r/socialworkcanada

Any tips for BSW interview at Surrey Memorial Hospital (Fraser health Authority). I am doing one soon and so nervous. Any tips or suggestions? Thank you in Advance :)

Hi everyone,
I’m a Registered Social Worker (RSW) in the Greater Toronto Area and I’m trying to learn more about staffing and recruitment agencies that work with social workers.
Has anyone had positive experiences with agencies that recruit for hospital, mental health, community, or disability management positions?
I’m interested in hearing about agencies you’ve worked with, whether you’d recommend them, and what your experience was like.
Thank you! 😊🙏

I am based in the US, New York specifically. I have a patient moving to Toronto who would like to continue with me virtually. According to the rules on the Ontario college of social work site it seems that I would not be eligible to work with them virtually. But when I look at the rules for registering as a social work in Ontario with a foreign license, it says you need a work permit. Is it possible to register a social worker in Ontario without a work permit if I am still based in the US so I can see this patient virtually?

hey I’m 19 and I’m thinking of majoring in sociology and then going into social work. I like talking and listening to people and I want to do something kind of helpful and useful. I don’t really care about making like a ton of money or anything. do you guys like your jobs? like if you could go back and do something else would you?

Does anyone have any experiences of unionizing social workers that you would feel comfortable sharing?

I would love to hear any inspiring stories!

Hey, my partner has her MSW and we are currently in the territories. We are transferring to Calgary this week and she’s been applying to jobs, but hasn’t heard anything back for any of them.

She got her MSW last year, and had a Bachelor’s in HR prior to that. She’s got years of adjacent experience, working as an early intervention therapist, doing respite work, working as a youth support worker for at risk youth, doing her practicum at the hospital up north, as well as a second practicum with Child and Family Services. She’s currently a School Wellness Mentor for the schools here. She’s done a lot of work with youth and also ran a non profit as a volunteer supporting at risk youth while up north.

Despite that, she’s getting no calls back or responses. Can anyone help me out and explain to us what the job market is like in Calgary?

Thank you for your time!

Hi guys, I am writing to you today because I don't know what to do with my life anymore (and I have the suspicion I am just trying to run from my problems).

I have about 5 years experience in pharmaceuticals and have been placed on a PIP at work (by my own fault). I am 28 and still live at home due to the fact working in pharmaceuticals ties me to live in the gta and I can't afford much in terms of housing here on the salary I make. I used to do laboratory work before but that was also a poor fit.

My degree is in bio with a minor in psych (which I was ambivalent about). I do have experience with kids (I used to work summer camps and also did tutoring for low income kids for a spring-summer years ago before my depression got to me and I stopped showing up).

Lately I have been considering starting over with a BSW. I am not sure what attracts me about social work. I don't think my current job really deals with people though I guess we do get complaints from them. Anyway sorry if this is more of vent post. Should I uproot my life like this?

Edit: forgot to add my parents are getting older and my undergrad gpa was middling (I think a 3.3) at best which is partially why I am in the position that I am

Hello!

I'm currently licensed as a Licensed Professional Counselor in the US but will be moving to Canada. In the US, if you are licensed as a social worker or counselor, you can work almost all of the same jobs. However, I'm realizing that's not exactly the case in Ontario. I have a MS in Counselor Education and the bulk of my 10+ years of experience is in crisis intervention, and supervision of both crisis intervention services and intensive case management services.

Many of the jobs I have looked at that are similar to my work experience are often in hospitals that require registration with OCSWSSW and there seem to be fewer Registered Psychotherapy jobs posted. It seems that someone registered as a social worker would be able to do virtually everything a RP could do, however a RP seems more limited. My question is with my background, is it possible to register with OCSWSSW? My degree is in counseling in the US, but I believe I have work experience that would qualify, though I'm not exactly clear on what combination of education/experience OCSWSSW would accept. Any thoughts? Thanks so much!

Hi everyone! I just graduated from university and I’m thinking about applying for my MSW at some schools in Ontario. I don’t have a BSW so i’ll have to do the 2 year route. Any advice for getting into schools? I’ve heard mixed things about the competitiveness and I’m worried i won’t get in.

For context, I have a 3.8 subgpa and a BASc in Child development. I’ve worked in social services, child cares and therapy clinics. Any advice to help my application id appreciate!

For those who've had experience as a social worker in LTC, how does it compare to hospital social work? Is it less acute and hospital-like? I've worked a few casual shifts in hospital after graduating with my MSW and didn't enjoy it at all. I'm someone who enjoys building connections with clients and families. I'm considering applying to jobs in government-run LTC but wondering what it's really like and whether a sensitive introvert like me could survive in that setting. Any insight appreciated, thanks!

does anyone have any recommendations for places that i could book same-day counselling with (toronto)? hoping to talk to a professional as i’m going through something devastating right now

I (25F) have my MSW (master of social work) degree, that im not using right now as I am in the federal government in essentially a boring data entry role. I have always envisioned myself working within schools, as both my placements were in schools except more in like a supporting the resource teacher capacity.

Anyway, I am having a slight quarter life crisis and realizing even though my goal has always to be a school social worker, I may never get all the qualifications they ask for (which involves 5+ years of counselling and crisis work) and I also am not sure if I even want to still do this.

