Stories of Pain, Trauma, and Survival: A Social Worker's Experiences and Insights from the Field

Sarah Meisinger wrote Stories of Pain, Trauma, and Survival: A Social Worker's Experience & Insights from the Field for all the new social workers experiencing the ''baptism by fire'' as they enter the profession. The book chronicles Meisinger's struggle to find a balance between her own ''personal agenda to 'save the world one client at a time' and the reality of what occurs'' between social worker and client.

In response to the need for undergraduate and graduate students to hear about real-life experiences working with traumatized clients, Stories of Pain, Trauma, and Survival is filled with anecdotal examples of social work with individuals and groups in a variety of settings that include nonprofit agencies, child welfare services, and veteran's health care. Each masterfully written story is followed by Meisinger's personal and professional insights on how these experiences have informed her practice. The book is useful for classroom discussions and critical self-assessments and will be helpful to beginning and seasoned social workers alike.

The primary thesis of Stories of Pain, Trauma, and Survival is that social workers can be more effective by getting ''back to basics'' and staying in touch with the core values of the profession. Meisinger notes that, one of the most important services that social workers can provide is to be fully present in ''witnessing the pain'' of a traumatized client. The self-knowledge and compassion that emerge from this mindfulness make all the difference in working with clients who are overwhelmed by difficult circumstances.

NASW Press

NASW Press, a division of National Association of Social Workers (NASW), is a leading scholarly press in the social sciences. We serve faculty, practitioners, agencies, libraries, clinicians, and researchers throughout the United States and abroad.

Known for attracting expert authors, the NASW Press delivers professional information to hundreds of thousands of readers through its scholarly journals, books, and reference works.

Some of the areas we publish in include:

-Social work in the field of aging
-Models of social work
-Social work with children and adolescents
-Ethics in social work
-Community organization
-Professional development