Carol Ammon

What's really important is that many social workers want to fix things, and I think that's really not the most helpful. The goal has to be not so much to advocate for the person, but to help the person advocate for themselves - to teach the skills for an individual to be able to obtain what they need. When you're facing any kind of crisis or difficult situation, people stop breathing and their minds get clogged with all that has to be done. Instead of thinking a step at a time, they think 'oh my god, how am I ever going to get this done?' Part of what I've always done is help people take a breath, stop, use that pause to regroup and think about what's the first thing I need to do to move in the right direction. Once they accomplish that, then they can look at what's the next step. It's not something you learn overnight - if you haven't learned it in your life, it is a skill, and it's a question of helping someone learn and develop those skills so they're more effective for themselves, not doing it for them. You also need to provide encouragement, because it's easy to feel defeated when someone says no or something gets in the way. It doesn't mean you don't ever step in and help - I've called many an attorney on behalf of a client because dealing with attorneys can be very challenging. It's about learning to speak for yourself and not be intimidated by those that seem to have more authority, like your doctor or an attorney, and being able to speak in a way that gets what you need without being offensive.