Social Work Spotlight
Tara Pine, LCSW
For Social Work Month, we're excited to spotlight Tara Pine, LCSW. Tara’s work at JFS focuses on supporting individuals and families, especially children, through building strong connections and helping them navigate challenges. With a deep sense of empathy and a passion for creating positive change, Tara shares her journey and experiences as a social worker.
What inspired you to become a social worker?
I have always viewed myself as sensitive and deeply empathetic. From a young age I knew I felt other people's emotions very strongly. I studied psychology in my time as an undergraduate student at Boston University, but I was a little hesitant about becoming a therapist thinking that it would be too much emotional weight for me to listen to clients share their struggles. After working in fundraising for a few years, I realized that the part I loved most about my work was connecting with others and having deep conversations. I looked into the various professions in psychology and I decided on social work for the emphasis on both micro level work, such as working one- on- one with individuals and families and also macro level work, such as seeing how the greater social, political, racial, economic, etc. landscape influences us. I liked the emphasis on creating change in both areas. I also know from my own experience of having a therapist how deeply healing and transformative that relationship and process can be.
Can you share a memorable experience or moment from your career that made you proud to be a social worker?
I really love seeing the growth that occurs when clients develop more insight and self-awareness through the work we do in the therapy office and the internal work they do in between sessions. I think so much good can come from pausing on simply "doing" and instead focus on "reflecting." It is very rewarding to see client's learn to trust themselves when they develop more skills and confidence in understanding their emotions.
What are some of the most rewarding aspects of your work with JFS clients?
I really enjoy my work with children and their respective family's at JFS. I like to engage with children in creative ways was such as throwing a ball outside or talking while walking or listening to their favorite music. It is really fun for me to see what makes a client's face light up. It is so important to see what makes someone spark and feel really confident. In working with my families, I enjoy seeing how the whole family system functions and I like supporting families to make changes when appropriate or support them to function more smoothly. For example, one sibling in a family may need more direct and detailed communication with more structure while another sibling may need more flexibility. Also, I enjoy working collaboratively with school professionals such as school social workers or special education teachers to learn and work together on how to best support my clients.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face in your role as a social worker, and how do you overcome them?
I think that a challenge that social workers and many other professionals in helping roles face is the reality of becoming burnt out. In a helping role it is our job to show up for our clients and support them as best as we can- be that listening, offering constructive feedback, being creative with exploring patterns, etc. It is important work but it can sometimes feel draining. I think it is really important for social workers and any other professionals in helping roles to have good outlets, a good sounding board and to recognize our own needs. It is also important to collaborate and get feedback from colleagues. Something that has really helped me with burnout is to remind myself to just show up as a human. Even when I'm having a tough day or I'm stressed about something. It is both useful for myself and my clients to show our humanness and that struggling sometimes is part of the experience. It takes some pressure off me to have it all together and helps clients (I think!) also feel that it is a safe space to be themselves.