Memoirs of A Healer/Clinical Social Worker: Autobiography of Bruce Whealton

Chapter 12: My Introduction to Psychiatric Social Work

After graduating from Georgia Tech and knowing where I wanted to go with my life, I needed to take steps to make this major transition. It's so crazy how my parents seemed to know that engineering was so wrong for me but they spent so much time still trying to get me to work as an engineer. I'm not saying that the money would not have helped but no one was going to hire me because I am not an actor. Celta was the only one I knew who could act but that was another story.

Beginning in January of 1990, I approached Georgia Regional Hospital and declared my desire to work as a volunteer with the social work team so that I could build a career as a psychiatric social worker. I explained that I planned to get a master's in social work, but I did not have experience in the field. I just had a passionate desire to help others.

I would volunteer a few hours every week. I met with the Licensed Clinical Social Worker on the Adult intake unit of the hospital. This is the unit where new arrivals were admitted. There was also a medical unit and an area for those who were criminally insane.

This was in Augusta, Georgia. I had moved in with my parents as I mentioned previously. They used various coercive measures to get me to find work while simultaneously making me feel like shit for not working as an engineer... and even the types of jobs I was encouraged to accept added to the shame. Busboy for example was one such job. I had spent five years running a mental marathon to bus tables! I could feel the shame of that. I am not one that looks down on others but during this time as a Georgia Tech graduate, I was made to feel shame for doing jobs like this. The pressure I felt from my parents was an inspiration to take whatever job existed.

I alluded to various other jobs that I had during this time. It's not relevant to this story to list them all. Some jobs eventually required me to use my mind but not all of these jobs required a college degree.

At Georgia Regional Hospital I was instructed in how to do an intake assessment that the social work staff needed. Not only was it a requirement but the information could and would be used for their treatment while they were patients.

The building had locked units. However, people could go outside once they had been there for a little while. That is an interesting policy given that some if not most of them were required to stay there. I suppose if a patient was suicidal they might be watched closely.

The intake assessments were very interesting to do. I got a chance to get to know people and what brought them into the hospital. I want to emphasize that it wasn't just about the problems that brought them into the hospital. I was getting a full psychosocial history from and/or of the patients. This wasn't busy work for my own education. I was doing a task that was very much required and necessary.

This was immensely rewarding.

I had access to other information from nurses and doctors, including psychiatrists. So, this was quite a learning experience also.

My social skills were continuing to grow through practice. I was seeing people at their worst. And some people had problems that directly affected their ability to communicate. This required on my part empathy, compassion, active listening skills, and various other social skills.

I also spoke to family members and others outside the hospital to gather additional information.

I was learning about diagnoses. Most importantly, I was learning about people and the problems that affect others. I began to see how just talking to others as I was doing is helpful. People wanted to talk to me. People wanted to share their stories. I'm not saying everyone was easy to talk to.

There were patients who had problems that made communication difficult. Some people had problems with reality testing. Some had difficulties related to their insight into why they were there or why they had been brought to the hospital.

I sat in on staff meetings as well. A rotation of medical students or interns was beginning just as I started that year of 1990. I felt like I belonged.

It was a great experience - the entire time I was there. I learned so much. It was challenging but I found everything so rewarding that I was eager to do the work that I was doing.

I knew that I had made the right decision to go into social work -psychiatric social work. I knew I was on the right path.