Jan Ligon. Photo courtesy of Georgia State University where Ligon is an associate professor.

National Association of Social Workers member Jan Ligon, PhD, LCSW, became a specialist in drug addiction crisis services after taking care of his own son, who died at age 35 after taking heroin and cocaine.

Ligon is quoted extensively in this CNN article about signs parents can look for to tell their child is addicted to drugs. Drug addiction among young people is getting more attention in the news due to the arrest and sentencing of actress and teen idol Lindsay Lohan.

Lohan on July 6 was sentenced to 90 days in jail fo rmissing alcohol counseling services in violation of probation. The judge ordered her to sign up for an additional 90 days of drug and alcohol counseling after serving her term.

Social worker Jan Ligon offers more detailed advice on dealing with a loved with a drug or alcohol addiction on NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Web site. To read it, click here.

Kameri Christy-McMullin. Photo courtesy of 4029TV.com

Employees should be aware that domestic violence in their homes or the homes of their co-workers can come into the office with tragic results, social worker Kameri Christy-McMullin said in this interview with Arkansas’ 4029TV.com.

“Oftentimes an abusive partner will call the job a lot either harass the woman while she’s at work or her colleagues and even will show up at work and interfere with her time, will prevent her from going to work,” said Christy-McMullin, DSW, an associate professor at the University of Arkansas School of Social Work.

4029TV interviewed Christy-McMullin after a recent workplace shooting in New Mexico left three people dead and four injured.

Christy-McMullin, who is a National Association of Social Workers member, said more companies have become aware that domestic violence could spill over into their premises and are posting professional security guards.

To learn more about how social workers help end domestic violence visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Web page on the issue by clicking here.

Gary Bailey

You might think gays are not as prejudiced because they continue to face discrimination. That is not so, according to former National Association of Social Workers president Gary Bailey.

Bailey, who is now president of the International Federation of Social Workers and teaches at the Simmons College School of Social Work in Boston, was quoted extensively in this EDGE article about racism and other forms of discrimination in the gay community.

Bailey is an expert on racism and openly gay. “People who are oppressed are not immune to oppressing and having feelings that would allow them to discriminate against other people,” he said.

NASW supports equal treatment for all, including members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. To find out more click here to visit the association’s Diversity and Equity Web page.

Photo of Rihanna by Arturo Rodriguez of AP.

The media is buzzing about singer Rihanna’s decision to dye her hair fire engine red.

In this article in the New York Daily News National Association of Social Workers member LeslieBeth Wish said Rihanna may be trying to send a message.

“If you dye your hair a certain color, it lets people know that you are trying to attract a maverick, a risktaker, a nonconformist,” Wish said. 

Q: Experts said women can change hair color after a life-changing event such as a divorce or to exert control in a troubled life. Social workers, do you agree or are experts taking hair color choices too seriously.

Two participants in Kindred's dating class. Photo courtesy of the Salt Lake City Tribune.

Social worker Karen Kindred, MSW, LCSW,  says young people have forgotten how to date.

They go out in impersonal groups, “hook up” for sex too quickly, and don’t take time to get to know each other. So Kindred launched a Dating 101 service to offer Utahns dating tips for $20 a session.

Natalie Jenkins said if she had known earlier what she learned from Kindred she would have not have married quickly and divorced. Jenkins now helps Kindred do workshops.

“If I had paced myself and understood myself, I don’t think I would have married that person,” said Jenkins, now 34.

Kindred was quoted extensively in a recent Salt Lake Tribune article. To read the full story click here.

To find out more about how social workers help consumers improve their relationships, vist the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Relationships Web page by clicking here.

Dr. Geoffrey Greif. Photo courtesy of University of Maryland.

Wall Street Journal reporter Jeffrey Zaslow quoted Greif extensively in his recent article on the dynamics of male bonding, “Friendship for Guys (No Tears!)”. To read the full story click here.

Greif, who has studied 386 men who made and kept friendships, said men get great support from  friends but prefer close associates, whether male or female, be low maintenance.

When picking friends, “men don’t want someone who is too needy,” said Greif, who is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and a member of the National Association of Social Workers.

Tara Moser with Abbey (center) and Bode. Photo courtesy of Ft. Myers News-Press.

Social worker Tara Moser has two furry assistants who help her clients relax and become more willing to share their worries. They are her dogs Bode, a Great Dane mix, and Abbey, a Lemon Beagle.

The Fort Myers News-Press in Florida did an article on Moser, MSW, asking her how she incorporates the dogs into her work helping childrens, teens and families in crisis. Both dogs were adopted from shelters.

