Social Work Career Development

Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/30/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:17:00 +0000

"Mental health is health. Not an extra. Not an add-on. Not a luxury. As long as we have a system that ignores this, patients like this one will miss out on the services and support that they need and deserve. Something is wrong..."

Toolkit for Modifying Evidence-Based Practices to Increase Cultural Competence
NKI (Judith Samuels, PhD, Wendy Schudrich, MSW and Deborah Altschul, PhD)

"The Toolkit for Modifying Evidence-Based Practices to Increase Cultural Competence provides a step-by-step methodology for mental health practitioners and agency administrators to identify and evaluate evidence-based practices (EBPs) for possible modification for cultural groups."

Social Work:

Did I understand you?
How not to do Social Work

"As a Social Worker working with young people I find people myself very conscious about how I communicate and often consider how I can create an environment that promotes communication. Each person I meet is different..."

Do Theories Have Any Relevance for Social Work Practice? A Case Example
Social Work/Social Care & Media (Dr. Nancy Smyth)

"Listening and learning from our clients about who they are and what their lives are like is essential. We need to practice mindfully, that is, to see and hear with fresh eyes. While we may immediately hear how something they describe might fit with a theory, we must be careful that our theories don’t become blinders..."

Enough about you…
SocialJerk

"The professor posed a hypothetical situation–someone comes in to see you, depressed over the death of a relative. What can you say?...We all kind of froze. No one wants to be the idiot who gets the answer wrong..."

Hedonism and Happiness
This Is Me (spldbch)

"For most people, desire is an insatiable state. We see something we want and we buy it. Immediately, we experience positive feelings associated with our new purchase. These feelings, however, are always transient..."

Learning to Play
Practice Wisdom (Natalie L. Hill, LICSW)

"Sometimes I help clients learn to play by modeling humor, playfulness, imagination, curiosity, and yes, even actual play... I see it as not only legitimate, but down-right important, therapy to help clients find ways to build in positive life experiences..."

Making Social Justice Personal
Classroom to Capitol (Melinda K Lewis)

"There’s something incredibly hopeful about starting an intense discussion about nonprofit advocacy with a focus on those we serve–and how we can win victories for justice only by releasing their full participation and their latent power..."

Social workers and the ‘dirty people’
Diary of a Social Worker (Dave Ray)

"No one goes into social work, or at least is successful at it, without realizing that their profession is about people. People that are short, tall, black, white, brown and yes, even ones who can’t take care of the basic needs that the rest of the world takes for granted..."

Some thoughts on reforming child protection
Child Protection Lessons (Peter Choate)

"This is the major content of a speech I [Peter Choate] gave February 3, 2012 on reconsidering child protection... CHILD PROTECTION HAS BECOME THE ORGANIZATION THAT CLEANS UP MESSES THAT SOCIETY DOES NOT WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE EXISTS... "

When Social Work is a Felony
NASW-NYC Connections

"After that [Feb 1, 2012], if a nonprofit hasn’t applied for a waiver, or if its request for a waiver is denied, hiring a licensed social worker to provide services for the poor could lead to criminal charges..."

When Therapist Disclosure Can Help
From Where I Stand (Andrea B. Goldberg, LCSW)

"In my experience, I have found that sharing briefly about overcoming my own trauma history is sometimes the only thing that gives a client hope that they can heal. I have used this kind of self-disclosure to resolve therapeutic impasses..."

Psychology:

A ten day guide to de-stressing your life
Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World (Professor Mark Williams & Dr Danny Penman)

"If you follow this ten step guide to ‘de-stressing’ your life, then the next few weeks just might become the most serene and fulfilling ones of the year... based on mindfulness meditation developed by us at Oxford University..."

Bandaid Your Emotional Injury
A Friend to Yourself (Michael Cornwall, Ph.D)

"If you wish to change your emotion, you will have to change your thinking... Wounds inflicted by thought require as much attention... for treatment as an injury to skin or bone... I don’t have to view the situation as threatening. I can view it as unfortunate..."

February is Eating Disorder Awareness Month
Dr. Deb (Dr. Deborah Serani)

"What causes eating disorders is not entirely clear, though a combination of psychological, genetic, social and family factors are thought to contribute to the disorder...Eating disorders can affect functioning in every system of the body..."

How ‘Conscious Acceptance’ Empowers Your Beliefs, Choices and Actions, 2 of 2
Neuroscience and Relationships (Dr. Athena Staik)

"As a springboard, acceptance optimizes your ego-strength to give you the resiliency and adaptability you need to make optimal and informed choices, especially in moments when challenging situations or events may threaten to throw... off balance..."

Life Before and After the Diagnosis of Mental Illness
HealthyPlace (Natalie Jeanne Champagne)

"Life after the diagnosis can be as positive as you make it... The person you were before, the person you are working to become, is still the same person, but accepting that it takes work to become well... allows you to both merge your past and present..."

More on Hope and Bad Therapy Experiences: Shedding the Shame
Dr. Greg Hinkle

"With guilt, then, we are motivated to make things right; with shame, we feel helpless and simply want to hide... therapy that ends badly can still have good effects... it’s almost never a complete failure. If you’re the client, you’ve learned things about yourself..."

Quotes on Grief to Comfort and Inspire
The Mindful Self-Express (Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D)

"The death or loss of a loved one, especially a beloved parent, spouse, or child, is one of the most profound losses humans can experience... While some people never get over a loss, others do not mourn at all..."

Rewiring Your Brain for Healthy Empathy: Acquiring a Voltmeter
Rewire Your Brain for Love (Marsha Lucas, Ph.D)

"I eventually figured out that being empathic isn’t about being an all-absorbing antenna, a doormat, a mind reader, and/or an emotional rescuer...one of the benefits of mindfulness practice... empathy that allows you the ability to accurately read..."

The Kids Are All Right
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)

"A discussion about education and video games was in full swing, and a debate about how much screen time is too much... I observed that for the past 2 hours children, siblings, spanning an age difference of 8 years had been engaged in cooperative learning..."

Nonprofit:

12 ways to use Pinterest for your nonprofit
Social Tools for Social Change

"Pinterest is basically an online scrapbook that you put together while surfing the Internet... Pinterest can generate a lot of traffic to your website because pins link back to their original source... Like the other social media networks, Pinterest is not a place to blatantly promote your organization..."

Private Practice:

20+ Associations For Mental Health Professionals
Private Practice from the Inside Out (Tamara Suttle, M.Ed., LPC)

"Listed below are links to more than twenty professional associations in mental health. If you are not already a member, pick one and join it. These organizations are the most likely ways that national laws get changed to support the work you do..."

The Biggest Difference Between Success and Failure In Small Business
Dr. Susan Giurleo

"To succeed in business, you need to know what you want, who you help and how you will help them. You need to develop a strategy to meet your goals. This is long term thinking and planning. When you are planning your goals and strategy... "

Staying motivated: why do you do what you do?
Teenage Whisperer (Sam Ross, BSc, MSc, Cert EP (YJ))

"Your answer is your mission statement, the reason why you get out of bed in the morning, the reason why you hit the street running rather than languishing under your duvet... And so irrespective of how torrid my... day, week... has been I carry on"

Please share any thoughts or comments you have below. Also, feel free to mention any great posts that I may have missed.

You May Also Enjoy:
Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/23/2012)
Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/16/2012)
Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/9/2012)
10 Twitter Chats for Mental Health Professionals
34 Social Work Career Development Resources
Social Work Vs. Psychology and a Taste of Hypnotherapy

Art Therapy and Social Work

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:52:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered how to incorporate art therapy in a session with a client? To make the most of my Unplanned Detour, I'm taking a class on the use of art therapy within a social work framework.

Art therapy is something that I have wanted to learn for a variety of reasons. Art is something that I've always enjoyed. It is also a medium of expression that can make it easier for some people to express themselves, as well as find a healthy release for some of their emotions (and/or traumas).

In addition, I believe that the more tools you have in your mental health professional toolkit, the better. This way, you are better equipped to meet your client where he/she is.

2 Key Take-Aways from Class:

* Art therapy is a client-centered strategy; in other words, if a client misinterprets an instruction, let the client go with the assignment as per his/her interpretation.

For example, if you ask a client to draw a picture of his family and instead the client draws a picture of his/her classroom, let the client do so and then question the client about his/her class and teacher(s) and when you feel you can, use this as a jumping point to asking some questions about his/her family sans a drawing (for now). In this way, you are meeting the client where he/she is.

* Similar to dream interpretation, there is no secret formula to reading another person's art. You have to ask the person questions about their drawing in order to be able to figure out what a picture means. Different people may have completely different associations with the same items or attach different significance to those objects. In short, one cannot make any assumptions...

How do I feel about this class? I love it !

It is a very experiential class in that you are not just learning about art therapy/theory but actually practicing it as well.

Engagement Exercise

For example, in last week's class, we didn't just learn about an art therapy engagement exercise via lecture but actually participated in such an exercise ourselves. [In this context, an engagement exercise refers to one that allows the therapist to to start building a rapport or a connection with the client.)

The particular exercise that we participated in involved our splitting up into pairs and then taking turns with our partner drawing a shape on a paper followed by decorating or supplementing something your partner made on his/her respective shape.

In other words, after I drew a circle, my partner drew lines coming out of the circle, turning the circle into a sun. Or when my partner drew a diamond shape, I added lines/ribbons so as to turn it into a present. Initially, my partner and I were shy with one another but as time went on, we loosened up and became more playful with one another, reflecting the natural progression of how a dialogue would progress between two strangers who are meeting for the first time.

Role Play Assignment

This week, we once again split into pairs (albeit different ones), and the assignment entailed some role play; one person was assigned the role of therapist and the other partner, the role of client. The therapist was to find a way to conduct a session incorporating some of the art materials out on the table with her/his client as if it was their first session together.

The main goals of a first session with a client include:

* establishing rapport
* finding out the client's presenting problem/main issue
* setting treatment goals
* gathering client data/information
* contracting (this includes discussing confidentiality, clarifying roles/expectations, setting up meeting times etc.)

It so happened that my partner (let's call him P) preferred to take on the role of client; therefore, I took on the role of therapist. I asked P what brought him in today and P proceeded to tell me what his concerns were and how he was feeling.

I then explained to P that I often work with art with clients because some things can be best expressed with pictures. I pointed at the art materials laid out and asked P whether he could try to share how he was feeling with one (or more) of these materials. The materials laid out included: colored pencils, cray pas oil pastels and one regular pencil as well as a few sheets of paper.

While P initially felt a bit hesitant, P let down his guard and started drawing and as he drew, I asked him various questions. These questions helped me better understand what he was trying to convey via his drawing and how he was currently feeling.

I was then able to make the leap from the drawing to question P on when he started feeling his current emotions/mood so that his artwork was a terrific segue for more discussion. By the time, we concluded our "session," we had a good feeling for the probable cause of P's current state of distress, as well as the beginning of a plan for how to address it.

While this session was only a role play, it meant so much to me. This was the first time since last April that I have conducted a session (because that is when my placement ended and I've had my unplanned detour since my graduation in September).

I found that the "how to conduct a session" came back to me quite easily as I was playing the role, and that I so enjoyed incorporating the art element into a session.

What are your thoughts and/or experiences regarding art therapy? Is this something that you would like to add to your work with clients?

If you enjoyed this post, please like and/or click +1 to give this post your stamp of approval :)

You May Also Enjoy:
New Social Worker: Different Strokes: Art & Photo Therapy Promote Healing Psychology Today: Part One: Art Therapy as a Career Path
Psychology Today: Part Two: Art Therapy Education
Art Therapy - The Power of Art in Healing
Drama Therapy – Healing Through Role Playing/Storytelling
Social Work and Music Therapy

Photo credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/savethechildrencanada/5534877330/
image of paint

Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/23/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:30:00 +0000

I'm watching twitter, google+ and the web so you don't have to...

This post is part of a weekly series, Best in Mental Health, featuring the best posts of the week, in social work, psychology, evidence-based practice/healthcare, non-profit and private practice concerns on Social Work Career Development.

Topics this week include: problems with the way our current healthcare system is set up, partner/child abuse, the value of process recordings, harnessing the power of observation, what is a healthy ego, facing pain/trauma and the loss of a sibling.

In addition, the importance of finding a terrific supervisor as well as how to find one, information on two scholarship/fellowship opportunities, building/running your private practice and much, much more...

Evidence Based Practice/Healthcare:

Including the voice of the patient in healthcare part 2: Organizational decision making
Occupy Healthcare

"Providers, caregivers, and leaders of healthcare organizations have a limited view of the operations and performance of the organization they work with... Whatever the process that is used, including the voices of those that are served by the organization is essential..."

Unicorns, my anus*, and healthcare for all: Three things adults don’t discuss in polite conversation
Occupy Healthcare (Dr. April Foreman)

"The current healthcare system requires insurance, and lots of advance notice and bureaucracy for regular primary healthcare to be delivered. My family is lucky. This experience is a fluke, and we’ll have access to this care shortly. But anyone with fewer resources is stuck..."

Social Work:

Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence Among Women in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan (podcast)
Living Proof Podcast (UB School of Social Work)

"In episode 88, Dr. Manisha Joshi describes her research regarding the role of changing attitudes related to intimate partner violence (IPV)... Dr. Joshi discusses what she has learned about the context in which IPV occurs... and its impact on help-seeking..."

Bearing Witness to the Pain of Child Abuse Survivors
From Where I Stand (Andrea B. Goldberg, LCSW)

"The intergenerational impact of childhood abuse is staggering. When parents abuse their children, it is unfortunately common for the children to end up marrying abusers or become abusers themselves - and the abuse is passed on... until somebody breaks the cycle by seeking help..."

Benefit Caps and the Politics of Envy
The Not So Big Society (Ermintrude2)

"The game of playing the ‘deserving vs undeserving poor’ is one enjoyed by those in politics... Many people are losing their jobs in this recession and being unable to find other work would force people to claim benefits which they are wholly entitled to..."

Defining ‘Best Interest…
Social Work/Social Care & Media (Nick Berbiers)

"Best interest is a deeply challenging concept for social work. It can be legally defined, and yet have far broader moral, ethical, and philosophical components. The definitions can change over time, and have. There are aspects to it...some...term ‘universal truths’..."

How To Get An Epic Supervisor
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)

"Most primary supervisors I know may have good skills and an interest in doing the same [integrating theory and practice and discussing difficult cases], but they don’t have the time. Their role has become reduced in the age of managed care to..."

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Service Culture
The Zen Social Worker (Tim)

"We as a society are hard on our first responders and military personnel... Counselors need to be competent... establishing a therapeutic alliance is not as simple or involve the same skills it would take with a non-service member client..."

Re: Process Recordings
I See Things Upside Down (Brandi E McNeil, MSW Student)

"A major part of my supervision time with my supervisor is going over my process recordings. Supervision can be a very...personal time. I think if you're using it correctly, it requires you to lay yourself raw before this other person... "

Social Work Overview Is Crucial for Adoption Debate
College of Social Work (Amy Norris)

"Social workers and children need choice so that a family that best meets the child’s needs is found. I would urge more people to consider adoption as a service to children, not as a right of the adult..."

The Power of Observation
Practice Wisdom (Natalie L. Hill, LICSW)

"Whenever someone is the treatment process, we can harness the Hawthorne Effect by judiciously adding more direct observation. For ex., having a client observe and track a target behavior, thoughts, feelings - whatever - is likely to change the frequency of the target..."

The State of the SocialJerk
SocialJerk

"As good, loyal Americans, I’m sure we all watched the State of the Union address... We have over one million students in the New York City public school system. They’re not all going to graduate. I’m not talking about giving up on kids who are not succeeding..."

Thoughts on having a parent with dementia who lives far away
Cathy Hanville, LCSW

"When your family lives far away, it can be very hard to tell what is... going on... Just because you are far away and do not see your parent often does not mean that their illness doesn't affect you...negotiate how decisions will be made for the parent who is ill..."

The relationship between mindful participation and "flow"
This Is Me (spldbch)

"According to Csikszentmihalyi, only certain activities can stimulate flow. To enter a state of flow, a person must engage in an activity that is challenging, but within his ability... If we leave it to chance, flow is likely to be a state of mind that we achieve..."

Psychology:

3rd Annual Student and Faculty Scholarship Competition
Beck Institute Blog

"The Beck Institute will award 10 recipients (graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, residents, and faculty in psychology, psychiatry, social work, nursing, and counseling) with full tuition scholarships to our 3-day Student and Faculty Workshop..."

Autism Symptoms Get a Second Look
After Psychotherapy (Joseph Burgo, PhD)

"the autistic defense seeks to shut out the world because it feels far too threatening to acknowledge it. In one way or another, the autistic finds contact with the outside world catastrophic, and through characteristic defensive maneuvers, seeks to shut out the awareness of that separate world..."

Be Good and Don’t Die: Stressors in Child Bereavement
The Trauma and Attachment Report (Tessie Mastorakos)

"When a child dies, the surviving children each respond in their own unique way... There is often a role reversal, where the child begins looking after their parents... The child is forced to meet the emotional and psychological needs of their parents..."

Dr. Oz Show – The Shock That Could Save Your Life – Electroshock Therapy for Depression
Bipolar Burble (Natasha Tracy)

"I’m going to talk a little about the Dr. Oz show’s representation of electroshock therapy and add a few additional facts... What the Dr. Oz show did right: Represented the modern procedure accurately...; Tried to reduce stigma and fear and increase awareness..."

Ego Versus Ego-Strength: The Characteristics of Healthy Ego
Neuroscience and Relationships (Dr. Athena Staik)

"the term ego can take on different meanings depending on where it falls on a continuum between a healthy ego, on the one end of the spectrum, and an unhealthy one on the other... “ego-strength’ refers to the resiliency or strength of your core sense of self..."

Mental Illness Diagnosis Removes Responsibility from the Patient
HealthyPlace (Natasha Tracy)

"What I am saying is that if you’re not doing the work you certainly aren’t going to get better. And your responsibility - as a person who wants to be well - is to do everything in your power to get well... Choosing health means making good decisions all day..."

NAMIWalks Makes Mental Illness Awareness a Community Issue
Nami Blog (Blair A. Young)

"From the very beginning of the NAMI movement, part of the challenge was always the need to educate the public about serious mental illness—to let people know that mental illness... is an illness like any other, that it is indiscriminate in nature..."

Remember, You Are Free, Even When You Accept Help
A Friend to Yourself (Sana Johnson-Quijada, MD)

"None of the tools we use are meant to been seen, when looked at, alone as a weapon to box us up. They are each in turn just a tool to be used to improve our ability to be friendly with ourselves... We build suspicions when things work that well..."

So Much Pain
Dr. Ann Becker Schutte

"In this post, I wanted to explore some steps to take when you feel like there is so much pain facing you that you don’t know a way forward... Focus on your breathing, find something to touch...Make sure that you are doing as much as you can to manage your basic self-care..."

Understanding Lip Service
American Counseling Association (Jennifer Bingaman)

"As I learned, lip service is what the client says to everyone when they are in the throes of their addiction. It’s not quite a lie and it’s not quite the truth... So when they say... “This is the last time I drink,” they truly believe it will be the last time they drink..."

Why and How the Body Holds Trauma – And How To Release It
Your Life After Trauma (Michele Rosenthal)

"If you haven’t already read Levine’s amazing book, Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, that should be the first book on your reading list... is full of information... that illuminate in-depth how the body responds to trauma, and then how we can respond to the body to help it process trauma out..."

Nonprofit:

What Do Facebook’s New Timeline Apps Mean for Nonprofits?
Beth's Blog (Beth Kanter)

"...I think the greatest Timeline app benefit is in the information the nonprofit will gain about app users, and how committed a supporter is to the cause... Open Graph is particularly exciting for those of us in the social good space because awareness-raising and advocacy are often core to the work we do..."

Young Business Professionals: Applications Open for ProInspire Nonprofit Fellowship Program
Rosetta Thurman

"This highly competitive program offers targeted positions with leading nonprofits, monthly trainings with a cohort of peers, a coach, and a network to support career growth. Previous ProInspire Fellows come from across the U.S..."

Private Practice:

Behind the Curtain: My Business Plan for 2012
Dr. Susan Giurleo

"I can’t sell half-truths. Building any business is work. I am writing this blog post at 9:30pm. I have clients from 9am – 8pm, with an hour off for lunch on Friday of this week...Do I make good money? Yes, it’s good enough..."

Naming Your Pratice Is Like Naming A Child
Private Practice Toolbox (Julie Hanks, LCSW)

"Don’t worry about being clever or deep with your practice name. Since most people are finding their mental health information and providers online, consider including searchable terms in your practice name..."

Taking the Plunge
What a Shrink Thinks (Martha Crawford, LCSW)

"I encourage all therapists who are thinking of transitioning to private practice to seek out a private supervisor... A mentor that understands that the boundary between supervision and therapy is simultaneously distinct and porous, as our own wounds, hopes and fears will be activated by the work..."

Please share any thoughts or comments you have below. Also, feel free to mention any great posts that I may have missed.

You May Also Enjoy:
Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/16/2012)
Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/9/2012)
Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/2/2012)
A Day in the Life of a Prison Social Worker
Drama Therapy – Healing Through Role Playing/Storytelling

10 More LMSW Exam Practice Questions

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:26:00 +0000

Would you like to test out your knowledge on some more LMSW (ASWB) exam questions?

