Provides information on all things social work, including direct practice (both clinical and community organizing), research, policy, education... and everything in between.
[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.
[Episode 109] Today’s episode of the Social Work Podcast is about Death and Grief in the Digital Age. I spoke with Dr. Carla Sofka, professor of Social Work at Siena College. Dr. Sofka has been studying and writing about the intersection of technology and death and grief since the earliest days of the world wide web. Her edited 2012 text,Dying, Death and Grief in an Online Universe, looks at how changes in communication technology have revolutionized the field of thanatology.
In today’s episode we talk about the role of social media in how, why, where and when, who we grieve. She shares stories of people whose loved ones have died, only to find out that because of social media they are the last to know. Carla provides some digital literacy around death and grief in the digital age. She talks about social media posts as death notifications, about establishing digital advance directives and thinking about our digital dust.
She talks about STUG reactions which are Sudden Temporary Upsurges of Grief. I had never heard of a STUG reaction, but I actually had one during our conversation. You’ll hear me talk about college friend of mine who died several years ago and during the interview start to tear up as I recalled getting a Facebook notification that it was her birthday. We then talked about internet ghosts, memorial pages, memorial trolls, how and when people should respond to death notices online and what that means for the loved ones. She suggests that just as we provide sex education to kids, we should be providing death education. She also recommends including technology assessment in the standard biopsychosocialspiritual assessment. We ended our conversation talking about resources for mental health professionals who want to learn more.
[Episode 58.1] Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast is a rebroadcast of a 2010 interview with international social work recruiter David Dininio. I'm rebroadcasting Episode 58 because Kai Searle with Amicus Recruit has a fantastic opportunity for licensed social workers from the USA, Canada, South Africa, and Australia to do child protection work in the UK starting in January / February 2017. If you’re a licensed social worker with experience in child protective services and want to do social work in South East England, email kai@amicusrecruit.com.
In today's Social Work Podcast I speak with David Dininio, Recruitment Manager for HCL Social Care International, about how social workers in the United States can work as social workers in other countries. Let’s be honest. You didn’t become a social worker because you wanted to travel the world. Even if you’re someone who has the travel bug – You’re a social worker. You’re not making a whole lot of money? How are you going to finance it? Today’s Social Work Podcast is about how social workers can work abroad. Download MP3 [46:54]
[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.
[Episode 106] Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast is about a healthcare initiative called Zero Suicide. In today’s episode, I spoke with David W. Covington, LPC, MBA who, along with Mike Hogan, developed the Zero Suicide initiative. We talked about how he went from clinician to health care executive, from running a crisis service to organizing Zero Suicide initiatives around the world. We talked about what Zero Suicide means for providers and health care leaders and ended with information about how you can get your healthcare organization involved in Zero Suicide.
So why should social workers care about Zero Suicide?
Zero Suicide fits social work values. Zero suicide can only happen in a culture where people are encouraged to reach for the moon – that is no suicide, but are not punished for falling short. This idea of a “just culture” comes from Henry Ford Health System’s “Perfect Depression Care.”
Zero Suicide can’t happen without social workers. Social workers provide more mental health services than all other professions combined. Social workers are team players and Zero Suicide is inherently interprofessional.
Social workers are advocates. What if health care organizations use best practices, but those best practices haven’t been developed with diverse racial and ethnic groups, or don’t into account complex medical or trauma histories? What if Zero Suicide means that health care organizations have to spend more on training and staffing? Who will advocate for consumers if those costs are passed along to consumers rather than investors? Social workers have a professional responsibility to be involved in those conversations.
Social workers are trained to identify and respond to issues at the practice – the micro, and policy – the macro – level. Well guess what – ZeroSuicide is like the holy grail of micro-macro integration: it requires coordinated changes in values, beliefs, and practices at the provider- and system-level. David will talk more about this during the interview, but in plain English it means that as a social worker I have to believe that suicide is preventable, know how to assess, intervene, and coordinate care, and trust that my organization will have my back. At a systems level, health care organizations have to make a multi-year commitment of time and resources to reduce suicide deaths, train and support clinical and non-clinical staff, screen and assess everyone in the system, and use data-driven quality improvement. It can’t work without changes at the micro and macro level.
[Episode 105] Today's Social Work Podcast is about Recovery High Schools. I spoke with Dr. Lori Holleran Steiker, Distinguished Professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Social Work, and author of the 2016 book, Youth and Substance Use: Prevention, Intervention and Recovery. We talk about risk factors for addiction, adolescent brain development, how to think about addiction from a biopsychosocial-spiritual perspective, why recovery or sober high schools fit an essential gap in the continuum of care for youth struggling with drugs and alcohol and how you can help to bring one to your community. We end our conversation with Lori making an impassioned plea to join the fight against adolescent addiction.
