If you are a social work clinician and aren't wracked with anger at the role of law enforcement in our "duty to protect" our clients, you might want to rethink the discipline in which you work. 1/?

I have only had to contact a mobile response team on rare occasions, and every time it has been traumatizing for my clients. Every time. 2/?

Our social work profession is dominated by White women. We tell ourselves we are different, that we are good ppl, that we are helpers. We tell ourselves we are not complicit, and yet many of us are COMFORTED by law enforcement's role in keeping ourselves & our clients "safe". 3/?

Clinicians - when you call law enforcement for a duty to protect (and yes, I know that's the law), how are you intervening in the potential murder of your Black clients? How is contacting law enforcement ensuring safety? 4/?

I had an experience recently w/ a client that involved law enforcement and mobile response & a horrendous 19 hour ER stay before a 72-hour hold. I live in a COVID hotspot. 5/?

The system 100% failed my client and I had no other option. It also ruined an otherwise solid therapeutic relationship. 6/?

I am part of the system. 7/?

I am part of the system that failed my client. I have a role here. WE have a role here.

So if we are going to be using available "safety measures" as we are legal responsible to do, we sure as hell better hold ourselves accountable for its failure. 8/?

Calling the cops on our clients could be a death sentence. If we don't have the courage to talk about our own complicity, we will continue to throw our fists at the air, and delude ourselves into thinking we are having a positive impact on anything at all. 9/?

I'm tired.

I'm tired of how our profession consistently falls short of its espoused values.

I'm tired of pretending that this isn't intentional. 10/?

People ask me why I call myself a psychotherapist before I call myself a social worker. It's the same reason why I don't put an American flag anywhere near my home. The people I love don't associate these labels with safety. They associate them with danger. 11/?

White social workers should all be ashamed of how our discipline shows up right now. We should be ashamed of how we haven't listened to the clients and colleagues of color who we claim to support. We should be ashamed of how little we show our solidarity with Black people. 12/?

And for the White social workers reading this who don't think I'm talking to you, please know, I'M TALKING TO YOU. I'm also talking to me.

Black liberation must be the center of all our work. ALL of our work. And if it isn't, we are choosing to ally with white supremacy. End.