Below are another 10 questions that we went over during a review class at my school:

1. The phase of the helping process which leads to subsequent implementation of intervention is:

a. exploration and summation
b. exploration, assessment and planning
c. initiation of established rapport
d. clarification and analysis

2. When reviewing a social worker's performance, the supervisor notes that the social worker conveys little empathy toward clients who have recently left welfare and holding first jobs. In order to help the social worker develop empathy with her clients, the supervisor should:

a. explain welfare-to-work procedures from the client's perspective
b. suggest the social worker enter therapy to become a more empathetic person
c. model empathetic communication when engaging with the social worker
d. clarify the agency's reason for supporting these clients

3. The purpose of feedback in a social worker interview is to:

a. allow the social worker to confront distortions in the client's thinking
b. summarize main points of the interview
c. let the client know social worker understands the issue
d. give the social worker opportunity to self-disclose for benefit of the client

4. A social worker is leading a women's group with the purpose of improving personal and environmental circumstances. The social worker asks the members to identify the area in which they feel most competent. The social worker is following an intervention strategy BEST described as:

a. reinforcement
b. endorsement
c. enhancement
d. empowerment

5. The BEST example of the educational component of supervision is:

a. monitoring the caseload
b. providing in-service training
c. utilizing individual and group conferences
d. refining knowledge and skills
6. In facilitating a hospital support group for bereaved parents, a social worker can discuss a personal experience of a death of a child to:

a. create empathy with the participants
b. receive help from the group
c. create a sense of shared experience
d. establish role as expert on grief issues

7. The primary role of a social worker is:

a. building rapport
b. providing support systems
c. acting as a resource
d. curing emotional or mental dysfunction

8. A client with a history of drug abuse was referred to a social worker by a concerned relative. The social worker should FIRST:

a. conduct a family interview
b. begin treatment, focusing on the reason for the drug abuse
c. refer the client for substance abuse treatment
d. evaluate the client's motivation for change

9. In adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, the most frequently encountered defense mechanism is:

a. denial
b. intellectualism
c. suppression
d. projection

10. Which of the following approaches would be MOST appropriate to use in evaluating client satisfaction with the social worker's provision of services?

a. using a single system design, evaluating the quality of services
b. in the final interview, ask the clients about their level of satisfaction
c. through process recordings, ask the supervisor for feedback
d. at termination, ask clients to complete a services evaluation and satisfaction form

1. b 2. c 3. c 4. d 5. d 6. c 7. c 8. c 9. a 10. d

I'm hoping that you found these additional practice questions helpful.

Please share your comments below :)

You May Also Enjoy:
10 LMSW Exam Practice Questions
Secrets for Passing the LMSW Exam
8 Steps to Obtaining Your LMSW
The Two Acronyms You Must Know for the LMSW Exam
Social Work Abroad
Social Worker Safety

Photo credit: krikit

Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/16/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:13:00 +0000

I'm watching twitter, google+ and the web so you don't have to...

This post is part of a weekly series, Best in Mental Health, featuring the best posts of the week, in social work, psychology, evidence-based practice/healthcare, non-profit and private practice concerns on Social Work Career Development.

Topics this week include: the integration of health care and mental health, the pursuit of social justice in honor of Martin Luther King, mindfulness, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), helpful tips for looking for looking for employment within the nonprofit sector, ways to build/run your private practice and more...

Evidence Based Practice/Healthcare:

Payment by results and personalization may undermine each other, according to new report
The Mental Elf (Andre Tomlin)

"The approach being taken to introduce payment by results in mental health care is to cluster people into groups according to their needs and clinical description. Personalization is concerned with people having greater control over their services..."

Why engagement in healthcare will change the game
Occupy Healthcare

"When engaged, and a relationship is formed, both the provider and the patient better see the others needs. They become acutely aware of the issues that impact on health (and also the delivery of service)... It becomes less about me and more about “we”..."

Social Work:

Advice-Giving
College of Social Work (Daisy Bogg)

"For me the value of advice-giving is not about social workers imposing their knowledge on others, but rather social workers sharing knowledge with each other and those they support, making sure that the individual, family or community has..."

Article about racial identity in transracial adoption
JaeRan Kim

What we find is that parents are pretty good about the culture part, but not very good about the race part,” Victor Groza, professor of parent-child studies at Case Western Reserve University, said. “They don’t recognize racism.”

Communication Blockers
Cathy Hanville, LCSW

"I will start by reviewing communication blockers. These are all the things we do when we are not willing to communicate with another person... Interrupting - When you interrupt, you do not allow the other person to tell their side which indicates..."

I Am Not Sure How To Tell You This: Delivering Unwelcome News
New Social Worker (Misty L. Wall, Ph.D, LCSW)

"A great deal of work happens before you actually meet with the client to deliver the bad news, and you can use four simple steps (pause, react, evaluate, plan—or PREP) to prepare to deliver challenging news..."

First Contact
Going Mental (Nectarine)

"Meeting a new client for the first time can present many challenges. Not least of these is figuring out WHO you are meeting. I mean this literally - as I rarely see clients in the office, and won't go into their home until I know them a bit..."

From Clicktivism to Activism
The Not So Big Society (Ermintrude2)

"Actions don’t have to be running 160 miles (fortunately!)... The presence of main stream media particularly on ‘Twitter’ and skilful promotion and dessemination has a real value but sometimes, it’s necessary to move beyond the ‘click of support’..."

How social workers fit into health care
Health Relay (Laura Gabbay)

"Betsy Clark, executive director of the NASW, predicted that public health social work may be the future of social work... Partnering social workers with primary care providers addresses some important challenges to the successful integration of mental health..."

Integrating Health & Social Care: How Can Social Work Meet the Challenge?
Social Work/Social Care & Media (Dr. Nancy Smyth)

"Among other things, the problem with most Western health systems is that they were created on a Western paradigm of illness, that is, one that assumes an agent that causes an acute condition and that this condition can be eradicated with the correct drug or surgical procedure..."

Justice is Every Step: How all kinds of social work can advance social justice
Classroom to Capitol (Megan Hope)

"Indeed, in our criticism of direct services and clinical interventions as superficial or soft, I think we inadvertently dismiss the real, felt, multilevel needs of people; wrongly assume that they don’t understand how systems work... or think micro-level work can’t be political..."

Looking for Justice
Practice Wisdom (Natalie L. Hill, LICSW)

"On the positive side, we've seen an upsurge in community organizing and activism worldwide, from the "Arab Spring" revolutions, to the Occupy movement. The former has not fully realized the goal of justice, but has moved in that direction..."

Reclaiming Good Supervision
How not to do Social Work

"The obvious factor for supervision is that you are not disturbed... The other important barrier in supervision itself is an anxious worker or even anxious Manager. These feelings can quickly take up a major part of the supervision process..."

Social workers and the discussion of social policy with clients
Diary of a Social Worker (Dave Ray)

"The difference and similarities between policy and purpose of a social program are often very subtle, and if it helps a client take better advantage of a program in terms of their forward progress, I’m glad to utilize this a tool that improves rapport and client motivation..."

To Serve
N.A.H. (Relando Thompkins, MSW)

"I love Dr. King’s words on service... No matter what your position is, no matter what your interests are, you can be great, because you can serve... I’m a firm believer that our life experiences and challenges can sometimes enhance our abilities to help others... "

You down with MLK?
SocialJerk

"Dr. King reminds us of an extremely important part of our profession–a commitment to social justice. Without this component, social work is incomplete. We see the same problems, day in and day out..."

Psychology:

10 Practical Examples of Opposite Action – Part One
Laura Schenck, M.A.

"Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) encourages the use of opposite action when emotions are maladaptive, harmful, or overwhelming in some way... We are all capable of a wide variety of complex emotions, but most of us have patterns or habits...."

Anxiety Symptoms, Mindfulness and the Enlargement of the Self
After Psychotherapy (Joseph Burgo, PhD)

"For me, the quiet of mindfulness is not the goal in itself, a kind of enlightenment, but rather a means to silence my defense mechanisms and focus on the emotional experience that lies behind them..."

After the Crisis
Dr. Ann Becker Schutte

"Whether you are talking about grieving, or talking about how life gets radically restructured after medical emergencies, moments of crisis change our lives. And the growing pains that result from that change can last for a really long time..."

How To Succeed At Work With Schizophrenia
HealthyPlace (Dan Hoeweler)

"Working, while living with Schizophrenia, is a great challenge and many are not at the point were having a job is a viable option. There are those, however, who could work, given a proper environment, good medical treatment and a supportive community..."

Interview with a Foster Parent
The Trauma and Attachment Report (Noam Bin-Noon)

"When they first arrive, children are mostly in denial and are certain that soon they will get back to their parents... A child who hasn’t moved around much will be able to form a stronger relationship with us than a child who went through several homes..."

January is Stalking Awareness Month
Dr. Deb (Dr. Deborah Serani)

"According to data in the United States, 1 in 12 women and 1 in 45 men will be stalked in their lifetime... It's important to know that a stalker can be anyone, male or female, a stranger or someone familiar... Stalking can occur in real time, and even in cyberspace..."

Toxic Couple Relationships – 5 Steps to Breaking-Free of Toxic Patterns, Healing & Restoring Balance, 4 of 4
Neuroscience and Relationships (Dr. Athena Staik)

"Here are 5 steps to get you started in putting together an action plan that can serve as a springboard for considering healthier options - and making conscious choices to stay free of toxic relating patterns. 1. Cultivate awareness of one another's triggers..."

What’s the Worst Mental Illness?
Bipolar Burble (Natasha Tracy)

"That depends on how you judge it. You could judge it by suicide rate, in which case: Anorexia is the worst with about a 20-25% suicide rate; Bipolar is second worst with about a 15% suicide rate; Schizophrenia is third worst with about a 10% suicide rate..."

When Help isn’t Helpful: Holding onto Hope after a Bad Therapy Experience
Dr. Greg Hinkle

"Every therapist has a “range of competence”, that is, we work well with certain people in certain situations. A good therapist has a wide range of competence, but we still have blind spots or areas of limitation... the mere fact that the therapy (or medication) didn’t work out can mean so many things..."

‘Your Life After Trauma’ Radio: Leaving Your Trauma Behind and Reclaiming Your True Nature
Heal My PTSD (Michele Rosenthal)

"This week, expert coach, Martha Beck, Ph.D., joins us to discuss her new book that gives a simple plan for reclaiming your natural self. Plus, survivor Debbie Schmidt joins us to explain how she released the past and learned to live with uncertainty..."

Nonprofit:

11 Tips for a Successful Nonprofit Job Search
Rosetta Thurman

"Here are a few ideas for how you might go about launching a successful search if you’re seeking a nonprofit job right now or in the near future. 1. Get clear on what you're good at: Here are some tools to use: VIA Character Strengths Assessment... StrengthsFinder 2.0..."

Private Practice:

A Tale of Two Conferences
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)

"There needs to be at least a sense of mutual value, mutual ROI that has to come from the speaker and the speaking engagement... Your time is valuable and limited, and you need to set the tone for that..."

Are You Comfortable Asking Clients For Money?
Private Practice Toolbox (Julie Hanks, LCSW)

"Here are a few things I’ve learned to help you get more comfortable with money in your private practice: Value your expertise; Ask for payment at the beginning of the session; Set firm payment policies and stick to them; Write a money script and practice it..."

Skiing and Business Advice: “Go Faster if You Want to Make the Jump!”
Dr. Susan Giurleo

"Just like AJ needed more speed and momentum to safely clear his ski jump, you need more speed and momentum to leap from where you are now to where you want to be... Sitting in a perpetual state of “deciding” and “thinking about it” won’t..."

Skype-Assisted Therapy – How Secure Is It?
Private Practice from the Inside Out (Tamara Suttle, M.Ed., LPC)

"When it comes to hacking, anything is theoretically possible. However, given the encryption that Skype uses, it [listening in to a conversation] would be extremely difficult to do so... I am not an attorney, but I would argue that if a phone line is secure enough..."

Please share any thoughts or comments you have below. Also, feel free to mention any great posts that I may have missed.

You May Also Enjoy:
Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/9/2012)
Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/2/2012)
Best in Mental Health (wk of 12/26/2011)

Menopause and Pleasure

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:23:00 +0000

As you now know from Menopause - Is it the Beginning of the End?, menopause can be a very positive and exciting time in a woman's life!

According to Dr Northrup, there are 7 critical keys that need to be "unlocked" for a woman to achieve her full pleasure potential. Please see Menopause and Pleasure: An Oxymoron? for a review of the first four keys.

This post will reveal the final 3 keys to a woman's fulfillment...

The last 3 keys to pleasure involve:

5. Recognizing and Releasing Anger and Negativity

This is a process...there will probably be the opportunity to let go of negativity at least several times each day. As often and as soon as possible, get rid of (or change) what is making you feel bad and then move on.

This is because pleasure and negativity don't mix and the turn-on gets turned off.

The more negativity you can give up (by getting to the bottom of your feelings and then releasing them), the more light can come in and the more joy you will be able to experience.

6. Committing to Regularly Exploring Your Body's Pleasure Potential (sensuality and sexuality)

This means nurturing yourself on a regular basis, not just once in a while - to see yourself as a vibrantly, sexy, sensual and desirable woman every day of your life - you will be able to train your body to feel more pleasure than you've ever felt in the past - there's no ceiling on the amount of pleasure you can enjoy!

For example, it's no myth that women are multi-orgasmic. Having multiple orgasms is quite possible for any woman.

Furthermore, Dr Northrup mentions that there is evidence that many midlife women could balance their hormones naturally by employing these steps for greater enjoyment and health.

7. Living Your Life in a Way that Excites, Motivates and "Turns On" Others to Be at Their Best and Healthiest

When you start living your life as a totally alive, turned-on woman, you start having a positive effect on everyone else around you - similar to what happens when you're in a good mood but much deeper and more powerful.

Finally, here is a 5 minute video with Dr Northrup summarizing all 7 keys to a woman's pleasure.

With this, I have concluded the "pleasure" component of the menopause topic. I hope you have found this interesting, if not enjoyable!

What thoughts and/or questions come to your mind as you think about Dr Northrup's 7 keys to pleasure? Has Dr Northrup made you think about menopause a bit differently than you had before?

You May Also Enjoy:
Menopause - Is it the Beginning of the End?
Menopause and Pleasure: An Oxymoron?
Thoughts on Mortality and Making Every Day Meaningful
7 Ways to Bond With Your Teen
Family/Couples Therapy - Improving Relationships

Photo Credit: McKay Savage

Reference: Northrup, M.D., Christiane (2008). The Secret Pleasures of Menopause. Hay House, USA.

Disclaimer: The content of this post is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Safety Tips for Social Workers

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:18:00 +0000

Today, Charles Ennis, a former police officer on a Mental Health Emergency Services Unit in Canada, is back to provide you with some priceless tips on how to keep safe.

As mentioned in the first part of the interview, Charles has not only trained people on how to be safe when working in the field with the mentally-ill but has also co-authored the book on social worker safety entitled: The Safe Approach: Controlling Risk for Workers in the Helping Professions.

So without further ado, Charles, what are some safety steps that social workers should take when making solo house visits?

Solo house visits are never a good idea in my view. Any police officer who deals with domestic violence will tell you that the initial contact with a client is one of the most vital and risky parts of an investigation. Police officers always attend homes where domestic violence is occurring in pairs.

Your first contact with clients in the field is at their door. Never stand in front of the door when knocking. Doors offer no protection from firearms. Standing in front of the door places you in the most likely line of fire.

Of course, if you knew that someone inside was armed and dangerous, you wouldn't be standing in front of their door at all. You would have called the police and taken appropriate measures to ensure your safety. Yet you don't always know what is on the other side of that door.

Another concern is that some doors open outwards. Standing in front could result in you getting knocked over when the door is opened. The other concern is the amount that you will be able to see once the client opens the door.

The primary worker should stand against the wall on the door knob side of the door. This forces the client to open the door completely to see you, and allows you to see in. This allows you to see the room behind the client, revealing the presence of additional people and the state of the room.

If what you see raises safety concerns, you can now take appropriate action. If you stand on the other (hinge) side, clients can open the door a crack and peek out, concealing the client and the inside of the house. You won't know what you are walking into until you have actually entered.

I recall a case where we had arrived at an apartment to check on the well being of a woman with children who was the victim of spousal assault. The woman told us that her abusive husband was not home. However, because of the way that we had positioned ourselves, this woman had to open the door fully to see us. This allowed us to see the living room behind her.

On a coffee table in front of the living room sofa, we observed two steaming cups of coffee. Two smoking cigarettes were resting on the ashtray on this same table. We entered and found the abusive husband hiding in the hall closet. He had forced his way into the home shortly before our arrival. The victim had lied to us under duress.

The husband was arrested for violating a court order prohibiting contact with the victim. If we had stood on the other side of the door, the victim might not have opened it wide enough for us to make these observations. We might have unknowingly left her in a position of extreme risk.

If you hear a dog inside the house, hold the door shut by the door handle and ask the client to secure the dog. Even if the dog is not violent, it can frequently be an unwelcome distraction when you are trying to interview the client.

Always have the client open the door. If clients ask you to come in without opening the door for you, insist that the client open it. It is best that you meet the client at the door and continue your risk assessment before you enter.

If clients say that they cannot come to the door, ask why. This is often a concern when dealing with elderly or incapacitated clients. Try to get a look inside through a window to confirm why it is that they cannot come to the door, if you aren't aware of any good reason.

When the door is answered, ask to speak to the person whom you are visiting, for example, the parent. Often whoever answers the door will try to ask questions about your identity and the nature of your visit. Persons who live with the client, or are friends with them, may want to protect the client from what they perceive as ‘unjustified state interference.’ Give them as little information as possible, and be non-threatening. A good approach is to introduce yourself and tell the person at the door that there are some things that you need to discuss with the client.

Once you have the clients you want to speak with at the door, again identify yourself. Give the reason for your visit and let the clients know that you would like to speak with them inside, in private. Have your identification handy so that there can be no mistake about who you are, and what organization you represent. If the client is going to react negatively to your authority, this is the time to find out, not after you have entered and the door is closed behind you.

If, at this point, the clients tell you in a violent and hostile manner to go away, and that they do not want to speak with you, generally you should listen to them and leave. You may need to advise them that the matter is important, and that you will be returning.

I have had great success at reminding people that we have a job to do, and that their refusal to cooperate does not mean that the matter will be dropped. Often once the client realizes that you mean business, and if you are being honest about your agenda, then they will often agree to speak with you.

What are some safety strategies that social workers may employ in agency/hospital settings?

The room at your office in which you interview the client should be well lit and uncluttered. Earth tones for the walls are best for their soothing influence. A calendar on the wall is useful.

The room should be free of anything such as metal toys or glass ashtrays that an irate client could use as projectiles. If there is a phone in the room, it should be secured to the wall or table to prevent it from being picked up and thrown. It is useful to equip the room with windows so that other workers in the office can see what is going on inside. This could be one-way glass.

Another option is having a receptionist, supervisor, or other staff member monitor the activity in the room via closed circuit TV. If recording equipment is being used, it should be hidden, but the social worker conducting the interview should tell the client that they are being recorded.

Some agencies have set up rooms for receiving especially volatile clients that have one entrance for the clients to enter and leave. A table separates the client from the interviewer. A separate door behind the interviewer provides an emergency exit should the client act out violently. If interviewing the client in your office, situate your desk so that the client is not between you and the door.

Having a room reserved solely for interviews is preferable to using your own office for several reasons. If you must use your office to conduct interviews, you will constantly be clearing away office equipment such as staplers, hole punches, or telephones that the client may pick up and throw. You'll have to clear away any sensitive documents or files that you don't want clients to see. Having a room other than your office in which you can conduct interviews will eliminate this problem.

If your background investigation has revealed safety concerns, be sure to notify your supervisor prior to the client's arrival so that all of the necessary preparations for the visit can be made. Sometimes clients may call in anger and tell the social worker that they are on their way to the office. If this occurs or if the client you are expecting has a propensity for violence, be sure to let the receptionists know so that they won't be taken by surprise.

Don't schedule client visits for times such as lunch hours or training days when there will be few if any staff members around who may offer assistance to you if you need it. Be sure to notify your supervisor if you are conducting an interview or assessment in the office late in the day. People are often anxious to leave at the end of the day and you don't want to find yourself in the position of being all alone with clients in the office with no one to offer assistance if you need it.

When clients arrive, take note of their emotional state and demeanor. It is better not to even start an interview or assessment in the first place if it is clear from the outset that the client is likely to get out of control.

The reception area should be visible to the administrative staff, and there should be a locked gate or door separating it from the rest of the office. Display signs in the waiting area that indicate zero tolerance for violence. Have clients sign in at the reception desk and escort them both to and from the office where the interview or assessment is being conducted.

It has been our experience that clients wandering around the office pose a greater threat to personal safety and security. Any staff member who notices a stranger wandering about the office should politely question them as to their business there. Having reception issue temporary visitor identification is a good way to control unwanted guests.

You should consider using a partner to assist you in interviewing or assessing clients. One of you will be the primary interviewer, doing all of the talking. This avoids over stimulating the client. The other should quietly make notes and observe. This back up worker will be in a better position to observe the client's body language.

The presence of an extra worker can often discourage violence on the part of an angry client: There is safety in numbers. It is advantageous to utilize a back up worker who is familiar with the client. If you are the only one who has had contact with the client, this is an excellent opportunity to introduce the client to another worker who can handle the client's concerns in case of your absence from the office.

If you become aware that the tension between you and the client is escalating, it may be time to terminate your interview. You can offer to meet with the client again at a later date when emotions have cooled, if appropriate. If clients continue to escalate or threaten violence, escort them from the building. Have other staff members assist you if necessary.

It is a good idea to develop a system of innocuous phrases or gestures that you can use as a signal to summon assistance without alerting the client. One signal may indicate that you require the assistance of another staff member. Another may indicate that you require the immediate assistance of the police.

Such signals can be passed using your office's paging system, intercoms, or telephone. It is a good idea to have the interview room equipped with a hidden panic alarm button for cases when you are interviewing volatile clients.

Finally, would you recommend that social workers take a self-defense class?

Self-defense classes are excellent for maintaining fitness, and for that reason alone are a good idea.

The only way to become competent in hold release techniques and related martial arts moves that a social worker may need on rare occasions is to regularly practice them.

Thanks so much, Charles, for sharing with us all this invaluable safety advice! And thanks again, Marianna @AuntieStress, for your kind introduction!

Please feel free to share your thoughts or questions come to your mind about social worker safety below :)

You May Also Enjoy:
Social Work Podcast: Client Violence: Interview w/Dr. Newhill
New Social Worker: Safety and Social Work
Social Media and Social Work Education: Like Oil & Water?Acknowledge Your Past Achievements
How To Start Up a Private Practice
18 of My Favorite Reader Comments from 2011

Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/9/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:03:00 +0000

I'm watching twitter, google+ and the web so you don't have to...

This post is part of a weekly series, Best in Mental Health, featuring the best posts of the week, in social work, psychology, evidence-based practice/healthcare, non-profit and private practice concerns on Social Work Career Development.

Topics this week include: termination, resilience, end-of-life decision-making, play therapy, meditation with Jack Kornfield, the new working definition of recovery and much, much more...

On the private practice building side, Casey Truffo is offering a 300+ page book for free! Enjoy:)

Evidence Based Practice/Healthcare:

Seven principles of better adoption of evidence in practice, from new MeReC bulletin
The Mental Elf (Andre Tomlin)

"The most recent MeReC Bulletin (December 2011) considers the problem of the implementation gap: the best evidence often does not get adopted quickly into practice... Several principles can be identified from the evidence and models highlighted in the bulletin..."

