The Nudge Patrol

Psychology Tools: Case Formulations, Info Sheets, and Therapy Worksheets

2012-03-05T21:25:00.000-08:00

Therapy Worksheets' most recent post is about Psychology Tools, a great website with a ton of free materials for psychologists and therapist to share and utilize in session. The majority of materials are through a CBT lens, with several case conceptualizations, diagnosis information sheets, and other useful tools available to download for free.

I think I saved over ten information sheets in my therapy toolbox within the first five minutes of perusing the site. Below are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!
Formulation Problem

Thoughts and Depression

Unforgiveness Hook Metaphor

Dr. Jonathan Metzl and The Structural Competency Conference

2012-02-28T09:51:00.001-08:00

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a lecture by Dr. Jonathan Metzl, a psychiatrist from the University of Vanderbilt, whose research focuses on the intersection of race, gender, and mental illness. As portrayed in his fascinating book, The Protest Psychosis, Dr. Metzl argues that historical and structural forces transformed schizophrenia from a disease that was diagnosed among white, docile females in the 1940s and 1950s, to a disease that was diagnosed among angry African American men participating in the Black Power Movement and other associated groups in the 1960s and 1970s. While the lecture was not filmed at UCLA, a similar video can be found HERE.

At the end of his lecture, Dr. Metzl described one of his new initiatives, which focuses on why teaching cultural competency to mental health professionals and psychiatrists is insufficient. Rather than focus only on sociocultural factors of patients and doctors, structural competency aims to recognize the invisible structural inequalities that shape the definition of a diagnosis. In other words, Dr. Metzl stated it's not enough to acknowledge the race and gender of the patient and the doctor, but the racial factors of the diagnosis have to be accounted for as well.

For those interested in learning more about structural competency, Dr. Metzl is hosting a FREE day-long conference in New York City on March 23, 2012. All the details can be found here.

Camp Max Straus: A Secular Camp for Low-Income Children

2012-02-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

One of the things I love most about working in Community Mental Health is the wealth of information exchanged between clinicians and other staff at the agency. Even though I've lived in Los Angeles for the past 26 years (with a brief hiatus in 2003-2007 to attend college in the midwest), I am learning that there are countless agencies, programs, resources, etc. that I knew nothing about.

During our staff meeting this past Wednesday, one of my colleagues handed me an application to Camp Max Straus, a summer camp for low-income children run by the Jewish Big Brothers and Sisters Foundation of Los Angeles. There are seven 5-6 day sessions throughout the summer, running from June 24th through August 9th. The list of camp activities is pretty standard, including archery, dance, horseback riding, hikes, arts and crafts, etc. Camp Max Straus offers families a unique value-add, by sending children and their families home with a post-camp report summary of the child's experience over the summer. Through the report, children's parents gain insight into how well their child adjusted to the camp experience, interacted with other children and counselors, and their behavior over the session.

With regards to cost, camp tuition runs $200 for the 5-day session, and $250 for the 6-day session. However, the camp does operate on a sliding scale, so several families who cannot afford the tuition can often go for much less. To request an application for a child from Max Straus, you can call (323) 456-1152 or email Alba@campmaxstraus.org.

Lastly, the camp also offers employment opportunities. Given our training, I think this is a great opportunity for social work students to put their clinical skills to use (and of course, a chance to earn some cash).

A Free Resource: A Provider's Introduction to Substance Abuse Treatment for LGBT Individuals

2012-02-09T11:18:00.000-08:00

Earlier today, I had the pleasure of listening to a presentation from Mike Rizzo, a certified substance abuse counselor from the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center. He spoke primarily about crystal meth addiction, treatment strategies for addicts, and how both play into the lives of individuals within the LGBT population.

At the end of his presentation, he handed us a great free resource available through The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) called A Provider's Introduction to Substance Abuse Treatment for Lesbia, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Individuals. This is truly a great resource for any clinician who would like to learn more about the intersection between homosexuality and substance usage.

For a free download of the provider's resource, click HERE.

