Journal of a budding social worker #21 (Of light bulbs and social workers.)

How many social workers does it take to change the light bulb?

-- The light bulb doesn't need changing, it's the system that needs to change.

-- None. The light bulb is not burnt out, it's just differently lit.

-- None. They set up a team to write a paper on coping with darkness.

-- One. Can't really tell you why, it just feels right.

-- Three. One to do the work, one to share the experience, and one to supervise and make sure that professional work is done.

-- Five. One to screw it in, three to form the support group, and one to help with placement.

Journal of a budding social worker #20 (Children, learning, and motivation.)

Anyone has tips on helping children to improve their learning processes or motivation to learn? Your contribution will be much appreciated! :)

Journal of a budding social worker #19 (The 5 stages of grief.)

A super hilarious way of understanding the five stages of grief. The giraffe is super funny can! :D

The following information will be useful for people who want to understand what these 5 stages are about...

Five Stages Of Grief (Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross)

1) Denial and Isolation.
At first, we tend to deny the loss has taken place, and may withdraw from our usual social contacts. This stage may last a few moments, or longer.

2) Anger.
The grieving person may then be furious at the person who inflicted the hurt (even if she's dead), or at the world, for letting it happen. He may be angry with himself for letting the event take place, even if, realistically, nothing could have stopped it.

3) Bargaining.
Now the grieving person may make bargains with God, asking, "If I do this, will you take away the loss?"

4) Depression.
The person feels numb, although anger and sadness may remain underneath.

5) Acceptance.
This is when the anger, sadness and mourning have tapered off. The person simply accepts the reality of the loss.

Not everyone will go through all 5 stages. Some people might go through the stages smoothly. Some, unfortunately, might get stuck in any stage... It's absolutely normal to experience grief, as it is part and parcel of life, isn't it.

Social WORK.

The day is finally coming. I'm officially starting work on 2nd July, in Students Care Service, as a Social Worker.

It's been a torturous job-searching journey. I really wonder if the social service agencies are willing to accept fresh graduates at all. But, the long wait is a blessing in disguise.

Throughout the whole process, I sent my resume, went for the interview, waited, received a call, and finally signed the working contract on 11th June, Monday.

Previously, I was unwilling to laze around at home, but now I am unwilling to start work. Starting work will mean less time at home, less time to watch dramas, and less time to hang out with friends! I've still got so many things I want to do... So many more food I want to try...

I want to lead my life as a tai tai!

BOOOOO...

On a more positive note, I went back to SCS Clementi today to know more about my portfolio and to pass Tremandy her belated birthday present. The office was almost empty, but I managed to find Seng Meng and Theresa in Sunshine Hall. Upon hearing the good news, all Seng Meng said was a continuous "yeah..." (for at least 3 times, haha). Up till today, I can still recall the heartwarming sentence he said during my attachment there. It feels so good to be welcomed.

I like the way the guy, who's in charge of explaining the working contract to me, shook my hand and said "Welcome on board" to me. It felt so good. :)


P/S: I've removed the (almost) duplicated photo of Tremandy and added in my supervisor and Cher Meng. This is going to be my desktop wallpaper at work. :D

FASS Open House Help-out Thank You Dinner.

Went for the thank you dinner held by Dr Ng and the students of SSWS together with Kelly. It was an enjoyable dinner, filled with jokes, old stories, and a lot of updates.

This is the first time I have close contact with Dr Ngiam. He's pretty cool and cute! We were watching a video clip and Dr Ng's laptop hanged at the exciting moment. We were all staring at the screen, hoping that the laptop will stop hanging while Dr Ngiam imitated how the laptop felt with actions and lines like NONONO!!! Yes he did it, haha! We usually don't get to see the cute side of our teachers eh? :D

Had a small chat with Dr Timothy Sim. I must say, he's really someone I admire- having been to Hong Kong to practise Social Work and always speaking with loads of charisma. He provided me some insights with regards to my future job. Couldn't thank him more.

Not to forget Dr Desai's romantic story of her husband and the pizzaman, haha.

A piece of good news to share is that, most of my batch of Social Work mates are staying for honours! Although I am not staying for honours, I feel happy for the rest of them because usually there are very few people who stay for honours.

Met an old Social Work student who helped out that day too. I think it's really sweet to meet your own seniors and juniors who have the same passion and are working in the same field. Hopefully, I can continue to join in the fun in the future. :)

Felt so unwilling to leave school, an oh-so-familiar place. A place where I used to dread to go, a place where I mugged like hell, a place where I had great memories, a place where I grew up and found my passion, a place that I will always miss...

