social work vs. psychology?

[Twisted Fate]

I hope this is the right place to put this.

I've taken many psychology and social work classes and I've found different believes about therapy in each. I'm going to list some of the differences and I want opinions on what you would prefer in a therapist and what you agree with and don't agree with.

In my social work classes they told us that it is ok for the therapist/social worker to touch the client (like hugs and a pat on the arm that kind of thing), especially if the client is really upset and is having a hard time. In psychology however they say not to touch the client and that it's unprofessional. Plus the hug or whatever could be taken the wrong way.

In social work they say it's ok for the therapist to share personal information with the client. This can be used to relate to the client and show the client the therapist has some understanding of what the client is going though or what the client is feeling. This does not mean that the therapist takes up the whole time talking about himself, more like just a few minuets to share something relating to the situation that might help the client. Psychology again takes the opposite side and it's not really appropriate for the therapist to self disclose information. The client is not there to hear the therapist talk about his problems or things the therapist has gone though.

Social work professors say it's ok for the therapist to show emotion and even cry (I don't mean like bawling, just a tear or two). They say it shows they are human and that it's ok to show emotion as along as it's done appropriately (meaning not bawling at what the client says and stuff like that). Again most psych professors think the opposite. Clients are not there to comfort the therapist. What client wants to see their therapist cry?

Right now I think I agree more with psychology's view on these things. I would really like to hear everyone opinions. I'm in school to be a social worker so I want to know what clients prefer.

[whirlpools]

I think the approach generally should consider the individual patient and what is helpful and best for them. I think that someone should work on the ideas of psychology to begin with - not disclosing, not touching, until they understand the patient's history and current psychology.

I don't necessarily think the disciplines are so separate.

I've never had a social worker, but I have had psychotherapists who didn't touch me or tell me anything about themselves. And that worked fine for me.

I've also had a psychologist who did occasionally touch me and offered to hug me (my choice) and did sometimes tell me things about her, and that worked for me as well.

[88shelz]

i think it really depends on the person in the session and their situation
i know that i wouldnt be happy with my therapist huggin me or crying along with me. that woulld make me feel so awkward
other people may find that helpful though

[Stellata]

Hmm...

My psychotherapy training [as far as it went...] had very different grounding.

The whole touch thing depends on what school of therapy one is using. Some types are for touch [especially body psychotherapy, which relies on it a lot of the time to facilitate therapeutic movement - but isn't strictly necessary] and some definitely against it. But really it is about the client.
Many times I've ached for a hug. But I know that it's not part of the whole thing.
Also, one needs to be very careful with abuse and trauma survivors. Touch may be desired, but can spark off a whole chain of flashbacks along with an unquenchable longing.

Disclosure again depends on the school of therapy. Humanistic therapists may use it, but in analytic/psychodynamic work it can mess with the transference big time, and so is avoided.

I also have never had a social worker, so can't comment there.

[Too Shy]

I agree that different approaches work best in different situations.

Personally I'm not comfortable with physical contact at all in that situation, just because of anxiety, so I'd hate touch - and like Stellata said, it may also bring up a huge amount of issues for abuse and trauma survivors. And from the other point of view, there's also that risk of being interpreted the wrong way, so I don't personally like the idea of too much physical contact, but some individuals may find it very reassuring and helpful sometimes.

Disclosure I tend to find quite helpful in that it can help you relate more and get a sense of understanding. Not going into lots of detail, and not too much, but in some situations it can be useful. One of the times when I was in hospital on a s.136 there was a nurse there who said that he was trying to self-disclose a bit more than usual and build up some trust with me because he'd noticed when I came in how shy and withdrawn and frightened I was. I was struggling to deal with my mum having cancer at the time, and he talked to me a lot about his experiences when his mum was diagnosed with cancer, and he talked to me a lot about what it all means, and it did get my confidence up a bit and my trust in him, so that was very helpful.

Crying I wouldn't be happy with personally, but again there might be some individuals who find it reassuring that other people find their situation sad or difficult too? My social worker almost cried once when I first cried about my nan, but she didn't, and I'm glad. I don't know if anyone else would agree, but if my therapist cried etc I'd feel guilty and worried, and maybe less likely to show my own emotion - if someone else is crying I tend to go the opposite way and be the 'strong' one. But some emotion is reassuring in that they can understand, I guess.

So yes.

[CagedBird]

Well being different job roles I'm assuming that is the reason why both advocate different approaches. Plus like most ppl have pointed out a therapists approach would be dependent upon the type of therapy they offer and the individual needs of their client. So I don't agree or disagree with anything because thank goodness there is no 'right' or 'wrong' way in therapy (well barring the obvious violations).

Personally though, as that is what you asked for, I wouldn't want my therapist to touch or hug me. But then again I don't feel there is a need for that, and i'm pretty fond of my personal space. I don't really need someone to touch me to know that they care. But I understand some people do need that.

