Family Day is a relatively new holiday in most Canadian provinces. Falling on the third weekend in February, Family Day was created to provide people with one long weekend during the winter months. Clinical social workers offer services to children and families in settings designed for children such as education, children’s mental health, and adolescent health. Specializations in these areas develop over many years in the field. A deep understanding about childhood development is critical for effective counselling interventions to occur. It is not fair to expect that children, pre-teens, and perhaps even young adults respond to challenges at home or school in the same ways that adults do. It is also not reasonable for social workers with little to no direct experiences working with children to provide individualized support without close clinical supervision and/or additional training on work with children and families.
All families begin with the union of two people who likely first meet as strangers. Where a decision is made to have children and grow a family together, couples embark on the most important job they will ever undertake together as parents. There are several issues that emerge over a lifetime of raising children together. Not all problems require the supportive intervention of a clinical social worker, but some do. Deciding to provide private social work counselling support to children requires a reflective practitioner qualified to provide child-centered work. Children and families benefit from interventions mediated by professional clinicians who are not directly involved in the problems reported. Many parents are both pleased and grateful to learn their children are able to speak to a trusted adult about a problem at home, school or in the community. Opting to work with a private clinical social worker and child therapist is a personal choice that families have in a comprehensive continuum of service delivery models. Do you believe that you are qualified to provide child-centered work? Do you collaborate with registered social workers or psychologists with enhanced specializations for work with children, pre-teens, and young adults? If not, how will you develop a list of qualified experts to assist with requests for support with children and families moving forward?
#family #children #wellbeing #clinicians #health #healthy #wellness #childpsychology #healing