Embracing Therapeutic Complexity: Interview with Patricia Gianotti, Psy.D.

[Episode 138] Today's episode is an interview with Dr. Patricia Gianotti, Academic Director of The Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy at Loyola University Chicago. Patricia and I speak about the neurobiology of shame, why depth work is important, and how to think about human complexity in a therapeutic context. She emphasizes the impact of attachment failures on a person's sense of self and the role of shame in therapy. She explains the concept of loyalty contracts and how they shape individuals' beliefs and behaviors. She underscores the power of psychodynamic techniques in uncovering and addressing these dynamics. Throughout the conversation, she highlights the hope and resilience that can be found in therapy.

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The Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy at Loyola University Chicago offers a yearlong certificate program for licensed professionals, aimed at enhancing clinical skills through an integrative training method. The program incorporates advances in trauma and neuropsychological research within a framework rooted in attachment theory. Participants engage in onsite residencies that last three full days each, featuring hands-on training by nationally acclaimed faculty. In between residencies, distance learning continues through monthly 90-minute case consultation meetings and bimonthly live webinars. The program is approved for CEU Credit by the APA and NASW, and awards a total of 72 credit hours. To learn more, please visit https://www.luc-iap.com/

Feedback Informed Treatment: Interview with Scott D. Miller, Ph.D.

[Episode 131] In today's episode, I speak with Scott Miller, Ph.D. about how we can use feedback to improve client outcomes. Scott is one of the developers of Feedback Informed Treatment, or FIT - an "empirically supported, pantheoretical approach for evaluating and improving the quality and effectiveness of behavioral health services. It involves routinely and formally soliciting feedback from clients regarding the therapeutic alliance," client outcomes, and using that information to improve services (https://centerforclinicalexcellence.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/FIT-what-is-it-2020.pdf).  

Scott

Download MP3 [49:02]

Shared Trauma in the COVID19 Pandemic: Interview with Carol Tosone, Ph.D.

[Episode 126] In today's episode of the Social Work Podcast I speak with Carol Tosone, Ph.D., Professor of Social Work and Director, DSW Program in Clinical Social Work at NYU's Silver School of Social Work.

Carol and I spoke on April 1, 2020 about her insights into the COVID-19 pandemic, psychotherapy, technology and shared trauma. Because of everything that was happening in the world, it took me nearly 5 weeks to publish the episode. Although five weeks is a quick turnaround for me, it was an eternity in an environment where life was changing daily.

I was excited to speak with Carol. On September 11, 2014, I published an episode with her about the concept of "shared trauma." This episode, along with the first interview I did with her in December 2009 on psychoanalytic social work, are some of the most widely assigned episodes in schools of social work.

In today's episode we talked about how the concept of shared trauma can help us to understand what's going on in a global pandemic, how we can think about the role of technology-mediated services, and what social workers can do to care for themselves while caring for others.


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Therapists as Writers: Interview with Lori Gottlieb

[Episode 124] Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast is an interview with Lori Gottlieb - NY Times best-selling author, advice columnist for The Atlantic, and therapist. We talked about how her experience as a writer influences her work as a therapist, and how her therapy informs her writing. We talked about how she takes a client’s story out of the therapy room and turns it into something that therapists can appreciate, and non-therapists can get excited about. Lori reads from her 2019 New York Times bestseller and Amazon Best Book of April 2019, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. We ended our conversation talking about how difficult and necessary it is for therapists to be the client.



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Helping the Suicidal Person: Interview with Stacey Freedenthal, Ph.D., LCSW

[Episode 119] Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast is an interview with Stacey Freedenthal, Ph.D., LCSW about her book, Helping the Suicidal Person: Tips and Techniques for Professionals. 

I was excited to talk with Dr. Freedenthal because she's come up with 89 tips and techniques that you can start using right away with suicidal clients.

In today’s episode, we talk about five of them:

Tip #10 – Embrace a Narrative Approach: “Suicidal Storytelling”
Tip #35 – Know When and Why to (and not to) Pursue Hospitalization
Tip #36 – Know Why not to Pursue Hospitalization
Tip #64 – Incorporate a Hope Kit
Tip #88 – Propose a Letter to the Suicidal Self

Dr. Freedenthal has been a faculty member at the University of Denver School of Social Work since 2005 and maintains a private practice. She’s the creator of the massively popular blog, SpeakingOfSuicide.com, and her writings have appeared in academic journals and media outlets like the New York Times. You can find her on Twitter @SFreedenthal. 

