Social Work Case Study

Was management always your interest?
Later on in her career when she was working in direct service as a therapist at a substance abuse treatment center for substance abuse. Mary states she was offered the job of being a clinical supervisor, at that same office, which she accepted. Mary states that she had been curious about advocating for policy changes within the treatment center due to client having difficulty with the problem the center offered. Mary states that because she was trauma informed and she was seeing a trauma therapist, that she knew the clients at the treatment center were missing a key element to their treatment program. The agency did not do any trauma work, they only focused on the addiction to chemical substances.
The missing trauma element inspired and motivated Mary to advocate for the clients, with the administrators at the corporate office. Her ideas were received with a healthy support however she had to design the new program and she had to implement it at her office. This required Mary to use clinical measurement tools to prove that her policy and treatment curriculum were make positive changes with the clients.

How does social work contribute to management?
Mary states that as an educated Social worker she learned the core principles and they intrinsic value they hold for her,

I understand that wrong in the management and police making area of Social work can be exciting, but just the same it can be tedious and monotonous with paper work. I spent so much time around Mary that I seems unreal to want to do that kind of negotiating and then do hours of documentation each day. I would rather be the therapist who helps and educates clients than a paper pusher. It did not seem that there would be the same gratification and rewards for me doing a management or policy making job, as there would be form working in direct service with