Opinion: Private Practice: Students and New Graduates

Private Practice: Students and New Graduates

By Malinda Dobyne, LMSW, ACSW, QCSW

In recent years, social work students and new graduates are flocking to the world of private practice. This environment fosters enhancement of clinical knowledge, self-awareness, and most importantly, adequate time for therapeutic rapport building. In addition, work-life balance with a flexible schedule, choices in clientele, and an attractive salary range are some other perks. My colleague Ashley Carter Youngblood who is a fully licensed social worker and marriage and family therapist in the state of Michigan, and I will be writing a series of articles exploring the cost-benefit analysis of private practice. Our goal is to provide important information to consider when answering the questions, is private practice for me and do I have the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to be successful?

To begin this discussion, it is important to reacquaint ourselves with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. On October 13, 1960, the first edition of NASW Code of Ethics was approved by the NASW Delegate Assembly (2024). Since its initial approval, the NASW Code of Ethics has gone through seven revisions, each of which enhances the standards and principles based on our professional organization missions and core values (2024). Now, let’s reflect on these values and ethical principles.

In our profession, there is a consensus that asking for mental health and/or substance abuse services is difficult. As social workers, we value human beings and desire to reduce if not eliminate human suffering. We exhibit and take pride in ensuring individuals are treated with respect, dignity, and worth. Addressing human suffering requires compassion and human connection through collaborative and therapeutic processes. This speaks to the social work value of caring for people in a social construct while personally expecting nothing in return. Those we serve rely heavily on our integrity and competence to provide the assessed and recommended treatment. Our job is to help and not further harm others whether individually and/or collectively.

I have the honor and pleasure to provide clinical supervision for those seeking full licensure and be a field instructor for Master of Social Work (MSW) students. The State of Michigan department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA)  for social work, require Limited Licensed Master’s Social Workers (LLMSW) to complete 4000 hours of relevant work experience and receive clinical supervision from a Licensed Master’s Social Worker (LMSW) (2024). For MSW students, the Council on Social Work Education (2024) requires a “minimum of 900 hours of supervised field instruction.” Due to the brevity of clinical experience, a new graduate entering private practice must ask, is this enough experience?

My experience has afforded me the opportunity to observe the dialectics of integrity and competency in students and inexperienced clinicians providing care. This dialectic can be conceptualized in terms of one’s intent versus impact on the person(s) being served. For example, the intent of an assessment is to gather information on client needs and make treatment recommendations. A client can walk away from the assessment feeling genuinely heard and understood or interrogated and blamed. The latter is clearly not the intent but the impact. To further illustrate the negative impact, I leave you with some common comments from clients and patients I’ve worked with over the years: internships are not “real” work, helping me isn’t reading a book about my problems and telling me what to do, “I can do a better job” helping myself” using Google and self-help books” and the most poignant a therapist has to “earn their stripes like a barber.” Our integrity and competency are an “ART” that takes time to develop and enhance over time. Stay tuned to the next article where I will cover ethical responsibilities to clients, colleagues, and the practice setting.

Malinda Dobyne, LMSW, ACSW, QCSW, has provided mental health care for over 30 years in home and hospital settings, as well as 20+ years in the private practice setting. Currently, she is employed full-time as a Clinical Director and Social Work Supervisor for a partial hospitalization program in Michigan. Additionally, Malinda is the founder and owner of Inner Guidance Therapy and Consultation Services, PLLC and provides psychotherapy, clinical supervision, peer consultation, and mental health awareness workshops. She can be contacted at mdpllc@theanswersarewithinyou.com.

REFERENCES

Council on Social Work Education (2024, March 16). Social Work Education at a Glance. https://www.cswe.org/students/prepare-for-your-education/

National Association of Social Workers (2024, February 8). Code of Ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English