Traband, Rachel “Service Without Sacrifice”

In recent years, there has been an increasing spotlight on the working conditions of helping professionals. While teachers have finally been receiving support and validation for their neglect, social workers are an example of a group left in the shadows. With caseloads larger than anyone could handle, they are overworked, undervalued, and systematically unprepared for the severe emotional stress that comes with their commitment to service. These immense levels of emotional stress are not only seen among active professionals across the nation but also undergraduate and graduate social work students. The success of this essential field relies on our ability to create and train long-term providers. Making this occupation sustainable requires finding a way to curb mental distress during their education. Bridge-to-Practicum courses have been shown to reduce occupational stressors and long-term mental health challenges in young social workers by introducing work experience in the field while providing opportunities for guidance and reflection. Based on pedagogical compatibility—or overlap in the instructional frameworks—I have concluded that community-based learning can be applied in Bachelor of Social Work programs to similarly reduce conditions such as vicarious traumatization and burnout. Instituting preventative solutions will allow social workers to provide higher quality services for longer and encourage innovation in the field that would not have been attainable otherwise.  

Social workers experience a multitude of occupational stressors that place them at higher risk of mental health complications. While handling cases, many service providers are exposed to traumatic events and graphic depictions of abuse, neglect, and other forms of harm. Lisa De La Rue, Ph.D., and Gena Castro Rodrigues, Psy.D. are professors and researchers in the Department of Counseling Psychology at the University of San Francisco. They collaborated with Lilyana Ortega, Ph.D., the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs and a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Colorado State University. They have worked at the intersection of trauma support and the US justice system for years, focusing their research on how to better support victims of violent crime as they navigate their healing process and the prosecution of their aggressors. In a study researching resources for novice trauma advocates, they discovered three themes associated with ways new advocates respond to secondhand exposure to their clients’ traumatic events. These included worldview shifts, secondary traumatic stress (STS) symptoms, and burnout (De La Rue et al. 6). These results indicate burnout as a common response to professional stressors experienced in helping professions, such as emotional turmoil and secondary traumatization as a result of their clients’ experiences. In some cases, De La rue and their team observed advocates who experience these symptoms to an extreme extent. A portion of their participants exhibited symptoms congruent with PTSD diagnoses (De La Rue et al. 3). These findings show the immense cost social workers pay to provide services and fulfill their caseloads. This undue stress creates an unsustainable cycle of personal sacrifice that drains young professionals too early in their careers. 

Not only are these symptoms observed in young professionals, but they can also be seen in Bachelor of Social Work students. During their education, professors often use cases as examples in class, and such exposure to graphic depictions of abuse and trauma can be distressing for students. Further, many BSW programs encourage fieldwork practice as part of course curricula, where students interact with service recipients in different contexts. Setting out to further understand this phenomenon, researchers Cynthia Harr, Ph.D., and Tanya Brice, Ph.D., from Balor University’s School of Social Work, in collaboration with Brenda Moore, Ph.D., from the School of Social Work at Texas A&M University, designed a study aimed at assessing stress among BSW students. They found that social work students experience compassion fatigue: a condition defined as “a result of exposure to client suffering, [that] can result in the service provider experiencing a reduced capacity for or interest in being empathic” (Harr et al. 234). Compassion fatigue, as defined by Harr, is closely associated with secondary traumatization and is often simultaneously experienced or followed by extreme burnout among BSW students. The other element of their research consisted of a qualitative study using a questionnaire to compare the risk of burnout and compassion fatigue in students and professionals in human service occupations. Researchers concluded that student respondents had a higher-than-average risk of compassion fatigue when compared to national respondents and observed that helping professionals of younger age brackets and lower education levels seemed to be at elevated risk for mental distress because of their work (Harr et al. 242). This illustrates a concerning issue within the social work field. Providers of social work services are essential to the success of the communities and individuals they serve and, currently, their education, training, and working conditions make the profession unsustainable and harmful to workers. 

Some argue that retroactive approaches to manage emotional distress are adequate solutions to this issue. De La Rue and their associates observed some factors that help advocates and professionals cope with occupational stressors. Their study identified advocates’ colleagues as “the biggest source of support, and as an important tool to help them cope with the stressors of their job”. Discussing issues of anxiety, lack of motivation, and other STS symptoms with others who have shared experiences allows peers to validate each other. In some cases, participants described using collective humor as a strong coping mechanism for their stress. Additionally, this strategy allows advocates to discuss these issues without burdening loved ones, lessening their feelings of guilt. The study also observed that recognition can help to alleviate stress. Small acts of gratitude, such as a “thank you” provide “validation that allowed them to better cope with the demands of their job.” Participants expressed in their responses that those instances of recognition help remind advocates of all the reasons their work is important (De La Rue et al. 10). These strategies can be implemented to support professionals already dealing with occupational stressors. Retroactive approaches are important for trauma advocates and social workers who need help managing their symptoms and are invaluable in creating a sustainable work environment. 

