Master of Social Work
Cassandra was working as a front-line worker at an addictions centre in Winnipeg when she reached the point of emotional exhaustion. “We weren’t able to provide the services for clients that they needed. There were incredibly long wait lists for counselling and housing,” she recalls. “I really struggled with that.”
When she decided to pursue her MSW, Cassandra chose to study the shame and burnout experienced by social work students like herself. She ended up winning Carleton’s 3MT competition with her 3-minute thesis presentation.
“Many students felt shame if they failed to cope emotionally with the work. They felt the pressure to hold it all together and to be a provider, not a receiver of services,” she explains. “These ingrained expectations threaten our ability to practice long-term.”
With her Master’s degree in hand, Cassandra has now moved into the policy realm, conducting research for an organization in Toronto that serves homeless youth.
Monday, September 12, 2016 in FPA Voices, People, School of Social Work
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