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Want to make a difference, while building your career?
A career in social work and rehabilitation services can let
you do just that.
MAKING a living while making a difference - that's what a
career in social and rehabilitation service has to offer.
Individuals in these fields can play a critical role in areas
such as: Counseling in employment and/ or career development
settings, developing healthy family systems, collaborating
with community organizations to attain a higher quality of
life for the citizens, working with substance abuse and other
addictions, helping people with physical, mental, or emotional
disabilities, improving cultural and ethnic empathy to advance
individual and community development.
While helping others is the hallmark of this career field,
it is not enough to simply like people. What is important
is to enjoy working with people, and to do so effectively.
EMPLOYMENT SETTINGS
Social work and rehabilitation services occupations in India
and the United States provide a wide range of opportunities
for people to pursue careers that complement their interests
and knowledge. Prospects are found in institutions such as:
schools, hospitals, rehab centers, correctional institutions,
business and industry, social service agencies - both public
and private, public welfare offices, child welfare organizations
and nursing homes.
Through direct counseling and service coordination, social
workers assist people in identifying solutions to problems
like homelessness, unemployment, handicaps, substance abuse,
pregnancy, family conflicts and neglect.
Their responsibilities can be grouped into:
Case work primarily involves one-on-one counseling
with the client. For eg, helping a client adjust to a traumatic
injury or illness and counseling a patient's family.
Group work requires working with groups of people.
For eg, child care courses for teenage parents, conducting
group counseling sessions for cancer patients and assisting
laid-off workers in their job hunt.
Community Organization work involves outreach activities
- networking with community organizations to identify resources.
The activities include - working with child advocacy groups
to find foster homes, coordinating government funds and services
and identifying resources to assist families victimized by
natural disasters.
WHO CAN SOCIAL WORKERS HELP?
Child welfare or family services:
Assist parent and guardians in identifying services to
improve the quality of life for families. They may also investigate
cases of reported abuse and neglect.
Mental health:
Become involved in crisis intervention, outreach, individual
and group counselling.
School/ college:
Help parents, teachers and students cope with special
problems suchas suspected abuse.
Community:
Become involved in local community affairs such as public
welfare and housing. They also work with the poor to identify
community resources. Industry: In an effort to address issues
such as improved productivity, worker safety and employee
turnover, social workers join the human resources departments
of business and industry.
HERE`S A LOOK AT POSITIONS YOU CAN HOLD:
Employment services:
Vocational evaluator, vocational rehabilitation counselor,
career counselor, employment coordinator and mental retardation
job
coach.
Mental health services:
Psychiatric worker, mental health counselor, substance
abuse counselor, and psychologist.
Medical services:
Psychiatrist, medical worker, dietitian and nutritionist.
Therapeutic services:
Physical therapist, occupational therapist, art/ dance/
music therapist, recreation therapist, speech-language pathologist
and audiologist.
Educational services:
School psychologist, school social worker and school counselor.
WHAT'S NEW?
Probation/ parole officer:
These officers are a unique group of social workers who
participate in development of plans to release juvenile and
adult offenders from correctional institutions. They provide
supervision for released offenders, and develop a regular
plan of treatment and follow-up during the time of probation
or parole. These professionals work for the court system.
Rehabilitation aides:
Aide positions are very accessible for those who want
to be part of this field but do not have the experience and/or
the educational requirements for professional positions. Geriatric
Aides (GA) is an increasingly popular position, with their
central focus being the assistance of the elderly. They work
in medical, therapeutic, recreational and transportation settings
and can be employed in hospitals, nursing homes, recreational
programs and private homes.
WHO WOULD YOU SERVE BEST?
There are various people who need the services of rehabilitation
professionals but every professional cannot be trained in
dealing with all the unique problems of people. When considering
a career in social work or rehabilitation services, it is
important that the individual consider what type of people
and problems they are most keen to work with. Keep in mind
that no one is good with all people and that's okay, because
it is important to make the choice that will provide the most
personal fulfillment.
UPWARD MOBILITY
It is very important for one to be aware that some occupations
within the field of social work and rehabilitation service
do not offer what is commonly thought as "career progression".
For eg, art therapists may not be promoted from a staff to
executive position Their success will be defined in terms
of professional reputation and an expanding practice. However,
in other areas "promotion" can indeed be a realistic
expectation.
EDUCATION
In preparing for the field of social and rehabilitation services,
each person should pursue the type of education that focuses
on the group or groups with whom they plan to work. This is
a necessary first step in the preparation process because
rehabilitation services professionals need to constantly increase
their knowledge about the psychological, sociological, and
physiological needs of the population they intend to serve.
Fortunately, undergraduate preparation for the field of rehabilitation
services provides a broad overview of human problems and conditions.
Nonetheless, individuals need to begin to narrow their areas
of interest so that they can have focused knowledge.
Now that you know the pros and cons of a career in social
and rehabilitation service, if you are sure that this is what
you want to pursue, here's an indicative listing of institutions
in India and the U.S. that will enable you to find your niche'
and focus on expertise.
INSTITUTES IN THE US
University of Maryland at Baltimore County, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, Ohio State University, New York University.
INSTITUTES IN INDIA
Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work, Tata Institute of
Social Sciences, University of Mumbai, MS University of Baroda,
University of Pune, Nagpur University.
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