However, there are preventative solutions shown to prevent the development of these harmful symptoms. Fieldwork placements, also known as Bridge-to-Practicum courses, are curriculums designed to bridge the gap between academic and theoretical understandings of social work and the profession’s practical responsibilities. According to acclaimed educators Quincy Dinnerson, DSW; Tiffany Lane, Ph.D.; Shebby Neely-Goodwin, Ph.D.; Sandra Williamson-Ashe, Ed.D.; and Breshell Jackson-Nevels, Ph.D. at Norfolk State University, fieldwork education is “the signature pedagogy at accredited social work education programs” (Dinnerson et al. 1). Today, fieldwork placements and bridge-to-practicum courses are widely used among prestigious BSW programs globally. In a study aimed to examine the effectiveness of Bridge-to-Practicum courses in reducing the anxiety of students entering the workforce, professors Ali Kamali, Ph.D., Pam Clary, Ph.D., and Jana Frye, M.S.W. at Missouri Western University performed a mixed methods study utilizing questionnaires to elicit both qualitative and quantitative responses. According to the pre-practicum survey responses, students felt their prior social work courses prepared them for the field, but left gaps in their knowledge regarding testifying in court, executing office/home visits safely, reporting abuse, self-care, vicarious trauma, crisis management, and other occupationally specific responsibilities (Kamali et al. 3-4). These concerns mirror those of many BSW students in the US and allowed the researchers to design a course that addressed each of those specific concerns. According to data from the exit survey that students took after the completion of the class, the practicum course increased feelings of emotional preparedness by 22.7 percent, and academic preparedness by 20.7 percent (Kamali et al. 6). Post-practicum, 94.3 percent of students agreed they had “solid social work background skills” compared to 75.1 percent pre-practicum (Kamali et al. 6). These findings support the claim that Bridge-to-Practicum courses help reduce the anxieties and mental stressors of BSW students. Prevention of STS symptoms, vicarious traumatization, and compassion fatigue is possible with the right educational tools. Unfortunately, designing a curriculum specialized to the individualized needs of students is time-consuming and requires an instructor with extensive personal resources to facilitate practicum experiences for their students. These challenges make Bridge-to-Practicum courses, such as the one from the Missouri Western study, difficult to implement on a large scale. 

A more effective solution to preventing these occupational stressors may lie in a different pedagogy. Community-based learning (CBL) programs have shown promise in preparing BSW students for practice. CBL courses, also known as Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programs, incorporate service or other community involvement related to the course subject matter and synthesize that service with academic theory and materials (Melaville et al. 7). There are many forms of CBL classes, making the model applicable to different focuses and modalities. These courses consistently foster professional preparedness and engagement with the class. Menny Malka and Merav Moshe-Grodofsky are professors for community practice courses at Ben-Gurion University. Following the completion of a community-based participatory research project, they conducted a survey to assess how their students responded to the course. They identified 4 narrative threads that summarized the students’ experiences: “1) being part of a real-life community intervention process; 2) students inspired by community residents: the power of hope; 3) the meaning of community; and 4) future professional identity: the desire to engage in community practice” (Malka and Moshe-Grodofsky 847). Detailed responses that illustrate the narrative regarding future professional identity discuss the discovery of passions and personal ambition that were modeled by the other researchers the students worked with during the research project (Malka and Moshe-Grodofsky 859). The opportunity to watch experienced professionals work allows students to observe how they handle stress. As previously discussed, learning, and discussing mental health concerns among peers with shared experiences lessens symptoms of STS and burnout. Further, based on student responses, the instructors of the course concluded that “the experience of the course allowed not only a closer acquaintance but also the removal of ambiguity and created a sense of capacity in the face of the challenging characteristics of community work” (Malka and Moshe-Grodofsky 859). This also shows that CBL can help students feel confident in their ability to deal with personal and emotional challenges that come as a result of their work. This case study illustrates the value that the CBL model adds to the experience of BSW students. 