Sometimes I want my therapist to tell me stuff about herself and I can get angry when she is so closed off. But actually i'm not sure how i'd feel if she started 'relating' to me with her own personal experiences. I would probably feel that was a dismissal of how I feel. I guess when it comes down to it I like that she is so blank because that way I don't feel so scared about saying something wrong or whatever. Although she will say 'everyone feels.....' to give a bit of perspective once in a while which I think is useful!

I think it is good for a therapist to show emotion but in a very controlled way. If they were robotic I don't think you could build a good theraputic relationship. I like that my therapist and I can have wry smiles and jokes every so often. But I don't show my emotions so the last thing i'd want to deal with is a crying therapist (yep even a few tears). I bounce off people's emotions very easily so I think with me my therapist has to be very careful. Plus although i want to feel heard I don't want her to say 'that makes me feel sad' but that sentiment could be phrased in a different way that makes me feel as though she understands and appreciates what i'm saying but doesn't make it all about her.

I think the basis of any therapy though, whatever type, is to be a good listener. I think you could know every technique under the sun that they teach in therapy school but if you cant listen to what a client tells you either explicitly or implicitly, then it doesn't really matter.

[Katherinelynn]

I'm going to school for the same thing
i really think for social work a lot of it is has to do with the situations
lots of times your working with people in some of the worst situations and sometimes very horrid people who may really need a hug,
unless your working in a counceling or school setting then its a little different, although its always nice in school to feel that someone actualy cares if you disclouse to them

now for therapist and such, people pay... well im not sure how this all works in the UK and other countrys, but im in the US so we pay to have someone to talk at and actually listen
you dont want someones opinion or emotions
i mean some people may, but i personally hate if i dont know someone at all and they touch me. a little paranoid there tho

sorry for any talkings with "you" in it,, writing teacher yells at me for that, cant seem to change my ways

[random.swirls]

I agree that a psychologist/therapist/counsellor is in a very different job role to a social worker.

I have both and with my counsellor it's an hour long session that can be related to whats happening in the here and now or it can look back at situations that happened when I was younger.

With my social worker it is 90% based on the here and now - sometimes we look at practical things like sorting out benefits and so on othertimes we look at my mood, or how im coping, or whats happening with my family it isn't therapy and it's a kind of two way process. She was also responsible for putting me in hospital and again the situations that arose then e.g. her taking me home so I could have some leave meant I travelled in my car.

So yeah I think there is a natural distinction between the two and also I'm talking about having them both involved in my care as mental health professionals. Social workers are frequently involved in childrens welfare and again that is an entirely different kettle of fish

[xlaurenx]

I think as far as professionals go if someone was really upset and crying in a session if they were okay with it, it would be okay to touch or hug them, as sometimes its nice to be hugged etc when your feeling upset i know i do. As far as therapists etc telling clients about well a bit of their life etc would be okay as i know my CPN will sometimes say ' i understand' and am thinking i doubt it type thing and i suppose it would be good if they said that i went through whatever illness they had and have come out the other end etc. Though my CPN has told me abit about her history because i asked the question why she wanted to work in mh.

I agree about it being different roles and what I would expect from a social worker wouldn't be the same as from a therapist.. although I have never had a social worker, I have to say that with most of the people involved in my care it's a lot more relaxed / informal and it is ok to have general chat and them mention personal experiences etc and in some cases I'm perfectly ok with physical contact although I think you always have to be really careful withh that one (I have always been asked "would you like a hug?" which is fine!) but I wouldn't be comfortable with ANY of that in a therapy session.

I just feel like therapy kind of 'ought' to be more formal (not in a bad way) and have more of a specific focus if you're going to get the most you can out of it. Well, I say 'you', I mean 'I' but whatever. I think it's ok for a therapist to show compassion and understanding but I think that's very different from being upset.. for me I want the therapist to be.. human, yeah, but I also want to know that I can say anything without worrying about shocking them or making them upset or whatever. I don't WANT it to be a personal relationship really, I don't want their emotions to come into it at all.

Don't know how I feel about therapists mentioning personal things. The one time my [now ex, hurrah!] therapist did, I know the aim was to make me feel more comfortable but all it actually achieved was me feeling horribly invalidated but I guess that's maybe more how it was done, I don't know.. sort of "Well when I was your age my boyfriend broke up with me and I was depressed but I just suffered in silence like everyone else" Eugh. I think it MIGHT be useful, sometimes, but again you'd just have to be really careful. But personally, I'd just want my therapist to be competent and I absolutely do not believe that necessitates having "personal experience" and even if they do, I'd rather not know about it! I think if they're any good they'll be able to use their own experience without having to say "I understand because I've been through x, y and z".

Oh, rambling, sorry, don't think I've actually said anything useful!