University of La Verne Conference: Cultural and Social Justice within the LGBTQ Community

2012-01-25T21:07:00.000-08:00

The University of La Verne is hosting a free conference on March 24th. Details are included below:

Technology is a Social Worker's Best Friend: Using and Creating an Online Therapy Toolbox

2012-01-17T18:02:00.000-08:00

Since the beginning of my internship for a Community Mental Health Agency in a Child and Family Outpatient Clinic, I have tried to get my hands on as many therapy-orientated worksheets and pamphlets as I possibly can. Utilizing worksheets is a great way to add structure to a mental health session, particularly for children and adolescents that are accustomed to completing assignments in school. It's also a great technique to re-focus clients who tends to veer off topic or become distracted within a 50-minute session.

There are literally thousands of therapy-oriented worksheets available for free via mental health blogs and websites. Therapy Worksheets is my go-to resource for finding great content around the web. The blogger has links to organizations that have created content for virtually every topic including anger management, bereavement, mindfulness, parenting, pain management, etc.

While having access to all this information is certainly appreciated, I started to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content I was exposed to. Luckily, I came across this great post on Social Work Tech Blog that detailed how to create your own digital social work toolbox via Dropbox. For those of you who don't know, Dropbox is a free online storage locker that let's you access your personal content from virtually any device that has an internet connection. It's the perfect system for busy students or professionals who need access to their documents from several computers and devices (i.e. smart phones, internship computer, personal laptop).

To create my Therapy Toolbox, I simply made a Therapy "parent" folder, which includes several sub-folders so I can easily file worksheets based on their relevance to a particular topic. This way, any time I come across a great worksheet online, I simply upload the file to the proper Dropbox sub-folder. Below is what my Toolbox looks like via the Dropbox iPhone App:

Any time I feel that a worksheet might assist a particular intervention (they are great to hand out to clients), I simply print them out prior to a session. Below is an inside peek into my "Anger Management" folder, which contains several worksheets, questionnaires, and activities aimed to assist individuals who struggle to understand why they have anger issues, and what they can do about it:

Therapy with the Experts: Adlerian Play Therapy with Dr. Kottman

2012-01-10T11:52:00.000-08:00

As someone who is new to the field of child therapy, I appreciate any and all direction when it comes to utilizing toys, games, and art projects as an avenue to deliver therapeutic interventions with children. Recently, I was browsing the video library of Counseling and Therapy in Video, and I came across a didactic demonstration of Adlerian Play Therapy for children. What is Adlerian Play Therapy? The following clip provides a nice description:

Bad hair and wardrobe aside, 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. Dr. Kottman outlines five broad categories of toys that she typically utilizes while practicing Adlerian play therapy with children, including the following:

Family and Nurturing (e.g. kitchen set, baby dolls, bottles, doll house, etc.)
Fantasy (e.g. puppets, costumes, etc.)
Expressive/Arts (e.g. paints, paper, crayons, markers, easel, play-dough, etc.)
Aggressive (e.g. handcuffs, weapons, bot bags, etc.)
Active Play (e.g. animals, etc.)

Utilizing various toy categories above, Dr. Kottman demonstrates how to create choices for children when playing therapy games, as well as how to roll with resistance with children. I really like how Dr. Kottman leverages the child's interest in drawing to achieve the intended goals in the play therapy setting (link to video)

Lastly, the following is great demonstration of how to promote working as team, how to make deals with children, and how to encourage children in a therapy session:

Stuck? Yea, There's Now an App for That

2011-12-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

I just stumbled upon a new (and free!) iPad app called Unstuck and I think it's truly brilliant. No matter the size nor the type of problem you're currently experiencing, Unstuck helps to uncover and identify your cognitions and feelings that prevent you from moving forward in your life. While I do not condone this as a replacement to therapy, I do think this can provide some additional insight into typical roadblocks you might encounter on a consistent basis.

I unfortunately don't have an iPad (perhaps I need to start saving for one), so I'd be curious to know if anyone has used it? Was it helpful? I'd love for you to share your comments.

UCLA MSW Program: Fall Quarter Class Reviews

2011-12-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the lack of posting in the last few weeks. I always tend to drop off the map after finals week. Although I attend my internship over the winter break (this depends on agency requirements, but is typical for students with weekly clients), I am finally beginning to relax and enjoy the winter holiday festivities.

For those who read my blog somewhat consistently, you know that I like to post quarter-end "reviews" of the classes I took at UCLA's MSW program. I hope this can provide a window into the curriculum experience for prospective students, and help guide first year students in their scheduling decisions for their second year. Please keep in mind that the following is a rundown of my experience of the classes I took, and does not represent other students' opinions.