“They both came from bad situations, which the children can relate to,” said Moser, who is a National Association of Social Workers member.

To read the full article click here. And to learn more about about Moser’s work visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Start Here” listings of her articles by clicking here.

Q: Do you use animals in your social work practice?

Photo by Chris Connor/WENN.com.

Singer and actress Marie Osmond has announced she will return to work immediately after the March 8 funeral of her son Michael Blosil, 18, who committed suicide on Feb. 26.

In this Hollywood Life article LeslieBeth Wish, Ed. D., MSS, says returning to work soon may benefit Osmond and other people. Working can provide comfort, she said:

 “For some, going back to work serves as scaffolding, and keeps them in order. Work helps them mourn and they are stronger and able to deal because they don’t fear as much that the painful feeling will completely overwhelm them.”

To learn more about how social workers help people deal with grief visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Grief and Loss Web page by clicking here.

Betty Heck.

Snow has blanketed many parts of the United States and Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog predicted six more weeks of winter.

Is the cold, snowy weather getting you down? The News-Enterprise in Kentucky interviewed National Association of Social Workers member Betty Heck, MSW, LCSW, and clown and comedian Jim Roberts about how to break the wintertime blues.

Heck recommended exercise, getting out of the house, and a good diet, among other things. You should also avoid hanging around other sad people because depression is contagious, she advised.

“Everything is a system,” said Heck, who owns Life Designs Behavioral Health Center in Elizabethtown, Ky. “We all affect each other.”

To read the full article click here.

And to learn more about how Heck and other social workers help people maintain their health and sense of well being visit the NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Web site by clicking here.

Mike Sullivan. Photo courtesy of KULR8-TV.

Billings, Montana recently had a case of animal cruelty and KULR8 TV called in National Association of Social Workers member Mike Sullivan to explain why people hurt animals.

“The individual who engages in instrumental violence is much more likely to be criminally oriented; an abuser of people, probably abuses children, spousal abuse would be fairly typical, likely abuses substances and could very well be psychopathic,” said Sullivan, LCSW.

To read about the Mike Sullivan interview and see the TV news clip, click here.

Shirley Bavonese.

Looking for love in the age of Web 2.o?

The Detroit Free Press interviewed National Association of Social Workers member Shirley Bavonese how to find a mate using online and offline techniques.

Bavonese, MSW, speaks from experience. She and her husband Joe run the Relationship Institute, an organization that helps parents, singles and married people build better relationships. And Shirley and Joe also met 15 years ago through a singles ad.

To read the Detroit Free Press story click here.

Social workers help people strengthen relationships. To find out more, visit the NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Relationships Web page by clicking here.

Richard Gelles. Photo courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania.

Richard Gelles, dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice, recently went to China to observe that country’s move to create 33 master’s of social work programs.

China is growing rapidly and is well on its way to perhaps becoming the planet’s top economy. However, its social problems are multiplying and China does not have the infrastructure to handle them, said Gelles, who is also a member of the National Association of Social Workers.

“It’s fascinating to watch a country that big and growing that fast, decide to grow out a social service component,” Gelles. “If they do it at the same pace they’re growing everything else out, it’s going to be remarkable to watch.”

To read the full University of Pennsylvania Penn Current interview with Gelles, click here.

Social workers are becoming increasingly involved in world affairs. To learn more, visit NASW’s Human Rights and International Affairs Web page by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of KYW Radio.

KYW radio in Philadelphia interviewed National Association of Social Workers member Dr. Donna Fiedler about the psychological impact of the Haitian earthquake. The effects go far beyond the survivors in Port au Prince and surrounding areas, said Fiedler, a professor of social work at La Salle University.

For many in the United States, the news from Haiti can become depressing, she said.

“If people are really getting that upset, maybe taking a break from the radio or TV for a while might be a wise thing, especially for children,” Fiedler said.

To read the full article click here.

To learn more about the National Association of Social Workers’ response to the Haitian earthquake click here. And to find out how social workers help people deal with grief, loss, depression and other issues visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Web site by clicking here.

Gary Direnfeld MSW RSW , a social worker in Canada and expert on child behavior management, family life and other issues, says the ultimate resolution is making those little decisions each day to live a life with integrity. Direnfeld is also author of “Raising Kids Without Raising Cane” (Secrets of the Trade, 1992).

“If you are thinking of a New Year’s resolution, truth is, you are looking to save yourself from despair,” he wrote. “You are on the right track. The only thing left to do is ensure you stick to with your resolution vow, to move on with integrity.”