Download MP3 [32:24]

The Arc of Therapy: Beginnings (Part 1)

Sven Scheuermeier

[Episode 110] Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast is the first of a three-part series on the arc of therapy – the beginning, middle and end.  In today’s episode I’m going to talk about the beginning phase of therapy. I'll talk about some conceptual issues like what do people want when they come to treatment, and how should you be with clients? I’m also going to review some of the more concrete aspects of the beginning of treatment like biopsychosocial and DSM assessment, talking about confidentiality and billing. I want this episode to be interesting whether you’re a first year social work student or a 35 year veteran of the field.

I’d like to thank TheraNest for sponsoring this three episode series. TheraNest is simple and affordable practice management software. To start your free 21-day trial and save 20% on your first 3 months, sign up at theranest.com/socialworkpodcast.


Download MP3 [46:28]

Self Psychology for Social Workers: Interview with Tom Young, Ph.D.

[Episode 107] Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast is about self-psychology. Tom is a retired professor of social work from Widener University and the author of several publications on social work and self psychology. In today's episode Tom talks about the role of empathy in self psychology, the function of mirroring, idealizing, and twinship experiences in the development of the self, how self psychology can be applied in individual, couple, and family contexts. Tom talks us through a case involving an adolescent male and shares resources for those interested in learning more.

Private Practice for Social Workers: Interview with Dr. Julie Hanks, LCSW

[Episode 100] Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast is about private practice. My guest, Dr. Julie Hanks, LCSW is the founder and executive director of Wasatch Family Therapy. She is a columnist at HealthyWay.com, Answers.com, and PsychCentral where she writes about private practice. She seems to be on speed dial for national media outlets like the Wall Street Journal, Market Watch, HuffingtonPost Live, and magazines like Cosmopolitan, Health, Health and dozens of others. Dr. Hanks has developed a 6-week e-course called Rock the Media School which is designed to help health and mental health practitioners build their online presence through media interviews, blogging, and building an engaged social media following. Get details at RockTheMediaSchool.com. She is the author of the 2016 book, The Assertiveness Guide for Women: How to Communicate Your Needs, Set Healthy Boundaries, and Transform Your Relationships

Download MP3 [52:33]


In today's interview, Julie talks about key ingredients for a successful private practice including:

• identifying your "big message;" 
• building relationships online and offline; 
• knowing what you're good at and outsourcing what you're not good at; and 
• reconciling "social work" with "private practice." 

We end our conversation with information about resources for social workers who want to start or build a private practice

Becoming a Clinical Social Worker: Interview with Dr. Danna Bodenheimer

[Episode 99] Today’s episode of the Social Work Podcast is about becoming a clinical social worker. My guest, Dr. Danna Bodenheimer, is the author of Real World Clinical Social Work: Find Your Voice and Find Your Way published by New Social Worker Press.


Download MP3 [35:48]

In today's interview Danna and I talk about what makes a social worker a clinical social worker, what distinguishes a good from a bad clinical social worker, the one essential thing that all social workers bring to supervision, and the role of narcissism, observing ego, transference, counter-transference and the real relationship in clinical social work. We end with a discussion of money and how social workers need to earn enough so they can be present with their clients.

@socworkpodcast Holy #99 podcast. LOVED Danna Bodenheimer's interview. Buying the book ASAP. Thank you.

— Lyndsay (@Wilshawl) November 10, 2015

Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT) for Depressed and Suicidal Youth: Interview with Guy Diamond, Ph.D., and Suzanne Levy, Ph.D.

[Episode 96] In today's Social Work Podcast I speak with two of the three developers of Attachment-based Family Therapy (ABFT), Guy S. Diamond, Ph.D. and Suzanne Levy, Ph.D. The third developer Gary M. Diamond (no relation to Guy Diamond) lives in Israel and was unavailable for the interview.

ABFT is the only family-based psychotherapy with empirical support for reducing suicidal ideation in youth. In today's interview, Dr. Diamond and Dr. Levy discuss the theory and practice of Attachment-Based Family Therapy. Dr. Diamond mostly covers theory and concepts, and Dr. Levy addresses the question of "what does the therapist actually do in the therapy room."