231A: Advanced Theory and Methods of Direct Social Work Practice With Couples and Families
This is a continuation class in the 230 direct practice class series, with a focus on couples and family therapy. All students in the micro track are required to take this course. I want to first give a disclaimer that despite my general disappointment in the structure of the class, I did learn a ton about attachment focused therapies, largely because my teacher leans towards this orientation. Although faculty recently revamped the 10-week curriculum, it showed, unfortunately, in a negative way. There was far too much theory/material/reading packed into a short 10-week quarter. As a student, I prefer depth, not breadth, while learning about therapeutic orientations. Just to give you an idea, class topics included but were not limited to family systems theory, structural family therapy, strategic family therapy, integrative behavioral couples therapy, solution focused therapy, narrative couples therapy, interpersonal neurobiology, emotionally focused therapy, attachment focused therapy, etc. I would have liked to see a more didactic approach to learning how the theories are applicable to intervention strategies we can use with clients, and less time spent summarizing and presenting reading material in class.

Average reading/week: 150-250 pgs (depending on if you do recommended reading)
Texts: Clinical Handbook of Couple Therapy, Family Therapy Concepts and Methods
Major Assignments: Group Presentation on one week of reading, Midterm Assignment Paper, Final Assignment Paper
Caveats: Both the midterm and final assignment are painfully long. Below are the "prompts" so readers can see for themselves.
231A Final Prompt 231A Midterm Promt

231F: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Theory and Methods
Everything about this class, the instruction (Ulises Ramirez taught the class), the text, and the class content was excellent. As I mentioned above, I am a huge fan of learning one or two therapeutic interventions/approaches in depth, rather than learn several in a very broad way. The neatest part about the class is that students self-administer Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) interventions on a self-identified problem behavior. For example, students might wish to reduce procrastination, lose weight, start a hobby, etc. Once students identify a problem behavior, students complete two to three CBT interventions/homework assignments in order to achieve a specific outcome. I really enjoyed this part of the class for two reasons. 1. Students really learn how to conduct CBT interventions because they go through the motions themselves and, 2. Students experience what it's like to be on the receiving end of the interventions and can begin to relate to clients undergoing CBT. After taking the course, I feel 100% comfortable in utilizing CBT interventions in my own therapeutic practices.

Average reading/week: 75-120 pgs
Texts: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Basics & Beyond
Major Assignments: Midterm Exam, Behavioral Modification Writeup (revisions and a summary of weekly homework assignments), and Final Case Conceptualization Writeup
Caveats: Self-administering CBT interventions, otherwise known as "homework," can be tedious and downright annoying. Make sure to pick a behavior that you truly want to work on, and don't mind revisiting daily.

MGMT 285B: Managerial Interpersonal Communication
I decided to take an Anderson Business School class in order to fulfill my elective requirement (students are required to take one class outside the department of Social Welfare). While I wasn't crazy about the instructor, the class material was outstanding. While Social Welfare classes tend to have laborious weekly reading assignments, this class incorporated concise yet powerful articles from several leading business strategists and managers. A new topic was covered each week including motivation and personal development, enhancing your personal brand, clarifying purpose and maintaining poise, using narrative and storytelling, listening and empathy, establishing authentic rapport, building relationships, managing your network, and adding genuine value to others. While many b-schoolers think of the material as "soft," the topics are extremely practical and relevant to the field of social work. I highly recommend this course as a nice adjunct to the material we learn in the MSW department.

Average reading/week: 20-40 pgs
Texts: Course Pack
Major Assignments: Midterm and Final reflection paper (max of 5 pgs), Group Presentation
Caveats: The class was held from 7-10 p.m. on Monday evenings, which, if tacked onto an internship day, can make for a very, very long day.

UCLA MSW Newsletter Fall 2011

2011-12-05T20:21:00.001-08:00

UCLA MSW Newsletter Fall 2011

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Free Web-Based Training

2011-12-01T12:15:00.001-08:00

Professionals I work with in a Community Mental Health Agency continue to talk about how the future of funding will greatly be determined by outcome measures. What does this mean? It means that reimbursement for the services we provide to our clients will be heavily influenced by improvement (or lack there of) over the course of treatment, as evidenced by outcome measures from various scales.

