>> I'm very ambivalent about social workers. My niece has a graduate degree in social work, and is currently working in Madagascar. <<
In theory, they can do a great deal of good. Certainly they are needed to rescue children from circumstances where the child's life is in immediate danger (although they often fail to do so). I know one person who claims that social intervention was extremely useful.
>> On the other hand, I've never gotten anything useful out of any of the social workers I've actually had contact with in a professional capacity. So there's that. <<
I know dozens of people who have had mixed results or wholly negative results. Looking at statistics inclines me to believe this is representative. Social workers are routinely overworked, underpaid, undertrained, and overwhelmed. These circumstances make it difficult or impossible to do a good job, so the results are often bad.
>> On the gripping hand, I may simply not be the kind of person who's able to benefit from them. <<
My sympathies.
Neither am I. Many things that work for ordinary people are ineffective or downright harmful for me, both in physical and mental health care. Conversely there are things which do not work for most people, which are quite effective for me. I try very hard to avoid situations where anyone else has control over what happens to me, because I usually get hurt that way.
>> (And bear in mind that these contacts were in hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics. All they did was hand me a flier with a lot of phone numbers on it. What I really needed was a knowledgeable friend.) <<
Sadly, they aren't designed to provide friendship. The closest you get on that line is referral to a support group, which only works for people who are compatible with support groups. LOTS of people need friendship. They could probably save a lot of lives and sanity by setting up a program to facilitate friendships.
I've posited some improvements in the Terramagne system for Polychrome Heroics, partly based on better funding and partly on much higher consequences for fucking up when superpowers are involved.
Re: Phil isn't
In theory, they can do a great deal of good. Certainly they are needed to rescue children from circumstances where the child's life is in immediate danger (although they often fail to do so). I know one person who claims that social intervention was extremely useful.
>> On the other hand, I've never gotten anything useful out of any of the social workers I've actually had contact with in a professional capacity. So there's that. <<
I know dozens of people who have had mixed results or wholly negative results. Looking at statistics inclines me to believe this is representative. Social workers are routinely overworked, underpaid, undertrained, and overwhelmed. These circumstances make it difficult or impossible to do a good job, so the results are often bad.
>> On the gripping hand, I may simply not be the kind of person who's able to benefit from them. <<
My sympathies.
Neither am I. Many things that work for ordinary people are ineffective or downright harmful for me, both in physical and mental health care. Conversely there are things which do not work for most people, which are quite effective for me. I try very hard to avoid situations where anyone else has control over what happens to me, because I usually get hurt that way.
>> (And bear in mind that these contacts were in hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics. All they did was hand me a flier with a lot of phone numbers on it. What I really needed was a knowledgeable friend.) <<
Sadly, they aren't designed to provide friendship. The closest you get on that line is referral to a support group, which only works for people who are compatible with support groups. LOTS of people need friendship. They could probably save a lot of lives and sanity by setting up a program to facilitate friendships.
I've posited some improvements in the Terramagne system for Polychrome Heroics, partly based on better funding and partly on much higher consequences for fucking up when superpowers are involved.