No More "Partiality "in Healthcare: Fighting Partiality at Clinical Level
Occupy Healthcare

"We do better when all aspects of us are addressed simultaneously. In the face of studies like these (and there are many more studies to support addressing mental health and medical conditions), the question that continues to come into my mind is why are we not expecting more comprehensive..."

Social Work:

Another Take on Termination
Practice Wisdom (Natalie L. Hill, LICSW)

"My theory is that my feelings about terminating with clients are countertransferential (reflective of the client's degree of attachment to me), while feelings toward colleagues perhaps reflect the degree to which the team, versus individual clinicians, is the central therapeutic relationship..."

Comment Policy
N.A.H. (Relando Thompkins, MSW)

"We acknowledge that we all hold conscious and unconscious attitudes and behaviors toward people who are not like/unlike us... We acknowledge that one of the meanings of racism is that we have been systematically taught misinformation about our own group..."

Creating a sense of "Hardiness"
Child Protection Lessons (Peter Choate)

"they defined hardiness as a sense of control or influence in one's life especially when faced with adversity... Building self efficacy and resiliency in a parent increases their hardiness. This, in turn, improves the way in which they can engage parenting..."

Enormous Stresses for Clients and Dedicated Social Workers
NASW (Sue Matorin, MS, ACSW)

"The impact of a punishing economic climate in which those able to work can't find any work, combined with amplified pressures to cut costs by "managing care", have created enormous additional stresses for clients and dedicated social workers..."

The Fun Fair
How not to do Social Work

"When riding on the social work 'merry go round' it is possible that every time we complete a visit we may also see different sides of the same piece of cheese. Which, due to the nature of social work requires real analytical skill to decipher..."

I’m back, but only because I don’t know where I live
SocialJerk

"To not even be able to do something so simple as call your mom when you need to. If I can’t track down a working number for her, neither can the school. Very often, neither can the child. It’s got to be disconcerting... "

Oregon's Death with Dignity Act: Hospice Social Work and End-of-Life Decision-Making
Living Proof Podcast (UB School of Social Work)

"In episode 87, Dr. Pam Miller discusses her research on social worker attitudes, values, and practices since the enactment of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act."

Stretched
What a Shrink Thinks (Martha Crawford, LCSW)

"For the therapist, the profession, by its very nature, acts as a chronic, seductive call to hand over all of your better nature, all your altruistic and charitable impulses... In my non-work relationships I am ravenous for full mutuality, equality, for a balanced..."

Technology and Mindfulness
This Is Me (spldbch)

"In my opinion, people who are motivated to enrich their lives by being conscious of their internal and external environments will find a number of ways to support their efforts, to include online sources and social media..."

Therapy with the Experts: Adlerian Play Therapy with Dr. Kottman
The Nudge Patrol (Laura, MSW student)

"...Dr. Terry Kottman, a registered play therapist, goes on to provide viewers with a very concrete example of how she utilizes core Adlerian concepts in the therapeutic space with a young child... demonstrates how to create choices for children when playing therapy games, as well as how to roll with resistance..."

Theory: Stages of Change (Prochaska & DiClementi)
Hack Social Work (Ignacio)

"Although the word “Relapse” may suggest that this model applies to drug/alcohol treatment, this model applies to all types of desired change, whether it is as trivial as ceasing to bite your fingernails or as serious as controlling one’s anger..."

The Uses of Disenchantment
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)

"Neurosis is like an enchanted armor that we can no longer use. Maybe we have outgrown it. Maybe it never really fit well but it was the best compromise we could come up with... That’s where disenchantment comes in..."

Psychology:

Awakening Your Boundless and Loving Heart (video/podcast)
Sounds True (Jack Kornfield)

A recorded interactive meditation session with Jack Kornfield - exploring the practice of lovingkindness and forgiveness, and the infinite nature of our hearts. This will be available for 30 days beginning January 10, 2012.

5 Ways to “Sit” with Anxious Feelings
Laura Schenck, M.A.

"When you learn how to have a new relationship with anxious feelings by developing the ability to “sit with” and tolerate them, anxiety is no longer frightening... It’s not always necessary to face your anxiety head on, particularly when you are in the early stages...."

A Key Aspect of Being Authentically You – Identifying Your Triggers
Neuroscience and Relationships (Dr. Athena Staik)

"The first step in setting limits is identifying the specific situations that challenge or trigger you when it comes to either standing up for yourself with courage and, or doing so in a way that treats the other (thus also your self) with dignity..."

CBT and Learning Disabilities (Video)
Beck Institute Blog

"Dr. Aaron Beck coaches a school counselor through cognitive conceptualization of a specific case – a student with learning disabilities (e.g. dyslexia) and high anxiety. Dr. Beck helps her to identify her client’s stimulus situation, beliefs, emotions, and maladaptive behaviors..."

Counselor’s Role as Teacher and Life Skills Educator
ACA (Judy Belmont)

"Insight into thinking patterns alone does not change things, especially if habits are deeply ingrained... That is where the idea of psychotherapist as psycho-educator comes in... Teaching life skills is not telling clients what to do – it is teaching them strategies..."

Invisible Pain
Dr. Ann Becker Schutte

"Invisible pain is often discounted... Invisible pain may not receive support... Sometimes even the person suffering the pain has a hard time treating it as real... And that can mean that we push ourselves to “push through” our pain, even when we need... compassion..."

Living with Depression: Why Biology and Biography Matter on the Path to Hope and Healing
Heal My PTSD (Deborah Serani, Psy.D)

"Now, a therapist doesn’t need to live through an event or have firsthand knowledge to help someone heal. However, the subjective experience of my mental illness, its long-standing trajectory, and my familiarity with medication informed me in ways that clinical training and education never could..."

Narcissistic Rage and the Failure of Empathy: ‘Citizen Kane’
After Psychotherapy (Joseph Burgo, PhD)

"...when Charlie falls in love, he chooses a woman who reflects well upon him and feeds his own idealized self-image. Emily Norton is the niece of a president and an important socialite. Charlie adores her … that is, until her perfect admiration for him begins to wane..."

Oxygen Masks and the Big Easy
A Friend to Yourself (Wendy Young, LMSW, BCD)

"In the unlikely event of an emergency, put on your own oxygen mask first... Proverbial oxygen masks are easy. Doing the real work of self-care is not necessarily so easy... Bidding adieu to our habits, even though we know they are counterproductive, is often difficult..."

Recovery: What’s in a Word?
HealthyPlace (Randye Kaye)

"The new working definition of Recovery from Mental Disorders and Substance Use Disorders is as follows: A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential."

The Safe Emergency of Therapeutic Situations: Fritz Perls and Gloria (and me)
The Irreverent Psychologist (Jason Evan Mihalko, Psy.D)

"I rediscovered the "Gloria" tapes that every psychotherapist-in-training has likely had some exposure... Gestalt therapy, beyond anything else, is about learning to pay attention to what is figural--that is, what part of the environment (and what parts of my clients'..."

The Yoga Revolution... and Its Opponents
The Mindful Self-Express (Melanie Greenberg, PhD)

"Yoga is an ancient Indian discipline with the ultimate goals of uniting mind, body, and spirit, and of transcending the boundaries of the self to become one with the universal consciousness... Respect the limits of your own body, be gentle with yourself..."

Nonprofit:

How to Create Your 2012 Nonprofit Career Plan
Rosetta Thurman

"Ask good questions...What are you hoping to learn and do that will help you grow professionally and personally?...Create a portfolio of your accomplishments...Whatever you do, don’t set ANY goals for your nonprofit career in 2012 if they don’t fit with who you really are or who you want to be..."

Private Practice:

Happy New Year: Get the Book for Free!
International Leadership Therapist Institute (Casey Truffo)

"The 300+ page book ‘Be A Wealthy Therapist: Finally You Can Make A Living While Making a Difference‘ is now available for the next ten days (January 21st) to anyone anywhere as a PDF Download AT NO-CHARGE..."

How to Cope with Technology Overwhelm
Dr. Susan Giurleo

"Before you dive in to learning a whole new way of using online tools, consider what you want your practice to look like and how you want to work... Offering online services is a great, new way to make a living. But it’s not as simple as having a website...."

Please share any thoughts or comments you have below. Also, feel free to mention any great posts that I may have missed.

You May Also Enjoy:
Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/2/2012)
Best in Mental Health (wk of 12/26/2011)
Best in Mental Health (wk of 12/19/2011)
Gestalt Therapy: Interactive, Here & Now
Spirituality, Compassion and Gestalt Therapy

10 Twitter Chats for Mental Health Professionals

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:59:00 +0000

Would you like to participate in a twitter chat about mental health?

A twitter chat = a real-time chat where you get to talk with others about topics of interest to you via twitter by using tweets that include a predefined hashtag to link those tweets together in a virtual conversation.

And if you've never done it before, not to worry - just read How To Participate In A Twitter Chat or watch this video.

4 General Mental Health Twitter Chats:

#hcsm - Healthcare and Social Media was established in January 2009 as a way to bring individuals together to discuss health care and communications and social media – including doctors, patients, lawyers, communicators, for-profits, non-profits, hospitals, health systems, insurers, and many, many more. It is moderated by @HealthSocMed. Time: Every Sunday at 21:00 EST

#MHON - Mental Health Support Online is moderated by Kathy Morelli, LPC. Every week, on the twitter chat, a different licensed mental health professional discusses his or her specialty and participates in a psycho-educational discussion. Time: Every Wednesday at 12:00 EST

#mhsm - Mental Health Social Media is hosted by @MHSMchat, a joint effort by Amy Kiel and Cindy Nelson together with @NAMIMass. Its goal is to bring the entire mental health community together and raise awareness, end stigma and continue our education process together. This means professionals in the field, activists, advocates, and those who struggle with mental health issues themselves are all welcome and part of this effort. Time: Every Tuesday at 21:00 EST

#SWSCmedia - Social Work/Social Care & Media was launched in Oct 2011 by @SWSCmedia. Its aim is to bring social work and social care practitioners, organizations, academics, and other interested parties together, to discuss issues, innovations, opportunities and challenges in relation to social work and/or social care. Time: Every Tuesday at 15:00 EST

3 Twitter Chats Addressing Special Concerns:

#bcsm - Breast Cancer and Social Media is moderated by Alicia C. Staley and @BCSMchat. It positions itself as the intersection of breast cancer and all things social media. Time: Every Monday at 21:00 EST

#eolchat - End of Life chat is moderated by Dr Becker Schutte. This chat was created to support & facilitate conversations among families, patients & providers about end of life issues. Time: Every Thursday at 21:30 EST

#ppdchat - my postpartum voice provides stories, resources, and insights for every struggling mother, for partners, family members, and even for professionals looking for a glimpse into the mind of a survivor. Time: Every Monday at 13:00 and 20:30 EST

3 Advocacy/Health IT/Nonprofit Twitter Chats:

#HITsm - Health IT Social Media has been around since last January and it is moderated by @HealthStandards and @TheGr8Chalupa. Its mission is to exchange ideas and best practices on current health IT topics. Time: Every Friday at 12:00 EST

#occupyhealthcare - Occupy Healthcare is about: How can we, the community, have our moment to influence and impact healthcare? Or, as the Occupy Wall Street movement has shown, how can we, the community, rise up and demand more for “the 99%”? Time: Periodic Sundays at 21:00 EST

#ynpchat - a new monthly Twitter chat for young nonprofit professionals that just started this month. It is hosted by the nonprofit and advocate experts, Rosetta Thurman and Allison Jones. Time: First Wednesday of every month at 12:00 EST

Interested in chats about other topics? Check out this link to a constantly updating list of twitter chats about all kinds of topics Twitter Chat Schedule. It has links to over 500 different twitter chats around the web!

Finally, hat tip to Tamara Suttle and others for asking about what types of mental health twitter chats are available - it was thanks to you that I thought of putting together this post :)

Do you have other mental health chats to add to this list? Also, have you participated in twitter chats? If yes, how beneficial have you found them?

You May Also Enjoy:
Innovation in Social Work
Technology Tools for Clinical Practice
Social Work in Advocacy and Public Policy
Unlearning with Jack Uldrich
Online Therapy: A New Frontier

Photo Credit: webtreats

Social Worker Safety

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:10:00 +0000

This week, I had the honor and pleasure of interviewing Charles Ennis, a former police officer on a Mental Health Emergency Services Unit in Canada, on the important topic of social worker safety.

Thank you, Marianna @AuntieStress, for this invaluable introduction!

Charles has not only trained many agencies and their staff on how to be safe when working in the field with the mentally-ill but has also co-authored a book on the subject with a former colleague (social worker) Janet Douglas entitled: The Safe Approach: Controlling Risk for Workers in the Helping Professions.

Without further ado, Charles, could you share with us a bit of your background - what led you into the field of law enforcement?

I left the military in 1977 and started my career with the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) as I felt drawn to law enforcement. I liked the idea of being a peace officer. (Under Canadian and provincial legislation police are referred to as peace officers, not police officers.) I retired from the Vancouver Police Department in November 2005 after serving 29 years with them.

I was awarded the Governor General’s Exemplary Service Medal. My past job assignments within the VPD included the Emergency Response Team, Hostage Negotiator, Child Abuse Investigator, Gang Crime Unit, and the Mental Health Emergency Services Unit.

I am currently working as a VPD dispatcher at Emergency Communications center (ECOMM) for Southwestern British Columbia. All 911 calls go there and are routed to the appropriate agencies from there.

How did your interest in the safety of social workers develop and what led you to ultimately co-author a book with a social worker on this subject?

In 1996, when I started working for the child abuse investigation car (a social worker and a cop work together to do child abuse and child welfare investigations), I noticed over and over again in reading social worker reports that they were regularly going into dangerous situations with little or no training to deal with them, with little or no equipment and resources.

It is amazing how little effort has been expended by some agencies to train field workers how to survive violent encounters with clients they encounter in the field. Proper training, planning and preparation can prevent many violent incidents from occurring and can enhance workers' ability to survive violent encounters.

Depending on luck is a poor substitute for taking constructive measures to prevent a violent encounter. The current state of knowledge of safety procedures makes your ability to stay safe in the field greater than ever.

Yet more effort is likely to have gone into the counseling and support that a worker receives after an assault than that worker or that worker's agency devoted to worker safety before the assault.

When we first started doing safety training for social workers and public health nurses in 1996, there were concerns from the field administrators that the material being presented might incite fear in the workers, resulting in them never leaving their office.

One of the first things that we do in our sessions is to ask the attendees to take a moment to write down past work situations where they found themselves in dangerous or violent situations. Many of them come up with personal accounts of risk and injury.

In other words, these people have already experienced the dangers of the job. They are attending classes like ours because they wanted strategies and techniques that allow them to overcome the fears and anxieties that they already have experienced on the job so that they can continue to do those valuable jobs.

You can't make yourself safe unless you have a true appreciation of the risks involved. Only then can you adequately prepare for them. The best defense for any field worker is to be prepared before violence happens.

This often makes it possible for you to avoid potential violence altogether, and can substantially reduce the number of incidents that escalate to the point of violence. The old adage ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ certainly applies here.

Your body will often react to impending danger before you become consciously aware of it. When suddenly confronted with violence, your body will automatically revert to an instinctive “fear-fight-flight mode.”

It has been our experience that workers often dismiss the physiological symptoms they are having when they begin to feel unsafe and attempt to continue their interview or assessment. They fail to trust their instincts.

If you become aware that you are experiencing these symptoms, you should begin looking for the cause. If you ignore them, you may end up being surprised by the client’s violent outburst. Under these circumstances, you will instinctively revert to the way you have trained. If you have neither rehearsed nor planned a response, you will be left with a basic “startle response” which is rarely an appropriate response to a violent outburst.

Usually there will be some clue or danger sign warning of violence. Something about the client's behavior will indicate his or her intent. Learning the body language of violent clients is essential to your safety. You should watch for displays of pre-assaultive behaviors that will warn you of an impending attack.

Are social workers who work in particular settings more at risk for harm than others?

Client violence can occur in the office and in the field. The field is more dangerous because in the client’s home there are more unknown variables and the client has the control of the environment. A client can decide when, where, and whom to attack, on grounds that may be totally irrational and indiscriminate. On the other hand, moral and psychological considerations that inhibit quick, impulsive action usually influence the worker.

Clients know you won't make the first violent move. You may not want to use violence. You may find violence morally distasteful. Nevertheless, it is very likely that the client will not share your views. Faced with arrest, hospitalization, or with the removal of their children, clients may feel that they have nothing to lose. They may accept violence as a natural risk of their lifestyle. When they act, they are only thinking of themselves.

What are the key warning signs that social workers should watch out for in their clients?

Safety is a matter of on-going assessment of your surroundings and making timely decisions based on that assessment. Safety is a matter of constantly reviewing your actions to learn from your mistakes. The first step toward greater personal safety in the field is knowing where to draw the line. Violent behavior on the part of the client may be understandable, but it is never acceptable.

Usually there will be some clue or danger sign warning of violence. Something about the client's behavior will indicate his or her intent. You should watch for displays of pre-assaultive behaviors that will warn you of an impending attack, including:

1. Pacing or restlessness

2. Rapid breathing

3. Grinding of teeth

4. Clenched fists

5. Sudden immobility or coiled postures indicating a readiness to strike

6. Dilated pupils

7. Flaring nostrils

8. Sweating, especially when the temperature and the client’s level of recent activity make perspiration unlikely

9. Trembling of the client's hands and extremities

10. Intent staring. The direction of the client’s gaze may even indicate the client’s intended target.

11. Bobbing and dipping movements. If the client begins to shift his weight he may be adjusting his posture to allow himself to grab or strike.

12. Rapid mood swings

13. Loud speech, especially if threatening

14. Bizarre behavior. Body language that does not match the client’s verbal message.

If the client is exhibiting any or all of these cues, the situation may be escalating. It may be time to get out.

How would you recommend that social workers respond when clients are threatening and/or violent?

Everyone has their own level of comfort/tolerance based on their abilities. The trick is not to exceed your capabilities and comfort. That’s what safety awareness is all about. The moment you feel uncomfortable, you need to get out of the situation.

Social workers aren’t peace [police] officers; they aren’t there to control violence. Basic Sun Tzu: the best general is the one who wins without ever having engaged the enemy. Let’s not get into a fight in the first place, if possible.

Thanks so much, Charles for this most informative interview on social worker safety!

Do any questions and/or comments come to your mind about social worker safety?

Sneak Preview: Make sure to check out Part II of this interview; Charles will be providing us with helpful safety tips to employ out in the field!

You May Also Enjoy:

Feeling Too Much Empathy
Bipolar Disorder Brought to Life
Brainstorming Ideas
Music as a Means of Establishing Rapport
What Is Social Work In Child Welfare Like?

Best in Mental Health (wk of 1/2/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:26:00 +0000

I'm watching twitter, google+ and the web so you don't have to...

This post is part of a weekly series, Best Tweets in Mental Health, featuring the best posts of the week, in social work, psychology, mindfulness, non-profit and private practice concerns on Social Work Career Development.

The topics this week covered a wide spectrum from making assessments, advice on how to find a good fit work-wise, resources for evidence based practice, setting boundaries, sexual attractiveness between the therapist and patient, and vicarious trauma to tips on how best to run a nonprofit and grow a private practice.

In short, I think you'll be hard-pressed not to find at least one article (if not more) of interest!

Social Work:

Assessments?
How not to do Social Work

"The "Assessment is the process of systematically gathering and analysing information about the client, family and context." (Taylor and Devine, 1993)... This week I have met a family in crisis, left ripped apart from an assessment..."

Finding a Good "Fit"
Practice Wisdom (Natalie L. Hill, LICSW)

"There are such a wide variety of practice settings out there - different populations, treatment modalities, and work environments... there are better and worse "fits" out there. Hone in on better fits by prioritizing your needs and work preferences..."

Give Us Your Nominations for the NASW Media Awards!
Social Workers Speak (GWright)

"NASW invites you to nominate newspaper articles, newspaper columns, magazine stories, websites, blogs, radio segments, television ... and cable TV shows, ... films and documentaries that you think best portrayed the social work profession in 2011..."

Liberty, Life, and the Pursuit of Happiness... For Some
Imagination Nation (Munib S, MSW Student)

"After listening to Senator Santorum’s glowing remarks comparing marriage equality to polygamy and (in the past) bestiality, I am truly shocked and appalled at his almost first place finish at the Iowa caucus... a person with such deeply embedded... bigotry..."

Parenting Resolutions and Social Justice
Classroom to Capitol (Melinda Lewis)

"In 2012, I promise to offer my kids more chances to do for themselves, and more understanding of why that matters so much... When we’re building capacity and helping people to claim their own power, “easy” isn’t what matters... "

Relevant research for Approved Mental Health Professionals
Martin Webber's Blog (@mgoat73)

"The training session I lead for Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) trainees includes a critical introduction to the paradigm of evidence-based practice... I provide... a reading list of studies that have been conducted... the list... can be downloaded..."

On setting boundaries
Cathy Hanville, LCSW

"Many people make their decisions based on how others will feel and react rather than on what is best for them. That is not a healthy way to live. No one is responsible for another person's feelings... some suggestions on learning to set boundaries..."

“Take my kids, please!” “For the last time, NO!”
SocialJerk

"The assumption that we steal children away first, ask questions later, is one that most of us confront fairly regularly... Parents regularly come to us, wanting their teenagers removed from the home. Not forever, mind you. They want them to come home fixed..."

The sad case of Charlie B: a story about the dangers of chronic homelessness
Diary of a Social Worker (Dave Ray)

"Charlie and Hattie became homeless because of a natural disaster and remain so six years later... Charlie will likely never get beyond being homeless, especially considering that it appears he is now slipping into mental illness as well..."

What’s new is 2012?
Life, Love, Balance (LovEternal, MSW)

"This year I have just one goal to focus on. Recovery. Living a balanced life is what recovery means to me. Balance (yin and yang) to me consists of the ability to love myself and others, while skillfully managing the difficulties life offers me..."

Why I’m not ‘anti psychiatry’
caretraining (Stuart Sorensen)

"Medications are biological tools. They are chemical preparations designed to make chemical changes in the body. This is because of an assumption that mental disorders are caused by physical (specifically chemical) problems. But is this always true? ..."

Why mental health social workers can be particularly prone to stress
community care (Mark Drinkwater)

"...although all social work can be stressful, there are some notable reasons why mental health social workers are particularly prone to stress. In part, this is because of the intractable nature of the problems that they face... "

Psychology:

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments in Psychiatry
Beyond Meds (Giannakali)

"One thing I found is that no one, pretty much anywhere, knows how to deal with the serious psychiatric drug withdrawal iatrogenesis that happens for some of us... guide for physicians and other healthcare professionals... you can download the book for free..."

