"Navigating the Mental Health Journey: From Student to Clinician"

Insights from Social Worker, Edith Appleton, Founder of Social Work Rookie — A Mental Health Education Hub for Interns, Emerging Clinicians, and Curious Minds

Well, hello there!

Welcome to the Social Work Rookie! I am SO glad that you stopped by! First, let me introduce myself. My name is Edith Appleton, and I am a Licensed Master's Social Worker currently pursuing my Licensed Clinical Social Worker license. As a social worker, I have had the honor of serving children, adolescents, and adults in private practice and other clinical settings. Being a social worker is not just a job for me; it is my calling! I wholeheartedly love helping others along their journey to find hope and healing! I have had the opportunity to gain experience not only from amazing social workers but also from other licensed professionals and countless phenomenal educators who so graciously shared with me their wisdom.

When I first began engaging in therapy with clients, I felt like I was walking in the wilderness of the therapeutic realm! At the end of my master's program and even after graduation, I was so consumed with impostor syndrome that my days at work were filled with overwhelming anxiety.

I wonder if I am helping my clients?

What interventions should I use to help my clients with their presenting problems best?

Where do I even locate resources?

Do I even know what I am doing?

I openly discussed how I was feeling with a dear therapist friend, and they shared something that made me sit back and think about the emotional roller coaster that I was going through as a new therapist. My dear therapist friend openly shared how they used to be a police officer before becoming a therapist. He shared how he graduated from the police academy successfully and was then given a gun, a police car, and sent on his way to protect and serve as a rookie police officer. He said what I was experiencing was the same as what he went through in the past when he first went to work as a police officer. Even though I made it through the master's program, had much support and engagement with seasoned mental health professionals and educators, I was a rookie social worker! Talk about an ah-ha moment! After that conversation, I sat deep with that thought. I decided that in the future, I would do my best to help social workers and other mental health professionals navigate the wildness of the therapeutic realm. The idea for the Social Work Rookie was born!

The Social Work Rookie is a place where students and graduates of social work programs, other mental health professionals, seasoned professionals, and even those wishing to learn more about therapy can come to learn more about interventions, helpful therapy/intervention books, and other resources dedicated to all things mental health.

I welcome each of you to the Social Work Rookie, where we can all grow, thrive, and find empowerment together!

Smiles & Sparkles,

—The Rookie

Edith Appleton