STOREEZ

"It's Not easy Being Different"

 

Loofy! Picture courtesy of Farid

My dear wife and I recently purchased a pet Skinny Pig, which essentially is a hairless variety of a Guinea Pig. Contrary to its name, the rodent has no geneological links to the porcine version, although its physical appearance may prove otherwise. Our little Skinny Pig, named Loofy, who initially weirded us out with its very different appearance from the other cuddly and furry animals in the pet shop, eventually warmed us to its timid and adorable disposition and of course, cuteness in appearance and touch. 

 

Happy Birthday!

 

Do No Harm (that's the name of this blog) officially turns 1 year old today! On a note of egotistical self indulgence, this blog has also been mapped to www.fareez.com!

What started out as an impulsive endeavour (then again, most of my endeavours are actually rather impulsive) has resulted in a blog with quite high readership numbers, and me actually updating it quite regularly in spite of a rather busy work and life schedule. 

So it's been exactly one year, and as I reflect on what actually keeps me going in keeping this blog alive, I managed to come up with a few possible answers.

Social Work Vs Counseling, Why must fight??

 

 

There seems to be this age long battle within the social service sector about the differences in Social Workers and Counsellors. Comments are raised whether Social Workers should be functioning as half bit counsellors and forgoing the true ideology of Social Work, etc. Queries about whether counselling and therapy are useful as opposed to the "real work" permeate heated discussions amongst social service professionals. 

Pleasant Surprises

 

 

Me: "So how can our discussion be helpful today?"

Client: "We just came to inform you that we want to terminate our financial assistance. I think that my family have depended too long on assistance. We really needed it a few months back, but now I think my situation is also stable. I want to teach my children to manage their finances and expenditure. We wouldn't want to take assistance that belongs to other clients."

Oh No! It's THE CLIENT!!

 

I think, most, if not all, social workers have had a life turning moment in their professional  life when they meet THE CLIENT. I use capital letters when I refer to this certain phenomena, as THE CLIENT is not like any client, for he or she, or client system that we meet that we find exceptionally  difficult to handle.

Moving Target

"Danger Zone: I'm all alone and I'm a moving target"

Many a time, during networking events and happenstance meet ups with veteran social workers, I keep hearing the sighs and longings for yesteryears where "Social Workers' really did social work", "Got down and dirty in community work", "Conducted intensive home visits" and "Advocated strongly for clients' needs" in a time which was really "tough" and "difficult". 

There are also calls for Social Workers in Singapore to be exposed to third world conditions so that they would be able to really "do" social work, and also understand the skills needed to be a truly effective professional. 

There is a lament on how social workers today are not handling the real problems of society, being office based aircon loving people, and preferring that their clients come to the FSC for appointments instead of really conducting outreach and home visits to identify clients in need. They resort to "armchair" counselling and forget the true nature of social work. 

Although I strongly respect these individuals and the contributions they made to Singapore's social development (really I do, in fact most of them are my professional mentors), I can't help but feel very uneasy in response to these statements. I will admit that times certainly were tough in Singapore's socio political climate 30 - 40 years ago, and it was not easy supporting and empowering the community in need. Efforts towards community reorganisation and outreach in social welfare development by these pioneers of the profession are to be applauded. 

However, I firmly believe that these statements are unfair.

They F***ed You Up?

This is right from the gut

It's sometimes heart wrenching and oftentimes sad to observe children become the greatest casualties amidst the crossfire between their parents. As Social Workers, we want to deconstruct the situation within its context through understanding the intergenerational patterns of transmission of values, societal pressures, lack of fit in environmental systems, problematic interactional patterns etc. 

"Dysfunction": Client's fault, or the system that makes it so?

Before I start, let me tell you of the discomfort I have of the term dysfunction, and how we use it to loosely describe the families we work with. Dysfunction to me denotes problems inherent in the family structures within a pathological framework, and as how I belief language effects our beliefs, this term probably does disservice to our clients from a strengths focused perspective. 

The term dysfunction makes clear delineations between the us and the them, and puts us in the high and mighty expert position to identify client problems and prescribe the best solution for their problems. 

FSCs: Bastion of the profession, or potential white elephant?

For folks who don’t know, the Family Service Centre (FSC) was designed to be the one stop centre to cater to the psychosocial needs of the community, kind of like how polyclinics cater to the biological wellness aspect, how the community centres cater to the community cohesion needs (and most times socio recreational needs) of the community within a fixed boundary. Hence there are about 37 FSCs catering to residents within specific boundaries within Singapore’s community.

 

Taking Stock

Being out in the field in direct practice, people have asked me time and time again why I do it, whether it's tough, etc. Some are amazed when I tell them I've been doing this for four years (of course some are extremely experienced with many years in the field and they make that fact known very clearly). They ask: maybe its time to progress to other areas of indirect practice, policy work or management; that's only the most logical step. 

But every once in a while, a client's personal narrative touches you deep inside. Deep into certain emotions and right into the very heart you have cushioned with protective layers honed by regular training, clockwork repetition of protocols, and onerous self control. 

Soon, all is laid bare. You are vulnerable again. Yet this vulnerability keeps you in touch with your emotions. You are free to let the tears flow, and once again you feel human. 

Human enough to make a difference.

So you wipe the tears away, no one needs to see that  side of yours. It's your little secret. 

You've taken stock, and remember the reason why you are here.

To make a difference

You've taken stock,

Then you carry on.