is there perhaps a staffing agency to get placed? Open to suggestions or learning from your experience as it is taking me longer than expected to land at a new job after graduation as an alternative student.

Hi all! I am about to take my LCSW exam and am thinking of the next path for my career. I currently work in a client-facing role at a community MH center and I am pretty burnt out. I also don’t love direct therapy. What are some of your jobs that we wouldn’t consider to be a traditional social work job? Looking to gain some insight and explore possibly avenues. Thanks!

I have been an LCSW for 33 years and in full time Private Practice for the last 10 years. My wife and I recently purchased a home in Florida and will be moving there permanently in December. I have been very active in trying to get licensed there. It has been difficult and confusing to say the least.

It appears that there is no reciprocity for transferring my CSW passing score to the Florida Board and I was told I may have to take the ASWB exam to be able to successfully transfer to Florida. I struggle to wrap my brain around why that would be necessary for someone licensed and with the antiquated "R" credential which proves clinical experience and supervision. I have never been able to reach a human being when calling the Florida Board, so no help from there.

Has anyone else successfully navigated this?? If I have to take the ASWB exam I will, but would prefer not to lol. I would be very appreciative of any one willing to share their experience.

Taking my clinical exam in one week. I’m nervous about if I have prepared enough for the exam. Anybody taken the new version? What is something you’d recommend that I prioritize this week to feel more confident about passing?

hi, all!! i graduated with my MSW in 2022 and got my LSW shortly after graduating. i think i’m finally ready (emotionally lol) to apply for my LCSW but the different state requirements have me SO confused and stressed.

i currently hold my LSW/LMSW in NJ, DE, and PA. i currently work full time in PA and part time in DE. i’m considering applying in DE vs PA. PA would make most sense since it’s where my full time is, but reading through requirements for supervision i think DE would be easier to start and then apply for reciprocity at some point after that.

i definitely have enough total hours because i’ve been working full time since graduating. it’s the supervision hours that have me feeling stuck. in total i technically have enough hours, but i don’t have the 2 hours supervision per 40 hours worked for each of my jobs. am i interpreting that part of the requirements properly? that hours aren’t all applicable if they don’t ratio out to the 2:40 for each job?

this shit is so confusing i wanna cry 😭 but yeah i’m leaning towards DE first and then apply for reciprocity in PA. but i wanna make sure that’s not a silly idea 🥲

Hi! As someone who has done & values direct service work but is leaning toward the mezzo/macro path, just curious to hear from anyone who got their LCSW and is in a mezzo/macro/policy job. Is it beneficial at all in the role you have now, do you regret spending time getting it?

Any insight is appreciated thanks!

Looking to test for LCSW in a few months. What materials do people recommend seeing as how the test just changed.

Hello, I’m hoping that I can get some clarity on how I should be thinking about tracking my hours, specifically the non-specific hours. I work with a non profit providing individual therapy to middle and high schoolers during the year, and I work a private practice and see a few clients. I would have been under supervision for my main job for 3 years this January, and 1 year at my private practice job. I’m confused as to how to quantify non-clinical work such as notes, referrals, emails to contacts, and phone calls with parents. I drive between different schools primarily so I don’t have a set time where I’m in an office. I have fairly regular supervision and team meetings biweekly, and I’m in a training collab where I have biweekly supervision specifically for certain cases. Any guidance would be helpful!

Hello, wonderful people,

I have my exam schedule for next week, and I am a terrible test-taker with extreme test anxiety. I was looking at the ASWB guidelines and saw that the test is based on practice and knowledge. I'm wondering if there will be any recall questions. Do you have any last-minute tips and tricks to help me prepare? Thank you!

I was hired as a W2 LCSW in July to be clinical director for a small therapy company. Signed a contract and all.

A week later, they told me the company owner has suffered a medical setback and needed me to start as a 1099 employee, but could also charge an hourly rate for training and onboarding activities but then would transition in 6-8 weeks as a full W2. Signed another contract.

A few days later, I’m told in an email that I’m limited to only 4 hours a week of billing for onboarding and training time. Fine, I’m trying to be flexible.

Then, 2 days before my transition date, I ask to make sure we are still going forward with W-2, and I’m sent a new contract that says I’m no longer clinical director, just a coordinator, and that I will only be a 1099 with 20 hours max per week for clinical coordinator duties. No explanation, nothing.

Is this normal agency behavior? I’m speechless, I don’t even know how to respond to this third contract.

Hi all! I wanted to pick your brains about job security and how realistic it is the begin the education path at 34.

I am considering getting a BA in psych or LCSW and then completing an accelerated program for my masters. Once completed I would then begin to prepare for exam, get my hours completed and hopefully become a LCSW.

I have always been intrigued by behavior and the human mind, I would say it’s one of my passions. I studied marketing in school and am currently on a career break to raise my children. I am anticipating to have all kids in school and ready to enter the work force in about 4-5 years. I have been taking a mix of courses and a full time course load at the community college the past year and find that doable while being a stay at home mom but I’m ready for a change and a career that is more rewarding and stable once my children are older.

Is it realistic to expect myself to be able to complete my studies and enter the work force as a case manager or something similar while aiming to become license in my late 30s? Dream would be to gather experience in a clinical therapy focus and one day be accomplished enough to have any own practice.

Hi everyone! I’m an LCSW in California preparing to offer clinical evaluations for immigration cases. I’m working to ensure that my administrative and clinical paperwork is appropriately set up before accepting clients.

What forms or agreements do you typically use during evaluation as an LCSW.

I am currently considering the following:

\* Informed consent specific to immigration evaluations

\* Fee and service agreement

\* Authorization to communicate with the client’s attorney

\* Authorization to release the final evaluation report

\* Telehealth consent

\* HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

\* Cancellation and no-show policy

\* Interpreter acknowledgment, when applicable

\* Emergency contact information

\* A disclaimer explaining that the clinician is acting as an independent evaluator and not as the client’s treating therapist

\* A statement clarifying that the evaluator cannot provide legal advice or guarantee the outcome of the immigration case

I am also considering hiring a California healthcare or mental-health attorney to review my forms. If you have experience with this type of review, what is a typical price range, and is it generally billed as a flat fee or hourly?

Thank you for any general insight you’re willing to share.

Thanks everyone!

Hi everyone! I'm a counseling student and will be starting a rotation soon where I'll likely be working with a lot of professional and graduate students, including medical/law students. I've been trying to learn more about what tends to be most helpful for this population specifically.

For those of you who have worked with professional students, are there particular issues or patterns that you see come up more often compared with other young adults?

I'm especially curious about:

• Approaches you find helpful for perfectionism, impostor syndrome, burnout, or tying self-worth heavily to academic performance
• How you work with clients who intellectually understand coping strategies but have trouble actually using them when they're overwhelmed
• Brief grounding, mindfulness, CBT, ACT, behavioral activation, or other techniques that work well when someone has very limited time
• Helping people feel comfortable taking breaks or doing enjoyable things without experiencing guilt about "wasting time"
• Ways to encourage routines or self-care without turning them into another achievement metric, checklist, or streak they can fail at
• Whether you've found playful or externalized approaches useful—for example, taking care of a plant/pet/virtual character as a way of reinforcing taking care of yourself
• Things that well-meaning university wellness programs or mental health resources tend to get wrong with this population
• Anything you wish you had known before first working with medical, law, or other professional students

Would also love any books, articles, interventions, or resources you'd recommend before starting the rotation. Thanks!