Balancing Act co-host Chris Steele and Kathy Gurland. Image courtesy of Lifetime.

National Association of Social Workers member Kathy Gurland is scheduled to appear on Lifetime TV’s “The Balancing Act” Nov. 7 at 7 a.m. Eastern (Check local listings for the channel) to offer viewers advice on how to get the best cancer care.

Gurland, MSW, LCSW, founded the Peg’s Group cancer navigation service in New York City after losing two sisters to the disease. She is also a regular contributor to Women’s Magazine and has appeared on NASW’s behalf to advise Hollywood writers and directors on how to include social workers in television shows and movies.

“The Balancing Act” is a morning news show for women and about women, offering educational segments as well as entertainment. To watch Gurland’s appearance click here. 

To learn more about how social workers help clients address cancer visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Understanding Cancer Website by clicking here.

In 2010 she was offered a spot on “Keeping Up with the Joneses,” a reality show that ran on Centric. In that program Neeley was shown providing grief counseling to up-and-coming magazine editor Tracey Ferguson.

Now Neeley will be provide on-the-spot advice on the morning show for Spanish-language Univision Channel 45 in Houston. SocialWorkersSpeak.org talked to Neeley about how she has managed to be featured on television twice in two years:

 Q: Mrs. Neeley, tell us a bit about where you got your social work degree, where you practice social work, and what kind of social work you do.

A: I received my master’s degree in May of 1994 from the University of Houston Graduate School of Social Work. I have my own private practice and I am the sole practitioner; my office is located in northwest Houston. The major reason for choosing the location is that it is near my children’s catholic school and close to home. I initially began working with various home health agencies and then I landed a job managing the social work needs of adult patients  for a subsidiary of Prudential  that owned clinics throughout Texas with 27 clinics right here in Houston. After a three- year work hiatus (I wanted to stay home to care for our twin boys), I return to work at a hospice facility as the bereavement manager. I loved hospice and felt very comfortable working with individuals who were grieving and I chose that as my “specialty” when I began my private practice.

Aracely Neeley

Q: How did you land the spot on Houston Channel 45?

A: A medical doctor colleague from my network of referrals referred me to the station, when she was approached if she knew of a Spanish-speaking psychotherapist she immediately gave them my name.

Q: Did they know of your appearance on Keeping Up with the Joneses?

A: No they were not aware of it,  I did mention my appearance and told them I was comfortable in front of the camera. Univision is primarily Spanish speaking and they were more concerned about me being comfortable speaking Spanish on air. Even though I was born in Monterrey, Mexico and lived there until I was eight years old, I feel as though English is my primary language. But luckily, my parents always spoke Spanish to us and I have been able to retain the language.  I am looking forward to the challenge of providing informative answers to their questions in the time frame allotted.

Q: What type of advice will you be giving on air?  

A: Each week they plan to have a topic of family concern, such as domestic violence, child abuse, and general parenting issues that are of concern to local viewers. I am fortunate to have the experience of working in many different types of settings, such as Children’s Protective Services where I was a lead investigator; home healthcare, medical social work and hospice; and private practice. I can draw on these years of experience.

Univision 45 TV logo

Q: When will the first show air?

A: My first appearance will be August 15. Coincidentally, the studio is located at the same office building where I once worked with Children’s Protective Services.

Q: Can you give other social workers advice on how to do television work? Is there some magic secret?

A: That’s a tough question, it’s hard to give out that type of advice when I didn’t purposefully go out in search of television appearances. However, I will pass on a good bit of advice I learned from Oprah Winfrey’s Master Class where she said, “Do your best and people will notice.” That comment struck me deeply and I have found truth in that, not in just getting television appearances, but in general, because people who are impressed with your work and integrity will refer you to others and that is how my practice keeps going; and you never know who your name will be passed on to and where it will take you. I wish there was magic to it. I just know that no matter what, be ethical,  be fair, respect your clients, and most of all have integrity.  I believe the universe responds in kind.

To learn more about the valuable services social workers such as Aracely Neeley provide clients, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ ”Help Starts Here” Website by clicking here. 

NASW Louisiana Executive Director Carmen Weisner, top right, and Tulane University School of Social Work Assistant Professor So'Nia Gilkey, lower right, appeared on the Health Issues 2010 public access TV show with host Christopher Sylvain.

Two influential social workers recently got a chance to inform the public about the role social workers play in improving public health.

