Damned (and) Loudermilk

by Pa Rock

Social Worker 

I had two primary vocations during my years of employment.  From my mid-twenties, after I had left the army and gone back to school to prepare for a real career, I was an educator - a public school teacher for a brief period to time and then way too many years working as a school principal.  I also did some low-paid college teaching along the way to help meet the day-to-day costs of raising a family.     In my mid-forties I left education, dabbled briefly in real estate sales, a job that was easy to hate, and finally landed in social work, first as a state child protection worker and later an administrator with the same agency, and finally ten years or so as a civilian social worker with the military.

All of the jobs that I held during my work career with low-paying and often thankless, but even so I liked each of them - except the real estate sales - until I eventually came up with an intolerable boss - and then I would move on.  It was as a social worker where I finally hit my stride and achieved the most work satisfaction.  For the past couple of weeks I have been thinking about my years of doing social work.  Those memories have been stoked by a couple of television shows - ones that I would heartily recommend to anyone considering a career in social work.

"Damned" is a British sitcom with dramatic overtones that ran for two seasons on the BBC (2016-2018) and has twelve episodes that are currently streaming on Britbox.  It was created by Jo Brand and Morewenna Banks, and in addition to starring both of those ladies, the show also features British actor Alan Davies ("Jonathan Creek") and several other well known British character actors.  

The action in "Damned" takes place in a child protection agency, and it is easily the best representation of that unique milieu that I've ever encountered in the entertainment media.  The crises never let up.  The social workers race about making quick, on-the-fly decisions that will impact families for years, and while they counsel, and make arrangements, and do never-ending paperwork, they also manage interpersonal relationships within the office and work on their own personal and private issues.  It's a mad house on steroids and the phones just keep ringing!

Those without a background in child protection would probably view an episode or two of "Damned" and feel that it is an over-the-top depiction of what many might consider to be a less-than-noble profession.  But unfortunately, child protection has become a necessary and essential component of modern society, and the office depicted in this series, although set in Great Britain, bears strong similarities to its American counterparts - right down to, and including, the bio-hazard staff lounge!

For those considering a career working with children, either in education or social work, viewing all twelve episodes of "Damned" would be a good prelude to an actual internship!  Watch it if you dare, and after you've seen it, go out and hug a social worker!

The second half of my social work "career" was as a civilian social worker with the military.  Most of that involved individual counseling of young military personnel and members of their families.  I also usually ran a therapy group for divorced males.  A few weeks ago I came across a series on Amazon Prime that captured that group therapy experience quite well.  ATT produced three seasons (30 episodes) of "Loudermilk," the story of a caustic and angry ex-addict, Sam Loudermilk (Ron Livingston) who runs a men's group in Seattle for individuals dealing with addiction issues.

(Apparently ATT has dropped the series and it has been picked up by Amazon Prime with a new season currently in the works.)

Sam Loudermilk isn't Fraser Crane - and he isn't BobNewhart.  Loudermilk is an addict trying to keep himself and his group clean and sober as they navigate their daily lives.   Loudermilk is very real, and so are his group members, and so are their problems and the daily pressures which threaten their recoveries.

"Loudermilk" is another great show - one that all potential social workers and therapists need to experience.

When it comes to fictional depictions of real life social work, "Damned" and "Loudermilk" are as real as it gets!