be unmet needs.  Yet I return again and again to this question: "Is there something more I could be doing?"  How do you all reconcile these issues?  How do you all find peace when you cannot fix the world?

If you have an answer, you might be able to make a lot of money and fix the turnover in the social worker industry, so don't hold back!