Carmen Weisner, MSW, LCSW, ACSW, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers Louisiana Chapter, and So’Nia Gilkey, DSW, LCSW, an assistant professor at the Tulane University School of Social Work, appeared on Health Issues with host Christopher Sylvain. 

Health Issues 2010 is a half-hour public access television show in New Orleans, which Sylvain said continues to have a public health crisis. Residents in the rest of Louisiana also experience a higher rate of health  problems than citizens in many parts of United States, he said.

Social workers can help address because they have experience working in communities on health concerns, Sylvain said.

“You guys are trained to actually deal with the issues that  are causing New Orleans to be at the bottom of all these indicators,” he told  Weisner and Gilkey. “Social workers can get in and make a difference.”

To watch the Health Issues 2010 episode, which will air in the New Orleans area, click here. And to learn more about how social workers help, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Health and Wellness Web site by clicking there.

The woman, 29-year-old Elizabeth Serrano, was actually employed as an office assistant at California’s Monterey County Department of Social and Employment Services. However the headline shouted: “Social Worker Gets 41 Days for Stealing Aid.”

Social worker Andrea Schulz, MSW, LCSW, who works for the Parole Outpatient Clinic in Salinas, and one other social worker went into action.

Schulz and a social worker who identified herself as “jillann” posted comments below the article that said the headline was wrong. It is a good thing they did because readers were already posting defamatory comments about social workers based on the headline.

Jillann wrote:

“Just because someone works at Social Services does NOT make them a social worker; in fact the article stated she was a temp office worker. Social workers are highly skilled, highly trained, usually licensed professionals. As a social worker, I find it insulting when people of various occupations are called ‘social workers’ without any of the education or credentials.”

Schulz, who is a National Association of Social Workers member, went one step further. She sent two emails to the TV station, asking them to retract and apologize for the error. By Monday the station changed the headline to: “Ex-Welfare Dept. Employee gets 41 days for Stealing Aid.” To read the full article click here.

Schulz thinks her emails to the editorial board prompted the change. She offers this advice to social workers who hear or read incorrect information about the profession in the news:

• Comment on the article via email for the public to read.
• Email the editorial board of the news organization, as well as the writer of the article or local news desk. Emailing is quicker than hard copy and more accountable than a phone message.
• In your email, be very specific about what a social worker is.  “Highly qualified” is just so vague and braggy.  Instead, list the specific education requirements and the specific scope of practice, the code of ethics, and the general mission of social workers (see your college’s mission statement for wording).
• Send copies of your email to the state, national and local chapter of the National Association of Social Workers for follow up.
• Thank the news outlet for making the changes, point out that there is lots of confusion about the role of social workers,  and offer to provide an article or someone to interview for the paper/station to educate readers/viewers on what a social worker does.

Andrea, thanks for your wonderful work and great tips!

Mike Sullivan. Photo courtesy of KULR8-TV.

Billings, Montana recently had a case of animal cruelty and KULR8 TV called in National Association of Social Workers member Mike Sullivan to explain why people hurt animals.

“The individual who engages in instrumental violence is much more likely to be criminally oriented; an abuser of people, probably abuses children, spousal abuse would be fairly typical, likely abuses substances and could very well be psychopathic,” said Sullivan, LCSW.

To read about the Mike Sullivan interview and see the TV news clip, click here.

WLKY.com – FRANKFORT, KY — Wednesday, Kentucky social workers told legislators in Frankfort the promises of a law meant to keep social workers safe have been broken.

The law was set up after social worker, Boni Frederick, was stabbed and bludgeoned to death three years ago after taking an infant for what was supposed to be a final home visit.

The Boni Bill was born as a result, but social workers told legislators budget cuts are killing its purpose.

Several social workers shared their stories of doing their jobs in fear as they tried to convince the joint House-Senate Health and Welfare committee more needs to be done to protect them. [full article]

Getty Images/Lionsgate

The press is raving over glitzy songstress Mariah Carey’s transformation into social worker Miss Weiss in the soon-to-be released movie “Precious.” But social workers have long played key roles in television and cinema. An Internet slide show from the UK’s Guardian Newspaper examines the trend.

Check out other links on www.socialworkersspeak.org:

Michigan Social Workers Protest Layoffs

University of Pittsburgh Journal Examines Race, Social Issues

Social Work: Low Pay, High Stress