Reflection and Resistance

As social workers in clinical settings we live so deeply into the individual lives of our clients, learning their fears and worries, hopes and encouraging their dreams. And we are beside ourselves when we think of our students or any other child being ripped from parents arms screaming for the comfort of their family. I hear over and over again from my colleagues that we are in the “trenches” each day doing the micro work, and I sense that we struggle to find our macro voice in all this chaos. Sometimes hearing the news fires us up into action and for others I think we allow ourselves a pass; because we do important individual work, we give ourselves permission not to consider what our wider impact could and should be. And we are tired, very very tired.

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Implicit Bias and the Healthcare Provider

"This year, I also find myself reflecting on privileges that I, as a white individual, raised in an upper, middle class family, and educated in an affluent school district, experience.  Privilege that surely contributes to my perception of the winter holidays as a season of effortless joy, indulgent eating, time off work, gift exchanges, and peaceful rest with my family...Many of the students we care for in school-based health centers are not privy to this level of societal privilege.  Understanding the painful realities, inequities, and stacked disadvantages our patients face is essential to providing them with competent health services."

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