# Social Worker as a Therapist?



## Lovesick Loner (Oct 19, 2009)

I just went for my initial meeting with my therapist today and found out she's a young social worker. Is this a common practice? Has anyone else received SA counseling from a social worker?

I do not have health insurance, so I was encouraged by my MD to go through the "back door" as a walk-in at a mental-health crisis center. They were able to put me on a very generous sliding scale, but I wonder if the quality of the therapy will suffer as a result. 

I do not want to make judgments after only the initial consultation, but I just get the impression that she probably has more experience dealing with substance abuse rather than the other SA. She actually seemed more nervous than me, which was very unusual. She can't be much older than I am. I hope this is not a waste of time.


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## My911GT2993 (May 14, 2009)

yup, I went to meet my councillor and found she was a social worker. Bit dissappointing really since I felt i needed a more highly qualified councillor than the last one. I think because social anxiety disorder is seen as a less severe illness (as opposed to schizophrenia, bipolar, and others) that they just give the anxious and depressed people the least qualified councillors..if that makes sense (?!?!) - ye probably is common


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## Lovesick Loner (Oct 19, 2009)

My911GT2993 said:


> I think because social anxiety disorder is seen as a less severe illness (as opposed to schizophrenia, bipolar, and others) that they just give the anxious and depressed people the least qualified councillors..if that makes sense (?!?!) - ye probably is common


I agree. I even discussed that with her -- gave her my take on SA and tried to explain how nobody takes it seriously but how it really is a debilitating life killer for a lot of people. I told her that I thought my previous therapists (actual psychologists) did not take it very seriously. But she assured me that she was qualified and that she recognizes it as a real mental-health problem. :sus


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## Social_butterfly00 (Jan 28, 2008)

My experience with social workers has been crap. I've seen both psychologists with masters degrees and regular social workers and I found that social workers were a waste of my time. This one woman I recently saw was out of her mind. The advice she gave me was so horrible and I disagreed with it immensely. I told her I had an eating disorder and she essentially told me I need to just start working on eating better and to accept myself as I am. I didn't wanna be rude so I just nodded.

Now I'm seeing someone who has a masters in social work and the difference is very noticeable, but I also pay 100 bucks a session for her.

Not that I'm cutting up social workers, but if you have serious issues, and you are intelligent, go to someone worthy of treating you. My old friend from high school completely slacked the whole time, got into a college, did two years and he's done now and is a registered social worker, yet he parties constantly and does drugs. I'm surprised he could even get hired anywhere. He's very young, unprofessional, and not smart or intuitive at all. I just don't get it. I'm sure there are some good social workers, but I haven't found any. They basically sit there and let you talk and then at the end offer generic advice. Most don't understand SA, depression or addiction.


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## Lovesick Loner (Oct 19, 2009)

Social_butterfly00 said:


> My old friend from high school completely slacked the whole time, got into a college, did two years and he's done now and is a registered social worker, yet he parties constantly and does drugs. I'm surprised he could even get hired anywhere. He's very young, unprofessional, and not smart or intuitive at all.


That's not reassuring. I thought they required at least a Bachelor's degree for social workers. I could tell right away she felt very uncomfortable when I explained SA and how it affects my life. I'm sure it's because she probably doesn't even feel qualified for dealing with that. I'm going to try her out anyway. At the very least, it helps just to talk about it with someone, even if they don't understand how to help you. :roll


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## SAgirl (Nov 15, 2003)

All of my Social Workers were good, but I went to talk therapy, not CBT. I needed to talk about current problems going on in my life since I have noone to talk to. This helped relieve some anxiety and helped me figure out how I got here (this anxious).


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## HTF (Nov 15, 2009)

when i first starting seeing someone about my anxiety, it was a social worker, she was really nice and tryed to be helpful, mainly taught me about breathing techneques. then she refered me to a psychiatrist.


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## Pam (Feb 14, 2009)

You really can't judge by her degree. Anyone could have gotten the degree (like what was descibed in an above post). What's more important is how she and you relate. How you feel about her. The trust level. The confidence you have in her to truly help you. Can you look up to her as an authority. Feel like you can depend on her to understand what you tell her, listen, and care about you. Empathy for you. Stuff like that. Your perception is what's important. So far you don't see her as very knowledgable or have much confidence that she will be able to help you. But maybe that'll change. Sometimes first impressions can be wrong. If she's not right for you, you'll know in a little while.

Sometimes you can get more help from people who have NO degree. I have gotten help from people right here on SAS and they aren't degreed in psychology. I really think it has to do with the personality and experiences you have with a person rather than the degree they may have hanging on the wall.


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## Lovesick Loner (Oct 19, 2009)

Olivia said:


> At your next session, ask her what treatment plan she has come up with for your SA. That way you can get an idea if she's done her homework so to speak.


Her treatment plan is to discuss past relationships, painful experiences, and what I feel went wrong, as well as discuss present relationships and how I plan on improving my social skills. I'm also going to ask her to teach me some exercises for managing physical symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks.