Download MP3 [50:36]


If you're interested in learning more about ABFT, you can buy the treatment manual Attachment Based Family Therapy for Depressed Adolescents, watch a free webinar http://youtu.be/KcwHznzq-S4, or attend a workshop (details on their website: https://abftinternational.com/)

ABFT is listed on the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices, also referred to as NREPP. According to NREPP, 

"Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT) is a treatment for adolescents ages 12-18 that is designed to treat clinically diagnosed major depressive disorder, eliminate suicidal ideation, and reduce dispositional anxiety. The model is based on an interpersonal theory of depression, which proposes that the quality of family relationships may precipitate, exacerbate, or prevent depression and suicidal ideation. In this model, ruptures in family relationships, such as those due to abandonment, neglect, or abuse or a harsh and negative parenting environment, influence the development of adolescent depression. Families with these attachment ruptures lack the normative secure base and safe haven context needed for an adolescent's healthy development, including the development of emotion regulation and problem-solving skills. These adolescents may experience depression resulting from the attachment ruptures themselves or from their inability to turn to the family for support in the face of trauma outside the home. ABFT aims to strengthen or repair parent-adolescent attachment bonds and improve family communication. As the normative secure base is restored, parents become a resource to help the adolescent cope with stress, experience competency, and explore autonomy. 

ABFT is typically delivered in 60- to 90-minute sessions conducted weekly for 12-16 weeks. Treatment follows a semistructured protocol consisting of five sequential therapy tasks, each of which has clearly outlined processes and goals:

1. Task 1: The Relational Reframe Task, with the adolescent and parents (or parent) together, sets the foundation of the therapy. After an assessment of the history and nature of the depression, the therapist focuses on relational ruptures. This shift pivots on the therapeutic question, "When you feel so depressed or suicidal, why don't you go to your parents for help?" The progression of this conversation leads parents and the adolescent to agree that improving the quality of their relationship would be a good starting point for treatment.
2. Task 2: The Adolescent Alliance Task, with the adolescent alone, identifies relational ruptures in the family and links them to the depression. The adolescent is encouraged and prepared to discuss these often avoided feelings and memories with his or her parents.
3. Task 3: The Parent Alliance Task, with the parents alone, explores their current stressors and their own history of attachment disappointments. These conversations activate parental caregiving instincts to behaviorally and emotionally protect their child, which helps motivate parents to learn and use new attachment-promoting parenting skills.
4. Task 4: The Attachment Task, with the adolescent and parents together, creates an opportunity for the adolescent to directly express his or her thoughts and feelings about past and current relational injustices. Rather than defending themselves, parents help the adolescent fully express and explore these emotionally charged topics. This conversation helps the adolescent work through trauma, address negative patterns in the relationship, and practice new conflict resolution and emotion regulation skills.
5. Task 5: The Autonomy Task, with the adolescent and parents together, helps consolidate the new secure base. In solving day-to-day problems, parents provide support and expectations and the adolescent seeks to develop autonomy while remaining appropriately attached to his or her parents." (http://legacy.nreppadmin.net/ViewIntervention.aspx?id=314)

Shared Trauma: Interview with Carol Tosone, Ph.D.

[Episode 91] Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast is about shared trauma, one in which the provider and client experienced the same traumatic event simultaneously. If you're not familiar with the concept of shared trauma, no worries. It is a relatively new concept, but one that has been experienced as long as there have been helpers and... helpees.

In order to better understand shared trauma, I spoke with Dr. Carol Tosone, one of a handful of scholars whose writings and research have defined shared trauma. Dr. Tosone is Associate Professor at New York University Silver School of Social Work. She is a Distinguished Scholar in Social Work in the National Academies of Practice in Washington, D.C.

In today's episode, Dr. Tosone unpacks the concept of shared trauma. She uses her personal experience of being in a therapy session on September 11, 2001, when the first plane flew over her building, and how sharing the trauma of 9/11 with her client affected her professional and personal life. During our conversation she answered many questions: How does a concurrent experience of the same traumatic event as your client affect the treatment relationship? In what ways is it beneficial to the treatment relationship? How do you know when it is detrimental? We end our conversation with recommendations for practitioners.

Motivational Interviewing, 3rd Edition: Interview with Mary Velasquez, Ph.D.

[Episode 84] Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast is about Motivational Interviewing, Third Edition. In today's episode I speak with Mary Velasquez, Ph.D., Centennial Professor in Leadership for Community, Professional and Corporate Excellence and Director of the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Velasquez is a trainer for the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers and has been involved in research that informed the changes to Motivational Interviewing, Third Edition. In today's interview Mary talks about how she became involved with Motivational Interviewing, what has changed and stayed the same in the revised version of Motivational Interviewing, DARN CATS, the four change processes, and how people can experience Motivational Interviewing in less than 15 minutes. 

An Overview of Trauma-Informed Care: Interview with Nancy J. Smyth, Ph.D.

Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast looks at Trauma Informed Care, one of the most promising approaches to working with people without causing additional trauma. And I had the honor of talking about Trauma-informed care with Nancy Smyth, professor and Dean of the School of Social Work at the University at Buffalo. There are three reasons why Nancy was the perfect guest for today's topic. First, she understands what it means to address trauma at the micro, mezzo, and macro level. She has worked in both mental health and addiction treatment settings for over 35 years as a clinician, manager, educator, researcher, and program developer. Second, she's what we like to call a “content” expert. She is a Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress.  Her research, teaching, and practice focuses on trauma, substance abuse, and on working with people recovering from those experiences, including the use of innovative treatment approaches like EMDR and mindfulness meditation. In today's episode, we talked about Nancy's interest in Trauma-Informed Care. She identified the basic assumptions behind Trauma-Informed Care. She clarified the relationship between a trauma-informed approach to working with clients and specific empirically supported treatments for people with trauma histories, and treatment for people with PTSD. She talked about some of the ways that she has translated trauma-informed principles into micro-level treatment practices. We ended with resources for people who are interested in learning more about Trauma-Informed Care, including a bunch of episodes on the inSocialWork podcast series.

Proposed Changes in DSM-5: Interview with Micki Washburn, LPC-S and Danielle Parrish, Ph.D.

There’s an old saying, “What’s the fastest way to cure mental illness in an entire group of people? Get rid of the diagnosis.” The proposed changes to DSM-5 get rid of some diagnoses and add others. But that's not all. If you're like me, you have lots of questions about changes to DSM-5. When I posted the question “what would you like to know about the DSM-5” to the Social Work Podcast Facebook page 11 people responded in less than an hour and 20 people responded by the end of the day. So, what did they want to know? Jessica, Shelly, Sandy, Spring, Paul, and Suzannah wanted to know about autism, depression, and personality disorders. Shylah and Jen wanted to know about addictions. Lisa wanted to know what was up with ADHD. Ciarrai and Lyndon posed some great questions about the merits of DSM diagnosis in social work practice.

In today's Social Work Podcast, I speak with Micki Washburn, MA, LPC-S, NCC and Danielle Parrish, Ph.D. about proposed changes in DSM-5. We talked about the cross-cutting dimensional assessment, changes in the organization of the DSM-5, and changes in diagnoses such as ADHD, Asperger’s, Autism, Depression, Substance Use, and personality disorders.  We talked about some of the intended consequences such as greater accuracy for diagnosis, and some of the possible unintended consequences such as loss of funding for diagnostic-specific services.  We end with some thoughts about social work’s role in the new DSM.

Update: DSM-5 was published on May 27, 2013. Social work licensure exams in the USA (ASWB) required DSM-5 starting in 2015.

Psychodynamic therapy with vulnerable and oppressed populations: Interview with Joan Berzoff, M.S.W., Ed.D.

[Episode 72] Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast explores the question of what makes psychodynamic theory a valuable approach for working with vulnerable and oppressed populations.

I was excited to talk with my guest, Joan Berzoff, professor of social work at Smith College, because she's an expert on psychodynamic practice and addresses this very issue in her 2012 edited text, Falling Through the Cracks: Psychodynamic Practice with Vulnerable and Oppressed Populations, published by Columbia University Press. In today's interview I asked Dr. Berzoff, what makes psychodynamic theory a valuable or useful approach for working with vulnerable, at-risk, and oppressed populations? Why should therapists be concerned about that which is symbolic in a client's life? Dr. Berzoff talked about the value of curiosity in psychotherapy; the use of insight; applications of psychodynamic theory to school-based programs; why don't people think of basic social work practice as psychodynamic; and how to conceptualize the role of insight-oriented work with clients whose basic needs are not being met.

Download MP3 [30:15]

Psychoanalytic Treatment in Contemporary Social Work Practice: An Interview with Dr. Carol Tosone

[Episode 54] Today's Social Work Podcast, Psychoanalytic Treatment in Contemporary Social Work Practice: An Interview with Dr. Carol Tosone, addresses two questions: First, is psychodynamic treatment relevant in contemporary social work practice? In other words, does it meet the needs of the clients, the agencies, and the funding sources? Second, has clinical social work abandoned social work's historical commitment to advocating for social change? I think they are questions worth thinking about.

Well, in order to answer some of these questions, I spoke with Dr. Carol Tosone about contemporary psychoanalytic treatment. Dr. Tosone completed her psychoanalytic training at the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health, where she was the recipient of the Postgraduate Memorial Award. She is an Associate Professor at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University, the recipient of the NYU Distinguished Teaching Award and is a Distinguished Scholar in Social Work in the National Academies of Practice in Washington, D.C. In 2007, Dr. Tosone was selected for a Fulbright Senior Specialist Award for teaching and research at the Hanoi University of Education in Vietnam. She is the editor-in-chief of the Clinical Social Work Journal, and the executive producer and writer of four social work education videos. And she is an expert in shared trauma – which is when a client and therapist experience the same traumatic event. I interviewed Carol about shared trauma in Episode 90: http://www.socialworkpodcast.com/shared-trauma.html.

