Most of my training in the social sciences, prior to the start of my MSW program, was focused on psychology and the individual. While this is important, and I hope one day to have my own clinical practice, it's also imperative to look into social institutions. Much of what goes on in the world is a collection of individual experiences that shape the greater social world. In the teachings of C. Wright Mills in The Sociological Imagination, I have learned that private troubles can become public issues. For example, we might think of marital problems as a private trouble of the couple. However, if we look on a more comprehensive scale, we see that the divorce rate is colossal, therefore this becomes a public issue.
In my opinion, public issues will remain issues without the policies implemented by active individuals. As much as I want to counsel on a personal scale, I also wish to advocate for issues that affect the world around us. When I interned at a domestic violence agency, I spent a lot of time counseling victims on the crisis hotline. I also had the opportunity to lobby local and state politicians to allot more funding for social service agencies in the city. As much as my work with individuals taught and inspired me, my work on a larger scale opened my eyes to the broader challenges that end up affecting the individual.
I look forward to my Social Welfare and Social Work class, as I have much to learn. Every day I discover more about how multifaceted social work truly is. I am roused by the idea that I have started, and will continue to influence the field and, in turn, better the world around us.
I leave you with a revolutionary quote from Sir Thomas More, expressed more than five centuries ago, "You must strive to influence policy indirectly, handle the situation tactfully, and thus what you cannot turn to good, you may at least make less bad."
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