A few questions for expats and dominicans regarding occupational opportunities

dale7

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In the near future I will have my bachelor's in Social work and later will earn a Master's degree in Clinical Social Work. I have searched and searched, but is there a website that lists salaries for various occupations in the DR. I know there are quite a few Americans/Canadians living in the North Coast and I am curious if there are a lot of opportunities for Clinical Social Workers(Psychologists) to practice Mental Health Counseling(Substance Abuse Counseling, Mental Health Issues, and the like). I would assume that expats in the north or in the DR in general would prefer to obtain the services of someone who has: English as their native tongue, similar cultural background, etc. I know this is a strange request but I feel in several years if there was a need for this type of service I could have my own practice in the DR catering mainly to expats. Any thoughts or suggesions besides barbs directed at me:)?
dale7(Howard)
 

BushBaby

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What are you getting Howard - the Dip.s.w. or have you gone through CQSW? You need to come & talk to "She that must be Obeyed" who used to teach this subject in England & has looked around here as to the needs of the local populace.
Whereas some of the 'Gringo' community might NEED councelling, I doubt many of them would recognise their need & would object quite harsly to the suggestion that they DO need councelling. Those that are aware of a social incompetence, tend to visit the local hostelries to remove the memories of discontent they suffer. I know of two trained social work people over here already & they are finding it impossible to get their feet in the door of social work/psycotherapy!!
I am afraid it will be a "Start from scratch" syndrome here. Go visit the bars & meet those who sit most of the day there & see if you can get a counselling group together. Don't know how well the bar keeper/owner will look at you for trying to take away some of his clients, but you could give it a try!

You have my e-mail from previous communications we had so if you want more "Thoughts" NOT suggestions or advice, drop me a line.
Best regards - Grahame.
 

dale7

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Bushbaby,
Will be receiving a BSW and later will go for masters in CSW at WMU probably. I appreciate your thoughts, even if they aren't what I wanted to hear, I respect brutal honesty. I was hoping to put my education to good use and move to the DR in several years with investments gaining interest and making a decent living. If I come up with anything I would like to discuss, I will email. Thanks for all the help you have given in last year:).
dale7(Howard)
 

johnsr

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Apr 13, 2002
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As one who spent ten years as a volunteer Substance Abuse Consular I can tell that unless you have "been there, done that" you will have a difficult time gaining the trust of your clients, if you can find any. It's like a male M.D. telling women how it feels to be pregnant!! Only someone who has been there knows what it's like!
John
 

dale7

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Johnsr

Yes, I have been there and won't go into anymore details except that I personally have been through an outpatient and also an inpatient program about 5 and then 4 years ago. I didn't pick this career choice out of a hat:) My goal was to give back something.
dale7(Howard)
 

Hillbilly

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There are a few trained SW here

But our university (PUCMM) which was the first to offer this degree, had to close it down for lack of student interest. Go figure.
Most of the graduates did further work, many in other fields, and are currently gainfully employed as business consultants-Hum Resources, substance abuse etc in large corporations .

While the need is there for this type of service, the country's resources are so thinly spread out that there isn't much left over for Social Work..

Good luck, and do keep studying....Perhaps in the States you can do more work than here and then come here to truly "relax".....

HB
 

RaggedPhilosoph

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Dale, I am hoping you succeed

