Your Complete Guide to Becoming a Social Worker
novinite.com
Professional networking is extremely important within the social work sector. You should try to build your professional network as early as possible. Ideally, you should start growing your network while you are studying. You can build meaningful connections with people in the field by attending social work events or joining a professional association. For instance, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the biggest organization of professional social workers in the world. The organization connects social workers and hosts various mixers and social events to bring professionals together. Joining a professional association like NASW can be an excellent way to build your professional network and get involved with activities in the field of social work. 

Deona Hooper is a member:
Eric Garner’s Mother, Gwen Carr, and Dr. Steve Perry Keynote Largest Virtual Summit for Social Workers
Benzinga
On September 16th and 17th in collaboration with the Council for Social Work Education and Salisbury University’s School of Social Work, SWHELPER is hosting a two day virtual summit with keynote speakers Gwen Carr and Dr. Steve Perry…. “There is no doubt law enforcement and policing needs to change. Is social work the solution…I believe it is, but we must acknowledge and fix the structural racism within our profession first, which is why we have to examine those issues during this Summit,” says Deona Hooper, Founder, and Editor-in-Chief of SWHELPER.

Kristin Herlihy is a member:
Feeling Anxious? Emotional School Supplies for an Unexptected Year
Woburn (MA) Patch
As part of a Back to School series WPN is presenting another great program on Monday, September 14 at 6 PM, “Feeling Anxious? Emotional School Supplies for an Unexpected Year” with Kristen Herlihy. As we approach the beginning of the school year many parent’s heads are spinning with questions and concerns. What will our days look like? How will my child cope with this new normal?

Maureen Underwood is a member:
You are not alone: Unraveling the cliché.
Verizon Communications
Mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: We were fortunate enough to speak with Maureen Underwood, a licensed clinical social worker and a nationally recognized expert on youth suicide prevention. While the COVID-19 pandemic has increased rates of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation, Maureen points to the potential upside: A focus on the importance of public health, which is often a first step towards suicide prevention and treatment.

Elisa Nebolsine is a member:
Dealing with COVID Back-to-School Anxiety
Mainline Today
Thanks to COVID-19, back-to-school anxiety is off the charts. How to cope? Mental health experts around the region have ways to help kids (and adults) re-acclimate to the classroom—whether virtual or brick and mortar. First, validate children’s emotions. “It’s OK to be sad about not going to school like we normally do,” says Elisa Nebolsine, a licensed clinical social worker, cognitive behavioral therapist and clinical supervisor for the Beck Institute in Bala Cynwyd. “It’s OK to be worried, angry and overwhelmed. Talking about feelings is a good thing.”

Rachel Wassel is a member:
Social worker puts her skills to work in pandemic as contact tracer
Valley News
After a Vermonter or visitor to the state gets a call from a physician or other health care provider alerting them to a positive COVID-19 test result, Rachel Wassel or one of her 65 fellow trained contact tracers is likely to be calling next. Since early April, Wassel, a 32-year-old social worker who lives in Royalton, has been helping people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their close contacts to isolate from others until their risk of transmitting the disease has decreased.

Ken Page is a member:
Why Couples Shouldn’t Spend All Their Time Together & How To Bring It Up
Mind Body Green
And when we spend time by ourselves, psychotherapist Ken Page, LCSW, says, “we reclaim important pieces of our authentic identity.” When we neglect them, however, “we lose an edge of aliveness that is absolutely essential for a rich life,” he notes. “To give up the journey of self-discovery—at least some of which need to occur during alone time—is to give up one of the richest dimensions of our lives. And our partnership will suffer, as we will.”

Sage Grazer is a member:
How having a stroke at age 30 taught me how to prioritize my time
Today
Sage Grazer is a licensed clinical social worker and the co-founder of Frame, a mental health platform. But it was her own experience with a painful injury and then a stroke that caused her to take a hard look at her personal well-being. In this essay, she tells TMRW how she learned to prioritize her life and put herself first — and the tips she has for other people who might be struggling to do the same.

Talia Filippelli is a member:
Best moments from CNN and Sesame Street’s ‘Back to School’ coronavirus town hall
Erie News Now
When it comes to helping them calm down, licensed clinical social worker Talia Filippelli advised parents to use these moments to support their kids and teach them confidence. “Parents in those moments feel like they have to solve their kids’ feelings; Your kids don’t need that,” Filippelli said. “They really just need you to sit next to them, give them a hug, tell them you love them and you have supreme confidence that they’ll be able to get through this and kids absorb that. If we can lead with confidence and optimism, our kids will soak that in.”

Jeanne Lagorio is a member:
NSW Observes National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
DVIDS
NAVAL AMPHIBIOUS BASE CORONADO (NNS) – (Sept. 20, 2020) September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and Naval Special Warfare (NSW) is using the observance to foster discussion about the importance of seeking mental health care and highlight suicide prevention resources available to members of the force and their families. Jeanne Lagorio, a licensed clinical social worker and the NSW Force Suicide Prevention Coordinator works with Chad Rodamer the Force Suicide Prevention Manager to take a holistic approach to preventing suicide within NSW. “I’ve approached this effort from a family system perspective to include the command, spouses and children,” said Lagorio. “Suicide affects everyone in the family and the command to varying degrees.”

New police unit that pairs officers and social workers to begin next month
Buffalo News
Mayor Byron W. Brown said Monday that a new Buffalo police “behavioral health team” would begin next month. His announcement came months after first announcing the formation of the new police unit that will team police officers trained in crisis intervention with behavioral health clinicians. The announcement also came two days after a Buffalo police officer shot a bat-wielding, homeless man who has a history of mental illness.

Grand Rapids likely to add addiction specialists, social workers to homeless outreach team
Michigan Live
Grand Rapids leaders are slated to enlist social workers and addiction specialists for their boots-on-the-ground Homeless Outreach Team. City commissioners gave initial approval Tuesday morning, Sept. 15, at their Fiscal Committee meeting to a $261,874 contract with the county’s mental health authority, Network 180, to supply the team with those specialists.

Larissa Golloub is a member:
Here’s what working out of your bedroom does to your mental health
The Ladders
“We can benefit from making a plan that clearly delineates the hours that we work and clearly defines our physical surroundings as much as possible,” explains Larissa Golloub, LCSW-R. “For example, upon completing work for the day is there some way to cover or put the workspace out of view, such as putting up a room divider, throwing a big sheet or beautiful throw over the work space, or moving flowers in a vase to the space?”