5 Reasons therapists are always tired

Therapists play a big role to individuals in recovery. They provide a lot of people with great inspiration. But therapy is not easy, in fact it can be very tiring. Therapists have a very demanding job and because of that, the job can be extremely difficult. Here are some interesting insights from professional therapists:

When you’re on the job, the stakes are always high.

The decisions you make as a therapist will affect people in different ways. That pressure of changing someone’s life for the better can really wear you down as an individual. You can often be drained both physically and mentally.

Therapists do more than listening.

Therapists are constantly processing communication. They do this all the time. Truthfully speaking, the average person can only process about 1.6 conversations efficiently. That means that therapy is more of a cognitive overload, which in turn, can also lead to mental exhaustion.

One hour of therapy is seriously an hour of real demanding work.

You’re way off if you think therapy is a relaxing job. During a typical therapy session you will spend every minute focused on your client. You can’t afford to zone out or check your phone because your client is paying you for your time.

Work isn’t done after therapy is over

After completing a therapy session you will have to make sure you’re entering your notes correctly. You’ll have to be on top of your client’s file. It’s more than just positive communication.

You’re always multitasking

It’s not just about growing your clientele list. You have to manage multiple tasks while shouldering a heavy load of decisions that will affect others. Since your brain is processing so much by listening to your clients on a daily basis, your brain will sometimes trick you into thinking you’re experiencing what your client is experiencing. So sometimes your brain can experience the tragic stuff you hear in a session.

As a therapist you’ve made it a mission to help your clients improve their life in a very real way. Do your best to do that but don’t make their troubles your personal problem. Don’t treat your life as a work-sleep-eat cycle. Make sure you have time to carry out your hobbies in your free time. Spend time with your family and friends as a normal person. Don’t always wear your therapist hat outside of work. Your job is a privilege and it should be treated with the utmost care at all times. For you to be a good therapist you will have to be mentally strong and happy in life.

3 Myths About Online Continuing Education

Do you know anyone who isn’t busy? These days, it seems as though everyone is carefully balancing family and home life, friendships, play, school, work, being active and more. When considering how Continuing Education Courses (CEC) will enrich your life and work, it’s important to find the right program and fit for you. Continuing Education Courses are a new take on the broad spectrum of ‘Adult Ed’ or secondary learning activities and programs. Some individuals choose CE units for personal enrichment or leisure, while others are driven to expand or grow within their field. Many people have already completed college credits or degrees. Others become familiar with the benefits of CEC, when branching out into a new market or career. While evaluating the direction that will foster your highest success, keep in mind the following similarities and differences. We will now contrast and address 3 myths about Continuing Education Courses.

Myth 1: Online Courses Aren’t As Good.

Fact: Whether you attend a campus based class or opt for an online model, be prepared to learn, study, work. It isn’t education without some effort and growth. There is a misconception that taking an online class will be easier when it comes to workload and less in depth in result. If basing one’s desire for an online course on not having to pay for parking, hotels, conferences, childcare, gas or transportation; then this idea might prove true. Indeed, those who choose online courses are inspired by the speed and ease of working from home and that’s one of the biggest benefits. This myth is false. With technology being so good, you will still get high quality continuing education done in the comfort of your home with the convenience of finishing it at your own pace.

Things to consider: If your home is a loud, active place or you have children or animals, which might distract you, consider having a work area or room within your home, so your study time will be more rewarding. Online classes often require a regular amount of time online so make sure you set aside the time to complete your continuing education.

Myth 2: All Programs Are The Same

Fact: Choosing the school or accredited program that fits your needs isn’t everything, but it’s a lot! Just like when you shop for a new vehicle and compare brands, strength and weaknesses; there are ‘high and low end’ Continuing Education Courses. How to tell which is which? Whether choosing an in person or online school, thoroughly review the website, links, and student or user reviews. Make sure that you only use an accredited course like the ones we offer at CEUnits.com so that you can make sure and get credit.

