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News Items – September 2, 2021

news items logo oneHeather Meyer is a member:
Social worker, former candidate to fill open Overland Park seat in Kansas House
The Kansas City Star
A Kansas City area social worker and former candidate for the Kansas House of Representatives will join Kansas Legislature, filling the house seat vacated by former Rep. Brett Parker. The Johnson County Democratic Party elected Heather Meyer, 41, to fill the Overland Park house district Tuesday night. Meyer ran for the seat in 2014 and lost before returning to school and earning her social work degree.

A Black Veteran’s Wife Feared for His Safety. Officers Fatally Shot Him.
The New York Times
Melvin H. Wilson, a senior policy adviser with the National Association of Social Workers, said that Ms. Dale’s call for help was the “exact kind of thing” that would be better handled by someone other than police officers. “The assumption is that de-escalation can happen without direct primary police involvement,” said Mr. Wilson, who contributed to a recent analysis of responses to 911 calls by police departments. “It reduces the possibility of a lethal encounter with the police,” he added.

Social Workers highlight importance of telehealth coverage
The Conway Daily Sun
Lynn Stanley, interim executive director of the National Association of Social Workers Maine chapter, said when a company offers self-insured health plans, the employer sets the rules. She worried when companies do not make the same decision Goodwill did, care providers, including for mental-health services, may not be able to offer telehealth visits. “We’re encouraging businesses, organizations and agencies that have self-insured plans to look at their plans and make sure that telehealth is reimbursed at the same rate as the in-person visits,” said Stanley.

Claire Lerner is a member:
The Toddler Clothes Battle Might End Me
Romper
Claire Lerner is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in child development, and the author of the upcoming book Why Is My Child in Charge? A Roadmap to End Power Struggles, Increase Cooperation, and Find Joy in Parenting Young ChildrenShe says kids can have “clothing jags,” where they get hooked on certain things (similar to when they have a “food jag” and will only eat blue food or buttered noodles or pickle slices) and that parenting through these phases can sometimes require Herculean patience.

Floyd Meshad is a member:
Calls to Veterans’ Suicide Hotlines Are Up Since Fall of Kabul
The Daily Beast
Floyd “Shad” Meshad, a licensed clinical social worker and founder of the National Veterans Foundation, said soldiers and veterans are already grappling with the toll that war takes on mental health. The way the U.S. has conducted its withdrawal—leaving so many allies in harm’s way, and leaving veterans almost entirely unable to help—has only exacerbated those mental health issues. “This is just pouring gas on the fire,” Meshad, a Vietnam veteran who served as a counselor for veterans in Vietnam, told The Daily Beast.

Lynnay Carona is a member:
[Video] Your Healthy Family: In the era of COVID and back to school time, communicating with your kids is key
KOAA
Lynnay Carona, a licensed clinical social worker with UCHealth Primary Care – Fontanero, says that in general, kids may not be as stressed out about all of this as much as their parents. “What I see is actually that kids are a lot more resilient than their parents. They tend to roll with change much more easily than adults do, and that is not to discount what the adults are experiencing and their concerns. But, kids do tend to be able to manage change more effectively than adults when we get stuck in our ways.”

Greg McGann is a member:
Greg McGann: Americans are either in denial or oblivious to dual calamities
The Gainesville Sun
Now though, in this strangest of times in this strangest of years, any comforting respite is hard to find. Two existential challenges haunt us: an out-of-control climate and the raging COVID pandemic. Both issues are made drastically worse because so many Americans seem to be in denial or oblivious to these dual calamities. It’s as if a good part of the country has lost their tethers to reality. Almost daily Mother Nature is sending us warnings about the costs of defiling the planet.

Courtney Tracy is a member:
Anxious the Delta variant will pause life again? This therapist can help you cope
Yahoo News
Over the last year and a half, doctor of clinical psychology and licensed clinical social worker Courtney Tracy has emerged as one of the leading voices in a thriving community of TikTok therapists giving advice on everything from dealing with intrusive thoughts to navigating the emotional fallout of COVID-19. (She’s also one of the most satisfying to watch: After all, who doesn’t love seeing their therapist drop an F-bomb from time to time or dance to Soulja Boy?)

Candice Biernesser is a member:
Under Pressure: Are the Stresses of Social Media Too Much for Teens and Young Adults?
Everyday Health
Research is still ongoing when it comes to social media use and mental health outcomes. And it’s impossible to quantify so far how it affects teens and young adults differently from older adults, explains Candice Biernesser, PhD, a licensed clinical social worker, post-doctoral scholar in the psychiatry department at the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security in Pennsylvania, and media advisor for the Hope for Depression Foundation.

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