Hi Dale, I haven't checked into this website lately and I just saw your post. I too was lured into the Mental Health/Substance Abuse Counseling field by a similar route as you referred to. After I got the master's degree I had hoped to change careers from the dozen or so I had practiced between my college years in the early '70's to the master's in the early '90's. In retrospect I see that the employment categories I practiced ( ranging from lobster fishing in the Fla. Keys, to ski instruction in PA to waiting tables in French restaurants to bricklaying in Pa, D.C., Md, and NC) and the hedonism that I pursued told me several things about myself. 1)Since I was born into poverty I had to fund my own lifestyle. 2) Staying in one place or one job or one state of mind was not only boring but stressful. and 3) Earning more money than for the basics held no attraction for me.
After I got the master's, living a clean and sober life, I decided to turn my life around. I opened an office in a suite with other counselors/therapists in Greensboro, NC and kept my "day job" as a bricklayer while intending to build a private practice. To make a long story short...it didn't work out...and I later found out by working in agencies and psych hospitals that I could possibly get the spiritual reward of helping others OR I could earn around $30 to $50k by climbing the agency ladders over 10 yrs...BUT I COULD NOT FIND BOTH IN THE SAME JOB. There is simply too much red tape and too little institutional, insurance, government, or cultural support for such work to make a comfortable living AND to look yourself in the mirror. My experience convinced me that there is too much pressure to turn over clients/patients in the system. I found this in both nonprofit and private(Charter Hospital) settings.
I wish I could tell you that I made a conscious decision to leave the field and take stock of my priorities in this life but, alas, I stubbornly held on to the dream and refused to admit that the master's was, practically speaking, worth not much more than the paper it was printed on.
I sincerely hope you do not have a similar experience, because the problem is only getting worse and we desperately need competent caring people like yourself.
I hope you are in your 20's or 30's so you can donate a few years to the cause. I am 50, and I am looking to retire abroad...somewhere NOT in the USA, for philosophical and spiritual and hedonistic reasons. I am no longer willing to sacrifice earnings and peace of mind to fight the bureaucrats in order to give a fighting chance to the small percentage of people who come through the doors seeking help.
I suspect you would like to kill 2 birds with one stone by settling in the DR AND helping those who need help ( While providing a comfortable living for you). I don't really think your prospects are that good, at least at this stage in your career. If you succeed PLEASE KEEP ME IN MIND...I'd love to join your enterprise. Meanwhile I'll continue to earn my livelihood laying brick...less stress and more money and, frankly, a zenlike satisfaction ("Chop wood, Carry water") often ensues. Also I'll put the $ in the IRA, buy some USA I Series Savings Bonds, and prepare for when I reach 60 to relocate to the DR. I may even hoist a few and enjoy the company of the pretty DR women and get to become friends with the people who write frequently in this forum.
As you have learned from reading Piaget and others, at different stages in life we have different priorities and challenges. Hopefully you will fight the good fight, as almost all of us do, and you will have won a few and lost a few, and accumulated the humility and peace of mind that the program labels as "serenity". I'm sure you have a lot of that already.
Please forgive me if I come across as patronizing. That would make me sad if my words convey that impression, for I know very little about you. I am just trying to tell you what I have experienced in the narrow slice of the professional world you are considering to enter.
I'll continue to study the advice and experiences of this group of wise and hilarious characters who write in this forum, and I'll continue to live frugally and sock my earnings away so that I can eventually experience the Dominican Republic myself...later on, down the road a bit.
Feel free to e-mail me if you want to correspond.
Good luck Dale.
Sincerely, John
 

Linda Stapleton

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Jun 3, 2003
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I would agree with most of the previous comments. I am an experienced and qualified counsellor but haven't tried to set up a practice down here because I think it would not be too successful, for the reasons already discussed.

However, I do have a hope to set up some workshops or maybe even retreats in the future and I see that there may be more interest in that, especially in the Cabarete area where I live.

In the meantime, if anyone is interested, there is an English speaking AA group in the area, which also holds open meetings once a week. If anyone would like more details, please get in touch, in confidence.
 

dale7

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Since I have received some emails I thought I would add my thanks for all info and didn't want to have to answer them all. I just wanted to say my problems weren't alcohol related, more of a substance abuse problem and that I do drink in moderation on occasion though I know that many in the substance abuse field think a drug is a drug is a drug. I was interested in practicing general mental health counseling and used substance abuse as an example because many problems stem from this. I realize that there is little financial opportunity for that there and all my questions were answered, I think I will just do it here in the US and with the money I will make and helping others, save it for DR retirement:)
dale7(Howard)