Myth 3: Spending More Equals Better

Fact: In-person learning can add up, especially when pursuing multiple classes over six months or a year and beyond. Dependent on the amount of money you have set aside for Continuing Education Courses, even online learning can add up (although the cost is typically much, much lower if you’re doing it online). Just because a school has a respectable or familiar name, doesn’t mean it’s online program is great. Nor does high cost mean you will always have a better experience. Don’t push your budget to a point where you feel uncomfortable or strained. Decide how much you’d like to spend on your CEU course and, then, evaluate the schools, which fit that financial availability. The plus of Continuing Education is that you can typically pay per course or session and when using a provider like CEUnits.com, you only pay when you pass. You are in control of your education!

For more information about continuing education credits see our courses here.

Insurance Scam Fails

Fraudulent insurance claims are increasing on a daily basis. In most cases, criminals are turning to this form of felony as a form of making illegal income. It’s very hard to get away with an insurance scam. Here are some high profile instances of insurance scams that have failed:

House on Fire
Mark Thompson, an executive in Chicago had accumulated a lot of debt in Chicago. He burned down his house out of desperation. So he essentially burned down his house hoping for $730,000 in insurance money. Furthermore, to make it appear as a suicide he convinced his 90-year-old mother Carmen to go downstairs, and then doused his own basement with an accelerant and tossed the match to get the fire started. Well Thompson’s idea fell flat and now he’s been given 190 years in federal prison.

Slip and Fall
Isabel Parker is known as the queen of the slip-and-fall scam. The 72-year-old scammer prostrated herself in several department stores, supermarkets and liquor stores. She has fell a total of 49 different times and she filed for claims totaling over $500,000. Her slip-and-fall scam is a sad byproduct of her serious gambling addiction.

Vehicle give-ups
Tramesha Lashon Fox worked in Houston as a high school chemistry teacher. She no longer wanted to make payments on her Chevy Malibu so she offered two of her failing students passing grades to torch her car for the insurance money. Authorities found out and she was quickly fired. She went on to serve 90 days in jail.

Fake tainted-food claims
Carla Patterson tried her best to tap into a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Virginia. She tried to get a $500,000 insurance settlement after discovering a mouse in her vegetable soup. The national chain investigated and found that the mouse had no soup in its lungs and had not been cooked. Patterson was then sentenced to a year in prison. Swindlers like Patterson will often target restaurants to make a quick profit in the belief that the restaurant won’t want the negative publicity. Chain restaurants like Cracker Barrel are smart enough to take the risk of fake tainted food claims. Furthermore, they have also tightened their food production procedures to combat false claims.

Antipsychotics May Increase Childs Risk for Medical Issues

Our society can sometimes overuse psychotropic medications. It could be for different reasons but most companies make drugs like this because people believe they are the solution for our problems. Contrary to popular belief, antipsychotics are not ‘quick fix’ solutions. When it comes to children, these type of drugs are frequently misused. Some of these drugs are used because parents sometimes have an unrealistic desire to have their children behave like robots. Well-behaved children would most likely decrease the stress in our busy lives, but giving them antipsychotics is the wrong way to go.
In fact, a new study suggests that prescription antipsychotics can pose a significant risk to children’s health. Researchers have discovered that initiating antipsychotics may actually elevate a child’s risk not only for significant weight gain, but also for Type II diabetes by nearly 50 percent. You really have to evaluate your child before taking on this method.
Some children can truly benefit from antipsychotics, and those are generally the children who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Recently, more and more children are significantly overprescribed and that’s the main problem. Most of these kids just need parents who are engaged and supportive. Unnecessary consumption of antipsychotics can be very detrimental to their health.
Source: Antipsychotics May Hike Kids’ Risk for Medical Issues (http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/04/08/antipsychotics-may-increase-childs-risk-for-medical-issues/83277.html)

Handy List of Words for Social Workers

As a social worker, you are required to keep case notes. It’s important to maintain detailed records through case documentation. It allows you to create successful outcomes for your clients. Always make sure your case notes are useful. Do your best to make sure they provide insight and value. Analyze your notes and see if they would be useful to another case worker. You want to make sure you give an accurate picture of the client’s history, as well as their current situation.

It’s important to use language that is non-judgmental. Neutral language is the most common form of case notes in social work. It’s also helpful if you avoid making assumptions and remember to stick to the concrete facts. You should always indicate clearly when a comment is an observation. It is imperative you make it clear when you are recording the client’s own words by using quotation marks.

