Awake and Dreaming

blogging

I've been horrible about blogging this past while. I've been anemic, had bronchitis that wouldn't go away, an ear infection that made me not hear and well just felt generally crappy. Sleep continually won over blogging. I'm better now...

Published 9 Nov 2009 4:20 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: life, sick, sleep

chronic suicide ideation

As most of you know, I work in a program for adults with mental illness who want to reenter the workforce. One of the main criteria for program admission is current stability. In other words, you have to be emotionally ready to work and have enough control...

Published 25 Oct 2009 3:10 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: counseling, student, thoughts, work, workshop

second guessing

I'm second guessing myself today. I don't usually do that. In general, I'm pretty good at leaving work and work and not thinking about it once I get home. Every now and again though, there's a situation which gets under my skin. A decision...

Published 21 Oct 2009 2:00 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: social work, work

Vacation is going amazingly well. I'm hanging out with this fine canine named Apocalypse. He's pretty awesome, but VERY hard to get a picture of as he doesn't hold still long enough. As I mentioned in a previous post a couple months ago, my...

Published 15 Oct 2009 8:31 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: holiday

Vacation

I'm on vacation right now and it's wonderful! I took that picture on Friday. My friend and I sat on some rocks and just "were". It was amazing. I am soooo relaxed, and I'm finally getting healthy too. It turned out I was quite anemic...

Published 12 Oct 2009 9:50 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: friends, holiday, sick

realities of life

I haven't posted about death in quite a while. Since switching jobs, I haven't had nearly as many encounters with death, although I will say that every time I work at the shelter, one of the first things I find out is if anyone has died. So, it...

Published 3 Oct 2009 6:24 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: death, thoughts

there's a cat on my head.

My orange cat is on my head right now. NOT impressed. Oh well. So, big revelation of the week. I need to SLOW DOWN! Yesterday I came into the office and got right down to business. Things with the student and with new staff had left me kind of overwhelmed...

Published 30 Sep 2009 4:13 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: counseling, paperwork, pet peeves, social work, student, work

busy bee

I interacted with 14 client files today. I cannot tell you how much I hate that expression. Read More...

Published 29 Sep 2009 4:15 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: paperwork, pet peeves, whining, work

mindlessness perhaps the opposite of mindfullness

I had an awesome day today. Starbucks, pick up people for church. I lead the service a church this morning (sermon and all) and I didn't die during the children's story. Children's stories are NOT my forte. After church I drove people home...

Published 28 Sep 2009 4:33 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: church, holiday, life, thoughts

learning contract

So I haven't given you guys an update on my social work student since my panic earlier this month. I had NO idea having a student would be this much work. Or well, I sort of did, but really, it's A LOT of work! I think I'm settling into a...

Published 27 Sep 2009 4:09 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: counseling, social work, student, thoughts, work

sleeeeep

Volunteering tonight was exhausting. We had a great youth group in from out of town to help us, but they of course needed direction. One semi good conversation with a guest though. Also, Olay Daily Facials Express are great for "sponge" baths...

Published 26 Sep 2009 6:09 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: me, sleep, street ministry

falling

So get this. I fell down my apartment stairs this morning on my way to work. I've complained on here before about feeling like I have ear problems, well, this doesn't make me feel any better. Thankfully, I caught myself, and my coffee mug fell...

Published 24 Sep 2009 4:31 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: counseling, employment, me, social work, work

decisions, decisions.

My thought for today is that I either need to go back to Yoga or back to therapy. Maybe both. I'm not making a decision till after my holiday though. stay tuned tomorrow for why I'm pissed off about the material I learned in my food handlers course...

Published 23 Sep 2009 3:39 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: attitudes, counseling, homelessness, me, pet peeves, yoga

counselling

I had a super intense session with someone today. We had a really intense one last week too. I don't know if the client finds things as intense as I do, but I feel like we're really hitting the root of some incredibly deep pain. I've been...

Published 22 Sep 2009 4:17 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: counseling, employment, mental health, work

Popcorn

I love popcorn. Seriously. I love it. I'm eating some right now and it makes me incredibly satisfied. It can't fix all my problems, but it makes things temporarily right in my world. Hmmm what else can I say. This trying to blog every day thing...

Published 21 Sep 2009 3:32 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: family, friends, life, me, Oliver

Blue sky

Today was a gorgeous day. I ignored all the calls from the shelter asking me to do a shift and enjoyed the sunshine. Our church put on a free family fun day for the neighbourhood and so I hung out at that, playing with the kids, cooking up some hotdogs...

Published 20 Sep 2009 5:01 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: church, me, street ministry

so blessed

I recieved a letter from my sponsor child today. They (she and her family) thanked me for the picture of Sophie and I and said my cat looked very healthy. Then they said that they prayed for me each day and night. I almost cried. I am sure that they do...

Published 19 Sep 2009 5:48 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: me

Life goes on and on

So, inspired by the Anti Social Social Worker, who was inspired by someone or another, I'm going to try and write at least a sentance everyday. In all truth, I've been too anhedonic/apathetic to write. Having depression sucks, and September is...

Published 18 Sep 2009 4:57 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: life, me, Oliver, student

So, I have a social work student...

This is Sophie Cat. See her stare? She is saying "help my girl" (Oliver Lockhart just keeps walking across the keyboard erasing things). So, why do I need help? Well, my social work student arrived yesterday. My very first one. I had done lots...

Published 9 Sep 2009 1:38 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: Oliver, sophie, student

This made me smile

Workshop

I don't know if I've ever mentioned on here just how hard it is for me to sit still. I'm pretty sure I have, but in any case, I'll say it again... I CAN'T SIT STILL! I mean, I do fine in counselling session, but I limit those to an...

