Melanie Barton

For more than a year National Association of Social Workers member and cancer survivor Melanie Barton has used her “The Dr. Melanie Show” online radio program on VoiceAmerica to empower others to improve their health and the health of others.

Now in recognition of Social Work Month in March Barton plans to use her radio show  to let the public know they can turn to social workers to help improve their relationships, get better healthcare, and other services.

Some of the leading social workers in the nation will be Barton’s guests on March 15, 22 and 29.

Guests  include Mary Pender Greene, MSW, LCSW, ACSW, a long-time NASW member and relationships expert in New York City; Mary Raymer, MSW, ACSW, a psychiatric social worker and family and marriage therapist in Michigan; LeslieBeth Wish, EdD, MSS, a Florida-based relationship adviser; and Samira Beckwith, MSW, ACSW, a healthcare and hospice care expert in Florida.

LeslieBeth Wish

Barton was recovering from cancer surgery when VoiceAmerica first contacted her about doing a program. Program producers had learned about her through the Internet, including articles Barton had written for NASW’s “Help Starts Here” consumer web site.

When Barton’s health improved VoiceAmerica contacted her again and she launched the show in January 2011. Her program, which is aired live and then replayed 12 hours later and archived, attracted about 12,000 listeners in January 2012, Barton said.

Mary Pender Greene

Some of the subjects “The Dr. Melanie Show” has covered include healthy nutrition for the mind and spirit; getting help for eating disorders; and inexpensive treatments for life-threatening illnesses.

Barton is an advocate for holistic healthcare. She said mankind has used natural compounds for thousands of years to treat sicknesses and many of today’s pharmaceuticals are based on compounds found in plants.

Samira Beckwith

“People always did alternative health kind of things,” she said. “They just didn’t tell their primary health person that they did. Now it is more acceptable to talk about it and primary healthcare providers are asking about it.”

Mary Raymer

Does Barton think other social workers should go into the media business?

She said you have to be extremely disciplined to launch a radio show and it is similar to running a private practice.

“There is no set of directions telling you how to do it,” she said. “You have to build relationships with people you want to interview. You have to get sponsors. And you have to be resourceful and confident.”

To learn more about the “The Dr. Melanie Show” on VoiceAmerica and listen to upcoming programs click here. To learn more about how Melanie Barton and other social workers help clients through life’s challenges visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” web site by clicking here. And to learn more about activities you can do to celebrate and educate the public during Social Work Month in March click here to read the NASW Social Work Month 2012 Toolkit.