Despite these promising results, some scholars remain skeptical about the nature of Bridge-to-Practicum curricula. Dr Martyn Higgins, an Associate Professor of Social Work at South Bank University in London, has been one of many to argue that academic and practical pedagogies of social work are not only different but contradictory. In an article published in the Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, Higgins observes: 

There appears to be a ‘chasm’ between the conceptual and ethical approach of the  

university and the process and performance base of practice… newly qualified social  

workers soon discover that employers are not interested in their personal and professional  

development, but only on their ability to reach their targets. (Higgins 65) 

The disillusionment that Higgins refers to is a major concern among critics of practicum courses. There is an expectation that the grueling administrative aspects of the profession will deter students from remaining optimistic about their ability to make a difference through service. However, proponents of practicum education believe that students should have a full understanding of their responsibilities, including the emotional and administrative labor. That way, when they enter the workforce, they are never blindsided by having to complete tasks they could not have anticipated. Further, the sentiment that experienced professionals no longer care about or utilize the theoretical, academic concepts that students learn while obtaining their degree illustrates the emotional degradation that occurs after years of service without proper coping mechanisms for stress. Ideally, work environments would encourage innovation and creativity when handling cases, to provide the best service for their clients. Both CBL and bridge-to-practicum courses ensure students understand professional responsibilities, while still exploring the real-world applications of the academic theories they discuss in class. Still, these criticisms of CBL are valid. As beneficial as CBL is to the professional development and overall satisfaction of BSW students, it still does not fully prevent the emotional stressors facing young helping professionals. Ideally, students would receive an enriching service experience, while also learning more about the practical responsibilities of social work and the ways to cope with occupational stressors.  

This ideal is achievable by implementing the CBL model in existing BSW programs to create a Bridge-to-Practicum through service. Community-based learning and Bridge-to-Practicum programs share immense pedogeological compatibility. Atelia Melaville, Amy Berg, and Martin Blank are scholars who authored a comprehensive summary of the framework of CBL curriculum as part of a project for the Coalition for Community Schools (CCS). According to their work, CBL has 5 unifying characteristics that make up the basic framework: meaningful content, voice and choice, personal and public purpose, assessment and feedback, and resources and relationships. The pillars “meaningful content” and “voice and choice” in practice translate to selecting intentional community partners and making sure students feel they have an active role in deciding their placement (Melaville et al. 9). This allows students to better prepare for service by educating themselves on the community they are going to serve in, and being aware of their place in the larger scope of the issues and the public purpose they are working in. The model also values feedback, making sure to prioritize critical reflection through ongoing assessments that allow students to learn from both their successes and failures. These characteristics are like those prioritized in the Bridge-to-Practicum model.  

Similar to the CCS’s comprehensive review of CBL, Dominic Chilvers, Kathryn Hay, Jane Maidment, and Raewyn Tudor, professors and social workers that specialize in fieldwork education, synthesized literature on work-integrated learning programs to identify key characteristics of the framework. There are three major themes and strategies used in the model. One theme is the prioritization of preplacement preparation for students and educators (Chilvers et al. 435-436). This means that work-integrated learning courses emphasize social awareness and cultural understanding before engaging in practicum work. This framework also utilizes “service user feedback within student assessment processes” (Chilvers et al. 439). By providing students and community partners with opportunities to give feedback, the relationship between the parties is strengthened, and the student receives important guidance on how to improve. The final theme in Bridge-to-Practicum courses is the adamant implementation of professional supervision to ensure the integrity of the community partner relationship and provide guidance to students as they navigate the course and engage in reflection with course materials and practicum experiences (Chilvers et al. 439-440). The overlap between the two models, as illustrated above, includes the use of intentional preplacement education, critical reflection, and detailed feedback through continued assessments. This pedogeological compatibility makes CBL an ideal candidate for implementation as a Bridge-to-Practicum for BSW students. The similarities in core framework characteristics allow for CBL to be adopted as a form of practicum for BSW students to better contextualize their knowledge and prepare for work in the field. Additionally, this compatibility, in tandem with the popularity of fieldwork placements in BSW programs, allows for widespread and seamless integration. Finally, the similarities between the two models imply that the benefits of bridge-to-practicum courses discussed previously, such as reducing stress and preventing burnout and STS, can also be achieved using CBL courses in BSW programs.  

For too long, the fields of social work and other helping professions have required a willingness to take on immense emotional and mental stress from providers. Along with a responsibility to provide support to long-term professionals to manage symptoms of STS and burnout, social work educators and administrators should be working to prevent the development of those occupational stressors. Implementing community-based learning as a bridge to practicum in BSW programs has the potential to make social work a more sustainable career, allowing professionals to provide quality care for longer, without personal cost. CBL integration provides all the preventative benefits of bridge-to-practicum courses without the cost and time of designing new curricula to target specific concerns. Personalized field placements make sure students are engaged with and accountable for the work they contribute while giving them hands-on experience in the field to practice incorporating theoretical knowledge with practical applications. This new approach should interest the next generation of social workers, as well as the people who teach them. However, beyond this limited audience, the sustainability of the social work field impacts students who deserve a good school counselor, victims of abuse requiring quality support services, foster care providers who need help advocating for a child’s needs, veterans who are having trouble accessing their benefits, and many more. Helping professionals who support those in need every day have been suffering in silence because they were not given to tools to cope with the stresses that come with their service. Community-based learning can be the key to ending that struggle.