Crash And Burn (To Stand Back And Watch In Slow Motion)
American Counseling Association (Christian Billington)

"Watching a client or patient get broken down by life, by disease, by stress, by addiction, by anxiety or whatever causation is one of the hardest aspects... Adopting the observer role challenges the pro-active side of my being..."

Internet-Based CBT for Binge Eating Disorder
Beck Institute Blog

"A recent study published in Behaviour Research and Therapy found that a Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) based self-help treatment program for binge eating disorder (BED) could be successfully implemented online..."

Journey Into Self
The Irreverent Psychologist (Jason Evan Mihalko, Psy.D)

"This clip, the documentary called Journey Into Self, is a fascinating view showing us the brilliance that was Carl Rogers as well as the transformative power of group psychotherapy..."

Lack of Understanding of Mental Illness
Healthy Place (Natasha Tracy)

"It’s reasonable that people don’t innately understand mental illness - it’s a hard thing to grasp... I will keep doing what I do, and try to promoted understanding, education and awareness, but I’m going to accept that not everyone can get there..."

Managing Your Anxieties and PTSD
Heal My PTSD (Stan Popovich)

"Here is a brief list of techniques that a person can use to help manage their every day stress, anxieties, and PTSD... When facing a current or upcoming task that overwhelms you with a lot of anxiety, the first thing you can do is to divide the task into..."

Relationship Resolutions: Communication
Stanek Counseling (Sean Stanek, LMHP)

"The more you are able to communicate with your partner about your feelings, dreams, expectations, and goals the stronger foundation you will build... to build a stronger foundation... Stop blaming... Here is a copy of the Fair Fighting Rules..."

Resolve 10 Dialectical Tensions for a Balanced Lifestyle
Laura Schenck, M.A.

"When you live according to absolutes or extremes, there is a tendency to become easily overwhelmed, overly stressed, and emotionally reactive... DBT teaches individuals essential skills in mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance..."

What I Wish People Knew About BPD and Anger
Healthy Place (Becky Oberg)

"The wrath of a person with BPD often comes on quickly. The intensity of the rage is extremely strong... Depending on the self-control of the enraged person, people or property can be damaged... it helps for us to talk–it allows time for the anger to..."

When therapists have the hots for their clients
Research Digest (Martin, C., Godfrey, M., Meekums, B., and Madill, A.)

"...researchers said the results showed that "even among experienced, accredited practitioners, sexuality and sexual feelings commonly intrude into the therapeutic encounter and required management for client benefit."

Treatment Development: Where do we go from here?
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - Director's Blog (Thomas Insel)

"NIMH does not have the human or financial resources to develop the next generation of medications. We can, however, support science that can catalyze innovation and discovery in both the public and private sectors... "

Vicarious Trauma and the Professional Interpreter
The Trauma and Attachment Report (Jana Vigor)

"Interpreters seem to experience vicarious trauma differently than other professionals providing aid since they do more than witness the trauma; they channel it...Because you are constantly saying “I, I, I,” you start associating with the story much more..."

Nonprofit:

11 New Year’s Resolutions for Nonprofit Social Media Managers
NonProfit Tech 2.0

"1) Create a "Thank You" video(s) for your 2012 fundraising campaigns. 2) Learn basic HTML. 3) Diversify your news sources. 4) View your nonprofit's website on a tablet and smartphone browser ASAP! ..."

Creating Learning Experiences That Connect, Inspire, and Engage
Beth's Blog (Beth Kanter)

"Content delivery is less important then the skill to making sense of it and that needs to be what “classroom time” is about. The instructor’s role should be to facilitate this understanding for their students, not dump content on them..."

Strategic Philanthropy in the "New Normal"
GuideStar

"We invite you to join us on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 [for a free webinar], as top thinkers in nonprofit management and philanthropy explore the impact of the 2008 recession and "recovery" on... campaign strategy, unrestricted fundraising and more..."

Private Practice:

Money: The Post You Don’t Want To Read But Should
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)

"The pointer is this, if you want to make more money, take a look at the bank you're using. Making money isn’t just about your fee or caseload, but the fees you may be paying out...Do you spend 30 minutes running to the bank each week? That’s time you could see a patient..."

Put These Free Practice Building Webinars On Your Calendar
Private Practice Toolbox (Julie Hanks, LCSW)

"I’ve personally attended webinars from both presenters listed below so I can vouch for the quality and relevance of their presentations... Jan. 11 "The Facebook Divide" with Laura Roeder... Jan. 16 "WordPress for Therapists" with Therapy Marketing Geeks..."

Want to Grow Your Practice? Go. Now.
Dr. Susan Giurleo

"The practitioner, coach, guru, or self-proclaimed ‘expert’ who gets online, moves to mobile, puts themselves where the public is will get the clients... This is the year when EVERYONE finally gets the memo that being online isn’t optional..."

Your 2012 Practice Vision: WHY Do You Do What You Do?
Private Practice Toolbox (Julie Hanks, LCSW)

"According to Sinek, your “why” is the most important aspect of running a successful business, or in our world, our private practice... Do potential clients get to know your “why” when they visit your website, or are you solely focused on the “what” & “how”?..."

Lastly, before I forget, please note that this Tuesday, January 10, 2012, @SWSCmedia will be once again hosting its weekly twitter chats at 20:00GMT/15:00 EST.

Please share any thoughts or comments you have below. Also, feel free to mention any great posts that I may have missed.

You May Also Enjoy:
Best in Mental Health (wk of 12/26/2011)
Best in Mental Health (wk of 12/19/2011)
Best in Mental Health (wk of 12/12/2011)
Eating Disorders Are About Relationships
An Expression of Gratitude

18 of My Favorite Reader Comments from 2011

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:43:00 +0000

This post will highlight 18 wonderful comments you made on this blog in 2011!

As you go through these 18 gems, you'll see how this blog's name evolved thanks to your input and get a feeling for the journey of a second year social work graduate student.

Many of the therapeutic issues discussed are the same ones that therapists with many years of experience face. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

Karen Zgoda said on... Is It Time to Change My Blog's Name?: Hi Dorlee,

What a great discussion - you are so skilled at starting conversations! The beauty of putting yourself out there online is that you will always get feedback and as you grow, you will learn to make the changes that make sense to you, not necessarily always the audience, although we do love the attention. :)

While I've only had a chance to view your more recent posts, and they would apply quite well to students, I've felt that your blog has itself transitioned from 'transition' to 'development' as you've grown. I see lots of material that not only talks about how folks found social work (or, as we all know, how social work found us) but also how they build themselves as social workers. I see a similar streak on your twitter feed. A blog titled Social Work Career Development sounds pretty cool!

I ask you:
- How would *you* characterize your blog?
- What 2-5 things do you want visitors to your blog to walk away with?
- Where do you see your blog in the next 2 years?

If you feel that your blog title reflects that then stick with it. If not, you have your answer. :)

Btrflygl said on... 20 Inspirational Quotes for Social Workers: I love this post. Also in terms of "The Cave" our minds most be thinking alike as I put it on my blog a few days ago.

One of my fave quotes is the following........

Be mindful of your thoughts; your thoughts become words.
Be mindful of your words; your words become actions.
Be mindful of your actions; your actions become habits.
Be mindful of your habits; your habits become your character.
Be mindful of your character; your character becomes your destiny.

I don't know who wrote this but I love it!


Andrea B. Goldberg, LCSW said on... Facing the Past as You Help Others Heal: Hi Dorlee,

I like what Nancy said about maintaining an open heart with clients while not taking ownership of their pain or choices. The goal is to stay both engaged and separate at the same time. Maintaining that balance is the key to therapeutic connectedness and good self care.

I believe it is important to develop a genuine connection with our clients in order for them to feel safe enough to take risks in treatment. This is especially true for those clients who suffer from the impact of betrayal trauma and/or insecure attachment, which is most of my caseload. Bearing witness to our clients’ pain leaves us vulnerable in many ways. It opens us up to being triggered by our own unresolved painful experiences, as we resonate with our clients’ pain. It also makes it hard for us to detach from our clients’ pain when a session is over.

We need to be attuned to our clients’ suffering, without being consumed by it. Vicarious traumatization is an occupational hazard that we need to guard against. Some people describe it as having one foot in the door and one foot out of the door, being both engaged and detached at the same time. In my view we need to be fully engaged with our clients, yet also fully separate so we are not overwhelmed by our clients’ suffering. This is a very delicate balancing act.

Mindfulness of our reactions during sessions is essential. Containment strategies are also essential. Containment during the session is needed when our reactions are based on our own issues that need to be set aside to prevent interference with our therapeutic presence. Containment after the session is needed when we are having difficulty shifting gears from resonating with a client’s pain.

Dorlee, I continue to be impressed with your openness and self-reflective capacity, and your efforts to synthesize all you are learning in this blog. Keep up the great work!

Warmly,
Andrea


Linda Grobman said on... What Do You Do When a Loved One Has Cancer?: Dorlee,

I am sorry to hear about your friend. Cancer is never easy. Some people who are ill use CaringBridge.org to stay in touch with far-away family and friends. I know not everyone will feel comfortable using it, but I have personally known 2 (or maybe 3) people who have used it, and it is a way for the person to receive support and to keep people informed about the person's health situation without the stress of numerous phone calls or e-mails. Friends can post messages of support on the guest book, and the person can access it when they feel up to it. Also, they (or their family members) can post updates periodically. It can be a great comfort to the person who is sick as well as to the friends/family. Maybe this could be a helpful tool for your friend.

Other than that, I echo what others have said about self care and just "being there" in whatever way your friend feels comfortable with.

I wish you all the best in this difficult time.

Linda


njsmyth said on... Parallel Processes, Boundaries & Authenticity: A very insightful description of the parallel process and how it applies. And thanks for your kind comments about our relationship, Dorlee. You're a very special Twitter friend to me, as well. I don't get enough of a chance to be a mentor with students since I've been dean, so it's a pleasure to be a long distance mentor to a mentee who is so passionate about learning.

I agree with Mike about boundary crossing--what's most important is to talk about it, and there's a lot of growth that can come from it. The issue is how it's handled. Clients shouldn't be coming apart as a result of session--and yet I've heard many stories (from my clients and those of others, when I do trainings), who talk about dissociating or cutting themselves immediately after a session because they weren't "together enough" when they left. It's a huge sign of progress and health when someone can say "things are moving too fast", "I need to go more slowly."

One way to make sure clients feel okay before leaving the office is just to allow enough time to close the session and check in with someone to see how the session felt to them. Also, many therapists in my field (trauma) use some variation of "Safe place" or "soothing place" imagery like what is described here: http://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/imagery.htm Many of my students use the content from the manuals Seeking Safety (Najavits) or Dialectical Behavior Therapy (Linehan) with their more fragile clients.



Jackie Yun said on... 20 Motivational Quotes for Job Seekers: Hi Dorlee! Loved all the quotes. How about two more?

When the job search isn't quite going the way one wants, it's good to remember... "You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." It's what Christopher Robin said to Pooh and what we should say to ourselves so we don't lose sight of the value we bring.

Then, "one of the best things you can do when the world is storming around you is to pause" per Mitch Thrower. And I agree. Sometimes when one is in job search mode, you don't feel you can allow yourself to take a "pause", but you can and should. The pause can give you the time you need to rejuvenate and reflect on the job search strategy to see if anything needs to be changed-up.

Take care and good luck on your search.


Mike Langlois, LICSW said on... Spirituality, Compassion and Gestalt Therapy: Dorlee, what an amazing post.

I learned a lot by reading it, and the definition of spirituality by Seinrich may be the best one I've heard yet. Thanks just for that.

A book that you and your readers may find interesting is "The Birth of The Living God" by Anna Maria Rizutto. An excellent integration of spirituality and object relations theory.

Your experience in the gestalt workshop was so poignant to read about, and what occurred to me was that you had already been engaged in "living practice" of that meditation before you even sat down. One of the ideas I have enjoyed learning from Buddhism is that practice can happen outside the formal and traditional setting of sitting. It seems to me that you were doing such practice throughout the past several weeks as you breathed and lived your way mindfully through your experience with your X's cancer.

Thanks again for the walkthrough of the event, you made me a little homesick for my grad program at Smith.


Terry said on... Fat Oppression: Stigma Comes in Large Sizes: This is a very important post, in my opinion.

The topic of assumptions and actions based upon those assumptions, is so crucial to all of us. I hope that we will start teaching young children how to question and have an awareness of their own assumptions. Surely it effects how we humans operate in the world - even on a political basis.

I know I try my best to pay attention to my own assumptions when they are at work. They can be so subtle and complex and powerful.

Michelle's comment: "A client is never just fat. A client is never just poor, never just white or Latino or black. How all these different oppressions intersect is going to inform how they experience them, and how the client experiences them is what is going to inform your work with them" was very profound. I will be thinking about this.

Thanks for raising this issue. And thanks to Michelle for all the courageous work she is doing.


Mozart Guerrier said on... 10 Sources for Evidence-Based Practice: I love using SAMSHA's database. Not only do they provide EBP interventions that have been tested with specific populations (women, offenders, city, etc). It also tells you the quality of the research that backs up the intervention. I took an Evidence Based Practice in Mental Health class last semester on our professor stated that an EBP had to submit their program into the database, hence, just because you see it in there doesn't necessarily mean that their aren't more or more effective EBP's available if needed. Great blog! I think EBP is great, but I think practitioners still need strong clinical skills if they want to be effective.


Marianna said on... Menopause - Is it the Beginning of the End?: I wanted to bookend this post with a video of a funny commercial for air conditioners. I couldn't find it, though.

Perhaps you've seen it? A woman wearing summer attire, stomps out of her house in the middle of blizzard. She trudges through the snow to the air conditioning unit, which she exasperatedly turns on. Let's just say I can relate! ;)

Life is a series of cycles, menopause being one of them. Acceptance does make things easier emotionally, which often makes things easier physically. It stands to reason, though, when one considers how our thoughts and feelings influence the chemical cascade that occurs when we struggle.

Laurel Wiig, Ph.D. said on... Are Some Therapeutic Impasses Unavoidable?: I have found that in most cases when I have reached a therapeutic impasse with a client that confidentially consulting with a colleague is very helpful. This usually gives me a new perspective on the situation and is in most cases just what is needed to go through this stage with a client. This is a normal stage in any relationship, especially a therapeutic relationship.

However, I think it so important for a therapist to know when they are not able to go any further with a client (whatever the reason may be)and to recognize it and acknowledge it. Even braver, when a therapist can acknowledge that a client might need to be referred to another therapist b/c of a therapeutic impasse that cannot or seems not to be resolving or improving. We need to do what is in the best interest of our client.

I believe the problem is when therapists believe they can do it all and have difficulty in recognizing and acknowledging their weaknesses as a therapist. After all, we are only human!


LovEternal said on... What Are Microaggressions?: I love the dialogue that is going on here. This is a very interesting topic. I believe that each person has the right to feel whatever emotion is brought out by micro-aggressions. As an African-American female I have been hurt by them and have felt victimized. However, I also take time to process what is happening and choose not to internalize it. I feel the hurt and then move on. Depending on my relationship with the person, I may explain how that comment impacted me in hopes that they would think twice before repeating it. I have come to accept that some people "just don't get it", and that is okay with me. We cannot control other human beings. It certainly does not mean that I accept that micro-aggressions are okay. I think people can get competitive about cultural competency thinking that one person is more competent than another (better than), when in reality we all fall short of every truly understanding what its like to be in someone else's shoes. I truly respect people who can say "I don't know what it's like to be you, but I would like to listen to what you have to say about your experience."


Evita said on... 10 Take-Aways from Workshop on Neuroscience, Meditation & Health: Hi Dorlee

This sounds like it was a very, very valuable workshop. Mindfulness and heart-centered living are to me the core foundations of life - or at least a life based on peace and love.

Everything I have experience in my own life is that when I approach things with mindfulness everything flows, and flows with ease and peace. Where as if we don't apply mindfulness all sorts of chaos can happen in our lives... we may feel like life happens to us, or that we are victims to who "things just happen".

The benefits are so valuable and I am so thrilled for you that you took the chance to experience this workshop and then share it with others.

Interesting too, I have never heard of that before --> to never define the mind. Awesome!


Ann Becker-Schutte, Ph.D. said on... Reflections About Termination in Therapy: Dorlee,

This is one of the experiences of training that I miss a bit. The discrete endings of practica and internships provided the opportunities you described to have clear termination planning. There was a sadness and a sense of growth in that experience. However, out in private practice, things are rarely that clear. Clients have more control over when therapy ends, and sometimes the entire termination process occurs in a single session. I've been grateful that I had the extended termination training to draw on in those situations.



socialjerk said on... Art Therapy - The Power of Art in Healing: Thanks for sharing this! We have an art therapist at our agency, and it's so great to see what she does. Prior to working with her, I would have thought of art therapy as being something really more for kids, but she ran a painting group for parents that was very successful. It was nice to have a group run that allowed the parents to focus on themselves for once.

I get teased at work because of my obsession with using play-doh in sessions with the kids, but it's so effective, especially for kids with ADHD and other attention issues. It's creative enough to keep their interests, while also being sensory and physical, and it's an activity that can be broken down into steps--first we decide what we're making, then we pick what colors we need, etc. The glass bottle activity reminded me of this.


Maryann said on ... Secrets for Passing the LMSW Exam: I discovered your blog by chance while "googling" for information on preparing for the LMSW licensure exam and I feel like I have found a gold mine. Your blog is incredible! I am a career changer as well from the investment management world and have just completed my foundation year. I can't tell you how reassuring it was to read your blog. Finally someone who is writing about everything MSW students are concerned about! Thank you; thank you for your contribution.


Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter (Texas Executive Resume Writer) said on... Musings About MSW Journey: Dorlee,
Hearty 'congrats' to you for adding the MSW letters alongside your name! That's a monumental achievement!

Your depiction of sadness leaving the close-knit family of professors and classmates resonates. I can imagine that is difficult. As well, your new 'life' as a graduated social worker sounds so exciting! ... the 'unknown' that you describe is a thrilling blank canvas that I sense you will paint with the continued colorful, yet peaceful, yet vibrant hues that are within your head and heart.

Blessings to you, Dorlee; I hope you enjoy your 'recharge,' a wise way to equip yourself for the next leg of your beautiful journey.

PS - LOVE the Dr. Seuss verse - thanks for sharing!

Jacqui


fewerdeeper said on... The Unplanned Detour: While this is clearly a detour from the "map," reading from afar (and I confess, not consistently), this doesn't seem to me to be a detour from your journey. You are pursuing your vocation to be a healer/healing presence to/with others people. Part of that is (as Goethe said) "sweeping in front of your own house first."

I am similarly called to this work, and have found that opening the doors to how humans experience connection, disconnection, and survive pain...opened the doors to how I myself have done this as well. Honestly, where I am now, I don't know that I will get to the point of being useful in deep ways to clients, and that is painful. But I also don't want to become one of the great number of therapists who have good hearts and good intentions, yet whose own stuff gets in the way of their work until they burn out or have a professional transgression.

This is your post-graduate placement - your own life - and (I respectfully suggest) it too is part of your professional development.

Thomas


Ellen Weber said on... The Unplanned Detour: Thanks Dorlee, for an inspired article. Wow - you speak for many of here – since any disruption to the ordinary plans we create - falls into categories you laid out so well here.
Clayton Christensen’s wonderful body of work at http://www.claytonchristensen.com/index.html - disruptive innovation - shows how the next level of adventures, rarely come until we adapt to speed-bumps, stalls and stops standing in our way. I work with people who work with Clay at Harvard and speak very highly of him – in spite of amazing health setbacks.
Each time the bottom drops under my own feet, I’ve come to see how it’s time for another shift onto new and uncharted ground. A time to walk opposite of all pre-panned roads. Deliberately I choose to do something different, even if it means simply forgiving, letting go completely and moving on with new plans. http://twurl.nl/rpl8py It’sin doing that change rewires brains to keep winning.
Whenever that thermostat shows me regrets, frustrations, or downers, I simply act. I do anything on an opposite side of what’s pulling me under. When I run deliberately in the opposite direction of a setback, I’ve discovered, my brain’s plasticity usually rewires a surprising new delight I’d have missed on my planned pathway. A finer journey often appears- just beyond our past missteps.
That’s been my blueprint to ensure magic’s built into renewed architecture forward, and I used the opposite-walk-approach again just last week when I hit a speed-bump. Dorlee, would you agree that it’s not the setbacks that make us stronger – it’s the journey on just the other side of setbacks - as we gaze into windshields, and only glance into rear view mirrors that add to our stress http://twurl.nl/6hk45a .
Great discussion - with amazing wisdom here, Dorlee. Thanks for sparking the exchange! Stay blessed! Ellen


Jonathan B. Singer, Ph.D., LCSW said on... Social Work Abroad: Dorlee and @monstertalk,

Thank you so much for participating in and posting this interview. I think this kind of international perspective is invaluable. In my social work career as a clinician and educator I've drawn extensively on my experiences living in Mexico, England, and France. Living abroad (or reading a rich and fascinating interview like this one) helps those of us in the USA to critically reflect on what makes our country "American."

One of the things that struck me about this interview was @monstertalk's description of her job duties, the education, training, and licensing (certification) of social workers. What do you know? There ARE differences in what social workers do in the US and the UK. This, of course, makes sense for many reasons: 1) the health care system in the UK is completely different than the USA, and with it different laws and regulations; 2) Professional duties reflect societal values, and the US and the UK have different values. The differences in the length of time for psychiatric commitments (6 months vs. 48 - 72 hours) is a great example of how different values manifest differently; 3) In the USA, social workers became psychotherapists in part because insurance companies realized they were the cheapest option around, and psychiatrists realized they could make more money prescribing medications and psychologists could make more money doing psychological assessments. In the UK, I suspect (although don't actually know) that the nationalized health insurance system mediated some of the factors that, in the US, drove psychotherapy into the domain of social work.

Thanks again for this interview. If social workers from the US are interested in information about how to do social work in the UK, check out an interview I did with a international social work recruiter: http://www.socialworkpodcast.com/2010/04/so-you-want-to-work-abroad-interview.html.

Best,

Jonathan

Please know that I appreciated all the comments and it is only for lack of space (and your time) that I am not showing more of them.

You are helping make this blog a valuable resource for social workers and other mental health professionals!