In order to achieve such outcomes, Community Mental Health Agencies are relying more and more on EBP treatments that are clinically proven to deliver cost-effective results to specific populations. Although some agencies provide training for their employees to learn how to implement specific EBP's, others do not have the funding nor the resources to do so. For that reason, I wanted to tell my readers about a completely free, web-based training for Trauma-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) offered through The Medical University of South Carolina.

TF-CBT is a very effective therapeutic model specifically for children and their families who have experienced significant emotional and/or behavioral problems due to traumatic events. The training consists of 9 parts, including psychoeducation, stress management, affect expression and modulation, cognitive coping, creating the trauma narrative, cognitive processing, behavior management training, parent-child sessions, and evaluation. Having just completed a CBT 101 class at UCLA this fall quarter, I feel this web-based training is the perfect opportunity to continue my cognitive-behavioral training.

Coming Out of Different Type of Closet: Breaking the Silence About Suicide

2011-11-27T22:06:00.001-08:00

I don't need to tell anyone reading this blog how important it is to break the silence about suicide. I know we live in an age where it's uncouth to pry or offer unsolicited help, especially when it comes to those around us who are experiencing marital problems, legal troubles, substance abuse issues, etc. As a result, many of us prefer to be polite rather than risk putting ourselves out there or being put in an awkward situation. As a result, those individuals with suicidal thoughts or ideation feel even more isolated, since no one around them seems to notice what they are going through.

As the individual delivering the Ted Talk below states, "Because of our taboos around suicide, we're not sure what to say, and so, quite often, we say nothing." I truly believe that this silence perpetuates suicide.

As a call to action to my fellow social workers, I implore you to not only put yourself out there, but encourage your family and friends to look for the warning signs of suicide, and to start asking questions to those around them, even if it feels uncomfortable. If your friends or family don't know where to begin, start by sending them this short 4-minute talk.

UCLA MSW: Recruitment Materials 2011

2011-11-27T13:02:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago, UCLA's MSW program hosted its annual Diversity Day, a recruitment fair designed to give prospective students an opportunity to learn about the program, and to engage directly with faculty and students currently in the program. From a personal prospective, Diversity Day was incredibly influential in my decision to attend UCLA over other prestigious programs. I not only learned that student and faculty initiatives jived with my own interests, but I grasped that the UCLA MSW name and community would equip me with the right tools to achieve my long-term goals.

Due to geographical constraints, I know that several Nor-Cal and out-of-state prospective students were unable to attend. For those currently undergoing the application process, I highly recommend you read the following information packet that contains helpful hints on obtaining recommendations, tips for writing application essays, an application checklist, information about the GRE's, and several other helpful items. If interested, I've posted recruitment materials from the 2009, and 2010 Diversity Fairs. Enjoy!

UCLA MSW Diversity Fair Info Packet 2011

An Insider's Perspective: The Great and Not So Great Things About Community Mental Health

2011-11-22T13:09:00.001-08:00

As I'm nearing the close of fall quarter in the second year of UCLA's MSW program, I wanted to take some time to reflect upon my experience interning as a Child and Family Therapist for a Community Mental Health (CMH) Center in Inglewood, CA.

From the moment I started seeing clients, my internship experience accelerated from 0 to 60 faster than I can say "self-care." Between learning agency norms, to deciphering Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) acronyms, to absorbing how to document clinical sessions (writing progress notes), to staying present in 8 hour trainings, I feel as though I'm in a constant state of playing catch-up. Someone important to me recently made an analogy that, in several ways, captures how I feel on a day-to-day basis at my internship. In describing his own experience at a new and very demanding job, he said that, "It often feels like I"m drinking from a fire hose." I too, feel as though information is gushing my way at a tremendous speed. Part of me questions how viable it is for an intern, who only works 20 hours a week, is supposed to absorb all the non-clinical information, all while trying to deliver mental health therapy sessions to a caseload of 7-10 clients?

Despite feeling behind most days, working in a CMH setting is tremendously fulfilling and has validated my decision to transition from the corporate sector to the humanity sector. On the not so great days, I always remember what a privilege it is to provide services to struggling individuals. And while the business of relationships is exhausting, it certainly is worthwhile.

