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Julia Colangelo is a member:
How Yoga Helps Anxiety, Especially When You Focus Your Practice On These 5 Poses
Elite Daily
Simply sitting on your mat, being in the present moment, and scanning your body from head to toe can be a game-changer when it comes to soothing the anxious thoughts that are trying to take over your mind. According to New York-based therapist, Julia Colangelo, LCSW, noticing and engaging in one activity, with your full presence and being, is an incredible way to manage anxiety. “Yoga helps you develop the ability to sit with anxiety,” she tells Elite Daily, “which can be the first step in changing your relationship to panic and anxiety.”

Mark Lusk is a member:
Mark Lusk: The new refugees
TribTalk
“No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.” From a poem by Warsan Shire (Somali). Throughout its history, the United States has been a sanctuary for people around the world who have fled persecution, genocide and terrible hardship. At the end of World War II, refugees and displaced persons sought asylum in this country. As the Vietnam War wound down, many thousands of refugees from that country and its neighbors were admitted and granted safe haven. As a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, the U.S. agreed not to return refugees to countries where they face serious threats to their life or freedom.

Sean Pumphrey is a member:
This professor told his student to bring her baby to class after she wasn’t able to find a babysitter
The Shadow Room on Instagram
Kimberly Robinson is in the Social Work Master’s Program at East Carolina University, and she is also the mother to an adorable baby girl, Kyla. When Kim almost missed class due to not having a babysitter to watch Kyla, she emailed her professor and let him know. To her delight, her professor, Sean Pumphrey, responded by telling Kim to bring her daughter to class with her. During class, Kim was about to walk out due to Kyla being cranky, and Professor Pumphrey responded by saying, “I’ll take her,” and held baby Kyla during the rest of the class. The video has gone viral.

Oklahoma Passes Law Allowing Private Foster Care System to Reject Same-Sex Couples
Teen Vogue
Steven Pharris, executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, tells Teen Vogue that despite the drop, there are still thousands of displaced children, and a qualified home can be hard to come by. Social workers have a difficult time locating foster care families in Oklahoma, Pharris said, and the approval process is rigorous. “Part of its design is to put children in homes that are caring, loving, and have the desire and means to provide a safe, nurturing home. That’s the foundation of the system,” Pharris says. “And this bill adds in a twist that makes that secondary. Now it’s if the worker has a moral or religious opposition to the family, which has no place in any form of government in our society.” Pharris says he feels the measure’s intent is to allow discrimination.

Solitary confinement reform debated
Lowell Sun (MA)
Representatives from Prisoners Legal Service and the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Social Workers testified against the change, arguing it would roll back protections for people with psychiatric disabilities or mental illness.

Lynn Zakeri is a member:
How To Stop A Bad Moment From Destroying Your Whole Day
Huffpost
If this scenario sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Lynn R. Zakeri, a licensed clinical social worker, told HuffPost it’s normal to get hung up on a negative experience. “We ruminate on things that we don’t have control over, on things that make us uncomfortable, on things that hurt our feelings,” she said. Even something as minor as receiving a “K” text from a friend can derail your mood if you let it. “The small things take up so much space in our brains.”

Elizabeth Dosoretz is a member:
More than mom: Post-partum depression led Elizabeth Dosoretz to help SW FL families
News-Press (Fort Myers, FL)
In honor of Mother’s Day, we spotlight moms who are making an impact on Southwest Florida. Meet Elizabeth Dosoretz of Elite DNA Therapy Services… If you’ve recovered from a serious physical injury or have suffered from mental illness, you have likely uttered that old saying, “I didn’t know how bad I felt until I felt good again.” It happened to Elizabeth Dosoretz when she sank into a deep post-partum depression following the birth of her first child. At the urging of her husband and family, Elizabeth sought help and embarked on a year-and-half journey to “feel good again.”

Cynthia Catchings is a member:
How to Apologize
Teen Vogue
“Although there is no psychological research that tells us when the best time is to apologize or how to do it, it is important to know that each situation is different,” says Cynthia V. Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and Talkspace provider who specializes in working with relationship issues. “When should we apologize to a friend? When we have analyzed the situation, we feel concerned about it, and we have found a way to compensate or make the other person feel better.”

Trond Harman is a member:
Take Care: The effects of overusing electronics
Public Opinion
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. One of the most widespread issues affecting mental health in our society today is the overuse of electronics, including video games and social media. Trond Harman, a licensed clinical social worker at Keystone Pediatrics in Chambersburg, often sees problems related to this in his child and teen patients. In today’s article, he shares some information about how electronics can affect mental health.