I look forward to hearing and learning more from you this year!

With much warmth and appreciation,
Dorlee

You May Also Enjoy:
An Expression of Gratitude
Readers' Top 10 Social Work Career Development Posts of 2011
Social Media and Social Work Education: Like Oil & Water?

Photo Credit: Top 18

Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 12/26/2011)

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:16:00 +0000

Happy and Healthy New Year to you all!

Thank you for contributing to this blog be it via your loyal readership, your thoughtful comments or your willingness to be share your expertise via an interview (2011 interviewee list), or all three !

All of you make this blog the wonderful resource that it has become for social workers and other mental health professionals :)

With extra gratitude to these special friends:

Nancy Smyth @njsmyth for being there as a trusted mentor and dear friend for nearly two years; your love for teaching was a perfect match with my love for learning...

Mike Langlois @MikeLICSW , Laurel Wiig, Ph.D @therapy4help, Andrea Goldberg @AndreaGoldberg and Ann Becker Schutte @DrBeckerSchutte for providing me with much invaluable guidance as I was going through my MSW studies.

Jacqui Poindexter @ValueIntoWords and Terry Del Percio @WorkIntegrity who have been encouraging my career transition and the development of this blog from the beginning...with RTs and value-added comments.

Linda Grobman @newsocialworker and Jonathan Singer @socworkpodcast for being there to offer your expertise when questions would arise beyond my scope of knowledge in an interview/post and/or to add an additional perspective to a particular topic.

Mozart Guerrier @berthausa, Sharon @ssanquist and @LovEternal are among my social worker contemporaries who took the time to provide frequent and interesting commentary on posts.

Marianna Paulson @AuntieStress and Jackie Yun @JackieYunTweets are lovely twitter friends who provide wonderful inspirational gems in their comments.

Now moving onto the regularly featured part of this post, this article is the last one of the 2011 weekly series for Best Tweets in Mental Health, featuring a round-up of the best posts of the week, in social work, psychology and private practice concerns.

As you can see, the topics this week covered a wide spectrum from making New Year's resolutions (and why we should perhaps consider going for balance instead), to sexual abuse, suicide prevention, making meaning from trauma, undoing the stigma associated with mental illness, a helpful resource for mental health workers and much more!

Social Work:

A Matter of Excess
Practice Wisdom (Natalie L. Hill, LICSW)

"We're often not "successful" in keeping resolutions because we define them so rigidly, in black-and-white terms with excessive demands of ourselves that just aren't sustainable. A better antidote to holiday excesses is to strive to regain some balance. To find the middle..."

A Sexual Abuse Survivor Speaks Out
From Where I Stand (Andrea B. Goldberg, LCSW)

"If you're lucky like me, you get a good therapist. You start to trust someone with your secrets for the first time in your life. Then you remember more about the abuse and you immediately go into denial. Then you go back to believing it happened, but you tell yourself..."

Connecting People intervention model
Martin Webber's Blog (@mgoat73)

"The outcome of the Connecting People study will be an intervention model and manual to support health and social care workers in their practice... The model assumes a worker-individual partnership dyad... The model is based upon the principles of co-production..."

Facebook and Suicide Prevention
The New Social Worker (Linda May Grobman, MSW, LSW, ACSW)

"Facebook announced in December 2011 a new partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK... Since April 2010, Google has also had a system..."

Happy 2012 (And Fare-thee-well 2011)
Social Work Tech Blog (Ignacio)

"I have posted approximately 28 blog posts in the year 2011. Although I wish that number was higher, I am very proud of the work that I have done... Two years in graduate school went by like a cake-walk..."

Infusing Social Work and Reproductive Justice To Advocate for Women's Sexual Health
The New Social Worker (Nicole Clark, MSW)

"In 2010, we saw the beginning of efforts to restrict access to medical and social services, including much needed services such as breast exams, cancer screenings, abortion, and birth control...Women deserve to live in a country where our sexual and reproductive rights are no longer trampled on..."

Making Diversity Work: Leveraging Difference is the Right Thing to Do
Leveraging Difference (Dr. Martin Davidson)

"The starting point for doing diversity well is having the same understanding of the business strategy that a senior line executive has... explore what differences really matter to achieving the organization’s goals and what differences don’t..."

Meaning from Suffering
This Is Me (spldbch, LCSW)

"A lot of my patients are people who have experienced some sort of trauma. Some of these patients are able to "recover" from the symptoms caused by their trauma (or traumas); some patients are not... One thing I've noticed about those who fall into despair is that they often view their suffering as meaningless..."

The mental health support workers’ guide
Caretraining (Stuart Sorenson)

"My project for 2012 is a series of audio presentations (with slides) outlining many of the principles of social care work for people with mental health difficulties... The project will be developed in installments (roughly once a week)... As each section is completed the listing below will become a link to the presentation itself..."

Mutual Conflict Unto Death (with apologies for the missing umlat)
What a Shrink Thinks (Martha Crawford, LCSW)

"Inevitably, I spend the first several weeks feeling like a nine-year-old hostage forced to watch the grown ups battle, bicker, and struggle for dominance... I feel emotionally split apart, as I struggle to understand enough about each of their perspectives and pain...."

The Poverty Narrative
Child Protection Lessons (Peter Choate)

"Poverty and child protection have been issues that have been linked for decades... It is easy to blame child protection for being intrusive when not asking society at large why they remain so unwilling to solve the problems of poverty..."

Stigma and Cocoa Puffs
Ari Hahn, LCSW, PhD

"The only way to change stigma is by normalizing the perception of the stigmatized population... Karen Winters Schwartz has written a book that is a giant step in educating people about bi-polar disorder. In this interview I talk to her about this story, “Where are the Cocoa Puffs?” and her involvement in fight the stigma around mental illness..."

What SocialJerk Learned in 2011
SocialJerk

"Good supervision matters. A lot... I’ve not made any secret about the fact that my supervisor is great. She trusts her employees, never micromanages... and she bakes cupcakes. Perhaps most importantly, she has my back... Document everything..."

Psychology:

Three Steps for Writing S.M.A.R.T. Achievable Goals for the New Year
Neuroscience and Relationships (Dr. Athena Staik)

"The start of a New Year is great time to gather fresh energy and go after what you want in life... A 3-step process is outlined below to help you write goals specifically designed to energize the optimal emotional states you need to create the focus and momentum to make them a reality..."

5 Tips for Kicking Post-Holiday Blues
Dr. Deb (Dr. Deborah Serani)

"1. Sleep. After prolonged periods of stress, the body needs more sleep to slow the production of cortisol and adrenaline. Schedule a pajama day to just do nothing and rest. Consider unplugging from technology to give yourself some time to refuel..."

Accomplish Your New Dreams in the New Year
The Mindful Self-Express (Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D)

"Once you have a vision and have translated this into some concrete, doable goals for the next year, the next step is to seek out opportunities to help make your vision a reality... The most successful people create their own opportunities..."

Depression Symptoms and the Role of Rage
After Psychotherapy (Joseph Burgo, PhD)

"Bringing unconscious rage or anger into awareness leads to a lifting of the depression symptoms. It’s not true for all types of depression, of course, but I find it to be an enormously important tool for the treatment of depression..."

Does Genuineness Influence Therapeutic Outcome More than Working Alliance?
GoodTherapy.org

"...these results demonstrate the importance of the real relationship...“Perhaps the major ways include for the therapists to be genuinely themselves within the confines of their theoretical orientations and to seek to grasp the reality of their patients in ways that are not contaminated by countertransference conflicts.”

Feeling Terminally Unique & Different
Healthy Place (Natalie Jeanne Champagne)

"Often, diagnosed with a mental illness, we feel different... But the person sitting nearest to you, they have their own crosses to bear... we are all the same in that life throws us curveballs at some point or another... Applying the word different to ourselves can increase isolation..."

Finding Meaning
ACA (Grace Hipona)

"One of the goals of therapy is to help clients maintain their sense of hope and find meaning especially during confusing, tragic or challenging times. At one point of each of our lives... we endure a situation that tests our belief system, “pushes us to our limit”..."

How do you hold mentally ill offenders accountable?
MentalHealthCop

"The question posed in the NPR piece seems to assume that we should hold mentally ill offenders accountable for assaultative behaviour, whilst stating that this should be without punishing them for being ill... The role of police here can be key..."

Laura’s Law – Assisted Outpatient Treatment – Follow-Up
Bipolar Burble (Natasha Tracy)

"Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) in California and other states cannot force medication. While medication may be part of a treatment plan, medication cannot be given without consent without going through the normal court procedures already in place..."

Making New Year’s Resolutions?
Greater Good (Happiness Matters Podcast)

"Dr. Christine Carter and Nurse Rona Renner give busy parents tips for raising happy children and leading more joyful lives as parents... Making New Year's resolutions can be a fun - and productive - family activity..."

Stop Denying & Start Accepting
Laura Schenck, M.A.

"Many of us spend a great deal of our lives denying the things that we really want... The trick is to begin to acknowledge and accept your deepest desires as valid and find a way to satisfy your deepest needs in an appropriate and mature way..."

‘Your Life After Trauma’ Radio: Re-purpose Your Trauma in the New Year
Your Life After Trauma (Michelle Rosenthal)

"We [Michelle Rosenthal and Sana Johnson-Quijada, MD] discussed using the marker of the new year to commit to this and see what 2012 brings differently from before. This is freeing as being our own friend is not selfish but rather the most selfless thing..."

Private Practice:

Best Of Private Practice Toolbox 2011
Private Practice Toolbox (Julie Hanks, LCSW)

"I’d love to know which posts have been most helpful to you in creating your dream practice during 2011... Please post any specific private practice questions or practice related topics that you’d be interested in hearing more about in the coming year..."

How to Get Mind-Body Tools Reimbursed By Insurance Companies
Private Practice from the Inside Out (Tamara Suttle, M.Ed., LPC)

"If you are choosing to work within the culture of managed care, learn the language... Keep your research data file current and easily accessible. It may be what gives you the upper hand in securing a contract to provide your services..."

Wealth and Success Beyond the Numbers
Dr. Susan Giurleo

"There are always choices and compromises to make. Someone who focuses on the money at all costs, has more cash in the bank, but may be poor in healthy relationships. Someone who prioritizes family may have less coin to show for it..."

Please share any thoughts or comments you have below. Also, feel free to mention any great posts that I may have missed.

You May Also Enjoy:
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 12/19/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 12/12/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 12/5/2011)
Menopause and Pleasure: An Oxymoron?
Musings About MSW Journey

7 Ways to Bond With Your Teen

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:49:00 +0000

Are you looking for some ways to help you connect with your teen over the holiday break and beyond?

Here are seven test-driven ideas to get you started:

1. Cooking

Cooking a meal or a favorite dish or dessert together is one fun shared activity that encourages conversation. Some families may choose to include an old family recipe as an opportunity to include family memories and talk about family heritage.

Depending on how you approach the cooking activity, it could be fun at the planning phase (deciding on what you want to cook) (deciding on who you want to enjoy the cooking products with and how - is it going to be a casual setting or a party-like affair), the doing stage (cooking), as well as the eating phase (yum - enjoying the products of your labor).

Finally, taking pictures of the final product(s) and of everyone enjoying them could be a way of remembering this special time spent together!

2. Watching a Movie

One could do this either at home or in the movie theater. If you're doing it at home, you probably want to prepare some popcorn and other snacks to go along with the entertainment.

While I have enjoyed both variations with my kids, my experience has been is that the home version is more of a bonding experience than the movie theater for the simple reason that you are allowed to talk during the movie.

That said, sometimes you all want to go see the new movie that just came out and/or you need a change of pace and want to get out... and if that's the case, go out to the movie theater! The important thing is to have fun in whatever way you would like :)

3. Playing a Board Game

Playing a board game can be another great activity to do with your teen. You get to have fun together and just chill. Some games that come to mind are: Apples to Apples, Clue, Cranium Wow, Scattergories, Scrabble and Scene It? Playing one or more of these will definitely bring the child in you out to play again!

4. Getting a Digital Tool Update

Get to know and understand the various electronic gadgets that your teen uses because they may take up a good portion of your teen's day...

What's the best way of learning how to use your teen's favorite digital tools? Ask your teen! This gives your teen a chance to take on the role of an expert (for a change) and helps you connect in a whole different way.

This means also getting to know how to play a video game or what Second Life is if your teen happens to be interested in gaming. As Mike Langlois recommends, don't just show interest in your teen's gaming activity by observing him/her playing, but also ask for guidance on how one plays and then play the game with your teen.

5. Interactive Video Games/Arts & Crafts

There are various interactive video games on the Wii and other consoles that allow for a whole family to participate in a sport like bowling, tennis, golf and skiing.

Arts and crafts can be another fun option. This could include digital photography, making a vision board (step one: think about a goal you'd like to achieve; step two: cut out pictures/words from magazines that depict this objective; step three: glue the items that you feel most describe your goal onto a board and hang this up on display), building something from items you have at home or any type of project that appeals to you.

6. Going Down Memory Lane

This involves spending time together going through old photos of yourself and other family members, remembering and reflecting upon past vacation trips and activities and various landmark events in your lives such as graduations and plays. Warning: reflecting upon past family activities may spark laughter, nostalgia and heartwarming discussions...

7. Planning for Special Parent-Teen Time After Holiday Break

Finally, planning to have some special parent-teen time once a week (even if it's just for half of an hour) on a regular basis after holiday break could be a lovely way to end your vacation time and to ensure that the special connection you have rekindled will continue throughout the year.

This could be a class that you take together at a local YMCA or it could be an activity that you plan to do at home such as playing a board game, cooking a meal or going out for ice cream.

It doesn't really matter what the activity is; the important thing is that you will be spending some regular special time alone with your daughter/son. If it's hard for you and your teen to decide on one activity that you both like, you could try taking turns picking the weekly activity :)

Happy Holidays and hoping you have a great time!

I hope that you found some of these suggestions helpful. Do you have a fun bonding experience you'd like to share and/or an additional activity to add to the list?

Acknowledgements: Susan Giurleo for inspiring me to write this post!
Photo credit: Family Night image

Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 12/19/2011)

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:29:00 +0000

I'm watching twitter, google+ and the web so you don't have to...

This post is part of a weekly series, Best Tweets in Mental Health, featuring the best posts of the week, in social work, psychology and private practice concerns on Social Work Career Development.

Social Work:

Connecting
Connecting Social Care and Social Media (Ermintrude2)

"Social Work is built on relationships. We have new ways to build these relationships and new ways to open communication channels....We are living in interesting times and the social care sector can’t afford to be left behind because those relying on it need..."

Focus
College of Social Work (Ermintrude2)

"We are in a helping profession and by default we want to help, but the importance of focus is determining the difference between the things we can change through our interventions and the things we cannot change, either due to resources..."

How To Have An Epic Holiday With Your Child Or Teen & Video Games
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)

"Remember that multiplayer games are forms of social media and community. Your child may be having a chat while they are playing without you even knowing it. Be patient with them and ask if you are interrupting something. This is good training for when they are interrupting you..."

Job loss and foreclosure crisis takes toll on 31,000 kids in Michigan
Michigan Girl's Cafe

"It is no longer a racial or low-income problem. The bad economy is targeting middle-class families too. In Michigan, the number of homeless students in Michigan has jumped more than 300% in the last four years..."

Language Matters: Non-compliant
Going Mental (Nectarine)

"One of my greatest pet peeves is the term “non-compliant”. Direct from the medical and clinic model of treatment, it is usually used to refer to someone who stops taking their medication against medical advice. It may also refer to refusal to participate in..."

Season’s Greetings from @SWSCmedia
Social Work/Social Care & Media (Claudia)

"Two months on and 1530 followers later, we are very proud, pleased and excited as our ... community continues to bring Social Work and Social Care practitioners... Our debates will resume on 10 January 10 2011 at 20:00 GMT/15:00 EST..."

Some Thoughts on Role and Social Work Identity
NASW (Jim Donnelly, DSW, LCSW)

"A role is a set of expectations within a context or network of expectations... We are not what we do. That may be a difficult concept to get one’s head around. But that in no way devalues or de-legitimizes what we do and are licensed to practice..."

Sticks and Stones, or 3 Strategies for Facing Judgment
Practice Wisdom (Natalie L. Hill, LICSW)

"Instead of repairing the damage after the fact, it behooves us and our clients to prepare them as much as possible ahead of time if/when they're likely to face criticism from important people (e.g., their families). One strategy is inoculation..."

What “Glee” Teaches About Bullying
Social Workers Speak (David Shrank, MSW, LSW)

"Those with low self-esteem, generally speaking, either become the target for bullying, or they become the bully in order to change the social environment and become more empowered. And quite often, those around the bully are afraid of being bullied..."

What’s with the Conflict?: Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays
NAH Blog (Relando Thompkins, MSW)

"... much similar to White privilege, Male privilege, Heterosexual privilege, Ability privilege and others, it does exist... I can talk about my religious practices openly without fear of how it will be received by others..."

Psychology:

Attachment Theory and the Healing Psychotherapy Relationship
After Psychotherapy (Joseph Burgo PhD)

"... if failures in early attachment damage the brain as it develops, the way to repair that damage (to the extent possible) is through another “attachment” relationship that somewhat resembles but also differs in major ways from that early bond..."

Dealing with Winter's Downside? Light Therapy for Dark Days
NAMI Blog (Doug Bradley)

"Although the symptoms of SAD are similar to those of major depression, they typically are only seen in one part of the year, usually in the winter months... Using a “light-box” to simulate additional sunlight during the day has helped many people with SAD..."

Behind Locked Doors: Deciding On Inpatient Treatment
Healthy Place (Angela E. Gambrel)

"The decision to go into inpatient is a personal one and should be discussed with your doctor and other members of your treatment team. It also is a good idea to talk about it with family and friends, as they can help solidify your thoughts and feelings..."

Do Your Clients Think That Others Stress Them Out! ? Teach Them Metaphors Like Swiss Cheese To Help Them Get Unstuck!
ACA (Judy Belmont)

"I love the analogy of Swiss Cheese, as it perfectly symbolizes life itself... Like the Swiss, our lives have inevitable “holes” and “imperfections,” and these challenges are what enriches our lives and gives us character and depth..."

Meaningful Experiences Make You Happier Than “Stuff”
Laura Schenck, M.A.

"Experiences consistently outweigh possessions in terms of creating longstanding positive feelings and memories. If you believe that you tend to gravitate toward a pattern of overdoing it with buying “stuff” as gifts for people, ask yourself what it is that you really want to give..."

Self-Care and Joy: How You Can Use What You Love to love Yourself
A Friend to Yourself (Michelle Rosenthal)

Making the commitment to self-care isn’t easy. Mood, other activities and time constraints can make it difficult to follow through... Now, any time I wish to develop some aspect of my self-care, I ask myself, “How can I make this fun?”

The Ultimate Gift – Giving the Gift Being Authentically You
Neuroscience and Relationships (Dr. Athena Staik)

"Being an authentic you has a lot to do with getting to know, to fully accept, and to love yourself and life in ways that allow you to authentically connect to connect to the courage to love with your whole heart...

Tips to Protect Therapists from Taking on the Fears & Distress of Their Clients
Rewire Your Brain for Love (Marsha Lucas, Ph.D.)

"You want to aim to set your boundaries in such a way that you can still experience empathy and compassion, but without taking on the client’s pains and fears. This balance is critical to being effective and to staying that way, without burning out..."

Top 10 Things to Help Battle Depression
Healthy Place (Jack Smith)

"1. Exercise... 2. Make small, realistic goals... 3. Get a massage... 4. Take my meds... 5. Focus on my family... 6. Seek work-life balance... 7. Stay spiritually fit... 8. Keep my therapy appointments... 9. Listen to music or get lost in a movie... 10. Give back... "

Private Practice:

35 Blog Posts I Wish Therapists Would Write This Holiday Season
Dr. Susan Giurleo

"I’d like to share 35 blog post topics I wish I could read right now to support folks who are struggling as the holidays approach. These posts benefit the readers and could attract new clients to your practice..."

On 13 Insurance Panels And The Phone Isn’t Ringing
Private Practice from the Inside Out (Tamara Suttle, M.Ed., LPC)

"What I think might be helpful to Stephanie since she is in a city where she knows few private practitioners is to find some type of local networking group, and maybe even do some workshops about her niche..."

Please share any thoughts or comments you have below. Also, feel free to mention any great posts that I may have missed.

You May Also Enjoy:
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 12/12/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 12/5/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/28/2011)
Technology Tools for Clinical Practice
Drama Therapy – Healing Through Role Playing/Storytelling

Readers' Top 10 Social Work Career Development Posts of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:28:00 +0000

In case you missed any of these most popular posts on the Social Work Career Development, here they are for your reading enjoyment!

Top 10 Blog Posts for 2011!

Inspiration/Spirituality
20 Inspirational Quotes for Social Workers
20 Motivational Quotes for Job Seekers

Job Search/Career Advice
20 Interview Questions Every Social Worker Needs to Know
Career Advice from Editor of The New Social Worker

LMSW Exam
Secrets for Passing the LMSW Exam
10 LMSW Exam Practice Questions

Expert Interviews
Art Therapy - The Power of Art in Healing
A Talk about Upward Mobility and Technology in Social Work

Therapeutic Issues
Are Some Therapeutic Impasses Unavoidable?
Reflections About Termination in Therapy

With much gratitude to the extremely talented social workers, psychologists and innovative experts who generously shared some of their expertise this year (in alphabetical order by first name)...

Andrea B. Goldberg, LCSW (EMDR)

Ari Hahn, LCSW, Ph.D (social work vs psychology; hypnotherapy)

cb, AMHP, BIA, (social work abroad)

Danielle Murphy, MSW student (microaggressions)

DeeAnna Merz Nagel, LPC, DCC (online therapy)

Erine Gray (innovation in social work)

Ignacio Pacheco, MSW (technology tools)

Jack Uldrich, Futurist (unlearning)

Jodi Rubin, ACSW, LCSW (eating disorders)

Karen Zgoda, MSW, LCSW, PhD Candidate (technology, upward mobility)

Laurel Wiig, Ph.D., MFT (family/couples)

Linda Grobman, MSW, LSW, CMP (music therapy, career paths)

Lisa Kays, MSW, LGSW (prison social work)

Michelle Matthews, MSW student (fat oppression)

Noel McDermott, psychotherapist (drama therapy)

Pamela Hayes, MFT (art therapy)

Robert Mauksch, LMSW (Gestalt therapy)

Last but not least, a big thank you to my readers, especially those who take the time to comment and share their thoughts... and/or share my posts with others :)

*To ensure equal representation among the five main categories represented on this blog, readers' favorites = top two posts for each topic area.