I also noticed that teachers college is shifting to a 1 year program which is enticing, so I am debating switching gears and becoming a teacher, however I don't really have an interest in actual "teaching" and more so working in resource and one-on-one mainly with students.

Basically im wondering if anyone has started out in either of these professions and wishes they switched or is happy they didn't, or would caution against one or the other.

Thanks!

Hi everybody!

Is the BSW from university of Maine recognized in Canada?

thanks

Hi!!

I just got accepted into an art therapy program that will register me as a psychotherapist in Ontario/ Canada.

I am having major thoughts that an MSW might be a better play as job prospects could be broader.

I do want to go into private practice but also open to how that would look. I have a good career that can support me until I am ready to start my next chapter - career is very social work adjacent and I will have 20 plus years of solid professional work with people / kids.

Should I just go for the psychotherapy route and hold my breath ? Or would MSW be safer and broader ?

Also, how would an MSW grad get into the area of clinical/ private asap after school? ( I would be 50 years old with a wealth of related experience in education )

Hi everyone. I am 25 and completed my MSW at Carleton 2 years ago. I want to start by saying I have never really had any counselling roles, as my placements we not very structured because even though they were both in schools I essentially just sat with youth and helped them complete their classwork while having casual conversations with them.

So I believe I am finally "healed" after the burnout from my MSW and ready to get back into social work type work. However I have been working for the federal government essentially doing data entry for 2 years now, and every time I apply to MSW level roles they always require 3+ years experience counselling with different modalities, none of which my MSW prepared me for. I just feel stuck in this loop of thinking I should go back to get my Masters in psychotherapy, or just give up on my dream of being a school social worker. I have bought some books on MI, CBT, DBT, IFS and ACT that I am going to start reading, but I am just feeling so discouraged right now.

I've noticed some new psychotherapy practices say they hire new grads for psychotherapy, but this doesn't even seem ethical to me as I don't even have official counselling experience, and the thought of sitting in front of a client gives me so much anxiety as I have literally no idea what to do.

Sorry if this is really messy and sounds a lot like I'm complaining because I am grateful to have a job right now even though it's not in this field, I believe this is just a quarter life crisis when I hear my colleagues my age say they can't wait to stay in our current job for 30 years and then just retire and collect their pension. I have so much more passion than that it just seems so far out of reach even though I did all the "right" things and got my MSW fairly young. I did just start as an volunteer for kids help phone recently but even then I feel stuck on what to say.

Since I think this may be asked: I got into my MSW because I did a lot of volunteering with the dementia society (which was just talking to clients on the phone who were lonely) and my job experience was in policy work.

Someone please tell me what to do with my life :')

Hi,

I’m a male social worker in BC and i find it extremely difficult to relate to most of my male friends as they do not understand the complexities of emotions and how to comfort other people. Outside of work it can be pretty overwhelming dealing with the intensity of my caseload. Just putting this out there to see if anyone else can relate and things they have done to deal with this. Can share more info privately.

I am strongly considering MSW, with no BSW. Wondering … if I had to set up my own practicum, how does that even look? And how would I start wrapping my head around the logistics of a placement where I could learn about clinical psychotherapy type social work ?? Please share how this all develops -

Hi all-

I’m a new grad social worker currently on a job search and set to start in September (been off on maternity leave as graduation day was the same day as my due date lol)

I’ve worked in the school district and health authority for the past 11 years in support work roles so am not totally green to the field. I’ve been applying with no luck getting on with the health authority as I don’t have my license yet- booked for August.

I applied and was awarded a job at a 136 bed long term care facility- my worry is I would be the only social worker and the position has been open for months unfilled. These stick out to me as potential red flags?

Anyone work in this kind of role and have input or advice?

Hello everyone, I just need to vent a little.

I have an MSW and honestly, I’m frustrated with the social work job market right now within the GTA. It feels like there are a lot of people competing for the same positions, and getting an actual MSW-level role has been much harder than I expected.

My previous position was more in line with my education and clinical interests, but it was a maternity leave contract, so I knew from the start that it wasn’t permanent. When that ended, I had to look elsewhere, which resulted in me obtaining a case management/community support role.

While I am grateful for it and that it’s close to my home, it feels disappointing after spending years earning a master’s degree and then not being able to land the type of role I trained for.

I’m trying to stay positive and remind myself that experience is experience, but some days I wonder if anyone else with an MSW has found themselves in a similar situation. Did things eventually improve for you? How long did it take before you landed a role that felt like a better fit for your education and career goals?

Just looking to hear from others who have been through something similar.

I’ve been at my new case management job for about a month, and honestly, I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed. There is a lot to learn, and I often feel disorganized trying to keep up with everything.

Recently, I had a situation where police took a client to the hospital. My manager completed the incident report, so I didn’t think to record the officers’ badge numbers. A colleague later told me it’s a good idea to be proactive and note them in the future. It was good feedback, but after a comment from a homeowner, I couldn’t stop feeling dumb about it.

I’m finding myself having a lot of self-doubt lately and wondering if I’m cut out for this work, even though I know I’ve only been here for a month. Every time I miss a detail or learn something I should have done differently, I feel like I’m failing instead of learning.

Has anyone else felt this way when starting out in case management or social services? Did the feeling eventually go away as you gained more experience?