We are not superheroes

 

As many of us are aware Social Work is not the easiest job. There are many reasons for this ranging from the bureaucratic ones relating to case load and resources but there are also the day to day we are involved in people’s lives in usually tough situations ones also.

When first starting in the journey of Social Work a lot of people talk about the want to help people and I am not saying that we don’t but that’s not what it is all about in the practical sense. We spend a lot of our time behind the scenes finding information or putting together referrals to the appropriate people.

I try and explain processes and how things work as best as I can but there will also be occasions where I have to refer them elsewhere or signpost to the appropriate team to deal with the particular query.

We have cases come to our team often due to carer strain and to look into options to alleviate this. There are a few reasons why I think this happens. There is the obvious so we can provide support and get them to the right place or service but also because if the unpaid or informal carer is doing it then that person is not requiring paid for services instead. It is cheaper to put in a couple of hours of a sitting service or some respite over the year than to pay the cost of home care 7 days a week or a care home.

The difficulty that can come sometimes from these types of cases are that the carer is struggling and needs the support but once it comes down to it, they can find it difficult to accept what is being offered to them. I think for some people they get so used to being the carer that it becomes part of their identity, and they are not sure who they are once that is gone. There is guilt relating to no longer being able to provide that to their parent or their spouse because they feel that is their role. This shows to us as either not accepting what is being offered in the first place or trying it but stopping it fairly quickly and saying it isn’t for them.

Sometimes we find the right solutions by trial and error whereas other times our involvement ends because there is nothing else, we can do or offer in that moment. From my experience we usually see those people again when there is a crisis because they have been pushed to the point that they have no choice but to organise something. I understand the reluctance to accept help and support sometimes, but I also see it from the professional’s point of view. It can be really frustrating when you have spent time to find what feels like the perfect solution only for it to be rejected or tried for not enough time.

This is where we have to go back to our value base in Social Work and remember that we are there to support and do with not to people. More often than not when support for carer strain is rejected it is usually by the carer themselves not the person and that is difficult also because we are there to support the person but the focus ends up being on the carer.

The other difficulty that can occur is when you first take a case on, and the person agrees to options but then once you get to the next step they no longer want to do so. People are well within their rights to change their minds but that can also be frustrating because you have put in time and energy to get to that point.

We spend a lot of our time hand holding and supporting people as opposed to going in and saving the day which is what you believe more so when you start the journey. We aren’t superheroes sent to save the day, we are there to provide the information and support to get to where they want to be.