P/S: My Commencement is on 8th July 2007, at 10am, at the University Cultural Centre. Come meet me and my department's friends and teachers!

Journal of a budding social worker #18 (Reservation, ashamed, lesson.)

Self-reflection after voluntary work:

I realise I cannot overcome everything. Aye, I am no superwoman afterall. Feeling a little ashamed now, but at least I am aware of my own feelings. I will reflect further, but I wonder how effective my self-reflection will be.

This reminds me of the guilt that I felt previously. More could have been done. More could have been done. It's so tough to be able to not blame yourself so much when you have underperformed according to your own standards.

In addition, it's so true that we learn from our clients. The way we react to our clients reflect what kind of a person we are. And, different clients provide us different insights, thus allowing us to grow personally and professionally as we work together with them.

FASS Open House 2007.

Yes, the annual Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Open House is here again!

Yesterday I dropped by our department to help out with the packing of the goodie bags. Basically there were a lot of informational books and pamphlets. They would definitely benefit those who are genuinely interested in Social Work. Here's Amanda and erm, an unknown thing with long hair, hahaha.Slacking around after we finished the packing. There were a lot of free Social Work related books outside our department! Grab them before they finish!
Time passed by quickly... It was soon evening time...
And the rest set up the area designated for our department. The picture in the middle above, is the collage done by the SSWS. An email was sent out to us long time ago with regards to contributing pictures to the collage. I must have deleted the email by mistake! :(
Here's us.

Yesterday I was already coughing. Today my sickness got worse. I had fever since morning, and felt so dead. The following pictures were taken when I can still stand properly. After lunch, I could not even stand for too long.

The posters, and the collage being covered up by magnets. All thanks to the crew who stayed up late in school (and never went home) to finish it.
The crowd along the corridors. A few departments were cramped together in the walkway. I thought it was pretty stupid to cramp all of us together. I think most people had difficulty differentiating the Social Work booth and the Psychology booth. And someone said the Social Work department blocked the walkway. My goodness, wonder who said that.

Although I was not doing well physically, I enjoyed telling the freshmen about social work. I find myself talking in a different way (as compared to the past) too. Pretty satisfied with the change in myself.Beautiful cupcakes (I had several of them!) and tarts.
Last year, we had a yellow snake. This year, there is no snake so a balloon snake will do the trick. Haha. That's Dr. Lee and Siang Meng, playing with the snake by the way. Dr. Lee is so cute. He's so willing to pose for my camera and he played around with the wheelchair which was at our booth. Last night, Siang Meng tried to do some stunts on the wheelchair! The wheelchair is so... popular?
Mr balloon-man whom I find very familar. There's another guy who performed magic. He was super fun and engaging. I enjoyed talking to him. :D

Before I officially broke down, I went for an introductory lecture by Dr. Nair. Reminded me of the days when I first took SW1101E. It was so inspiring although I scored a C. And like what my fellow major friend said, I never regretted majoring Social Work. :)

P/S: Super sick just now. Lied on the sofa and was in a drowsy state. I felt much better after taking panadol. I actually thought that it's good to fall sick, since I have the time to fall sick now. Haa, what a positive reframing.

FASS OPEN HOUSE 2007 is coming soon!

Played UNO and the star game with Xinyi in the morning. Real-life UNO is so much more exciting!
Interesting pose, haha!I went to town to attend a briefing on FASS Open House with Weiping who just came back from Japan!
Look at her super cute Hello Kitty pouch! I like it!
Anyway, FASS is having its Open House this Saturday. Please do drop by the Social Work's booth (along the walkway linking As1 to AS6) if you're free, want to know more about Social Work, or simply meet me and my wonderful department. :)
Still remember this time last year, I was helping out in the German booth instead of the Social Work's booth, hahahaha.

I love Social Work. :)

Journal of a budding social worker #17 (Interesting stuffs from Counselling module.)

Haa, can tell that I did my revision eh?This is what Dr Sim pointed out to us during our PCC lectures. Today's "听" is with a mouth only, meaning listening is just talking? Social Work major or not, we all have to listen to others with our heart and also try to listen to what's not explicitly said, don't we?

*

Call me kuku or what, I have (only recently) been awed by the spiritual connection of Alcoholic Anonymous with God. There's this "twelve steps" for members to work towards to, and I think they are really cool. Although I am generally a free-thinker, I do not deny the power of religion on inspiring people and motivating them towards positive change.

In addition, I found out about Al-Anon and Alateen a few days back when I was revising for my Gender. They are basically support groups set up for significant others and people who're affected by others' alcoholic addiction. (Correct me if I stated something wrong, as I only browsed through their websites and pamphlets.)