[Episode 104] In today's episode of the Social Work Podcast I spoke with Kevin Briggs, retired Sergent with the California Highway Patrol. As part of his duties patroling Marin County, Sgt. Briggs responded to calls on the Golden Gate Bridge, one of the most lethal suicide spots in the world.
In April 2016 Sgt. Briggs and I talk about what it was like to be a negotiator working with people seconds away from jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sgt. Briggs shared some of his strategies and his struggles working with hundreds of people, some of whom jumped and some of whom didn’t. He talked about getting famous and doing a TED talk. And then he shared something very personal – the story of how he found out that his son had been thinking of killing himself. Sgt. Briggs provides valuable insight in the professional and personal side of crisis work.
[Episode 103] Today's Social Work Podcast is about the Grand Challenge initiative for social work. In today’s interview I asked Dr. Barth if there was a plan to bring practitioners, educators and policy makers on board with the Grand Challenge initiatives – he said they were already on board. I asked him to walk us through a Grand Challenge topic – he picked the challenge Ensure Healthy Development for All Youth. I asked him if he hopes the Grand Challenge Initiative will make more funding available to the profession – he said that he hopes for more resources, not just funding. I asked him if he thought doctoral students should hitch their wagons to the Grand Challenges. He was very diplomatic, but basically said “yes.” I asked him about the challenges coordinating between the major social work organizations, NASW which represents practitioners, CSWE which represents educators, and SSWR which represents researchers. He said he’s never seen organizations working together so closely as they have with the Grand Challenges. I asked him if there were topics that people would be surprised to find out were not Grand Challenge topics. He said, there were several and then explained why. As an author of a Grand Challenge paper, I know that we were asked to conceptualize what could be accomplished in the next 10 years. So I asked Dr. Barth what he hoped he would be able to say at the 10 year anniversary event of the Grand Challenges.
Here's what the AASWSW website says about the Grand Challenge Initiative:
"The Grand Challenges for Social Work represent a dynamic social agenda, focused on improving individual and family well-being, strengthening the social fabric, and helping create a more just society. Explore each of the 12 Grand Challenges for Social Work below:"
[Episode 102] Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast tackles one of the most difficult developmental stages in the parent-child relationship: adolescence. If you’re a long-time listener of the podcast, you know that I’ve spent most of my professional career working with or doing research on adolescents. Like most clinicians I have more experience with adolescents when things are going wrong in their lives than when they are going right. And as a parent, I can tell you that I seem to be much more clued into when things are going wrong than things are going right. Like earlier this afternoon… no, I’m just kidding, I wouldn’t do that to you. What I will do is introduce my guest. Dr. Lisa Damour (@LDamour), clinician, researcher, professor, parent, writer of the Adolescence column for the New York Times’ Motherlode blog, and most importantly for today’s episode, Dr. Damour is the author of Untangled: Guiding teenage girls through the seven transitions into adulthood.
I’ve read it. I think it is fantastic. I recommend this book without hesitation to anyone who is raising or will be raising a teenage daughter. The writing is engaging, scholarly without being boring, and full of practical tips that parents can adopt and implement immediately.
How often should my kid be eating dinner with me?
When is the best time to have a serious and uncomfortable conversation?
My thirteen-year-old rolls her eyes when I try to talk to her, and only does it more when I get angry with her about it. How should I respond?
Do I tell my teen daughter that I’m checking her phone?
Where’s the line between healthy eating and having an eating disorder?
My daughter’s friend is cutting herself. Do I call the girl’s mother to let her know?
I also think that any mental health professional who works with children and families should read this book. Dr. Damour basically hands you brilliant ways of explaining essential developmental concepts that will make sense to the parents and kids you work with. Plus, you’ll be able to legitimately recommend it as bibliotherapy for your clients. Check out the discussion guide: https://www.drlisadamour.com/untangled/discussion-guide/
In today’s interview we talk about why a teenage girl’s erratic and confusing behavior is actually healthy, necessary, and natural. She talks about what’s going on in the minds of teenage girls and how parents can reframe their daughter’s thoughts feelings and actions. She talks about how society essentially abandons teenage girls and their parents. We talk about sex and the internet. And even though about 70% of the book focuses on how and when parents can know what’s going right, Dr. Damour draws on her extensive clinical experience to alert parents of when they have reason to worry.
The most basic critique of the DSM-5 is the same critique that has been levied against psychiatry for decades: that it does nothing more than medicalize or pathologize normal behavior. So is it ever ok to say that someone isn’t normal? Are there ever situations where giving a diagnosis is good? As it turns out, yes. And I’m not just talking about diagnosis as a means to finance treatment. Yes, third party reimbursement hinges on diagnosis. But I’m talking about something less institutional and more personal. There are people who like labels, who find comfort in being able to name or label what is wrong. The label draws a boundary around an experience. Labels can even draw up boundaries around a group of people. According to psychologist Gary Greenberg, “[the label] Asperger’s syndrome gave people whose primary symptom was isolation a way to belong and provided resources to those who were diagnosed” (Reese, 2013).
