I have a multifaceted role working at private schools in Philadelphia. I work individually with students to identify feelings and develop coping skills; teach social emotional learning classes to entire classrooms; help families access community resources; teach parent and teacher workshops on mental health or community resource information. I also meet with students in crisis, and help families identify and access mental health resources.
I worked in foster care for two years directly after obtaining my BSW. After receiving my MSW I worked in community behavioral health, helping families access behavioral health services and doing psychological diagnostic testing for psychological evaluations, as well as providing behavioral health services directly to children and families in their home and school. I then worked at a pediatric health care facility, providing brief counseling to families that came for visits, and helping families access community resources, especially in the area of mental health. I enjoyed working at schools when I was in community behavioral health and had been keeping my eye out for positions in schools in Philadelphia and discovered Catapult in 2020.
Messiah's Social Work program laid the groundwork for my Social Work identity and knowledge. The emphasis on the Social Work core values was helpful to understand what the profession entailed and what would be expected of me in the field.
Would you recommend Messiah's BSW program to future social workers?
Definitely! I loved that we had two main professors who got to know us really well. I loved the small class size and getting to know everyone. I appreciated that we could incorporate our faith into the classes as well.