Please note that if this were an overall readers' favorite list, 10 LMSW Practice Exam Questions and Career Advice from the Editor of the New Social Worker would be replaced by: Is It Time to Change My Blog's Name? and First Case Presentation.

Wishing you all Happy Holidays and a Healthy and Happy New Year!

What new topics would you like to see covered in 2012? Please share any ideas and suggestions below.

You May Also Enjoy:
10 Take-Aways from Workshop on Neuroscience, Meditation & Health
An Expression of Gratitude
Social Worker Pay By Type of Setting, Practice & Region
Bipolar Disorder Brought to Life
4 Nuggets from Yalom’s “The Gift of Therapy”

Photo credit: Top 10

Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 12/12/2011)

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:14:00 +0000

I'm watching twitter, google+ and the web so you don't have to...

This post is part of a weekly series, Best Tweets in Mental Health, featuring the best posts of the week, in social work, psychology, mindfulness, non-profit and private practice concerns on Social Work Career Development.

Please note that this week's special event is @SWSCmedia's #TwitterRama #TwitterRamba #TwitterParty on Tues. (20 Dec) at 20:00GMT/15:00 EST. It'll be Fun+Learning!

Social Work:

But Gene, You’re Not a Poor Black Kid, Now What?
Word Up, Haay (Jovian Zayne, @jovizi)

"When we’re living in a country where on average, nine year-olds growing up in low income areas (predominately students of color) are already three grade levels behind their affluent peers, do you really think that shoving a computer in that poor black kid’s hand with no instruction, or support structure is going to be their key out of the ever widening achievement gap?..."

The Continuum of Care
Practice Wisdom (Natalie L. Hill, LICSW)

"The continuum of care... It goes along with the ethical principle of providing treatment in the least restrictive environment where the client's safety can be maintained...At the one extreme are those clients who have difficulty with some area of functioning, but are able to continue self-care..."

Social Work and Social Care Employment in Times of Austerity
Social Work/Social Care & Media (Victoria Dixon)

"Last Tuesday, there was another exciting @SWSCmedia debate with social workers and social care workers from around the global participating. In fact, we had participants from 6 different countries who were keen to engage in discussion and exchange ideas..."

Doing It Their Way: Consumer-Directed Long-Term Care
Living Proof Podcast Series (Dr. Nicole Ruggiano)

"In this [86] episode, Dr. Nicole Ruggiano discusses a client-driven and self-directed approach to consumers' long term health care, providing an alternative to traditional, agency-provided and managed care..."

If Freud Had Played Video Games
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)

"...any gamer who has played Minecraft will understand the process of therapy and their work in it in the metaphors of mining. During the week, our patients roam the surface of their psychosocial world. Then one, two, or three times a week, they come into therapy and begin tunneling..."

I’m trying to come up with a witty Tennessee reference
SocialJerk

"You have to make the volunteers feel good... We want them to care, and to try to understand the people we’re working with and the very real needs that they have. So we need to be understanding when it comes to accommodating volunteers...

Merry Christmas, Lucy
Hold My Hand, A Social Worker's Blog (Doris, LCSW)

Lucy visited her father about twice a week, unless she was traveling with her husband... Lucy's husband, Fred, always accompanied her... "I'm ready for Dad to go." "Maybe I should tell you some things about him. You will understand better..."

In A Crowd…
Relando Thompkins, MSW (Jessica Resse)

"Yours is just beautiful, because it’s different,
But I’m afraid of different..."

Poetic Medicine: No Fight, No Flight – Just Write!
NASW- NYC Connections (Dr. Sherry Reiter, LCSW)

"Because I am a clinical social worker and a Registered Poetry Therapist/Mentor-Supervisor, I encourage clients to express their kaleidoscope of emotions through writing...Poetic prescriptions enter the heart and spirit of our clients immediately..."

Resilience
College of Social Work (Ermintrude2)

I am the conduit between the family, the individual and the state... I absorb distress and have to display the strength... and, yes, the resilience to both deal with this outwardly as well as internally...We can learn methods to increase our own resilience..

The stigma of mental illness
Cathy Hanville, LCSW

"I think one of the big problems with our society and how we relate to each other is this move towards being fake... We pretend to be happy, we pretend to know what we are doing, we pretend that our lives are perfect... "

What Is Your Degree Worth?
Michigan Girl's Cafe

"The median earnings for full-time workers with a bachelor's degree in education, social work, psychology was $42,000. With a graduate degree, that increases to $57,000 in education and $60,000 in social work and psychology..."

Psychology:

10 Tips for Family Mental Wellness: A Positive Pathway to 2012
PsychCentral (Victoria Costello)

"...parents can safeguard a child’s mental health...1. Chart a “tree” of your family mental health history... 6. Monitor your child’s behavior for early symptoms... 7. Talk about thoughts and feelings... 8. Have zero tolerance toward bullying..."

Attachment Theory and the Tenacity of Defense Mechanisms
After Psychotherapy (Joseph Burgo PhD)

"When there are early failures of attachment and the infant doesn’t learn to manage its own emotional experience, it instead makes use of psychological defenses to ward it off; such defenses are built into the structure of the brain as it develops..."

CBT for PTSD
Ari Hahn, LCSW, PhD

"The single most important factor [in the success of therapy] is how motivated the client is to take responsibility to change his or her life... The system of therapy probably comes in third... There are many forms of CBT, but they all share the same basic foundations..."

Complicated Grieving: When Grief Persists
Dr. Ann Becker Schutte

"I believe that when you feel that others have put an expiration date on your grief, that can actually increase the pain of grieving. The artificial expiration date creates a feeling of isolation...You are allowed to grieve in whatever way and for however long..."

Conduct Disorder in the Family
The Trauma and Attachment Report

"Psychologists have for some time acknowledged that conduct disorder, a disorder diagnosed in children and teenagers, is a possible predisposing factor for the later development of antisocial personality disorder in adulthood..."

Improve Effective Communication with Emotional Awareness
Laura Schenck, M.A.

"Emotional awareness is “consciousness of your moment-to-moment emotional experience – and the ability to manage all of your feelings appropriately.” ...You can develop greater emotional awareness... with knowledge and practice..."

Jon Kabat-Zinn: The Mindfulness Revolution
Sounds True (podcast and transcript available)

"Tami Simon speaks with Jon Kabat-Zinn about the role of science in validating mindfulness practice, the 180-degree shift that lets us rest in awareness instead of identifying with our thoughts..."

The Elephant is in The Room To Help Us
A Friend to Yourself (Sana Johnson-Quijada, MD)

"When things feel complicated... when we hear ourselves naming others to explain our condition, when we avoid talking about something... The elephant is there to help us, not shame us. He’s there to bring us back to Me where everything starts and ends..."

Toxic Couple Relationships – The First Step to Restoring Balance: Emotional Safety (3 of 4)
Neuroscience and Relationships (Dr. Athena Staik)

"It may sound counterintuitive, but restoring balance in a couple relationship is first and foremost about each partner establishing their own inner sense of emotional safety in relation to the other...Emotions are powerful agents that can, and do, facilitate or..."

Treatment Development: The Past 50 Years
National Institute of Mental Health - Director's Blog (Thomas Insel)

"Over the past 50 years, innovative treatments of mental disorders have emerged from research in both public (often NIH-funded) and private (pharmaceutical and biotech) sectors. In general, publicly funded research has generated knowledge about..."

What is Happiness?
HealthyPlace (Natalie Jeanne Champagne)

"Happiness is a feeling of content. It is the feeling we get when we move forward in life; when we achieve goals we have set for ourselves. Large and small... The things we tackle in life, the things that challenge us, these are the things that spur a feeling of happiness..."

What You, Andre Agassi, Queen Latifah, Lady Gaga, Ellen DeGeneres and Marlon Brando May Have In Common
Your Life After Trauma (Michelle Rosenthal)

"Part of my depression was grief for the life I had lost and the me I had lost in the trauma, and yet, it was something so much more. It was the despondent sensation that something was fundamentally wrong and could never be made right..."

NonProfit:

There is No Such Thing as a Diverse Candidate
Rosetta Thurman

". . . in the hiring context, the intent must be to identify candidates whose attributes, experiences and perspectives complement and enhance the strengths, needs, values and composition of the work group in ways that will advance the organization’s mission and objectives."

Private Practice:

How to Overcome Emotional Obstacles to Building Your Practice
Dr. Susan Giurleo

"Anything and everything that blocks your from achieving your goals is inside of you. Everything. Money issues, self-esteem, worry about what others will think. All you. The truth is, any perceived obstacle can be overcome...

Top Technology Tips To Streamline Your Practice
Private Practice Toolbox (Julie Hanks, LCSW)

"I reached out to other therapists “in the trenches” of private practice to see what technology they find most helpful to streamline practice management. Here are the devices, programs, and software they use most and how it helps them..."

Please share any thoughts or comments you have below. Also, feel free to mention any great posts that I may have missed.

You May Also Enjoy:
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 12/5/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/28/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/21/2011)
What Are Microaggressions?
Social Work Abroad

Menopause and Pleasure: An Oxymoron?

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:01:00 +0000

Not at all... Contrary to what many people believe, menopause may be one of the most exciting times in a woman's life. Aside from women being more in touch with what really matters after menopause, they are able to experience joy on a whole different level!

According to Dr Northrup, there are seven keys to open the door to wonderful pleasure after menopause:

1. Become an Ardent Explorer of your own Pleasure - in other words, notice what you enjoy; pay attention to what inspires and uplifts you.

The goal is to cultivate more joy, moment by moment and to look for ways to make those desires become a reality. For example, if you like sexy lingerie, then go shopping for some new lingerie and wear it - not just sometimes but regularly. Do the same thing with the other items on your list of things that you notice that you enjoy - do them all more often!

Also, think big...because when you think big, big things will tend to happen (it's the law of attraction). You're always more capable of experiencing more pleasure. Regardless of where you are on the happiness scale right now, it's your job right now to get busy and dial it up!

3 minute video clip with Dr. Northrup

2. Turn Yourself On! - this entails rewiring your brain and body to receive maximum pleasure.

According to sex researcher, Gina Ogden, Ph.D., some women are able to experience an orgasm from merely thinking about what turns them on. This works because a woman's sexual response is related to her total being - her physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual self.

This, in turn, means that you can learn to turn yourself on regardless of your current circumstances.

One of the important steps to get there involves turning off the negative/critical ways of thinking (such as I'm too old/heavy/not pretty enough for that) and instead switch on positive thoughts in a nonjudgmental, mindful manner.

To illustrate, as soon as a negative thought enters your mind, say something loving to yourself such as "I'm so cute for having these thoughts. And how nice that I have the power to change them." Then immediately focus your attention on a new positive thought pattern that will bring you pleasure. For instance, when you find yourself thinking, "I hate my thighs"...you can change your thinking to: "I love having my thighs caressed... Yum!"

This isn't easy to do but if you keep at it, you'll see (and feel) the positive results.

Dr Northrup offers additional suggestions to light your mood such as: using aromatherapy, playing music that gets you in the mood, taking sensual baths and fantasizing more often.

3. Remember that a Turned-on Woman Is Irresistible! - when you feel deliciously attractive and sexy, your partner will inevitably find you attractive and sexy.

However, the kind of high-voltage magnetic sexual energy that brings you the best sex you've ever had in your life only comes about when you're turning yourself on for your own pleasure and benefit...

Celebrate who and what you are. When you make the most of what you have instead of apologizing for your perceived shortcomings, you're more interested in and interesting to the people around you.

Keep yourself turned on by telling your partner what you like and ask for what you want.

4. Practice Makes Pleasure!

In order to tell your partner how to please you sexually, you need to know how to please yourself...therefore, Dr Northrup's recommendation here is for you to explore or to engage in "self-cultivation".

As Dr Northrup states, "It's how you rewire yourself for maximum pleasure... In addition to just plain feeling good, regular self-pleasuring also keeps you well lubricated and enhances blood flow to the pelvis. Nipple stimulation even enhances breast health. So practice on a regular basis - twice a week, at least!"

She also mentions the power of breath which is important to develop because it helps circulate pleasurable feelings throughout your whole body and provides a number of exercises to help get you there such as the Inner Smile and the 6 Healing Sounds.

As Dr Northrup describes it, once you become of aware of your breath and how connected it is to your sensuality and sexuality, you can learn how to direct an orgasm throughout your entire body, allowing it to fill every organ and sink into your bones.

In a subsequent post, I will continue with the remaining three keys to pleasure after menopause...

Don't some of these ideas (or their effects) sound fun and/or powerful? I don't think Dr Northrup is saying that you have to wait till you reach menopause to try them out either...

You May Also Enjoy:
Menopause - Is it the Beginning of the End?
Gestalt Therapy and Dream Analysis
A Talk about Upward Mobility and Technology in Social Work
Music as a Means of Establishing Rapport
Unlearning with Jack Uldrich

Reference: Northrup, M.D., Christiane (2008). The Secret Pleasures of Menopause. Hay House, USA.

Disclaimer: The content of this post is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 12/5/2011)

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:02:00 +0000

"Set realistic expectations: If your family doesn't get along any other time of the year, don't expect them to get along at the holidays... Be realistic on what you can do... Keep up with the self-care... You have the time if you make it a priority..."

8 Myths (and Facts) about Feelings
Practice Wisdom (Natalie L. Hill, LICSW)

"Sometimes people even fear that intense emotion will make them "go crazy." However, that's just not true - emotions are time limited, and the peak of intensity does not last very long before the intensity starts to abate..."

App Review: Meditation Apps by Meditation Oasis for Social Work Practice
Social Work Tech Blog (Ignacio)

The author conducts a thorough review of three low-cost apps by Meditation Oasis. He also provides tips on how to introduce meditation to the client.

Compassion
College of Social Work (Ermintrude2)

"We can’t always do what we want for someone...we can always show respect and behave with dignity....We need to bring compassion to our roles as social workers but it needs to be embedded in the culture of the work environment..."

Debate Summary for Early Intervention: Concept, Context, Realities… (6 Dec 2011)
Social Work/Social Care & Media

"It was another exciting evening with students, practitioners, academics...Our next debate [13 December 2011 at 20:00 GMT (15:00 EST)] will be on “Social Work and Social Care Employment and Prospects in Times of Austerity”...

Not All Failure Is Epic
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)

"Failures are inevitable, but with time and perspective they can be instructive as well. In the end I’d say that whether you think you’ve had an Epic Failure or not, what matters most is how you move on from it..."

Hierarchies in Social Networks
Connecting Social Care and Social Media (ermintrude2)

"My concern is that as the ‘real world’ hierarchy creeps across social networks is not that we should ignore them – of course not. It is a great way of sharing knowledge and understanding but more that we must not lose this opportunity to lose the naturally quieter voices..."

Increasing Awareness Around Our Own Stories and Those of Our Clients: Experiences with Stereotypes and Assumptions
NASW (Maria Astudillo, LCSW-R, Yesika Silvana Montoya, LCSW)

"Our intention on sharing these stories with you is to increase awareness; particularly, when as social workers, we work with people different than us. Differences can manifest in ethnicity, race, education... etc., and all of them impact our professional and personal lives."

Lonely at the Top: Interview with Thomas Joiner, Ph.D.
The Social Work Podcast (Jonathan B. Singer, Ph.D., LCSW)

"[Episode 70] Dr. Joiner and I talk about biological and social factors that contribute to men's loneliness. We talk about the effects of loneliness on men's health and well-being, including the issue of suicide...We talk about some of the solutions that Dr. Joiner..."

Medicating Foster Kids
Child Protection Lessons (Peter Choate)

"Society gets the child protection system that it is willing to pay for... Help families stay together wherever possible as medication is not likely going to help a kid with the grief and loss of being taken away from families..."

Recovery 101 - Series Kick Off
Going Mental (Nectarine, Mental health worker)

"Mental health recovery is different for each individual... From what I’ve learned so far:
-recovery is about living a full life (however you define it) not just getting by, coping, or managing...recovery always involves HOPE..."

Structural Adjustment for the Middle Class?
Understanding Society (Daniel Little)

"Working people in the US have suffered big economic losses in the past four years...differences in household income across race are stunning: black households started out at only 63% the level of white households in 2009, and they fell by more than double the percentage rate of loss from 2009 to 2010..."

This Is Not An Adoption Blog, and I Am Not an Adoption Specialist
What a Shrink Thinks (Martha Crawford, LCSW)

"My experience in adoption is merely vicarious... language itself becomes impossible and insufficient to describe all of the light and darkness, joys and sorrows, connections and disconnections, contradictions, ambivalence and dissonance..."

Psychology:

Attachment Theory and the Origins of Shame
After Psychotherapy (Joseph Burgo PhD)

"Either you get what you need from your caretakers during those early months and your brain develops in such a way that you have a fundamental sense of self-confidence and security in the world; or you don’t...and the residue... is basic shame. "

The Box
Dr. Ann Becker Schutte

"“The box” is the description I use for that place in our minds and hearts where we put the hardest stuff. It’s the place that holds our deepest pain or most intense fear until we are able to engage with it, until we have recovered our strength, until we’ve received the support we need to feel safe enough to break down..."

Defining Recovery on a Personal Level
HealthyPlace (Natalie Jeanne Champagne)

"Recovering from mental illness is the pursuit to acquire stability. The steps taken to find and maintain it... Recovery, in my life, has involved years of switching from medication to medication; often, they work for a period time and then stop working..."

The End…(and Thank you)
ACA (Christian Billington)

"The intimacy of counseling and the therapeutic relationship makes the end so difficult for me despite its predictability, necessity and clients readiness to re-establish independence...The final session usually involves a summary of progress made, future aspirations and anticipated pitfalls..."

Gaining Control is as Easy as A-B-C-D-E
Laura Schenck, M.A.

"We feel emotions in direct response to the thoughts we create in our minds. These thoughts lead us to have powerful emotional reactions to the meanings that we assign to events... Albert Ellis...devised the ABCDE method to provide..."

Holiday Misgivings: Fraudulent Mental Health Charities
HealthyPlace (Alistair McHarg)

"Most charitable organizations are entirely legitimate, the work they do is admirable and much needed. That is what makes it so sad when well-meaning individuals are duped by deceivers! Before you give, make sure the recipient is an authorized representative of a legitimate organization..."

Mindfulness of assumptions (video)
Seattle Insight Meditation Society (Sharon Salzberg)

"Sharon Salzberg speaks on papanca and the practice of being mindfulness of the assumptions we make about ourselves and the world."

Police, PTSD and Suicide Prevention
Heal My PTSD

"Guest post about PTSD related police suicide that applies to the general population too...warning signs of burnout...occupational signs of burnout...emotional and psychological signs of burnout...best way to assess if someone will actually follow through..."

Suicide - Read This First
PsychCentral (excellent article with many linked resources)

"I don't know who you are, or why you are reading this page... I can assume that you are here because you are troubled and considering ending your life...You can survive suicidal feelings if you do either of two things: (1) find a way to reduce your pain, or (2) find a way to increase your coping resources. Both are possible..."

When a spade is not a shovel
The Irreverent Psychologist (Jason Evan Mihalko, Psy.D)

"...my choice of language can sometimes reinforce imagery, ideas, and ideologies that I'm not interested in reinforcing...I learned early on--likely from one of my parents--that the phrase "let's call a spade a spade" is a racist phrase I shouldn't use..."

Your Parents, Your Children, and the Marital Bed
Rewiring the Soul (Gabriella Kortsch, Ph.D)

"The connection between feeling safe and loved on the one hand and pain or danger on the other hand, has been clearly established in the subconscious mind. So when this person finds him or herself in a safe loving situation, a type of inner panic button..."

NonProfit:

The Future of Nonprofits, Part I: Innovating for Advocacy, Part II and Part III: Execution Matters...
Classroom to Capitol (Melinda Lewis)

It [advocacy] requires infusing a commitment to social justice, a willingness to engage even our adversaries ... and a passion for mission that becomes a calling...Knowing where to go, with whom to talk, what to read, and what questions to ask...is integral to questioning the world as it is, and to imagining the world as it could be..."

Power and Light: Transparency and Effectiveness in the Nonprofit and Philanthropy World
Beth's Blog (Beth Kanter)

"Foundation Center President Bradford Smith started off with a very clear articulation about why transparency is important: required for foundations, the right thing to do...we can’t not be transparent in an age of connectedness..."

Private Practice:

Can Helping Professionals Generate Wealth?
Dr. Susan Giurleo

"Therapists don’t like to talk about money...To generate wealth, you need to leverage yourself and your skills...Yes, I do make money. It helps keep a roof over my head and food on the table...Here’s a secret of people who have money…they talk about it without shame..."

A complete guide to planning a social media presence for healthcare
KevinMD.com (Howard Luks, MD)

"A social media presence is about educating, engaging and growing your audience, improving outcomes, compliance and potentially the bottom line...a digital presence can account for upwards of 15-20% of new patients entering your practice..."

Occam’s Oyster
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)

"You are not an oyster. If something irritates you, you don’t always need to be stuck with it... We therapists take more irritation for granted than is necessary in our business... One of mine is constantly adding new gadgets and trying to find ways to make work easier, rather than making it go away entirely..."

Where have all the therapists gone?
sgbrownlow.com (Steve Brownlow)

"What struck me about this was the number of former therapists in the crowd...What I have problems with are the reasons I was told about their leaving, which all centered on the industry, not the clients. People who felt they were forced to trade hard hours for minimal dollars..."

Please share any thoughts or comments you have below. Also, feel free to mention any great posts that I may have missed.

You May Also Enjoy:
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/28/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/21/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/14/2011)
Social Worker Pay By Setting, Practice & Region
34 Mental Health Career Development Resources
Social Media and Social Work Education: Like Oil & Water?

A Day in the Life of a Prison Social Worker

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:04:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered what a typical day would be like for a social worker who works in a prison setting?

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa Kays, a social worker, LGSW, who works with women at a prison in the Northeast region of the United States and will be able to provide us with a view of what her work entails.

While Lisa has less than a year of post grad work under her belt, she exhibits the insights and learnings of someone with far more experience...

Lisa - Could you provide a bit of your background? What led you to become a social worker?

I have always had an interest in psychology, but pursued a degree in English literature as an undergraduate. Then I served in the Peace Corps as an English teacher. Upon my return, I got a master’s in journalism and decided I was wholly unfit to be a journalist.

