cynisism in social work
Social workers, in my experience, can be a very cynical group of people. Sure, we have our moments, but on the whole, we spend our time fighting against problems and the ills in society. It's hard to remain positive when you're constantly up against systems, injustice, and sometimes just plain biology. What keeps me going right now is looking at the small things rather than the big picture. One of my clients walked through the mall today without expressing a single delusional thought to me. That, is awesome, and is a success.
In my practicum logs every week I have to answer the question "give an example of injustice or oppression you have seen this week". I've decided that I'm not going to answer the question anymore. I think it puts too much focus on the negative and draws us away from the positive. Yes, recognizing oppression and injustice is important, in fact, it's an extremely important part of social work, but it cannot be our entire focus. I've started writing about examples of justice, of things that are going well, of individual and systemic victories. It seems to me, that that is where more of the focus needs to be.
In my practicum logs every week I have to answer the question "give an example of injustice or oppression you have seen this week". I've decided that I'm not going to answer the question anymore. I think it puts too much focus on the negative and draws us away from the positive. Yes, recognizing oppression and injustice is important, in fact, it's an extremely important part of social work, but it cannot be our entire focus. I've started writing about examples of justice, of things that are going well, of individual and systemic victories. It seems to me, that that is where more of the focus needs to be.