Because I am a big fan of lists, below is a brief list of the great, and not so great things about interning in CMH.

Not So Great:

The ungodly amount of paperwork
Frequent client cancellations
Shortage/lack of resources (includes offices to conduct therapy sessions, office supplies, broken bathrooms, etc.)
Being at the mercy of the Department of Mental Health
Shortage of trained translation staff

So Great:

Clinically fascinating cases
Tremendous support from other agency employees (psychiatrists, nurses, other therapists, interns, directors, coordinators, administrative staff, etc.)
Client diversity (culture, religion, diagnosis, family dynamics, immigration status, etc.)
Number of hours of supervision (5 hours/week or 25% of my time is spent in supervision!)
Ongoing learning opportunities (primarily through continuing education seminars and group supervision)

Resources for Social Workers in LA County: The School of Mental Health Resource Directory

2011-11-17T11:41:00.001-08:00

I just recently got my hands on LAUSD's Resource Directory, which contains a plethora of mental health agencies, hotlines, case management resources, and several other useful listings to aid social workers in supporting their school-aged clients. This is the most comprehensive directory I have seen thus far, and hope my readers find it useful. Enjoy!

Smh Resource Directory 2011-12 Final

Pre-Licensure Courses & Qualifying Curriculum

2011-11-08T22:42:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, MSW grads who wish to become licensed, that is, become LCSW's, are required to take the following pre-licensure courses prior to sitting for the licensure exam in California:

Human Sexuality (3 sessions)
Spousal Abuse & Reporting (5 sessions)
Aging & Long-term Care (3 sessions)
Substance Abuse & Reporting (5 sessions)
Child Abuse & Reporting (2 sessions)

In a gracious effort to alleviate some of the costs associated with tuition hikes, the UCLA MSW program announced that the department will offer the 5 pre-licensure courses free of charge to their second year students.

Because the classes can be expensive (up to $50.00 per session online) and time consuming (each session lasts 3-3.5 hours), I was very appreciative that the faculty was willing to schedule board-approved instructors to conduct the courses on campus. I happily signed up for all 5 and started attending the courses.

Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you want to look at it), I recently found out a frustrating piece of information that would have significantly changed which pre-licensure and UCLA classes I enrolled in from the start of the year. True to form, the department did not mention that UCLA students can take courses within the department to satisfy a corresponding pre-licensure course.

Just so my readers don't end up taking unnecessary pre-licensure courses, below is a grid that details which UCLA MSW courses are accepted by the BBS:

Pre-Licensure Course	UCLA Course
1. Human Sexuality	Human Sexuality Undergraduate Course*
2. Domestic Violence	SW251: Violence Against Women
3. Substance Abuse & Reporting	SW231: Substance Abuse Intervention
4. Aging & Long-Term Care	SW231: Advanced SW in Aging
5. Child Abuse & Reporting	M203: Child Abuse & Neglect**

*According to faculty at UCLA, the BBS will accept an undergraduate course that contains "Human Sexulity" in the course title.

Buried deep in their website, the BBS has a list of "approved courses" that satisfy pre-licensure requirements (also shown below). Of note is that additional courses might be accepted by the BBS, so long as the syllabus and course title correspond with the pre-licensure course.
ucla

To make it easy for my second year readers to plan out the rest of their academic year, here is a list of UCLA MSW Classes for fall, winter, and spring quarters:

2nd Year Class Schedule

HIV, Substance Abuse, and LGBTQ Webinar

2011-10-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

Armand Cachero speaking at USC

This past week, I attended a great HIV 101 presentation held by Armand Cachero, a knowledgeable Health Educator from the APAIT Health Center. It was a great opportunity to learn about a topic that is barely covered in my program's curriculum. I now feel much more prepared in the event that I work with clients from this population.

Although there is an outspoken rivalry between the UCLA and USC MSW programs, I wanted let my readers know that they can access a very similar presentation through USC's Webinar Library. To the best of my googling search abilities, UCLA does not publish webinars of speaker events online. Fortunately, USC has several other webinars covering topics on social welfare, that are available to the public for free. Enjoy!

