5 Great Blogs for Social Workers

Bloggers For Social Workers to Follow

  • Social Work Blog
  • Social Work Career
  • The Political Social Worker
  • Teaching and Learning in Social Work
  • Social Worker Blog

Social work is a broad field that encompasses specialties ranging from dementia care to addiction treatment to foster care placement, and social worker blogs provide a platform for professional education and research collaboration. They also serve as an outlet for workers dealing with difficult cases on a daily basis and a place to discuss relevant news and policy positions. Five blogs that are useful for social workers include the following.

Social Work Blog

This is the blog of the National Association of Social Workers. It is updated an average of four times a month with additional statements published in response to breaking news related to social workers. The posts cover topics including aging and dementia issues, ethics, and mental health work. One of their primary goals, though, is advocacy. The NASW has developed policy positions based on member input, and the blog features analysis of current events based on their platform.

Social Work Career

This blog was started by Dorlee Michaeli, MBA, LMSW, in 2009 as she described her journey returning to school to study social work, leaving a marketing career behind. The primary purpose of the blog is as a professional development resource for other social workers. She offers advice for graduate students and provides tips for passing licensing exams. One of the most popular parts of her blog is the Mental Health Roundup that she curates monthly. This features relevant articles and press releases from multiple sites which saves readers time as they can get all industry updates in one place.

The Political Social Worker

Created by Rachel West, a licenced social worker and professor at Stony Brook University, this blog focuses on political advocacy from a social work perspective. Starting in 2012, The Political Social Worker tackles topics related to gender identity policy, poverty solutions, and race relations. In her posts, she not only discusses the problems but also offers solutions. Plus, this blog provides directions and advice for other workers looking to create social change in their areas.

Teaching and Learning in Social Work

After years of clinical practice, Laurel Hitchcock is now a social work professor and shares her experience, knowledge, and research findings with other social workers in this blog. While she writes about professional training and education as well as public health, the expanding use of technology in social work is one of her primary topics. Forbes reports that computers will have an increasing role in the helping professions through data collection and analysis that can help determine the best course of action for a particular client. Hitchcock’s blog shares new advancements and emphasizes the need to embrace technology in all aspects of social work.

Social Worker Blog

This blog is written by a social worker living in the UK. Her primary motivation for writing this blog was to provide others with the kind of advice and information she wanted but could not find as she was preparing to become a social worker. Some of her posts focus on the more practical topics in the profession like choosing specializations and the duties attached to particular job titles. Other posts, though, provide more of an honest view of how the work affects her, both the bad and the good, and she emphasizes the importance of work/life balance.

Related Resource: Top 10 Best Online Social Work Degree Programs

The internet provides a means for people to share their experiences and connect with others who understand. This is especially important for those working in the helping professions because these jobs can be stressful, and burn-out is common. The sites listed above are useful social worker blogs that provide a support network and aid in professional development.