Social Work Services

Phone: 617-726-2643

MassGeneral Hospital for Children clinical social workers are licensed mental health professionals trained to help people find solutions to many problems from daily issues to life’s most difficult situations. We accomplish this through a unique combination of counseling and direct connection with the network of community resources. Social work services are private and confidential.

Clinical social workers work with both inpatients and outpatients and their families to:

• Deal with crisis
• Cope with illness and other life stressors
• Identify and solve problems with relationships
• Enhance communication with the medical treatment team to enable patients and families to be active partners in their own healthcare
• Access hospital and community services

Credentials

All social workers are licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and regulated by the Board of Registration in Social Work. Social workers must meet the educational, experience, and practice standards articulated for their respective level of licensure.

Social Work Assessment

Clinical social workers assess patients with social, emotional, interpersonal, and socioeconomic issues. Social workers are legally required to report suspected cases of abuse and neglect of children, the elderly, and disabled adults. Areas of assessment include but are not limited to:

• Adjustment to chronic and catastrophic illness
• Adjustment to procedures and treatment
• Ability to follow medical regimen
• Family functioning and communication
• Social and/or financial concerns
• Personal safety including abuse, neglect, violence
• Mental illness/emotional distress
• Substance abuse
• Adjustment to loss/bereavement
• Cultural, religious, and language needs
• Occupation and/or school performance

Social Work Interventions

Interventions may be with patients, families, non-related caregivers, hospital, or community personnel. These may include:

• Psychotherapy (individual, couples, families, group)
• Psychosocial Counseling (e.g., adjustment to illness, bereavement)
• Crisis Intervention
• Care Coordination/Case Management
• Brief Therapy
• Relaxation/Guided Imagery
• Cognitive/Behavioral Therapy
• Personal Safety Planning
• Information and Referral
• Psychoeducation (patients, families, community groups)
• Stress Management
• Advocacy
• Programs (e.g., HAVEN, Network for Patients and Families, Family Care Program)
• Consultation
• Community Organization

Access/Referral

Social workers are available to MassGeneral Hospital for Children inpatients and outpatients through walk-in services and scheduled appointments. The social workers credentialed as mental health providers are members of specialty referral networks and provide care within the parameters of managed care companies.

Social workers are on-site 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., seven days a week, including holidays, with extended hours as needed. There is a social worker on-call for emergencies after hours.

Collaboration

Social workers collaborate with MGH/Partners providers and staff as well as community programs to assure delivery of comprehensive patient/family focused care. In performing the biopsychosocial assessment/evaluation and treatment, social workers obtain and share, as appropriate, additional information from other providers within the hospital and larger community. Releases of information are obtained as required by law. If the evaluation/treatment process reveals findings that are outside the scope of the social worker’s practice, the social worker refers the patient/family to an appropriate discipline or resource.

Obstetrics

Obstetric Social Workers are clinical social workers who provide ongoing counseling and emotional support to women and their families throughout the pregnancy and post-partum period. In addition the social workers help to explore options, improve coping skills and provide resources. The following is a list of some of the specific problems that can be addressed by social workers:

• Adjustment to pregnancy
• Transition to parenthood
• Medical complications of pregnancy
• Bereavement and loss
• Child care issues
• Child and adolescent problems
• Work and school difficulties
• Relationship problems
• Stress
• Abuse
• Anxiety and depression
• Substance abuse
• Domestic violence
• Family planning
• Psychiatric issues

A Tradition of Caring

At MassGeneral Hospital for Children, we know that the time of your child’s diagnosis and treatment is a very stressful one and we strive to provide an open, welcoming environment. We believe that no one knows a child as well as the parent does: parents, along with primary care providers, become our partners in a child's care and have an active voice in all treatment plans.