UCLA MSW Program: Diversity Day 2011

2011-10-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

Below is information on this year's UCLA MSW Diversity (Recruitment) Fair. Diversity Day is an incredible opportunity for prospective students to speak with faculty members, hear directly from students, and get a feel for what it is like on campus. Enjoy!
Diversity Flyer 2011

Resources and Opportunities for Minority and Poor Students

2011-10-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the lack of posting in October. My second year at UCLA is proving to be a lot more demanding than my first year (I have my internship to thank for this).

Anyhow, an administrator at my internship forwarded this to me last week, and I think there are some great resources here for social workers to pass along to their clients who are students, especially for those of us who work in communities with minority and poor students.

A free pair of eyeglasses from Target: Any child 12 years old and under can bring a valid prescription for glasses from their doctor, and receive a free pair of eyeglasses from target. Target stores with optical departments can be found HERE.
African American Male Teachers Needed: Do you know any African American males who are seniors in high school who want to go to college out of state for free? Please visit the Call me Mister Program, offered by four historical black colleges including South Carolina, Benedict College, Chaflin University, and Morris College and South Carolina State University.
Free Tuition at Harvard University: Harvard is offering free tuition to families of honor students who have an income less than $125,000 per year. Visit Harvard's Financial Aid Office for more info.
Syracuse University School of Architecture is Recruiting Young Women and Men of Color: Interested in pursuing a 5 yr. Professional degree in Architecture? Please contact Mark Robbins, Dean School of Architecture, or visit the school's website.
Wake Forest University Scholarships for Minority students to Attend MBA Program for Free: This is a tremendous opportunity for those who are unable to pay for MBA programs. Contact info: Derrick S. Boone, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Marketing. Please visit the school's website for more details.
The Federal Aviation Association Currently Recruiting Applicants for Air Traffic Controller Positions: Currently seeking young adults between the ages of 18-31 with a High School Diploma. Can Earn up to $100,000 and earn benefits. Please visit the Federal Aviation Administration for more details.

Are Social Workers Heroes? LA Magazine Seems to Think So

2011-09-25T18:32:00.000-07:00

As social workers, we are living in interesting times. For decades, the perception of our profession has been off the mark. Generally speaking, the public associates our professional roles in society as inferior or low-impact. For as long as social work programs have been in existence, we have been fighting against these stereotypes. For example, how many times have you seen a social worker depicted as a "baby snatcher"? Social workers are also frequently depicted as inept, or individuals that can't earn more than $40K per year.

However, I am pleased to bring attention to a moving article in Los Angeles Magazine that is proving that stereotype wrong. UCLA Professor Dr. Jorja Leap is featured in the October issue as one of LA Mag's featured "Action Heroes." Professor Leap has primarily devoted her academic career to studying and evaluating anti-gang programs in the Los Angeles area. Her tireless work with Homeboy Industries has transformed, and will continue to transform several ex-gang members' lives and their families' lives. Keep an eye out for her book titled, Jumped In: What Gangs Taught Me about Violence, Drugs, Love and Redemption, set to be released in March 2012.

Photo Credit: Professor Jorja Leap's Book Cover

The 2013 Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference

2011-09-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

This morning I had my first class of the quarter, SW231F Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). I am particularly excited for this course, mainly because every clinical class I have taken in the UCLA MSW program has been extremely general. I look forward to learning a therapy technique in-depth, that will allow me to gain skills and knowledge that I can put to use at my internship with an outpatient, community mental health clinic in Inglewood, California.

While the professor covered some general history and clinical theory about the CBT model, he mentioned what appears to be an incredible psychotherapy conference held every five years. The conference is called The Evolution of Psychotherapy, and to my luck, will be held in Anaheim, CA in 2013 on December 11th-15th. While the 2013 website does not have any details about next year's conference, readers are able to peruse details from the 2009 site. Conference handouts/slides (FREE!), mp3's of keynote and general speakers, and DVDs are all available (mp3's and DVDs must be purchased sadly).

To my surprise, fees to attend the 2009 were not outrageous, especially considering it was a week-long conference. According to the facebook page, professionals paid $630 and students and seniors paid $530. Not bad compared to what I have seen for others!

While the conference is more than a year from now, it might give you the opportunity to plan around job/academic schedules, in addition to plan for it financially, if the conference does sound appealing. Hopefully I will make it there as well.

Bloglovin

2011-09-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Tracking your MSW or MFT Hours

2011-09-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

This is a quick post about a website that I think will be a great resource for Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) students, but also applicable to Master's in Social Work (MSW) students and recent grads.