Published 26 Aug 2009 2:32 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: social work, student, workshop

Health Day

So, today I took a "health day" not a "sick" day, but a health day. In other words, I took a day off before I got sick, hopefully to prevent said sickness. Working a job by myself which is supposed to have to people has been wearing...

Published 25 Aug 2009 3:14 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: car, friends, sick, thoughts, work

taking a vacation

WestJet is by far my favourite airline, and in just 45 short days I will be taking a plane, just like the one pictured, to go see one of my very best friends. I can't tell you how excited I am. The catch? I've never met her before. So, how are...

Published 24 Aug 2009 4:14 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: firsts, friends, thoughts

blogger's block

I have bloggers block. Bad. I've just got nothing to write about. Except I do, oh how I do! Even though I make lists, and put things aside to write about later, I still can't manage to actually have an inspiration when I sit down at the computer...

Published 23 Aug 2009 4:56 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: life

craaaaaay week

It is amazing to me, that one of my clients could ingest more than 200 pills, wind up at the hospital in an ambulance, be treated in emergency and be released with no admission, not even a follow up. The day before that they refused to admit her to psych...

Published 22 Aug 2009 5:53 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: me, mental health, Oliver, suicide, whining, work

Workplace Conflict

I teach/lead a class/group on conflict as part of our pre-employment workshops. It always seems so cut and dry when I'm doing that. I give them this easy to use and fairly simple conflict resolution process that I actually believe works. Unfortunately...

Published 14 Aug 2009 3:30 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: work

rant around the clock

I'm having an issue at work that I'm kind of getting sick of. My clients seem to have a VERY difficult time keeping their appointments. Now, I don't mind the occasional missed appointment that was forgotten about, and I of course don't...

Published 13 Aug 2009 1:39 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: counseling, mental health, pet peeves, thoughts, whining, work

Hearing Voices - Workshop

Last week I went to a fascinating workshop called " Hearing Voices that are Distressing ". It's based on the idea that a person can experience hearing voices, as someone with schizophrenia might, the same way a person can experience a physical...

Published 10 Aug 2009 3:23 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: mental health, social work, workshop

Social Worker...

Here we have a picture of me giving Oliver Lockhart a bath. He looks sort of like I've been feeling. I finally feel like a social worker, for all the wrong reasons. I feel like a social worker because my case load suddenly doubled because the other...

Published 7 Aug 2009 3:58 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: Oliver, paperwork, social work, spiritual direction, staff relations, thoughts, work, workshop

don't give up on me yet!

Hello faithful readers of this blog. this is a message to say. Don't give up on me yet! One of these days there will be more awesome social work blogging! I'm enjoying my new job a lot, but it's not as exciting as working at the shelter, that's...

Published 19 Jul 2009 6:15 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: blood, life, Oliver, social work, sophie, work

Meet Oliver Lockhart

So I went to the Pet Store where I bought Sophie Cat the other day. I hadn't been there since I brought her home... someone new came home with me... This is Oliver Lockhart (Oliver from Oliver and Company, Lockhart from Gildoroy Lockhart from Harry...

Published 13 Jul 2009 3:44 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: Oliver, sophie

A typical day (week) at the office

This is my office... or well, my desk. The picture is taken standing in between my two chairs. My sister asked me today what a typical day at my job was like. I had a hard time answering because all my days are different, I can definitely talk about a...

Published 5 Jul 2009 3:34 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: social work, work

The Sophie Cat's day as a Social Work Cat

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my job? Well, it turns out that Sophie Cat doesn't mind it either. I brought her to work today, this is a picture of the last time she came to work, but I didn't think to take any today. My workplace is...

Published 4 Jul 2009 4:48 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: counseling, sophie, work

it's a lot easier

Lesson of the week: Sometimes it is WAY easier to be a social worker than a friend. One of dearest and most beloved friends is currently dealing with extremely debilitating anxiety. If she was a client, I would know what to do, but it's so much harder...

Published 30 Jun 2009 3:46 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: bike, friends, learning, life, mental health, social work

Sophie Cat gets a summer hair cut!

disclosure

Something that was drilled into us during school was the idea that you can't take a client further than you've gone yourself. In otherwords, deal with your own crap before you try and help people deal with there's. If you can't bear to...

Published 22 Jun 2009 2:29 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: mental health, work

It's SUMMER (almost)

You know, it's a big stereotype that Canada is cold all year round. However, my city has certainly lived up to that this spring. It has been so, so, so cold. Snow in May! So not fair. Anyway though, today was gorgeous. It was our church picnic and...

Published 15 Jun 2009 2:14 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: church, detox, life, me, shelter, summer, work

What I'm reading this week: Confidentiality in mental health

Cordless, C. (Ed.). (2001). Confidentiality in mental health . London. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. One thing of note when reviewing an edited volume is that each article is not equally good or equally relevant to one’s interests. This book for example...

Published 11 Jun 2009 3:21 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: book review, mental health

Workshop Tomorrow: Mental Health First Aid

So tomorrow and Thursday I am taking a Mental Health First Aid workshop. At first I wasn't all the interested in it, but it's got a really great reputation and I'm really looking forward to it. Basically, the idea is that just as we provide...

Published 10 Jun 2009 3:28 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: workshop

cleaning (gulp)

So, things you may not know about the dreamer. I am VERY messy. Very, very, very messy. My apartment was definitely turning into a fire hazard (although some claim it was turning into a bio hazard). So, naturally, instead of cleaning it myself, I exercised...

Published 8 Jun 2009 3:58 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)

Filed under: life, me, sophie, whining

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