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University Daily Kansan / Tuesday. April 14, 1992
Anger fuels fire for social workers
Professors teach future welfare workers techniques for coping
By Janet Rorholm
Kansan staff writer
When social workers treat a child covered with welts, bruises and burn marks, they soon discover that approaching the abusive parent with compassion can seem impossible.
Rick Spano, associate professor of social welfare, has been struggling with situations such as this one for 26 years.
Sometimes you feel like hitting the parents, he said. But Spano tries to help them.
Spano said that social work of any kind — working with the homeless, the elderly, the dying or the poor — was an extremely emotional career but that those same emotions were sustaining.
"If it doesn't bother you, that is the best indicator that you're not doing the work," he said. "It's OK to get angry. Anger is like a fuel, it keeps me going."
It is important for students of social welfare to deal with these emotions
early, Spanosaid.
"I've seen it it get to people in two ways," he said. "The first is burnout. You become overwhelmed. And the second is developing a level of caloousness. You find yourself just going through the motions."
To prevent this, Spano and other professors in the welfare school teach students to take care of themselves, to understand their own limits and to release their emotions.
He said social workers often formed support groups at the office.
It's hard for spouses to understand what you're going through if they work at IBM where they do not face the same things. Spano said.
You cannot go into social work with the attitude that you are going to help everyone and they are going to thank you for it, he said.
The average annual salary for a social worker with a bachelor's degree is$18,000. The salary for those with a master's degree in social welfare ranges from $22,000 to $26,000.
said Forrest Swall, assistant professor of social welfare.
Alia Ahmed, graduate student in social welfare, said that she decided to go into the field because she enjoyed helping people but that she realized not everyone liked being helped.
As part of her practicum in social welfare, Ahmed works for the Bert Nash Community Support Program as a case manager. She works with people who have long-term or persistent mental illnesses.
She said that the teachers at KU helped her understand her role as a social worker, which was to be the client's companion. People who need help have the strength to help themselves if they get support.
Ahmed used to work with a homeless woman at another job. She said that it was often difficult to go home at night knowing that she had a home to go and the woman did not.
"But I had to remember that this woman had been through worse
Not everyone appreciates the work that social workers do, she said. The pay for social workers is not very high, which may have something to do with society's value system.
Society's view of people that need social welfare or help from social workers is often negative, Ahmed said. These people have experienced difficult situations that the average person has never encountered.
things and she would survive this," Ahmed said.
"if you listen to the stories, you'd be surprised at the number of people that are only a paycheck away from receiving welfare," Ahmed said.
But despite the emotions, the lack of support from society, and the low pay, Ahmed and other social workers said that they had chosen the right career.
"It feels really good to know that once in a while I can make a difference in someone's life," Ahmed said. "It is hard to put a monetary value on that."
At right: Alia Ahmed (center) helps her clients work through their problems. She offers counsel to Tanya, Jaye and Sandy.
Below: Jaye seeks support from a group called "I'm OK," sponsored by the Bert Nash Community Support Program. The group helps people develop positive living skills.
Daron J.Bennett/KANSAN
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