Anyway, I happened to read the "twelve steps" again due to the coverage of Addictions in Counselling, and I found a very detailed description of the twelve steps. Of course, I didn't read every word, but I thought it'll be cool to share!

Wah, more knowledge come come come. :D

Journal of a budding social worker #16 (April is Autism Awareness Month.)

Was having breakfast with mum while listening to her favourite FM 9.72 when the DJ announced that April is Autism Awareness Month!

"April is National Autism Awareness Month (NAAM)- an awareness initiative established in 1972 by the Autism Society of America (ASA)."

My interest and sensitivity to these awareness-raising stuffs and community resources have increased much eh, after my second placement and after the huge influx of information this semester. Being a budding social worker, I will definitely help to raise awareness as much as I can.

Read more about Autistic Disorder, will ya? :)

Journal of a budding social worker #15 (The Top 10 Most Influential Therapists of the Past Quarter-Century.)

1. Carl Rogers
2. Aaron Beck
3. Salvador Minuchin
4. Irvin Yalom
5. Virginia Satir
6. Albert Ellis
7. Murray Bowen
8. Carl Jung
9. Milton Erickson
10. John Gottman

真是实至名归啊！Carl Rogers!!! CHAI SUM DEEEE~


From Psychotherapy Networker.

Journal of a budding social worker #14 (LGBTs and Children)

Here are some video links that I got from my lecturer and fellow course mate, which I thought would be good to share.

Note: LGBT means Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transexuals.

Singapore Short Film - The Letter (Raw Cut)


P/S: He is very admirable and strong. I am glad that I did my part to affirm him.

P/P/S: The scenes inside reminds me of my JC days, where we attend PE together, and go for lessons together. The lecture theatre featured inside reminds me of history classes! :D

*

Children see, children do.

Journal of a budding social worker #13 (Being doubted.)

You can doubt my knowledge of theories and skills,
but you can never doubt my belief in the worth and dignity of my clients.


.
.
.
.
.

I am not so task-oriented that I forget about my clients' worth and dignity.

Journal of a budding social worker #12 (Closure for Advanced Placement and loads of emotions.)

Firstly, this took place in school, so I am not quite sure whether I should classify it under "Journal of a budding social worker" or "My Undergraduate Days ". But I've decided on the former, because I feel that it's only appropriate to express my feelings with regards to my social work lessons under that heading.

The Advanced Placement class. There are 19 of us.

Today was the last round of case presentations, and my emotions got to a high.

Personally, in my 21 years of existence, I've always have a rather low self-esteem. I mean, I could feel that I am not the cream of the crop (although I am now an undergraduate). I can really feel my inadequacy in applying theories, and I am quite guilty of not being able to apply them properly after three years of social work. Felt really bad when I recalled that my presentation was like, huh, rubbish?

Like what Rachel said, this semester is the semester (that she had learned the most about social work). For me, I could feel the passion growing within me. Although I am not sure about my knowledge of social work, the growing passion has indeed confirmed my feelings that this is THE SEMESTER. Perhaps, it's also a result of me taking four social work modules at the same time. This is the most shiong (meaning heavy workload) semester I had, I think. Usually social work modules are shiong if we take three of them in a row. Four SW modules in this semester have made me felt like a social worker in a vigorous learning process.

If I were to use Strengths Perspective on myself, I would say that my brain is always slower than others but at least I have the courage to stand up after I fall down. I have the courage to try to walk after I sprain my ankle. My never-say-die spirit will probably help me a lot. To be honest, I am really slower in learning than others, and that's going to be a big worry for me in a few weeks time when we're going to write social reports for our examinations. Ahhh, but I have to keep reminding myself to be more positive. It's so tough.

And when the tough part comes, I think of the support I always get-from my supervisors, my colleagues, my SW fellow classmates, limited number of friends who really appreciate my passion in social work, I really really feel very much loved and appreciated. It's only when I sit down and really reflect, that I realise. (Although most of the time, I would complain that people don't appreciate me. Well, internal struggles do keep coming my way...)

I could say that I love social work. I love the way it makes me grow. (And it's obvious growings that I notice in myself.) I love the way I can be a part of other people's lives. I love to interact with people. I love to share. I love to learn from people and most importantly, learn and grow together with them. Could really feel the meaning of life behind social work.

Different people will have different outlook in their lives, because they find meaning in different things. And I think, this is the outlook for me-the social work outlook.

Seldom do we see passion glowing in teachers with regards to what they teach. Dr Nair, is one of the very few teachers who take pride in what they teach. Other than being charismatic, she is able to move students' hearts and impart skills and knowledge to her students. The effort she puts into the modules she teach is evident, and students benefit and learn a lot from her teachings. I believe this is what students need- a inspiring and dedicated teacher. Personally, I have been very inspired by her and is very happy to be her student.

