A social worker is a skilled professional that helps people overcome difficult circumstances in their lives. These circumstances can range from developmental disabilities, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, bankruptcy, homelessness or domestic abuse and child abuse. There are many different social work employment opportunities including specialization in family services, mental health care and treatment, drug abuse counseling as well as public health. These are positions which are considered “hands-on” but social workers also are involved in research, policy making and administration of programs. Regardless of what they do, social workers are usually very compassionate people, good listeners, good communicators and they are cognizant of the laws that dictate their professional ethics.
Family services:
Social workers who focus on family services are those who give counseling and provide resources to those who are having a struggle to maintain healthy family relationships. They work with single parents who need financial assistance, the carry out marriage counseling and they deal with the serious issues of those who are abused; both children and spouses.
Many family service social worker jobs are found in government agencies, this is particularly true in health and human services. The social workers attempt to protect children from abuse and neglect by investigating various dubious situations and support families by providing counseling and helping them gain access to various social service programs which are in place to help them, these can be services which help with housing or food assistance.
Healthcare jobs:
There are many social work employment opportunities in the realm of healthcare. People can work in hospitals, nursing homes as well as hospices where they can help people deal with traumatic changes in their lives that have been caused by serious illness or accident. A good example is a person who becomes disabled; he or she may need assistance in finding employment and housing which accommodates the disability.
Many social workers find it rewarding to deal with senior citizens, making sure they receive their meals and medications as required. They work with family members, helping them to deal with and cope with a senior member of the family who can no longer care for themselves. When people are faced with having to make end of life decisions the social worker can assist them to put their house in order. In many cases the social worker deals with people suffering from Alzheimer’s or similar debilitating disorders.
