Members in the News – May 25, 2023

News Items – May 25, 2023
Carmen Reese Foster is a member of NASW-TN:
Lack
of empathy: Growing anxiety and depression follows wave of activism for Black
social workers
Milwaukee Independent
Since the 2020 racial reckoning, social workers have prided ourselves on
working to eliminate social justice disparities. “Eliminating Racism,” for
instance, became an official grand challenge of social work in 2020. For its
part, the National Association of Social Workers published two volumes of
“Undoing Racism in Social Work.” In addition, the Council of Social Work
Education’s, anti-racism standards became a part of the 2022 Educational Policy
and Accreditation Standards. But as a profession, the use of terms such as
anti-racism in book titles and standards alone means very little if Black
social workers reported that they still feel neglected by their white
colleagues.
NLIHC
Releases Case Studies Highlighting Successes of Five ERASE Cohort Members
National Low Income Housing Coalition
NLIHC released today a set of case studies highlighting the successes of five
members of the 2021-2022 End Rental Arrears to Stop Evictions (ERASE) cohort:
Connecticut Fair Housing Coalition, Idaho Asset Building Network, Prosperity
Indiana, Keep Detroiters in the Their Homes Coalition, and Hope Policy
Institute & Mississippi NAACP. The case studies overview the activities
undertaken by cohort members to ensure that emergency rental assistance
(ERA) was visible and accessible to the lowest-income households in their
communities and that ERA succeeded in preventing displacement.
Olivia Knox is policy coordinator for NASW-NYS:
Money
to fight mental health crisis coming: Will it help?
Finger Lakes One
Along with $60 million to improve youth mental health services, the
budget includes $1 billion to grow the state’s capacity for inpatient
psychiatric treatment. Additionally, the funding will expand outpatient
services and boost insurance coverage. Not every proposed provision made it to
the final budget. Olivia Knox, New York State chapter policy coordinator for
the National Association of Social Workers, said one dropped provision was
payment parity for telehealth services.
Becky Wiseman is a member of NASW-NYS:
New
York FarmNet cultivates stability for farming families
Cornell Chronicle
Farmers will often call FarmNet with a financial problem, but a personal
or family issue will quickly emerge as the real issue, says Becky Wiseman, a
FarmNet family consultant. “So I ask a couple of questions. ‘How are things
between you? Is there anything that has happened in the past?’” says Wiseman, a
licensed clinical social worker who has worked with farmers on Long Island for
30 years. “Then sometimes things tumble out. ‘Well, my daughter is really
sick.’ Or ‘We just lost Grandpa.’ Or ‘Uncle Roy, he died from suicide.’
Lauren Norford is a member of NASW-VT:
Norford:
Help available for parent mental health concerns, pregnancy and post-partum
Vermont Biz
While many parents have challenges with adjusting to pregnancy or the
postpartum period, some parents have more difficulty than usual. Perinatal
mood and anxiety disorders affect 1 in 7 parents, with an even higher
prevalence for parents of color. Mental health challenges and disorders are the
most common complication of pregnancy. One in ten fathers also experience pre-
or postpartum depression or anxiety.
Angela Amias is a member of NASW-WY:
The
Pro Love Movement: New Hope for Loneliness and Frayed Social Ties
Financial Content
Alchemy of Love was cofounded by Angela Amias, LCSW, and Daniel
Boscaljon PhD with the mission to bring more love into the world, one
relationship at a time. Alchemy of Love provides trauma-informed relationship
programs and services to individuals and couples, as well as training programs
for therapists and relationship coaches. For more on the Pro Love Movement,
including shareable graphics and a free guide to improving relationships,
visit prolovemovement.org.
Lori Osachy is a member of NASW-FL:
Teens
use of social media could cause mental health issues
News4Jax
“I am already seeing the consequences in my practice. We see kids in
more trouble socially, more trouble connecting in person,” local licensed
clinical social worker Lori Osachy said. “They have a lot of social anxiety
because they haven’t practiced as much a face-to-face interaction and sometimes
the connecting social media can be beneficial and help them in a different
way.” Osachy is seeing the outcome of excessive use in some of her patients.
Deena Patel is a member of NASW-GA:
The
pandemic forced this mom to face her alcohol abuse. Here’s how she got sober
Today
“When you have traumatic experiences, like abuse or neglect, where you
don’t feel like you can connect with people in a safe way, what’s your alternative?”
Deena Patel, a licensed clinical social worker specializing in trauma and
addiction, tells TODAY.com. “One is the substance. About 90% people I
work with who have a substance use disorder or process addiction have
trauma.”
Santiago Delboy is a member of NASW-IL:
Should
I See a Male or Female Therapist?
Psychology Today
Therapists—old or young, male or female, psychodynamic or
cognitive-behavioral—generally agree: The strongest predictor of whether
therapy helps someone is not the therapist’s gender, nor the client’s. It’s the
connection that therapist and client create—the therapeutic alliance—that is
built on empathy, acceptance, and mutual respect. “These are qualities that go
beyond gender,” observes Santiago Delboy, a clinical social worker in
Chicago.