Abra Kelson: Working Through Stigmas Associated With the Social Worker Position

Sometimes, patients may misunderstand the role of the social worker as part of the care team, but ultimately, they end up really being appreciative of the services, said Abra Kelson, MSW, LSWA-IC, medical social work supervisor, Northwest Medical Specialties.

Transcript

As a social worker who is part of a care management team, do you run into situations where patients see a stigma around needing help from a social worker or misunderstand what your role is?

Yea, all the time. I think I’ve actually played with the idea of not introducing myself as a social worker but rather, I’m a licensed mental health professional. Or, just because depending on their experience with a social worker, maybe their families or their friend, they can relate it to CPS [Child Protective Services]—[they think] you’re the one that takes kids away or you’re the one that makes us do things we don’t want to. But then other times people have had experience with social workers and they’re like, “oh my god a social worker, oh thank you for coming. I just want to meet with the social worker because I know that they’re the person that can help with resources and support and those types of things.”

You kind of hear both. But I find that when I do get that initial reaction, those people end up really being appreciative of my services, and I think that maybe I change that stigma for them.