Therapist's Guide to Clinical Intervention: The 1-2-3 of Treatment Planning

The book, Therapist's Guide to Clinical Intervention: The 1-2-3 of Treatment Planning, has been one of the most useful books that I have used at my school internship.  This book includes a list of all DSM5 diagnosis and how to treat them based on how your client is showing certain criteria.  What’s great about this book is that it also has information on other issues outside of the DSM-5 such as Suicide, physical pain, social issues, bullying and much more.  The book also has some useful forms for all social workers.  These forms include confidentiality, suicide contracts and much more. 

Where this book is limited is that it is not specific to the school setting.  The book is more general and will give you information for all areas of social work. 

The book is compiled of best practices for each diagnosis or specific situation that a client is facing.  

All interventions in the book are evidence based.  One thing that is important with this book to know is that since it is evidence based and new research is always being conducted, it is best to buy the most current version.  

School Social Worker Priority Sheet

The item of interest that I chose was titled “Clinical School Social Work”.  Starting out at Hersey High School I was tossed right into the mix of things just as I was hoping.  What I quickly learned is that the role of a school social worker has many responsibilities and knowing how to prioritize can be difficult and drain on positive thoughts.  My supervisor created a priority sheet for me so I would know what takes precedence of others.  This was a mind saver for me and in a way, a form of self-care. 

School social workers are pulled in many directions and have a large number of responsibilities and tasks to complete in a short day.  This sheet helps me keep my day straight when things come up that are not planned.  Every school might have a different order that your supervisor wants you to follow but the top three things will be universal.  Crisis control always takes precedence over any other responsibility.  That does not mean that just because a student comes down to your office unexpectedly that you send your normal scheduled student back to class.  It means seeing what the crisis is and determining if it can wait.  Suicidal idealization is more important than a student who wants to talk about what his/her friend said to them.  The social worker still needs to use judgement while using this sheet.