STOREEZ

First to Bata, then to School

Have officially been matriculated into NUS. Unlike the first time I entered NUS (with all the excitement etc), this time round, I am riddled with anxiety and approach this next phase of education with some degree of apprehension. I attribute this to possibly two main reasons

1. The fear of whether I can effectively juggle work and studies, and yet still have some semblance of recreational life to hold on to.

2. The fact that I have yet to convince myself that the education I receive would value add to my repertoire of skills and knowledge. I think this is the case of most who finish university education, where the pursuit of education is no longer for the sake of owning a degree in the current paper chase. There is already the debate going on about whether Social Work education truly prepares social work graduates to enter the profession, I wonder whether having a Masters' Degree would prepare me further for a senior position in the profession?. 

SWIC 2010

I had the pleasure of facilitating a group of potential workers during the Social Work Induction Camp (SWIC) organized by SASW. I must say that I am pretty impressed by the level of passion and zeal displayed by this batch of students, which is testament to how social work education has progressed through the years. I remember my own batch of students and their willingness to advocate for clients facing social injustice, and think about issues such as integrating theory to practice, and ideas of professional identity.

I won’t fall into the trap of “during my time, things were better” kind of conversation as I really feel that these students have come a long way from previous batches. Sometimes, us social workers may get ourselves bogged down with work, and maybe lose track of the real reasons we join the profession, get drawn into criticisms of self and the social service sector. Every once so often, we should take time to sit back and reflect on our original goals and dreams; and for me, interacting with the participants of this short induction camp was such a process.

Of course, the opportunity to network with fellow peers and more experienced practitioners from different settings in formal and informal discussions proved to be a great opportunity to share challenges, high points, and personal issues in a safe environment. It also serves as a reminder to me of the benefits of having regular professional discussions to improve ourselves and our work with clients.

I’m recharged for the busy week ahead.. Woooo!

Ps: Great job to the organising team who made this camp happen!
 

Reservist

Reservist, the event that comes after national conscription, happens for a period of 2 weeks every year. It is a ritual/life event that every male Singaporean has to undergo. You meet up with old army friends, work and train hard; go through some measure of inconvenience such as slugging it out in the jungle, sitting in the heavy rain, and waiting long hours for activities and training to start. Then you make promises to meet up and catch up after reservist is over, but then the next time you see each other will only be the following year's 2-3 week stint.

Reservist is also a place where life cycle transitions are even more obvious and pronounced, 2 week snapshots of doing the same things, but with changing physiological and socio emotional sense of self each time I'm there.

Generating Conversations Part 1

Attended the first Systemic Psychotherapy Conference, which was held in memory of Anthony Yeo, the Father of counselling in Singapore. The symposium was actually an interesting and thought provoking one, especially generating some thoughts and "inner conversations" regarding my role as a social worker in Singapore.

To keep my posts short and sweet, I'll probably discuss these thoughts in several parts (hopefully you get to see all the parts). No point me summarising too much what the speakers were talking about, as you can probably google this information.

Taxi Driver Health Tips

Every once in a while, I hear tips from can drivers about the many ways we can maintain health, physically and emotionally. I'm not too sure whether these methods work or whether they are merely fabricated old wives' tales passed down through generations. Only one way to find out: try it out as long as it's safe i guess. I'll start with what I learnt today during my commute home.

Visualisation: My Take

Visualisation has presented itself as a useful technique I use when working with clients who want to achieve a higher level of happiness, as well as combat their feelings of anxiety pertaining to a certain situation, for example speaking in public, taking a test, performing well in sports etc. 

Visualisation basically involves a mental task where you put yourself into a different state from where you are in, and can be triggered through imagination, sometimes through the use of a stimulus, such as upbeat music, or the smell of perfume. There probably has been a time where you psyche yourself up for a sports event by listening to music like Queen's "We Will Rock You".