Prochaska and DiClemente's Stages of Change Model for Social Workers

[Episode 53] Today's podcast is on Prochaska and DiClemente's (1983) Stages of Change Model. This model describes five stages that people go through on their way to change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.
The model assumes that although the amount of time an individual spends in a specific stage varies, everyone has to accomplish the same stage-specific tasks in order to move through the change process (Prochaska & Prochaska, 2009). There is an unofficial sixth stage that is variously called "relapse," "recycling," or "slipping" in which an individual reverts to old behaviors. Examples include having a beer after a period of sobriety, or smoking a cigarette a year after quitting. Slipping is so common that it is considered normal. Social Workers are encouraged to be honest with clients about the likelihood of backsliding or reverting to old behaviors once the change process has started, not because we expect our clients to fail, but because it normalizes the experience and takes away some of sense of failure and shame.

Theories for Clinical Social Work Practice: Interview with Joseph Walsh, Ph.D.

[Episode 52] Today's podcast looks at the relationship between theory and clinical social work practice. I spoke with Joseph Walsh, professor of social work at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), and author of the Brooks/Cole text, Theories for Direct Social Work Practice, which came out in a third edition in 2014. We talked about why social workers should learn practice theories, the differences between practice, developmental and personality theories, the difference between a theory and a model, and why there are so many different practice theories. We talked about how knowing theory makes for better social work practice and how being "eclectic" isn't about eschewing theory, but being well grounded in a few theories and making intentional choices about when and how to draw from them. Joe suggested that social workers in the field can contribute to theory refinement by thinking seriously about how well the theories they use work with the clients they serve. We ended our conversation with some information on resources for social workers who are interested in learning more about practice theories.

Social Work Research for Practitioners: Interview with Allen Rubin, Ph.D.

[Episode 37] In today's podcast, I talked with Dr. Allen Rubin about research and social work practice. You might recognize the name Rubin from the widely used social work research text "Rubin and Babbie," or as it is officially known, Research Methods for Social Work. In addition to the Rubin and Babbie text, he has authored well over 100 publications, most recently focusing on evidence-based practice.

Download MP3 [27:10]



Since so many of us have learned research from the Rubin and Babbie text, myself included, I thought it would be appropriate to interview Allen for the first social work podcast on social work research. I'm excited about offering a series on social work research because research is essential to good social work practice. Most practitioners I know have an impressive command of assessment, diagnosis, intervention and the myriad of factors that go into providing services to clients. These same practitioners get fairly lost in even the most basic research articles and couldn't distinguish an ANOVA from a logistic regression to save their life. So, I thought I would take this opportunity to find out what research concepts Allen Rubin thought were essential for social work practitioners to understand.

Phone Supervision (Part III): Interview with Jody Bechtold

[Episode 33] Today’s podcast is the last in a three part series on phone supervision. In Part I and Part II I spoke with Simon Feuerman and Melissa Groman about their experiences of providing phone supervision and consultation. In today’s interview I speak with Jody Bechtold about her experience receiving phone supervision as part of her process of becoming a Nationally Certified Gambling Counselor. We talked about the process she went through to find phone supervision, some of the pros and cons and likes and dislikes. Jody contrasted phone supervision with face-to-face supervision and talked about phone supervision etiquette.


Download MP3 [15:53]

There were some interesting similarities and differences between Jody's comments on Phone Supervision and those of Simon and Melissa. Compared to the phone consultation provided by Simon and Melissa, Jody’s phone supervision was very structured and targeted. Still, her description of the experience of phone supervision, and the apparent benefits of phone supervision to provide a focused and convenient forum for developing advanced clinical skills, was nearly identical to the description provided by Simon and Melissa, despite the fact that Simon and Melissa are the providers and work almost exclusively with clinicians who are not working towards advanced clinical license. The most significant difference was that Jody advocated for a very structured format with required pre-session reading, whereas Simon and Melissa described a more process oriented group, one that is probably more appropriate for the types of clinicians with whom they work.

APA (5th ed) citation for this podcast:

Singer, J. B. (Host). (2008, February 18). Phone supervision (Part III): Interview with Jody Bechtold [Episode 33]. Social Work Podcast. Podcast retrieved Month Day, Year, from
http://socialworkpodcast.com/2008/02/phone-supervision-part-iii-interview.html