She did set me up with an appointment with a psychiatrist, which I'm happy about. I've never actually seen a psychiatrist, only pschologists.


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## Lovesick Loner (Oct 19, 2009)

Pam said:


> Sometimes you can get more help from people who have NO degree. I have gotten help from people right here on SAS and they aren't degreed in psychology. I really think it has to do with the personality and experiences you have with a person rather than the degree they may have hanging on the wall.


I totally agree with your point. I have seen pschologists who did not do a single thing for me. I guess I'm just going off my first impression, which is sometimes wrong. When I asked about her experience with treating SA, she just rattled off how she's counseled people on substance abuse, marital problems, general anxiety issues, but did not mention SA. I will give her a fair chance, though. She may be able to help me.


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## Lovesick Loner (Oct 19, 2009)

All right, I thought I'd update this. I've seen my social worker "therapist" three times so far. She definitely has the least feedback of any therapist I've ever gone to. Essentially, I do close to 90% of the talking. If I don't talk, she really doesn't have too much to say to me. It's almost like I'm thinking out loud.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Just having someone sit there and listen to the very personal problems of mine does feel somewhat therapeutic. It's not like I can talk to just anyone about this stuff. She seems interested and concerned to help, but I just really don't think she's qualified or experience enough with helping someone with SA. Basically, it's me just getting things off my chest and getting very general suggestions from her that are neither helpful nor detrimental. Oh, well. I only have to pay 10 bucks a month on my sliding scale, so I have no reason to complain.:roll


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## zookeeper (Jun 3, 2009)

Lovesick Loner said:


> All right, I thought I'd update this. I've seen my social worker "therapist" three times so far. She definitely has the least feedback of any therapist I've ever gone to. Essentially, I do close to 90% of the talking. If I don't talk, she really doesn't have too much to say to me. It's almost like I'm thinking out loud.
> 
> This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Just having someone sit there and listen to the very personal problems of mine does feel somewhat therapeutic. It's not like I can talk to just anyone about this stuff. She seems interested and concerned to help, but I just really don't think she's qualified or experience enough with helping someone with SA. Basically, it's me just getting things off my chest and getting very general suggestions from her that are neither helpful nor detrimental. Oh, well. I only have to pay 10 bucks a month on my sliding scale, so I have no reason to complain.:roll


Give her a chance. I'm not sure what you're generally like, but if you're doing 90% of the talking then perhaps she's doing something right? If a counsellor could get me to do that they deserve a raise!

And as has been said already, someone's background and training (or age) doesn't matter, it's all in how well they do the job.


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## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

I see a social worker for my therapist but my experience with her has been very positive.

She DOES have a master's degree in Social Work though, which I was under the impression was a requirement here for social workers to work in the mental health field. She is great though, and I don't think a PhD and the title of "psychologist" would make her any better at what she does. And in my experience social workers are more outgoing people that tend to be much easier to connect with and build a trusting relationship with... perhaps the most vital part of the therapy process.

However... I'd be kind of concerned if I was being counselled by a person with an associate's or even bachelor's degree. Just about any clueless idiot can earn one of those. Doesn't mean they won't be a good therapist, but the chances are pretty high.


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## Catlover4100 (Feb 10, 2009)

My therapist is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, which means her Master's degree is specifically for counselling (for mental disorders, drug abuse, etc). Although most of the advice she has given me about how to handle anxiety wasn't anything I hadn't heard before, she's a nice person to talk to and reassures me. I was looking for more of a CBT-type of therapy, but this sort of "talk therapy" can also be quite helpful.

I would advise you to give her a few more chances, and if you're really getting nothing out of it, try to find someone new. You may not get exactly what you're looking for, but if it helps in any way whatsoever, it's worth a shot.


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## zookeeper (Jun 3, 2009)

meyaj said:


> However... I'd be kind of concerned if I was being counselled by a person with an associate's or even bachelor's degree. Just about any clueless idiot can earn one of those. Doesn't mean they won't be a good therapist, but the chances are pretty high.


All a PhD means is that you're persistent. Nothing more.


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## scarpia (Nov 23, 2009)

I talked to some psychologist intern once. Didn't think much of him. Did not see what good it did talking to him. I'm going to try someone else soon. My anxiety has gotten really bad again.


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## Lovesick Loner (Oct 19, 2009)

zookeeper said:


> Give her a chance. I'm not sure what you're generally like, but if you're doing 90% of the talking then perhaps she's doing something right? If a counsellor could get me to do that they deserve a raise!


In normal conversations with most people, I usually do about 25% talking and 75% listening. The less someone says in a conversation, the more I feel like I have to say in order to avoid any long pauses. So, in a way I guess it's good that she doesn't say much because it forces me to get a lot of words out and say what's really on my mind.

The only bad thing is she doesn't give much advice or worthwhile feedback. She tells me things that I already know. And sometimes when I ask for advice on something, she will say it's not really her role to tell me what to do and just gives me a very general answer.


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