Question 1

What is different about a Social Worker compared to other types of therapists?

Accepted Answer

There are many great therapists that come with different backgrounds and training.  The trick is to find one that suits you.  I am making some generalizations about therapeutic approaches here and the reality is that each individual therapist will have their own approach but this is how I see the differences in the professions.  Psychologists generally are trained to deal with individuals.  Their education focuses on the human mind, and specific techniques that help an individual think, or behave differently.  A psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse tends to approach therapy from a more medical perspective.  They are trained to identify what is wrong from a biological perspective.  Often they utilize the DSM-5 and treat clients with biological interventions such as medication. The DSM-5 is a classification system of mental illnesses. All of these approaches are valid and have proven to show results depending on the issues the client identifies.
 
Social Workers often come at the problem from a broader angle.  We are trained in recognizing the spaces in between.  This means that we tend not to focus on the individual as much as the relationships the individual has with themselves, with the people in their lives and with the community at large.  We see people’s relationships as a complicated web of interactions.  Social Workers also spend a great deal of time looking into what is working rather than focusing exclusively on what isn’t.  This means that as a team we would look at the issues you have identified and figure out together what is the best way to approach the situation.  As Social Workers we borrow from many different theories and ways of looking at a situation to see what fits best to you.

Question 2

Why does therapy cost so much?

Accepted Answer

This is always an awkward question.  It is often uncomfortable to put a dollar value on our own mental health.  It's easy to say, “I can’t afford it.”, and never invest in caring for your mental health.  We spend a great deal of money on exercising, yoga, physiotherapy, chiropractics, massage and other self-help things.  This is another way to invest in taking care of your health, and unfortunately that sometimes means sacrificing something else to make it happen.

Question 3

How long will I be in therapy?

Accepted Answer

We don’t think you need to go through years of therapy to see a real difference in your life.  Some issues can be dealt with in one session, others may take months.  So much depends on how much time and effort you want to devote to yourself.  In the first session we will set out goals for our work together and develop a method of evaluating those goals. Together we will come up with a plan and a timeline that we can work with.

Question 4

What does confidentiality mean?

Accepted Answer

In a therapeutic environment our ethical obligations are clear.  Your therapist is not able to disclose any of your personal information without your express knowledge and consent.  There are only a few exceptions to this rule.  If you tell your therapist about abuse that is happening to a child, they are under a legal obligation to inform Children’s Services.  If you are an immediate risk of killing yourself someone else, your therapist may need to break confidentiality for safety. So yes, there are specific situations where we may be required to get others involved to help.  We will always try to include you as part of the process. Your therapist will review all these details with you in depth before starting treatment.

Question 5

Will talking to you put me at risk of losing my children?

Accepted Answer

People often confuse child welfare workers and social workers.  It is true some child welfare workers are trained social workers but most of them are not.  Social Workers do many different things in the community from outreach work, to policy analysis, to therapy and a range of other jobs.  We are not child welfare workers and have no ability to take children away from their homes.  Like all Albertans, we are under a legal obligation to inform Children’s Services if we are made aware of abuse towards a child, but that is our only connection to Children’s Services.

What is different about a Social Worker compared to other types of therapists?

Why does therapy cost so much?

How long will I be in therapy?

What does confidentiality mean?

Will talking to you put me at risk of losing my children?

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