A Message from our Clinical Director

Mar 22

Happy Social Work Month! I have found social work to be a lived experience and core piece of my identity, rather than a hat I simply take off after my sessions conclude for the day. As a therapist, it is always a nice reminder that the calendar holds this special place of recognition for us. But then again, social work month isn’t just about our degrees, or our many roles as therapists, case workers, advocates, or clinicians. It’s also about the people we serve, or in other words, all of humanity! To quote the Code of Ethics: “The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.”

Reflecting on that part of our Code makes me think there might be a little bit of social work in everyone. It’s in the young man helping a lesser-abled person with their groceries; a teacher speaking up in a school meeting against LGBTQ hate speech; a single mother breaking a pattern of generational abuse with her children; volunteers at a shelter for the unhoused; and those who do pro-bono work. We all have the capacity to see the goodness and dignity in one another, and to advocate for those who may not have the power to advocate for themselves.

Just as it’s important to look out for each other, we must also never forget to look out for ourselves. That’s right - self-care and self-love are radical acts of social work, too! We have all fallen victims to our own oppressive self-critics and self-sabotage. The internal battles we have in our heads can feel just as painful as the ones going on out in the world. Seeking therapy or other supportive communities to reconnect with ourselves and each other, or engaging in other gentle restorative activities such as journaling, mindfulness and yoga are all ways in which we can enhance our own well-being and embody the values of social work.

Inside of our community at AGP, we are working on reconnecting with our social work values and ethics. So it couldn’t be more fitting that we rolled out our first ever formal performance evaluation process during Social Work Month! By creating this review from scratch, Kerrie and I hope to reinforce our therapists for embodying the values that we strive to have as a practice - such as authenticity, competence, working from an anti-oppressive lens, and treating human beings in the context of their environment rather than as problems that need to be solved.

In the spirit of this special month, I encourage you to do a quick self-reflection by thinking about the questions below:

How can I enhance the well-being of someone else today?
Am I meeting my own basic needs?
What values are important to me, and do my behaviors match them?

If you’re looking for more ongoing reflection activities like this, might I recommend a therapist?! Check out our team here and request a consultation with someone who seems like they’d be a good fit.

May we all enter the next month showing kindness to others, and gratitude when it is shown to us. And remember that regardless of your occupation, job title or life path, this month you’re still a kindred social work spirit to me!

Be well,

Kara