Both MFT and MSW programs require students to obtain a specified number of practicum (internship) hours each year, in which they are supervised by a licensed professional. A website called Track your hours helps students and recent grads trying to obtain licensure, maintain a log of the number of hours they have completed. Certain state stipulations are included, since licensure rules differ depending on where you live. The great part is the website utilizes official forms from the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), increasing the likelihood that your submission to the BBS will go through seamlessly.

The program offers a 30 day trial, and costs $34.95 per year. I'm usually not a fan of paying for annual memberships. However, because the BBS is very specific about how you document hour accumulation, I might consider purchasing a membership once I graduate.

Please click on the following for more information about BBS requirements for MFT and MSW licensure in California.

Applying and Getting into UCLA’s MSW Program: Tips to Help You Succeed Part II

2011-09-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

Application essays.

Laborious. Tedious. Torturous.

In my opinion, writing personal statements is worse than getting dental work done. Trying to be genuine, smart, creative, convincing, and individualistic, all while abiding text restraints is an extremely painful task.

I agonized over writing my personal statements. Every time I sat down to put my ideas on paper, I felt overwhelmed. It took me weeks to create polished essays, but I could not have produced quality product without following the advice and recommendations of several people along the way.

In an effort to help you avoid any proverbial head banging against the wall, here are my tips for writing successful personal and professional statements:

Before You Write:

Get in an inspired state of mind. It doesn't matter what you do – watch Ted Talks, read the Harvard Portrait Project, recite poetry, etc. Do anything to get your passionate juices flowing.
Create a detailed lifeline. Those aspiring to be social workers usually have several experiences that have created a desire to work in this field. Dig deep, and find those reasons. For me, I traced back to decisions I made in high school (such as why I decided to write a thesis on self-mutilation).
Voice your ideas out loud. Do this by meeting with a good friend and try to answer the questions to your essay prompts honestly. Doing this will make your first approach to putting something down on paper a lot easier.
Organize your thoughts by making an outline. The following excerpt from Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance describes this strategy perfectly:

"[G]etting stuck is the commonest trouble of all. Usually, I say, your mind gets stuck when you’re trying to do too many things at once. What you have to do is try not to force words to come. That just gets you more stuck. What you have to do now is separate out the things and do them one at a time. You’re trying to think of what to say and what to say first at the same time and that’s too hard. So separate them out. Just make a list of all the things you want to say in any old order. Then later we’ll figure out the right order."

While You Write:

Be authentic. It was not until I stopped thinking about what the admissions committee wanted to hear, and started formulating real answers to essay prompts, that I was able to get any decent writing done.
Tell a story. I tied together several anecdotes and relevant experiences to answer the essay prompts. Although it is geared towards business school applicants, this article gives some great tips on how to draw the reader in with your personal story.
Be efficient. It sometimes took me hours just to pump out a few paragraphs. Most of the time, I was pedaling backwards when I should have been strategizing. This article by Write to Done has 7 great strategies on how to increase your productivity each time you attempt to write.

After You Write

Rewrite, revise, repeat.
Have others review what you've written. Give your personal statements to the people you trust and ask for honest feedback. Do keep in mind that you don't want to be overwhelmed with feedback. Having 10 people read your personal statements might create anxiety or interfere with your productivity.
Take advantage of resources on the web. For example, Kibin offers proofreading and editing for free.

For tips on how to secure great recommendations for your MSW application, please reference this post.

Photo Credit

UCLA MSW 2011-2012 Academic Calendar

2011-09-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

One of the most useful tools I used as a student for the 2010-2011 academic year at UCLA was the School of Public Affair's (SPA) official Google Calendar. I highly recommend all entering students who have a gmail account to add the SPA calendar immediately. Because the department does not always announce orientation or events with sufficient notice, the calendar is critical for MSW students to know the dates of field modules, orientations, speaker events, etc.

Syncing your gmail calendar with your smart phone is particularly handy, as room reservations can change last minute. For recommendations on the best calendar applications, you can visit Lifehacker, my go-to site for technology-related questions.

Non-gmail users don't fret, you can use a google calendar as well.

A note of caution: Even when an event changes location or time, the department does not always update the calendar to reflect changes.