Notes are important in this type of work because the courts can subpoena records and other reports; you have to be careful about what you say about your respective client. Write your case notes immediately after you have spoken with a client. Here’s a handy list of words that many social workers use while writing up their case notes:

• Acknowledged
  Actively Listened
  Addressed
  Advised
  Advocated
  Asked
  Assisted
  Challenging
  Checked In
  Clarified
  Collaborated
  Commended
  Confronted
  Conducted
  Conveyed
  Crisis Intervention
  Developed
  Educated
  Empathized
  Empowered
  Encouraged
  Ensured
  Established
  Explained
  Explored
  Expressed
  Facilitated
  Focusing/Refocusing
  Framing/Reframing
  Goal (setting)
  Development/Goal Setting
  Guided
  Highlighted
  Honoring
  Identified
  Information Giving/Gathering
  Informed
  Interacted
  Interpreted
  Joined
  Modeled
  Observed
  Physical Activity
  Played
  Praised
  Presented
  Probed
  Problem Solving
  Prompted
  Rapport-building
  Recapped
  Recommended
  Redirected
  Reflected
  Reflective Listening
  Reframed
  Reinforced
  Reiterated
  Reminded
  Reviewed
  Role-played
  Social Skills Practice
  Suggested
  Supported
  Teaching/Lecturing
  Urge

5 Celebrity Social Workers

Social work is truly a rewarding career. Many people who have a career in social work have talents and gifts that also allow them to excel in other professional areas. Plenty of people find a career in social due to their backgrounds or experiences in life; this can force a person to develop an overwhelming sense of compassion for people in need. People step into this field due to their desire to help and serve those around them. Here are some examples of celebrities who active in social work before they became famous with among the media:

Samuel L. Jackson
Before Jackson started his award-winning career in acting, he worked as a social worker for two years in Los Angeles. He graduated with a BA degree from Morehouse University in Atlanta in 1969. After working as a social worker, Jackson went on to star in popular films such as Pulp Fiction, Coach Carter and now Marvel’s Avengers film franchise as Nick Fury.

Alice Walker
After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, Walker began her career in social work. She worked as a social worker, teacher, and lecturer during the Civil Rights Movement. Later in life, she gained popularity for her literary works. She is most famous for writing The Color Purple.  Ms. Walker won a Pulitzer Prize for writing that novel.

John Amos

Amos studied social work at Colorado State University after receiving an athletic scholarship to play college football. He decided to major in social work because he felt like it would prepare him to work within the African-American community. After graduating from college, he went on to become a social worker at the New York’s Vera Institute of Justice. Soon after moving to New York he caught the acting bug and earned his first break-out role as a weather man on the Mary Tyler-Moore show in 1970.

Suze Orman
Before starting an extremely lucrative career in finance, Suze Orman received a B.A. in social work. She then struggled for many years and worked as a waitress until the age of 30 before earning her first financial role at Merrill Lynch.

Martin Short
We know Mr. Short as a comedian and actor, but before he started entertaining people he earned a degree in social work from McMaster University. He then worked as a part-time social worker in Toronto while building his entertainment career in comedy.

Solution-focused therapy

Solution-focused therapy is a competency-based model that focuses on clients’ strengths and previous successes rather than previous weaknesses and challenges. In addition, solution-focused therapy operates within a focus on clients’ understanding of his/her own concerns/problems or situations and what clients want to change to improve their situation. The basic beliefs behind solution-focused therapy include:
• A focus on solutions rather than problems.
• A therapeutic process that focuses on clients’ desires for change and future goals rather than previous problems or conflicts.
• Encouragement to build-off and continue to engage in current useful behaviors, abilities and strengths.
• A belief that not all problems occur all the time. Thus, in instances where the problem could of occurred and did not can be used by a client and practitioner to work toward constructing solutions.
• A belief that solutions already exist for clients.
• A belief that small incremental changes can lead to larger changes that can be sustained.

Within solution-focused therapy, practitioners help clients find alternatives to current undesired patterns of behavior and/or thinking and collaborate with practitioners to construct solutions or alternatives to these patterns. Solution-focused therapy is an excellent approach to meet clients where they are at, collaborate with clients and uphold client self-determination; which are characteristic values of social work practice.