r/socialwork • u/Fun_Association_1522 • 1d ago
Professional Development Mistakes
How do yall deal with making mistakes in your clinical practice? Not catastrophic ones but reflecting and regretting your choice, wishing you’d done something differently, etc. I’m really struggling with forgiving myself for not doing the absolute intervention or using all the right words the first time.
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u/Zylik1234 1d ago
Don't over think it. You made a mistake, reflected and thought about what you could have done better. That's all you can do. Move on and incorporate your reflection on your next experience.
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u/leafyfire LMSW 1d ago
Easy, I don't.
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u/LavenderBlooze 1d ago
Honestly, this. We tell our clients they’re only human and make mistakes. The same stands for us!
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u/Burbujitas 1d ago
I’m bachelor’s level and psych degree, so maybe I’m just not ascendant enough, but… I overplay my mistake in my head. I process/vent with a coworker. I discuss in supervision if needed. And eventually I mentally justify it so I can move on and stop seeing myself as dumb/mean/lazy.
Earlier this week, a very capable client (independently got a job, for example) was being uncooperative in coordinating medical care that they were requesting. Said they don’t know the doctor’s number, then that they can’t look it up because they don’t know the name, then refused to type it as I spelled it out for them. Client knew I was driving and insisted I text them the name when I reached the meeting I was going to. I said, in an exasperated and sarcastic tone, “Ok, [name]” and hung up the phone. It was rude of me.
I replayed my sassiness all day, hoping they missed my verbal eye roll. But also, I’m just another human. The client “chose” not to be resourceful or helpful. I “chose” to express frustration. I know this isn’t catastrophic. So to cut the mental replay off, I eventually let the justifications take over so I didn’t feel so bad about it. I’m obviously aware of my mistake, rapport was fine thereafter, and patience is something I’m working on. Sometimes you gotta indulge in some defenses to stop beating yourself up.
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u/RJPartee20 1d ago
Just learn from it and try not to do it again. As long as it didn’t kill anyone or make someone homeless I’m ok.
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u/SWMagicWand LMSW 🇺🇸 1d ago
This is how you learn.
There’s really not much social workers can do that will kill someone.
This is always how it’s been reframed to me.
We also have to act on the info we have on hand at the time.
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u/displacedpom 1d ago
You didnt make a mistake you located best practice. Change the framing and take the learning.