"...I'm glad in some small way that I have fuelled your interest and passion but this tells me more about you than me..."

Thank you, Dr Sudha Nair, for being the first person to inspire me in this social work journey. And I am thankful to others who support this journey of mine too. I really really appreciate it.

Journal of a budding social worker #11 (Days in Bethany.)

Took these photos over the last three months randomly while I was in Bethany.Doesn't the nursing home look lovely against the blue blue sky?

Me, before walking in.

Basically my placement is about intensive casework, so of course I work closely with the social workers.Here's Miss Boon, senior social worker, who guided me during my casework, answered my endless queries and provided me personal feedback. Gosh. She quitted social work (like my previous supervisor) to be a homemaker. But to her, social work is her passion. I guess and hope that she will make a comeback. :)

Names of the wards.

Other than my casework, I tend to wander around the nursing home and spend most of my time with the older adults in Day Rehab Centre. They're a really cute bunch of people (both the older adults and the staff)!!!Me and the nursing staff. Some of them are from Philippines while some are from Thailand.
They remember my name but I cannot remember their names. The pronunciation of their names is so tough!

Some of the things that will always remind me of Bethany...

It took me a while before I can build up rapport. Haa, rewards do come when you put in the effort.

BINGO.
Tea-time.

I must say, this second placement is quite an eye-opener for me. Firstly, the client group is totally different. Secondly, the social worker job scope is very different. Almost everything is different. Learned a lot and grew a lot at the same time.

I'm pretty tired now. Will digress some other day bah. :)

Journal of a budding social worker #10

Today (Friday) was another round of case presentations. One of them did a really fine job of integrating theories into practice. Honestly, I was a little appalled because I sort of realised how lousy I am at applying theories.

To think again, perhaps my setting did not allow me to do such work. I really wonder how I'll perform if those family cases were to be mine. Will I be able to integrate appropriate theories, or will I just try to smoke around with a fat hope that Dr Nair won't notice?

Alright, no more complaints. I got to read up.
And after I read up, I'll do a short summary of some general theories that we should know, and perhaps benefit my coursemates too. :)

Journal of a budding social worker #9

Wah, I get to learn new things in every work day. This is such a wonderful feeling.

I realise that not only my application of skills is lousy, my knowledge of theories sucks. Horrible man.

And with my ever-so-limited skills and theories, no matter how "easy" my case is, I still cannot manage them well. Well done lor. Sulks.

SULKS.

Journal of a budding social worker #8

One thing I like very much about social work is that it helps me to increase my self-awareness, and it's forever increasing. And along the way, we grow psychologically and emotionally. It feels so great.

This is the second time I got that "OH YA HOR" feeling from my supervisory session. I unintentionally undermined my client's ability. The "OH YA HOR" feeling came in time to stop me from being so bao-gah-liao for clients. I really thank god for my supervisory sessions; always learn a lot from them.

I am very fortunate to have also met a very nice social worker there, who kindly and patiently guided me along the way, and answered my neverending queries about social work.

Have got things which I have not settled. I am wondering if I should extend my placement by a few hours. Hmm...

I am rather worried about this Friday's case conference. Please wish me loads of luck. *shivers*

Journal of a budding social worker #7

Someone dropped something (I think is a bottle of drink or something) in the Central Forum and everyone looked nonchalantly in his direction. Suddenly someone walked towards him and offered him a packet of tissue (hope I did not get it wrong because I did not have a good view of the situation).

Tommy immediately reacted with, "Wah, MUST BE social work major."
The person turned around, and true enough, she's a social work major. Think she's a Year 2.
"Only social work majors will care to do that."

(I'm not saying that people from other majors are heartless or nonchalant.)

True. There is always this little bit of anger that keeps us going. There is always this initiative from us. The thing is, we care enough.

It also suddenly hit me, whether people always see us as the active agents who will always take action before anyone else, thus they have no need to take any action because "the social worker will take care of it".

I don't understand.

Everyone can do it; it's whether you care enough.

Journal of a budding social worker #6

I've got some random stuffs to share.

Writing social work records.

and,

The Gesundheit Institute. (The medical institution which is set up by Patch Adams.)

An interesting line from the page: we can only offer caring and never promise curing.

Upon hearing from Dr Timothy Sim that the real Patch Adams is a vibrant (I forgot which word he used.. or is it flamboyant?) individual, I went online to find his pictures.


He's definitely an individual who deserves our utmost respect. Let's pray and hope that social work will bloom like how Patch made things and people around him wonderful.