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News Items – January 13, 2021

news items logo oneClaire Grainger is a member:
7 Steps for Sharing Your Kidney Cancer Diagnosis
Health Central
You’ll probably need to work through your own feelings before you tell other people about your diagnosis. “This is a rough time, so allow yourself to be human, to cry, to question, to wonder, and to make sense of the news,” says Claire Grainger, a licensed clinical social worker and clinical supervisor at CancerCare, a national organization based in New York City that provides free professional support and information to people with cancer. She says it could take several days or more to process everything and start thinking about your next steps.

MaryAnn Black was a member, and NASW’s Social Worker of the Year in 1994:
WRAL Documentary about social worker and Representative MaryAnn Black
WRAL
Warm. Giving. Caring. Compassionate. Those are just some of the adjectives used to describe State Rep. MaryAnn Black by people who knew and worked with her. Black was a career social worker in Durham who served on the county Board of Commissioners, worked as the associate vice president of community relations at Duke University Health System and served in the NC House of Representatives. The impact of her work ripples through the Durham community and our state, especially in the areas of health care and education. Black died of cancer in March but her legacy lives on in the thousands of lives touched by her work.

Capitol attack another reminder of ‘two Americas’ that exist: OPINION
ABC News
Black kids in America are often not seen as harmless boys or girls. In 2018, National Association of Social Workers’ report revealed, “Black youth are approximately 14% of the total youth population, but 47.3% of the youth who are transferred to adult court.” The Government Accountability Office found that Black K-12 students are also more likely to be suspended or referred to law enforcement than their white counterparts. These findings are part of the larger racial disparity that just played out in our nation’s capital for the world to see.

Cynthia Catchings is a member:
How To Manage Your Mental Health After A Week Of Sadness & Chaos
Yahoo Life
Many Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are feeling especially traumatized due to race-based stress reactions, says Candice Nicole Hargons, PhD, director of the Center for Healing Racial Trauma. “Thinking from a Black perspective, remembering how everything unfolded during the [Black Lives Matter protests this] summer and in the past, and how the situation was treated so differently creates anxiety, but also anger,” adds Cynthia Catchings, LCSW-S, a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist with Talkspace based in the Washington D.C. area.

Tamara Valicenti is a member:
My Dad Is Slowly Forgetting Who My Kids Are
SheKnows
I asked therapist Tammy Valicenti, LICSW how to best manage this experience — my father slowly forgetting his grandkids’ identities — without allowing it to traumatize my kids. “If you are living, life is traumatic,” Valicenti tells SheKnows. “Trauma is not the thing that happens to us; it’s how we do or we don’t manage it. When we feel terrified and alone…we can experience trauma.” The best way to manage it? Include kids in age-appropriate conversations.

Laurie Thomas is a member:
Talking about the Capitol riots with children
WHSV
The scenes from Capitol Hill Wednesday were jarring and processing what happened can be especially tough for children and teens, leaving them scared and confused. Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Laurie Thomas said if your child saw the events unfolding at the Capitol, it’s important to be mindful of what you say and let them know they are safe in your home. For the younger kids, it’s best to use small words and short sentences.

Marcy Arnold is a member:
Counselors offer advice on ways to cope with 2021 distress
WITN
A week into 2021, the virus continues to get worse, and the death and destruction this week at the U.S. Capitol only add more despair, but counselors say there are things we can do to feel better. “Making sure that everybody’s prioritizing time for themselves through different hobbies or interests,” said Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Marcy Arnold with Renewed Wellness Counseling. While many are challenged with working and keeping an eye on their kids while they learn from home, the key may be routine.

Jean Ratner is a member:
When Gephyrophobia Strikes, You Still Have to Cross the Bridge
Car and Driver
The inability to pull over is something that Jean Ratner hears a lot. A licensed clinical social worker, Ratner is the founder and co-director of the Center for Travel Anxiety, located in the DC area. “And that becomes a real hurdle for people who feel like, if I were driving somewhere else and I had a panic attack, at least I could pull over,” she says.

  1. Diane Barth is a member:
    Grandkids Often a COVID Conundrum for Families
    WebMD
    “I hear people who complain that their father will not wear a mask or socially distance or quarantine. They’re not willing to have that grandparent be around their children,” says F. Diane Barth, a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist in New York City and Massachusetts. When parents say they’re not visiting to protect the grandparents, the elders often “get upset because they don’t feel they need to be protected. There are some boomer parents who do not believe the danger is real or that they’re in danger,” says Barth.

Gabriela Dieguez is a member:
OPINION: The pandemic is disrupting education. And we need to reduce the stress students-and their parents-are enduring.
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Gabriela Dieguez is a clinical social worker and Dr. Francisco Enriquez is a pediatrician, both working on Milwaukee’s South Side. The past weeks at the office have been extremely busy. Conversations from the exam and counseling rooms with clients, as well as the corridors with coworkers are the same. Parents and children are struggling with the demands of online schooling, the social isolation and uncertainty. The levels of stress are increasing significantly for students. Parents complain that their children are having frequent meltdowns. Children are complaining of chest pain, abdominal pain, insomnia, etc.

Augustus Rodgers is a member:
From ‘high cotton’ to dead end, SC tenants reflect on history of Allen Benedict Court
The State (Columbia, SC)
“We thought of Allen Benedict Court as ‘high cotton,’” said Augustus Rodgers, a clinical social worker who lived there in the early 1950s. “In other words, we were living well. It was a big improvement from rural South Carolina where there were no indoor bathrooms or running water or paved streets.” In less than a decade Rodgers’ family went from sharing a space in a rooming house to building their own four bedroom home in the suburbs. “Allen Benedict Court was the stepping stone that enabled us to move up.” he said.

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