One of my professors said, “You’re an advocate. Use your voice on that.” She was right. I kept trying to put the voices of vulnerable populations into my stories and to write from that perspective—not exactly how journalism works.

While in school, I was working in international development, so I stayed on that track, focusing primarily on work in Africa and girls’ education. Eventually, I got tired of the travel and shifted into communications and marketing work for a local non-profit focused on economic development for women.

Throughout my years in international development, and then at the local non-profit, I kept finding myself drawn to direct practice work. I enjoyed talking to the women that were associated with the projects that we funded. When in Rwanda on a monitoring trip for a girls’ scholarship project, I kept saying, “But who is providing the counseling to help with the post-traumatic stress these people must be facing?”

One day, I got to interview Dr. Satira Streeter, who founded Ascensions Psychological and Community Services, Inc., in an under-served area of D.C. She had found a way to bring therapy to those who normally wouldn’t have access to it, and I was fascinated and inspired by her and the work she was doing. I took her to lunch to ask her more about it, and I think that’s when I really decided that I was going back to school.

I had been gradually realizing over the years that I wasn’t a good fit for macro-level work, and knew that my interest was in clinical therapy. I thought that you had to go back for a PhD for a million years to do that, so when I found out about the MSW, and that it allowed you to practice clinical therapy and had a focus on social justice, I was sold.

It took me a few years to work up the courage to leave the working world and make that leap into the unknown, but now I look back and don’t understand how I ever thought I could do anything else.

Was there a particular reason that you chose to specialize in substance abuse and work at a women's prison?

It was sort of an accident. My main priority upon graduating was to get a job as a therapist, and those aren't easy to come by. Most LGSW positions in this area seem to be for case management or work in hospitals, not necessarily therapy.

During my search, I remembered a previous experience in my former life of interviewing and learning about Friends of Guest House, a program for formerly incarcerated women to help get them on their feet once they are released.

I had been so inspired and impressed by the women's stories, and horrified to learn about the many challenges and difficulties that face women upon release from prison - how so many, even if they want to turn their lives around, almost have the cards stacked entirely against them.

With this in mind, I wondered if I might be able to find a job doing therapy in corrections or in a similar program and did a Google search for something like "therapy + prison." I found my current employer and emailed them.

They have a number of programs in different sites, so it was kind of funny because when the HR woman called me, she sounded almost apologetic when she said, "Well, the only opening we have right now is in our women's prison." I think she probably thought I was nuts when I said, "Oh great, that's where I was wanting to go!"

So, the addictions piece was an accident, and the prison piece was sort of a fluke. I still have no idea why I’m so drawn to this work or this population. I’m a middle class girl from the mid-west who barely broke any rules growing up.

I’m still trying to learn what most of the drugs are, what the slang means, how you ingest which drugs. There’s really no reason that this would make sense for me. But for now, at least, it feels like a great fit and I’m enjoying it immensely.

I understand you have some knowledge and experience in improvisation. How did you get involved in this?

I got into improvisation about 3 years ago...summer of 2008, I think... I got into it primarily because I was looking for a new challenge. I always like to be doing something a little outside of my comfort zone.

People have always told me I'm funny, but I was terrified of the idea of performance or acting--though I think I'd always thought it looked fun. A friend of mine introduced me to a friend of hers, who worked at WIT (Washington Improv Theater).

He convinced me that anyone could do improv, and it took a number of months and I finally signed up. It's also one of those things that I now wonder, how did I ever not have this in my life?

Do you draw upon improvisation in your work with the women in the prison (and if so, in what way)?

I perform and teach improvisation and have found that to be tremendously useful to me in this work—both in terms of my own self-care and in how I sit with clients.

Improv has a lot to do with being in the moment and listening, and I’m fairly certain that my practice of those skills—and others—as an improviser serves me as a therapist.

But I also use it more directly. My professors were kind enough to indulge me in allowing me to do my research papers during my MSW on the intersection of improv and creativity and therapy, and I was shocked by how much literature was already out there on the subject.

So, while I don’t use a ton of improv in my work, I do bring in some of the games. Prisons are not quiet places. There is almost constant yelling, banging on doors, and interruptions in groups and sessions. For safety reasons, you can’t shut doors all the way when with clients, so the traditional “therapeutic space” we think of is nearly impossible to achieve.

I use improv games sometimes for a few moments to start off groups partially as a way of transitioning everyone into the space or the room, to draw a differentiation from the “prison space” of chaos into a safer, quieter space of the group. I use a lot of games that focus on building trust, freedom to make mistakes, physical movement, group cohesion, and just having fun. There is not a lot of genuine laughter or fun in prison, so I try to create some space for that.

I find that the games can be tremendously helpful. Sometimes, they can shift the mood of a group from sullen and disengaged to a little more lively. This helps the clients to understand the process of “fake it until you make it,” or that they can do something even if they’re in a bad mood, or that by getting active, they can even shift out of a bad mood. These aren’t things I’ve told them to realize; they typically report the insight after the game.

I can also do a lot of assessing of where someone is by using the games, often more so than I can just by going off of what they say in a group. For instance, does someone choose to participate or sit it out? Are they able to go with the flow, or do they get caught up in “doing it right” or getting impatient when someone else makes a “mistake”? I can also use the games to assess the level of group cohesion or to facilitate more cohesion.

I’ve also found that processing the game afterwards, which I always do with them, produces some astounding insights, for individuals in terms of seeing their behavior or approach in a new way or in ways that they’re able to tie the game to the process of recovery. It’s pretty cool.

Could you describe one of the improv games/exercises you do with the women?

One of the games I think they have a love-hate relationship with is called Zen Count. In it, a group of people stands pretty close together in a circle and tries to count to 21. The trick is that it's completely spontaneous--no order, no planning--and if anyone says a number out of order or if two people speak at the same time, the group has to start over from 1.

I originally thought this would be a good one for building group cohesion, as that's how it's frequently used for improv groups. But it turned out to have a lot more to do with frustration tolerance, patience, and being okay with "mistakes" for them. This game drives them crazy. Some clients laugh and can have fun, but often it's really frustrating for them. Sometimes they get so frustrated they'll try to cheat by forming a pattern, and when I notice this, I usually step in and mess it up, which they don't like very much.

The processing discussions from this one have been very rich. One discussion ended up being about people apologizing and saying, "I'm sorry" for messing up, even though obviously it's not anyone's fault. So we talked about those people tend to do that in life, saying "I'm sorry" all the time even when they don't really need to, and taking responsibility or blame for things beyond their control.

Another time, I shared with them that some groups can do this for a long time--like they hit 21 and keep going, to 30, 40, even 100. I'm not sure they believed me, but we had an interesting discussion about how it's kind of like recovery in that you have to keep at it, all the time. And how even if you mess up (relapse), you don't have to give up. You can just begin again and get back on track.

We also sometimes talk about sitting things out, because some people will admit in the debrief that they avoid messing up by just not saying anything and letting everyone else do it. So we discuss if that's their attitude towards recovery, too, or other things, to maybe avoid things when they might make a mistake or fail, instead of giving it a try. And how does that affect their life? Or about support, and whether or not you participate in and support your group, or are kind of removed and not really invested.

Their relationship with this game is interesting. They usually like it at first, then get frustrated and hate it, but sometimes a few weeks later a group will ask me if they can do it or someone will say, "Hey, we haven't done that counting one in a while."

With any of these games it's so interesting, because often once we talk about it, the behavior in the game is similar to their approach or behavior to other things in life, whether it's the program, their recovery, or other goals they have. I'm not surprised by that, as I've found it to be similar for me in my work as an improviser.

Could you describe what a typical day is like for you at your job? (Also, what percentage of your work is clinical vs. case management?)

Very little of my job is case management. There is some case management in terms of looking up resources or writing letters to parole boards or judges, but for the most part, the prison itself has case managers that handle this. Also, usually the client isn’t leaving the prison right after completing our program, so we don’t handle their transition out. Sometimes a client is, but it’s the exception, not the rule.

A typical day for me begins around 7:45 a.m. Prison days start early, and end early. I come in, get searched and have my belongings scanned, grab my keys and walk down to “the pod,” which is the cell block where our program is housed.

It’s sort of like walking through a college campus in some ways. When I get on the pod, it’s silent for the last time all day. I typically do some paperwork, like writing treatment plans or printing and signing notes until about 8:30, when count clears, and the clients are released from their cells.

Then we have our Morning Meeting, and if I’m the Point Staff for the day, I go down to facilitate it. Then at 9:00 or so, our clinical day starts, and I have 1-2 clients or groups until 11 a.m., when the clients go to lunch, which means we have lunch then.

Our staff typically eats together in our office, and it’s usually a mix of chitchat and checking in on clients. It’s sort of an informal opportunity to do some case consultations or problem-solving.

The afternoon is similar, with three groups or individual sessions until 3:00 p.m., when the clients are locked back into their cells so we lose access to them. I’ll then do more paperwork until around 4:30, and head home.

There’s also supervision and staff meetings thrown in for good measure, of course. And on Fridays, we have the Weekly Activity, which is an hour where we try to program something fun for the community, such as playing games, or watching a movie.

This is designed to help them see that there are ways to have fun while sober. Obviously, we’re limited in prison with what we can do here, but it’s a nice opportunity to interact with clients in a slightly less formal way.

What are the aspects of your work that you enjoy the most?

I really like working with my clients. I find that they have tremendous strength, despite the challenges they’ve faced in their lives. They are, by and large, innovative, creative, spunky, and resilient.

I think many people are surprised to hear that I like my clients, that I don’t dread going to work each day, but it’s quite the opposite. While I don’t approve of or like many of the things that my clients have done, I do like them as people, and find that when

I see them through the lens of the totality of their experience, that it’s very hard to not appreciate and respect the fabric of their stories and how they ended up making some of the choices they did.

In many ways, I take a very “There by the grace of God go I” approach to this work, and to my clients. I don’t know, had I faced the challenges they did, or had the influences they had, that my story would have had a terribly different outcome.

I’m grateful that I had different experiences and resources available to me. That’s the principle that guides me when I get frustrated in this work: I appreciate the opportunity to try to help provide a chance for my clients to learn some of the skills and ideas that I think many of us take for granted, and to, if they want, use them to make better choices for themselves, and to achieve what they want in life.

I also enjoy the challenge of working with “mandated” clients. Most of our clients are required to complete the program as part of their requirements to be released, or for some it’s a way of getting their sentence reduced. So they may have absolutely no interest in actually being there.

For some reason, I enjoy working with those clients, in forging a relationship and finding some way to foster trust and a sense of hope that they can improve some part of their life. It’s great practice in truly letting go and meeting a client where they are, rather than trying to impose goals or “shoulds.”

What are the parts of your work that you find most challenging? (Were you initially scared working at the prison?)

I was never scared at the prison. I don’t know why and I’m not sure what this says about me. It might have been because I had worked in inpatient psychiatry for one of my internships, and I had worked out some of my “fear” in that setting.

It was funny, because when my boss was walking me across the prison for my interview, some of the clients were greeting her and asking about me and at one point she said, “It’s like they’ve chosen you already.” I was actually just saying in a staff meeting when we were discussing the challenges of adjusting to the environment that I’m always a little concerned by how quickly I acculturated.

Working in addictions is challenging. The disease produces such distortions of thought, and so much deception, that that part can be frustrating. Therapy is predicated on a notion of an alliance and a space where a client can be honest and genuine, so it can be hard when so much of the work feels like uncovering deception or having to constantly wonder if a client is being sincere.

Another challenge is working in a Therapeutic Community (TC), wherein I’m not just a therapist, but I’m also a disciplinarian. We give consequences for inappropriate behavior, and this is an odd dimension to have in the therapeutic relationship.

It’s also different in that I see my clients all day. I watch how they behave with others, see them interact in various ways, and can also consult with colleagues who interact with them when I’m not around. This isn’t necessarily “bad,” because it definitely adds a lot of “grist for the therapy mill,” but it’s different, and maintaining the alliance can be challenging with these dual roles.

On the other hand, it can also allow therapy to progress faster and be a little deeper, because you’re constantly processing real-time interactions, instead of descriptions of other situations. And for addictions work, where so much deception or distortions occur, this is really quite critical.

I sometimes wonder about what it would be like to have a therapist following me around everywhere, saying, “Hmmm, that interaction didn’t really happen the way you described it. Here’s what I saw. Interesting. What is that about?,” instead of just having to trust my report.

I also have an entire caseload of clients who know one another. Many are cell-mates. This creates interesting challenges in terms of confidentiality, because you have to keep straight who said what in group versus in individual sessions.

It’s also a challenge in terms of perceptions of fairness, because just as we watch the clients, they are also watching us and can “compare out,” so it’s important that I treat each of them the same, that their session times are the same, that conflicts get mediated objectively.

It’s also interesting because so much of what they bring in to sessions is about other clients, so maintaining those boundaries and remembering who said what, and not letting heresay influence my perceptions of clients is an ongoing challenge.

How important do you feel it is for social workers (who are not focusing on a population suffering from addictions) to study about substance abuse?

I think it’s helpful for any social worker or therapist to have training in substance abuse because it impacts so many people. Even if you’re not working with the individuals who are directly abusing substances, you’re likely to be working with families or friends who are affected by it, or with adults who grew up in a household with it.

And, typically, with substance abuse, it’s not likely to show up as the initial presenting problem, unless you’re in a setting focused on that. So I think that makes it important for clinicians and case workers to understand the dynamics and signs of substance use, so that they will be able to identify it even if it’s not being articulated as “the problem” or so that they can be prepared to work on it if it shows up months or years into treatment—as I think it often could due to the nature of the disease.

What were some of the things that you did in order to adequately prepare yourself for this position?

I got this position straight out of my MSW program, so beyond the Chemical Dependency course I took, I didn’t have additional training. I definitely feel I still have a lot to learn, so I use my supervision sessions and interactions with colleagues who have been in the field longer than I have to learn, and do as much reading as I can. I hope to take CEU courses related to substance abuse as well.

Finally, what key piece(s) of advice would you offer MSW students who just recently graduated or are about to graduate?

I am so grateful to my MSW program for teaching us about self-care. When I first started this job, I was plagued with feelings of insecurity and a constant sense that I wasn't doing a good enough job. I felt like I didn't know enough clinically to be helpful, that I was constantly falling short.

Then, one day, I remembered these meditations that one of my professors had given us in a presentation on vicarious trauma for clinicians, about being kind to ourselves in the work, letting go of the outcome, and trusting the resiliency of our clients, etc. I printed those out, stuck them above my desk, and had a serious chat with myself.

Self-Care Meditations by Dr. Eileen Dombo and Dr. Cathie Gray

Please note that these are from an article by Drs. Dombo and Gray in press to come out in the Journal of Christianity and Social Work.

I reminded myself that I was new at this, that I was absorbing a ton of information, not only about clients, but also just about the job - learning the computer systems, the paperwork, the rules of a TC, the rules of a prison.

And that maybe I could give myself a break, and trust that I didn't need to know it all right now and that as long as I kept doing my best for my clients, learning and asking for the help I needed in supervision, and learning on my own, that I was doing a good enough job.

I think the first job out can be challenging. You are put into a new environment with much less support than we got as students. You have a larger caseload and more responsibility. It's important to recognize that, I think.

Yes, we need to have high standards for ourselves and constantly strive to improve our practice, but we also need to be realistic about our own humanity and give ourselves the time to learn and adjust.

One of the things I find that I work on a lot with my clients is helping them gain a sense of compassion for themselves, and I have found that it's been extremely important for me to cultivate this within myself as I do this work.

I think that's probably the most important lesson that I'd want to share with others starting out in this profession.

Thanks so much, Lisa, for sharing with us these important self-care tips and providing us with an overview of what it's like to conduct clinical social work within the setting of a prison.

You may follow Lisa on twitter at @LisaKaysMSW.

What questions/comments come to your mind about working with clients in prison or group work in general? What are your thoughts about this type of work and self-care?

You May Also Enjoy:

Self-Care for Mental Health Professionals

Social Work in Substance Abuse

What Is Social Work In Child Welfare Like?

Drama Therapy – Healing Through Role Playing

Social Work in Advocacy and Public Policy

Exploring Career Paths in Social Work

Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/28/2011)

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 05:53:00 +0000

I'm watching twitter, google+ and the web so you don't have to...

This post is part of a weekly series, Best Tweets in Mental Health, featuring the best posts of the week, in social work, psychology, mindfulness, non-profit and private practice concerns on Social Work Career Development.

As you can see, some new gems have been been discovered like Mike Brown @MentalHealthCop who helps provide a view on mental health from the police perspective.

Also, please note that the Social Work/Social Care and Social Media group @SWSCmedia is hosting a live twitter debate on "Early Intervention: Concept, Context, Realities, & Prospects" this Tues, 6 Dec at 20:00 GMT/15:00 EST.

Social Work:

5 Myths That Doom Diversity Efforts
Leveraging Difference (Dr. Martin Davidson)

"Understanding why diversity is so often mismanaged requires debunking five strongly held myths about diversity: Myth: If you increase the number of women and people of color, you have increased your diversity; the value of diversity doesn’t come from the appearance of a person. Rather, it comes in taking advantage of diverse perspectives to create business results..."

Alarmed at Mandated Cuts Coming to Medicare and Medicaid – Let’s Make A Difference
NASW (Drs. Aaron Beckerman & Louis Levitt)

"....the law that created the “super committee” now mandates changes to Medicare and Medicaid that will make it harder and more expensive for seniors and the less fortunate to get medical care and pay for their basic living expenses. Hospitals will face a 32% cut in reimbursement for inpatient services under Medicare starting in 2013. Vital social work services will be lost if that happens..."

Education accessibility
Ericka Kimball (a doctoral candidate)

"Educational accessibility is social justice issue for me. Despite what many think, post secondary education continues to be a relatively white, middle (upper) class privilege. Without the accessibility of a weekend program, I would have never been able to complete my education..."

Going Bust: The Vanishing Middle Class
The Modern Social Worker (David Sant)

"As the middle class erodes and more people slip into survival mode, social, political and economic power will consolidate into the hands of the few. This is evidenced by more tax loopholes for the rich..."

Is it time to up the ante?
Classroom to Capitol (Melinda Lewis)

"If it’s known that people would rather sign a petition than give you a dollar, how much is that signature really worth?...here’s no law that says that your online “ask” has to be a petition or an email...sometimes we make the mistake of requesting relatively little..."

Memory Work
Ari Hahn, LCSW, PhD

"...you need to have a part of your life that you sincerely consider, “normal everyday life.” That portion of your life needs to be strengthened before serious memory work should be undertaken...It is wise [to] avoid memory work while there is a threat of being overwhelmed..."

Risk Factors for Early Treatment Dropout Among Women with Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorders and PTSD
Living Proof Podcast (UBSSW)

In episode 85, Dr. Stella Resko discusses her research examining the role of substance use, PTSD, and environmental barriers in contributing to early treatment dropout.

The search for objectivity in measuring social work outcomes
communitycare.co.uk (Eileen Munro)

"Social workers seek to treat service users as subjects not objects and that requires understanding how things look from the service user's point of view, how they make sense of problems, what their values and preferences are..."

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Free Web-Based Training
The Nudge Patrol (Laura, MSW student)

"Community Mental Health Agencies are relying more and more on EBP treatments that are clinically proven to deliver cost-effective results to specific populations...a completely free, web-based training for Trauma-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)..."

Under pressure
SocialJerk

"Groupwork is amazing. It’s incredibly important for these girls, and they’re able to learn a great deal. There are drawbacks, of course, as there are drawbacks to everything in work and life..."

Use and application of social media in social work and social care education
Social Work/Social Care & Media (Jackie Rafferty)

"We still need content but communication and collaboration is to the fore and I now use social media tools like Twitter, to share information; to ask others’ opinions; to find out information and facts; to say what I think and to see what others are thinking..."

Using Brainspotting to Resource Positive States
Trauma & Attachment Therapy (Robin Shapiro, LICSW)

"David Grand's Brainspotting is a powerful technique for clearing trauma and strengthening internal resources. It started as an offshoot of EMDR... clients scan their bodies for a place that's grounded, strong, relaxed, connected..."

Vote in the 2011 This Week in Mentalists Awards
The Not So Big Society (Zarathustra)

"...I set up the This Week in Mentalists Awards, an annual online event to celebrate the best of mental health blogging...you can all nominate your favourite mental health blogs, whether by patients, professionals, carers or academics..."

What makes a Social Worker?
Going Mental (Nectarine)

"It’s only been in the past year or so that I have really learned how the concept of recovery can be used to help clients and improve the work that I do. I took to the recovery model very quickly, because it jives well with my feminist and anti-oppression perspective..."

Psychology:

4 Ways To Creatively Heal Your Relationship With Food & Yourself
Weightless (Margarita Tartakovsky, MS)

"Creativity connects us to our ‘inner voice’; healing occurs when we listen!”...create your [This Is Me] collage, find words and images that say something about you and that you can relate to. Glue them onto a piece of paper.."

15 Benefits of Cultivating Mindfulness
Laura Schenck, M.A.

"There are a wealth of benefits associated with cultivating mindfulness...(1) Support Attitudes that Lead to Satisfaction in Life (2) Easier to Savor Life's Pleasures (3) Less Likely to Become Caught Up in Worries About the Past & Future (4) Helps Relieve..."

20 Ways to Amp Up The Love (Boost Oxytocin Naturally) In Your Couple Relationship
Neuroscience and Relationships (Dr. Athena Staik)

"Certain actions, ones that convey emotional messages of kindness, caring and love, can affect positive changes on partners and their relationship by releasing certain hormones, such as oxytocin, which amps up the love-connection pathways of the brain..."

Erik Erickson: A Therapy Dog's View
Magnolia the Therapy Dog ( Dr. Jason Mihalko)

"Erikson's theory, as it applies to humans, in a nutshell: The infant's first social achievement, then, is his willingness to let the mother out of sight without undue anxiety or rage, because she has become an inner certainty as well as an outer predictability..."

"The journey to recovery starts with awareness. Awareness not only of what rape is, but the repercussions that grow deep into the soil of someone’s soul...There are certain myths about acquaintance rape that perpetuate the blame being placed on the survivor..."

A Vaccination Against Prejudice?
PsychCentral (Janice Wood)

"Researchers found that the sense of security derived through measures such as vaccination and hand washing can reduce bias against “out” groups, from immigrants to the obese...The study...unites evolutionary psychology, social cognitive psychology..."

International Crisis Intervention
Mental Health Cop (Michael Brown, a police inspector from the U.K.)

