The Innovative Social Work Academy

Believe it or not, it's 100% okay to have boundaries for conversations outside of your practice. Have you ever been in a situation where someone figures out what you do for a living and all of a sudden they want your advice or professional opinion? It's okay to tell them no, it's okay to have a life outside of your work. If saying no is hard for you try creating a pre-planned phrase that you can say when it comes up. For example, "Thanks for asking but I'm off the clock"... **insert big smile** OR "sure, but this isn't confidential space". Do you have a go to phrase for these types of situations? Share them below! . . . . #socialworkers #socialworkcommunity #conversationsinsocialwork #settingboundaries

When's the last time you had a real superficial conversation? Sounds crazy right?! I don't know about you but I used to always end up in real deep (and unnecessary) conversations outside of the office. I'd hear all about the grocery clerks cousin who was getting a divorce and discussing ways she could let the kids know. Or how my friends sister (during a nice dinner) was having intimacy challenges and wanted to know about the signs of an affair. Sound familiar? I could never ...just have a superficial conversation for the life of me. Until I realized these people were not to blame, not at all. It was all because of my superpower the one I use in every client session to gain trust and build a relationship - it's how I set the tone for every client when we first meet, it's how I set the tone for every client thereafter. Does this sound familiar to you? How are you able to have superficial conversations without getting deep and personal? Or are you still creating positive connections with everyone by cutting out the 'bullshit' convo? . . . . #conversations #socialworkers #outofpractice #therapy #socialworksuperpower

Learning how to implement internal boundaries into our daily lives is so vital as social workers. Without those internal boundaries we can find ourselves headed towards isolation, depression, burn out and disconnection. Things that keep us from being our best selves in practice and in life. With internal boundaries in place we can learn to stop conversations from going so deep and personal, and start setting limits in our daily conversations outside of practice.... . . . . #selfcareforsocialworkers #selfcare #socialworkevents #socialworkeducation

I'm not sure if you've heard this today yet, but what YOU do matters. You don't always get a "thank-you" at the end of your day, but you still matter. You work hard and focus on the care of others all day long, and you still matter.... You face challenges and use your voice to advocate for others, YOU matter! You see the pain, suffering and despair of others and continue to hold the light of hope for them, YOU matter! You meet people at the worst time in their lives and you gift them compassion and care, YOU matter! What you do matters and YOU matter! Come join us for a day of Wellness and Self-Care at our Virtual Innovative Wellness Summit for Social Workers! Seats are limited so make sure you sign up quickly! Message us for more info or register here: https://bit.ly/32Ub7Cy . . . . #socailworkers #affirmations #selfcare #youmatter #selfempowerment #empowerment #mentalhealthcommunity #mentalwellness