To read Direnfeld’s essay in full click here.

Tiger Woods and wife Elin Nordegren. Photo courtesy of MSNBC.

There is a silver lining to the infidelity scandal surrounding professional golfer Tiger Woods, according to Dr. LeslieBeth Wish, Ed.D, MSS.  We can learn something from his mistakes. Read Wish’s comments in “Life Lessons: Learning from Tiger Woods’ Personal Transgressions” on QualityHealth.com.

Wish, a social worker in Sarasota, Fla., specializes in relationships. She has been a speaker for non-profit, corporate and university organizations and is author of Incest, Work and Women: Understanding the Consequences of Incest on Women’s Careers, Work and Dreams.

InterAction gave us permission to reprint the article below:

Social Workers: Ready for the Challenge

Preparing international development staff through social work education.

BY LUISA LOPEZ, DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RIGHTS & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS DIVISION, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS AND EILEEN IHRIG, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS, TULANE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, COUNCIL ON SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION-COUNCIL ON EXTERNAL RELATIONS

SOCIAL WORK IS A GLOBAL, human rights based profession with a central but often over­looked role in the provision of equitable, transparent and effective humanitarian aid. Its schools train students in problem assessment, com­munity outreach and participatory planning, which make social work graduates ideal candidates for jobs in the international arena. Grounded in holistic, participatory approaches cen­tered on human behavior and systems theory, social work programs inte­grate classroom learning with practical internships.

An education in social work prepares professionals to act in multiple capaci­ties such as:

• providing psychosocial support services to individuals and families;
• promoting community participa­tion through utilizing community

organizing skills;

• building capacity of communities;
• managing projects and programs;
• advocating for services; and
  • developing policies and building social protection systems.

For social workers, working across disciplines with professionals from education, health and justice systems is standard practice.

NGOs employ social workers glob­ally in a widening range of projects and tasks ranging from staff care to devel­oping community-based alternatives to institutional care for children without parental care. For example, in Tanza­nia a large, international NGO paired a social worker and a water/sanitation expert who worked together with village leaders to create effective water councils to ensure the lasting value of the NGO’s work to the local community. Socialworkers also provide mental health and psychosocial support to communities in crisis or those recovering from trauma. In Liberia, social workers from interna­tional NGOs worked alongside UNICEF to develop guidelines for the psycho-social care and support of demobilized child soldiers in interim care settings. They also provide critical staff care and support in complex emergency settings.

Social workers have expertise in net­working, community organizing and coordinating among a variety of assis­tance efforts in a given location. In Jamaica, a social worker providing community training in disaster risk reduc­tion engaged community members in learning how to improve construc­tion techniques. Because of the social worker’s emphasis on participation, the community reported a greater sense of community building and cohesion. Similarly, a social worker hired by a consor­tium of leading international humani­tarian aid organizations coordinated a process to create policy guidelines for the construction of safe schools in disaster-prone areas. She invited broad participation across disciplines and as a result, disability advocates ensured that the guidelines addressed the accessibil­ity needs of disabled students who oth­erwise would have been marginalized.

The employee qualifications that humanitarian aid and development agencies seek correspond closely to social work skills.

As a 2009 study by Martha Bragin and Monica Garcia demonstrated, the employee qualifications that humani­tarian aid and development agen­cies seek correspond closely to social work skills as defined by standards adopted by the International Associa­tion of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) and International Federation of Social Workers (WSW) in 2004. For example, U.S. social work programs require all students to have coursework and field experience in cross-cultural work, problem assessment, community out­reach, administrative skills and par‑

ticipatory planning. The standards also recognize the importance of ethi­cal principals in working with indi­viduals and communities. Guidelines and principles have been developed domestically and globally including the National Association of Social Work (NASW) Code of Ethics (U.S.) and the Ethics in Social Work Statement of Principles developed and adopted by the IFSW and IASSW.

The global network of schools and professional social work associations worldwide mirrors the aid and develop­ment community’s need and desire for global perspectives and coordination. This global community in the social work profession allows graduates to work effectively with their counterparts in other countries. In an emergency set­ting, staff hired from local schools of social work are often well-prepared and well-situated to immediately provide and coordinate services.

This network extends to the InterAc­tion community, as social work pro­grams in the U.S. and abroad collabo­rate with InterAction members around the globe. Social work professionals in NASW and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), both U.S.-based professional organizations, are actively engaged with a range of INGOs and UN agencies.