"Research suggests that officers trained will be less likely to use force, reducing injury; less likely to arrest because of enhanced communication skills; more likely to arrest for mental health reasons than for crime; more likely to ‘divert’ from justice than prosecute..."

The Mask of Mental Illness
The Healthy Place (Natalie Jeanne Champagne)

"My goal was as simple as it was impossibly complicated: Do Not Indicate you Have an Illness. Never tell anyone because they will not love you. Take your medication. See your psychiatrist but walk out of her office quickly, hoping nobody has seen you. Live a double life..."

Middle School is Rough
The Irreverent Psychologist (Jason Evan Mihalko, Psy.D)

"In disembodied academic conversations about bullying, or in the disassociated way politicians often speak about it, we forget about the very real impact bullying has on real people..."

Statement of the American Psychological Association on the DSM-5 Development Process
American Psychological Association

"The American Psychological Association recognizes that there is a diversity of opinion concerning the ongoing DSM-5 development process... We call upon our members (either as individuals or groups) to continue to add their perspectives..."

Dec. 2: Staying Informed! Mental Health News from Around the Country
NAMI

"From local events to tips to staying healthy to groundbreaking research studies, NAMI provides the most up-to-date information on mental illness from around the country... Just in case you missed them, here are the five most popular links from last week..."

The 2011 This Week in Mentalists Awards
This Week in Mentalists (Pandora)

"You can nominate up to three different blogs in each category, and you can nominate in as many or as few categories as you wish...All blogs nominated must, at least in large part, discuss mental health issues..."

Why Venting Doesn't Work
sgbrownlow.com (Steve Brownlow)

"Express[ing] your emotions in a heartfelt manner to someone who is empathic and has your best interests in mind. That helps...Talking about your deepest emotional pain to someone who doesn’t show that they care can be traumatizing..."

Will Power, Self Control and Self Discipline
After Psychotherapy (Joseph Burgo PhD)

"Everywhere I look within my profession, I see evidence of this acceptance of limitations, a kind of widespread learned helplessness in the face of mental illness, a rejection of the long hard work involved in psychodynamic psychotherapy..."

Private Practice:

2011 List Of Online Directories For Mental Health Professionals
Private Practice from the Inside Out (Tamara Suttle, M.Ed., LPC)

"Remember, some of these are free; some charge a fee...Not all directories are created equal and not all mental health professionals need to be listed in a directory...The best way for you to use an online directory is to decide what’s important to you..."

How Many Clients Do You Send Away?
Dr. Susan Giurleo

"...therapists and potential clients are missing each other. There ARE enough people out there who want, and will pay for, your services if you let them know you exist in a compelling way. But they will not do the equivalent of an Easter egg hunt to find you..."

Skyrim, Stealing & Sadism
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)

"Therapists: Don’t take the excuse, “it is only a game,” because any gamer knows, in fact we all know on some level, that play is not meaningless...In video games, like in all fantasy, we get to do things we’d never do in real life, and enjoy them..."

Non-Profit:

How non-profits become experts at Social Branding
Beth's Blog (Simon Mainwaring, Founder/Author WE FIRST)

"There are two elements critical to the success of any branding effort... The first is compelling brand storytelling, and the second is fluency in social technology...Brand storytelling, the process by which a company defines and shares its purpose..."

Please share your comments below. Also, please feel free to mention any great posts that I may have missed.

You May Also Enjoy:
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/21/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/14/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/7/2011)
20 Inspirational Quotes for Social Workers
Occupational Outlook for Social Workers 2010-2011
Art Therapy - The Power of Art in Healing

Social Media and Social Work Education: Like Oil & Water?

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:00:00 +0000

Is it truly impossible to find ways to apply and use social media within the paradigm of social work education?

No, it's not! As per the proverb, "where's there's a will, there's a way."

However, according to Bruff, Harapnuik and Julius (2011) in Revolution or Evolution? Social Technologies and Change in Higher Education, there are a number of key obstacles that need to be overcome in order for social media to fulfill its potential within the realm of higher education. These include:

Mistrust of technology
Faculty need of good examples of effective uses of technology
Lack of a culture of openness to try technology among faculty
Loss of control when shifting from faculty-oriented to student-centered learning
Perception that technology does not offer deep learning

Below is a twelve minute animated clip of Sir Ken Robinson's talk about the need for a radical change in our education paradigm which I think you will find fascinating.

Now, to return to the world of social work, please continue to read: The Use/Application of Social Media in Social Work Education Has Wonderful Potential… at the Social Work/Social Care & Social Media blog to see the eight ways that social media could transform social work education.

Finally, I would like to make mention of the sources that I used/cited in my guest post because my guest host had technical difficulties in making the hyperlinks stand out properly.

Sources cited:
Langlois, M. (2011). Gamer Therapist
Levasseur, A. (2011). Teaching Without Technology?
Smyth, N. (2011). Healing Isolation & Facilitating Empathy: The Power of Virtual Worlds with mentions of Virtual Hallucinations Sim and Against All Odds
Smyth, N. (2011). Virtual Worlds as Immersive Treatment Settings: The PTSD Sim
Zgoda, K. (Fall, 2011). SW 2.0: Going Where the Client Is: Exploring Virtual Clinical Social Work Practice. The New Social Worker Online.

If you enjoyed this post, could you please take a moment to let me know by "liking"it here, "voting" on it at The Use/Application of Social Media in Social Work Education Has Wonderful Potential… and/or leaving a comment or question? And, always please feel free to disagree :)

You May Also Enjoy:
Unlearning with Jack Uldrich
Innovation in Social Work
Technology Tools for Clinical Practice
A Talk about Upward Mobility and Technology in Social Work
Online Therapy: A New Frontier
Online Therapy and the Use of Technology

Photo credit: Oil and water don't mix

Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/21/2011)

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 18:43:00 +0000

"Sparked works with non-profits all across the world to match your skills and interests with small tasks you complete for them on your computer ! The jobs are fun, high impact, and usually require less than 15 minutes to complete..."

Howard Stern and How I Practice Social Work
Hack Social Work (Ignacio)

"In consideration of the type of work that social workers perform, including listening to some of the difficult truths that some of our clients have experienced, I personally need a break from real life sometimes...For me to hold it together, Howard is my Self Care!..."

Leadership Roles in a Leaderless Movement: Insights from Rural and Urban “Occupy” Experiences
The Nonprofit Quarterly (Kathi Jaworski)

"While both rural and urban demonstrators have tied income inequality, unemployment, corporate influence on politics, and banking practices together in their emerging messages, they’ve taken on some differences in approach..."

Penn. State: The Power of Culture
ACA (Patricia Myers)

"Sue and Sue write that ‘social justice is…about building a healthy, validating society for all groups” ...Believing a child’s story would have required substantial systemic change...Those of us outraged by this story must do something to change our culture...I may not be powerful but I gain power in speaking the truth..."

Process Recording is a Life Skill (really!)
Practice Wisdom (Natalie L. Hill, LICSW)

"across the continuum of care, we're working with clients to help them develop insight (awareness of their thoughts, feelings, associations, reactions, and behaviors), and adaptive ways of interacting with the world (i.e., coping)..."

Race and American Inequalities
Understanding Society (Daniel Little)

"Massey leads off his analysis with a theory of the social psychology of racism and discrimination against poor people. He argues that the stereotyping that is inevitably associated with social cognition leads to a pattern of discrimination..."

The role of social media in a social worker’s continuing professional development
Martin Webber's Blog (Dr. Martin Weber)

"Engaging in social media over the last six months or so has helped me both as a social worker and as an academic. It has put me in touch with some wonderful, passionate people whose defense of social work values, ethos and professionalism is inspiring..."

Traditions
The New Social Worker's Blog (Kryss Shane, LMSW)

"I head up to Northeast Ohio on Tuesday so I am ready for my favorite holiday tradition of the year; co-running a soup kitchen. We make everything from scratch, so it takes all day Wednesday and the entire morning Thursday to prepare the foods..."

On Truth Telling: Notes from the Race 2 Equity Conference in Detroit
NAH Blog (Relando Thompkins, MSW)

"...many people in history who have sought to be champions for justice have been punished, threatened, or even killed...It was not until after I had gone to college that I was able to hear in-depth accounts of slavery in the United states and abroad..."

For Thanksgiving, take time to learn both sides of "Pilgrims & Indians"
CASCW_MN (Heidi Ombisa)

"But for many other Americans, this holiday serves as an unwelcome memory to the trauma their ancestors endured as a foreign population inhabited their lands and committed acts of violence against them..."

Use and Application of Social Media in Social Work and Social Care Education
Social Work/Social Care & Media (Claudia, @SWSCMedia)

"Our next [twitter] debate on Tuesday, 29 November, is dedicated to social work and social care students...there are those who suggest that social work and social care should embrace social media and transform its’ operation and learning model..."

White Ribbon Day: Violence against women, disabilities and where to begin
The Fat Social Worker (Michelle, MSW Student)

"A spade is a spade, rape is rape and assault is assault...Recognize sexist images. Challenge them...Practice radical self-care...you cannot be an instrument of change if you allow yourself to burn out..."

Psychology:

Bipolar Disorder, Mental Health and Self-Care
Healthy Place (Natasha Tracy)

"Self-care is simply any act that is kind towards yourself...You have to build self-esteem and self-love...self-caring behaviors will help your brain to change and help reduce the negative thoughts about yourself..."

The Biological Aspect of Depression
Beck Institute Blog

"Dr. Aaron Beck discusses the neurological effects of depression and how Cognitive Behavior Therapy works in treating it. He also describes the biological aspect of the negative bias and how CBT can be used to reverse that bias..."

Career Development Via Holiday Gatherings
ACA (Michael Walters)

"...many people are in employment situations which are causing them grief and stress...sharing your career development story and career network just may be the gift which helps a person with his/her career development—a good gift to give..."

I Quit–Because it’s Healthy! (Part 1)
Dr. Ann Becker Schutte

"Earlier this year, I was listening to a fascinating radio story, from the Freakonomics program, about the value of quitting...I don’t know about you, but I have certainly stayed in jobs where I wasn’t happy...Why...Because we had sunk costs..."

Limited
What a Shrink Thinks (Martha Crawford, LCSW)

"On a professional level, I fancy that that I am, for the most-part, a good-enough therapist...I’ve come to understand that my inability to hide my weaknesses coupled with my ability to accept them, somehow gives others permission to accept..."

Mindfulness & Gratitude
Laura Schenck, M.A.

"When you apply the attitude of mindfulness to cultivating gratitude, you may find that you become aware of far more qualities of yourself, others, and the world for which to be grateful..."

The Neuroscience of Holiday Shopping
The Mindful Self-Express (Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D.)

"At the neuronal level, our brains weigh options and assign value to different choices based on our tastes and preference... Gifts with purchase are another strategy often used by makeup brands to make shoppers feel they are getting something for nothing..."

PTSD Recovery Tip: Anger Management is Key
HealMyPTSD (Michelle Rosenthal)

"Step One: Notice Your Body Sensations — This is your alarm system. It’s letting you know what’s coming: Pay attention to it! Step Two: Make a list of alternative actions - As you think back..., what could you have done differently..."

Toxic Couple Relationships – Intensity, Destabilizing Tactics & Preconceived Perceptions (2 of 3)
Neuroscience and Relationships (Dr. Athena Staik)

"When a relationship becomes toxic it is often because each person came to the relationship not knowing how to manage their emotions, in particular, how to regulate the two most difficult emotions, anger and fear in ways that allow them to remain..."

Vibrator Miscellanea
The Irreverent Psychologist (Jason Evan Mihalko, Psy.D)

"We forget in our current modernity that we all one day will be obsolete...We have the ancient Greeks to thank for the notion of hysteria...We do the best we can with the knowledge and understanding of the world that is currently available to us..."

Nonprofit:

The Internet Domain .NGO Should Serve Best Interests of Nonprofits Worldwide
Beth's Blog (Thuy LeDinh)

"As a complement to your existing .ORG site, .NGO will be an exclusive domain address for self-identified NGOs worldwide who are looking for a unique online signature to be immediately recognized and to broaden opportunities..."

Trends in Volunteerism: From Candy Striper to Microvolunteer
Joanne Fritz

Susan suggests that nonprofits vary the labels they use for volunteers in order to attract as many skills as possible...The trend toward short-term volunteering, from the weekend or one-day warrior to the microvolunteer, is no longer a trend, but a fact..."

Private Practice:

Encrypting Health and Wellness Information
Online Therapy Institute

"All therapeutic communication should be encrypted...so that if anyone (a hacker, for instance) intercepts the message, it will not be readable...This link provides excellent information about encryption based on HIPAA requirements and sets the standard..."

Should Therapists Blog?
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)

"Successful bloggers and therapists have at least one thing in common, personal presence...You need to have some area of expertise, something you feel competent in...if you want to blog I suggest you adopt an attitude of radical transparency..."

Please share your comments below. I love hearing from you :)

You May Also Enjoy:
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/14/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/7/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 10/31/2011)
Technology Tools for Clinical Practice
What Are Microaggressions?

An Expression of Gratitude

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Thanksgiving can mean different things to different people...

As a result, I will be sharing with you a poem, as well as three video clips about being thankful: Deepak Chopra's gratitude meditation, "What Oprah Knows about Gratitude," and Dr Martin Seligman's gratitude exercise.

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.

Author Unknown

Gratitude - with Deepak Chopra

Gratitude - with Oprah

“Real life isn’t always going to be perfect or go our way, but the recurring acknowledgement of what is working in our lives can help us not only to survive but surmount our difficulties.” -
Sarah Ban Breathnach

Dr Martin Seligman's 3 Blessing Exercise

Wishing you and yours a Happy and Sweet Thanksgiving!

Finally, in honor of this holiday, I wanted to stop for a moment and express some of my appreciation for:

1. the food on my table (not just on Thankgiving, but everyday)

2. the warm and comfortable roof that I have over my head

3. my loving spouse and children

4. my parents who gave me life and taught me many lessons

5. my friends who have been there for me, be it for a season or for many years

6. my teachers and mentors from whom I have learned and learn so much

7. my coaches and supporters who are helping/escorting me along my Unplanned Detour

8. my twitter, google+ and blogger friends from whom I learn so much and whose interviews and comments make my blog the welcoming mental health resource that it is

9. the opportunity I had to go back to school and obtain a second master's degree (my MSW) so that I may enter the field of social work

10. the clients who allowed me to partake in their journey and help them tap into their inner resources so as to feel better and/or achieve the beginning of some of their dreams

What would be on your top 10 list? And/or which was your favorite expression of gratitude - the poem or one of the video clips? Please comment below. I love hearing from you :)

You May Also Enjoy:

The Things We Take for Granted

Reflections about Thoughts, Feelings and the Law of Attraction

Thoughts on Mortality and Making Every Day Meaningful

Unlearning with Jack Uldrich

Eating Disorders Are About Relationships

Family/Couples Therapy - Improving Relationships

Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/14/2011)

noreply@blogger.com (DorleeM) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:28:00 +0000

"Poverty, Unemployment, lack of Education, Drugs, Domestic abuse, Services being cut, Budgets being cut...As social workers there is a need to challenge these changes, challenge societies views of discrimination, racism, and abuse and neglect..."

College football–what could possibly go wrong?
SocialJerk

"Many people are at fault. Number one, of course is Sandusky. The child molester. The actual monster...The one who repeatedly raped children and exploited their trust. But it goes beyond that. We have the bystanders. Many, many bystanders in this case..."

The Deepening Crisis in Mental Health Funding
NAMI Blog

"Until 2011, Medicaid was largely spared from budget cuts because of federal stimulus funds. As these stimulus funds expired in June 2011, states are facing $14 billion in potential losses from federal Medicaid revenues..."

Healing Isolation & Facilitating Empathy: The Power of Virtual Worlds
Virtual Connections (Nancy J. Smyth)

"People who are “shut in” have new environments, relationships and opportunities open to them...Most social workers and other human services professionals have no awareness that these worlds exist and so fail to see the opportunities that they can provide in terms of alleviating isolation, providing settings to try out new behaviors, and giving insight into perspectives other than our own..."

On Occupy Wall Street's general strike and social work
The Fat Social Worker (Michelle, MSW Student)

"Unfortunately, it's the people I serve at my placement who I believe are most profoundly affected by our income gap and are experiencing the brunt of the cutting of services in preference to not taxing the rich..."

Part One: why #localgov block staff from using social media at work
Connecting Social Care and Social Media (Shirley Ayres)

"A barrage of emails from social workers from local authorities advised me that they were blocked from accessing a free to download resource which brought together the resources available online to support looked after children..."

Reflections on the Penn State Sexual Abuse Scandal and a Call to Action
From Where I Stand (Andrea B. Goldberg, LCSW)

"As a society, we all have an obligation to protect children and we all share the responsibility of challenging the status quo. Children deserve for us to do more than give lip service to our concerns about abuse..."

Supervision - An Evolving Process (pick only one)
Practice Wisdom (Natalie L. Hill, LICSW)

"With more experience, clinicians are more confident and have fewer questions for their supervisors...If the supervisor is already familiar with the clinician's work, or has another window into how they're doing with the cases that are going smoothly, this shift may not cause any difficulties. However, if the supervisor doesn't know the clinician well and..."

Supervision and Social Work
The Not So Big Society (ermintrude2)

"Supervision should also be a process of personal growth and reflection although in this sense, it depends very much on the relationship between the supervisor and the supervised...Social Workers need to be responsible, as professionals, for our own learning..."

These kids need to eat: Why the connection between advocacy and direct services matters so much
Classroom to Capitol (Melinda Lewis)

"She had no idea how she was going to feed her kids without that [SNAP] assistance...The good news, in this tragic mess?...She knew where to go, not just to receive some immediate assistance...for an ally in what she knew needed to be a fight..."

Why do we keep re-enacting the past?
This Is Me (spldbch)

"Unfortunately, the negative patterns people repeat or re-enact over and over again in their lives can be extremely resistant to change. This is particularly true for patterns that developed as a result of early childhood life experiences..."

Psychology:

5 Points to Remember About Mental Illness in the Family
Healthy Place (Randye Kaye)

"Mental Illness can happen even with the most excellent parenting. It’s an illness. No shame... A correct diagnosis can take years, especially as symptoms develop inconsistently and overlap...An educated family is an asset to healthcare providers..."

10 Things to Learn from Painful Relationships
sgbrownlow.com (Steve Brownlow)

"I believe in changing what can be changed and adapting to what can’t...Other people’s behavior is about them. Your behavior is about you...Your parents may not be the people you wish they could be. Nobody’s are, including my children’s..."

CBT for Depression
Beck Institute Blog

"Dr. Aaron Beck explains the history of biological and psychological research on depression. He also discusses studies that looked at the likelihood of depression in people who experienced trauma during childhood..."

Countertransference Issues in Treating Depression
After Psychotherapy (Joseph Burgo, PhD)

"...as a working therapist, your own feelings, thoughts and fantasies provide important information to further your understanding of your client... you have to be cautious not to assume that everything you feel comes about because of the client’s issues..."

Debunking the Rock Bottom of Addiction
Healthy Place (Kendra Sebelius)

"You do NOT have to hit a rock bottom in order to get sober, get treatment, and recovery from an addiction. This myth that you have to hit a dangerous low rock bottom can often keep people from thinking they need treatment..."

Even Beginners Can Curb Pain With Meditation
Rewire Your Brain for Love (Dr. Marsha Lucas)

"A little over an hour of meditation training can dramatically reduce both the experience of pain and pain-related brain activation,” Fadel Zeidan, a neuroscientist and the study’s lead author, tells Shots...it reduces the stress response...”

Passion in 3 x 3 Steps
Rewiring the Soul (Gabriella Kortsch, Ph.D)

"Passion: an unending desire and commitment, along with enthusiasm, motivation and inspiration to work towards a goal...You are missing passion if: you are continually searching for ways to make yourself feel good...re-focus onto a passion that gives significance and meaning to your life..."

Patient Suicide: Part 1-The Phone Call; Part 2: 30 Minutes to Think; Part 3: Fully Present
Part 4: What's a life worth?
The Irreverent Psychologist (Jason Evan Mihalko, Psy.D)

"It was late in the afternoon when my phone rang...I listened to the message again. Nope. It was the call. My patient wasn't in the hospital. She was dead...No one ever told me what to do after the phone rang...Many have told me that it is not my fault..."

PTSD and Living with Uncertainty
HealMyPTSD (Michelle Rosenthal)

"Disconnection is a great coping mechanism at first; the pain and fear are so intense it's just better to shut down and disconnect from the flooding of it all. When we disconnect from all the bad in our minds however, we often disconnect from the good, too..."

Reflecting on Veteran’s Day
Dr. Ann Becker Schutte

"...maybe, instead of thanking our vets, or shaking their hands, or posting pictures of flags, we need to do something else. Maybe we need to be active and vocal about getting more comprehensive mental health access for veterans..."

Toxic Couple Relationships – Protective Neural Patterns & Scripted Roles (1 of 3)
PsychCentral (Dr. Athena Staik)

"A couple relationship can be described as toxic when, due to intense emotional reactivity and defensive interaction patterns, it no longer promotes, and instead harms the individual mental, emotional, and physical, well-being and growth of each partner..."

Private Practice:

How Will You Compete with the Wal-Mart-ization of Health Care?
Dr. Susan Giurleo

"You need to be prepared to serve people ready to pay more. You need to be a better alternative to Wal-Mart and you will be able to charge higher prices. But, I repeat, you must be special, remarkable, worth the extra cost..."

Private Practice & The Power of No
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)

"My prediction is that it will be a two-tiered system, where insurance pays for symptom reduction and chronic mental health conditions for the most part. Therapy for insight, relationship improvement and quality of life issues will become more and more private pay..."

Social Media/Podcasts:

Connection and Hope: Psychosocial Capacity Building in Response to Disasters
UBSSW Living Proof Podcast (Episode 84)

"Dr. Joshua Miller discusses the many types of disasters that affect people around the world and how to help individuals and communities recover...proposes...Psychosocial Capacity Building...helps to foster access to the social support..that exist in communities"

The De-Stress Kit - (pdf as well as audio)
Institute of Heart Math

"Doc Childre, founder of HeartMath, a leading stress research institute, has written a free booklet De-Stress Kit for the Changing Times that provides a few simple practices to help people intercept and manage stress during this period of challenge and uncertainty."

Please share your comments below. I love hearing from you :)

You May Also Enjoy:
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/7/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 10/31/2011)
Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 10/24/2011)
Social Work Abroad
Menopause - Is it the Beginning of the End?