Additionally, there are many opportu­nities for the international community to learn front and connect with social workers. One such forum is the June 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development in Hong Kong that will bring together over 2,000 social work and social development scholars and practitioners to examine international social work issues.

Social workers bring a strong commit­ment to social justice and human rights, deep ethical convictions and a wealth of experience working across cultures and disciplines to address a range of issues and challenges confronting urban and rural communities worldwide. From humanitarian work and emergency disaster preparedness and relief, to capacity building and community orga­nizing, social workers contribute to international development through sys­tems and networks that ensure long­term sustainable development and the protection of human dignity. “

Dr. LeslieBeth Wish, Ed.D, MSS

Dr. Wish is the author of Incest, Work and Women: Understanding the Consequences of Incest on Women’s Careers, Work and Dreams.

A:  Although childhood sexual abuse includes mother-child incest, more men commit child-family member sexual abuse.  The most frequent male family offenders are step-fathers, fathers, uncles and grandfathers.

Q.  What are the warning signs?

A:  From a child’s perspective, warning signs include sudden or increased physical contact that might pass as acceptable with a family member.  For example, suddenly Grandpa wants you to sit on his lap more often.  Or, an uncle wants to caress a child’s hair or cheek more often.

Other forms of physical contact are more blatantly sexual, such as Mackenzie Philip’s intercourse with her father.  Childhood sexual abuse can also include fondling of breasts, rubbing up and down against a child and sexual comments.  Children often have a good sense that something is “wrong,” but they may not tell anyone about these sexual experiences.   Children learn rather quickly that the sexual activity with a family member is not normal.

Some offenders make it very clear that if a child reveals their “secret,” the offender will harm the child and/or the family.   Children also come to realize that telling someone puts the family in terrible jeopardy.  What, for example, would Mom do if she knew about it?  Would the family break up?  How would the family get along without Dad?  A great deal is at stake, and no child wants the responsibility of causing a crisis in the family.  If a child does reveal “the secret,” it is not uncommon for other family members to deny or not accept that sexual abuse occurred.

Some siblings, for example, side with the offender, saying that no evidence or hints of abuse exist.  To be fair to these supportive siblings—and even spouses—it is highly possible that the offender kept the secret very well-hidden.  Often, the abuser selects one or two favorite children for sexual and emotional gratification and never violates the other siblings.  As a result, the other siblings never experience or even suspect that abuse is occurring.

Finally, when a family member abuses a child sexually, the abuse is not solely about sex.  Offenders are often looking for comfort, closeness and approval from someone whom, in the mind of the offender, offers an opportunity for unconditional love.  The closeness and need for comfort can rapidly become sexualized.  Many offenders are, however, also looking for sexual gratification, power and control.

Q.  What can be done to protect the child?

A:  All parents and caregivers should talk with each child about sexual behavior that is “wrong.”  Children should be taught early about unwanted touches.  Parents and caregivers should let children know that they want to know about any kind of touching or interaction with someone who makes them feel uncomfortable physically and emotionally or who touches them.

When parents set the emotional rules and establish an environment of care, children are more likely to let a family member know.  Parents can also tell a child that if they are afraid to tell a family member that they can tell another adult whom the child trusts such as a teacher, minister, etc.  (And no jokes, please—yes these two groups have a history of being sexual predators, but there are still good teachers and religious leaders who can help a child in need.)

Q.  What is the likelihood that an incest victim will eventually seek counseling?  Also, when victims seek help do they immediately admit the incest or rather do they come to treatment for issues like alcohol or drug abuse which they’ve sought to cope with the pain of the incestuous relationship?

A:  Statistics can vary about the incidence of abuse, but roughly one in twenty-five women will experience some kind of sexual abuse by the time she is 18.  For men, the numbers are about one in seven or eight.  Since sexual abuse carries such a high degree of shame, it’s highly likely that clients will not mention it.  Substance abuse, as well as suicide attempts, is a failed effort to manage the emotional pain of sexual abuse.

Q.  What type of therapy/counseling is typically used in these cases?

A:  There are many therapeutic treatments, including medication for depression, cognitive therapies and emotional reprocessing therapy where the client learns to come to different conclusions and understandings about the self and the experience.  There are excellent training programs for therapists to learn about these therapies.

Q.  What sort of therapy/counseling is typically used in these cases?

A:  Every person is different, but common, long-term effects include suicide attempts, depression, substance abuse, fear of both emotional and sexual intimacy, promiscuity, prostitution and runaways, lack of career identity, inability to function at work.

Reamer is also an adoptive parent and has written on the subject of ethics and adoption.
Articles by Frederic G. Reamer