So, I know what you are wondering - is DSM diagnosis good or bad? Well, today’s episode won’t be the definitive answer to that question. But, it will give you cause to pause when you think about the role of DSM-5 in the professional life of social workers and the people we serve. My guest is social work faculty member from Florida State University, Jeffrey Lacasse, Ph.D. Dr. Lacasse has published several critiques of the changes in DSM-5. In today's episode, Dr. Lacasse critiques the definition of mental illness, the empirical support for and reliability of most diagnoses, the politics associated with the DSM and the implications for social workers who represent the single largest group of professionals who provide DSM diagnoses.
[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
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.
[Episode 98] Today’s episode of the Social Work Podcast is about Cognitive Enhancement Therapy (Eack, 2012) - a relatively new approach to addressing some of the most persistent and intractable problems faced by people with schizophrenia. In order to learn more CET, I spoke with Shaun Eack, Ph.D. Dr. Eack has been involved in most of the clinical research on CET. He is the David E. Epperson Associate Professor of Social Work and Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, and the director of the ASCEND Program, which stands for "Advanced Support and Cognitive Enhancement for Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
Download MP3 [36:08]
I spoke with Shaun at the 2015 Society for Social Work and Research conference. In our interview, Shaun talks about the development of CET, the computer exercises and group therapy - the two components of the treatment, some amazing research findings, and how social workers can get trained in CET.
[Episode 97] Today’s episode of the Social Work Podcast answers that age-old question, how do I live tweet a conference? In April 2014, I recorded a conversation with members of the social media team that was live tweeting the 2014 American Association of Suicidology conference: April Foreman, Tony Wood, Quintin Hunt, Dese'Rae Stage, and Cara Anna. The conversation was recorded at the end of four intense days. You’ll hear team members talking about the personal and professional benefits of live tweeting, how they handled controversial comments, and what it was like to be part of an historic moment. I include a "best practice" guide to help you plan what to do before, during, and after a conference or event.
[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."
"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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
[Episode 95] Hey there podcast listeners. March is Social Work Month. I know, you’re saying, but every month is social work month. Yes… that’s true… for social workers. But, social work is one of those professions that, to misquote Ogden Rogers [Episode 88], if you’re doing it well, people don’t know you’re doing it. so, let’s have a month to remind the general public of what social workers do. In that spirit, today’s episode is a quick and dirty rundown of some of the things I do for social work and some of the things I’m involved in that make social work a better profession. So, this episode is a quick and dirty rundown of upcoming episodes, resources for social work and technology, and information about my book, Suicide in Schools, published by Routledge Press in December 2014.
NASW’s theme for Social Work Month 2015 is “social work paves the way for change.” I love our profession and all that we do to pave the way for change for the oppressed, marginalized, and underrepresented in our society. I also recognize that there are social workers who have paved the way for me to change. So, every day this month I’m honoring a different social worker who has inspired me and helped me to change so I can be a better social worker. You can see my list of social workers on the Social Work Podcast Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/swpodcast, the Twitter feed @socworkpodcast.
Upcoming episodes:
•Attachment-Based Family Therapy: Guy Diamond & Suzanne Levy
•Cognitive Enhancement Therapy: Shaun Eack
•Working with Deaf People: Teresa Crowe Gualladet
•The Contribution of the Children's Bureau to Social Work Education: Alice Lieberman
•Social Innovation: Steve Anderson
•Suicide in Schools: Terri Erbacher
NASW is launching a series of Tweet Chats. Tweet chats are opportunities for people to gather on Twitter at a specified time and use a specific hashtag (that symbol that we used to call the “pound sign”) and discuss a specific topic. I’m honored to be the NASW Tweet Chat guest on April 2nd talking about “Suicide in Schools.” Laurel Hitchcock has a wonderful guide for how to participate in a Tweet Chat. If you like it, you can participate in lots of Tweet chats. Well-established tweet chats specific to social work include:
Suicide in Schools provides school-based professionals with practical, easy-to-use guidance on developing and implementing suicide prevention, assessment, intervention and postvention strategies at the individual, family, school, and community level. The book includes detailed case examples, guidelines, handouts, and internet resources on the best approaches to effectively working with youth who are experiencing a suicidal crisis as well as those students, families, school staff, and community members who have suffered the loss of a loved one to suicide. Here are some reviews of the book:
"This book provides the exact kind of practical information school staff need to know, from how to tell a parent his or her child is contemplating a suicidal act to what the school staff member's responsibility is to the child, the parent, and to the community to address suicidal risk. When combined with the detailed case examples that really bring an extra dimension to the step-by-step guides, this book becomes a must-read for any professional working in a school environment." Thomas Joiner, PhD, Robert O. Lawton Professor of Psychology at Florida State University and director of the Laboratory for the Study and Prevention of Suicide-Related Conditions and Behaviors
"A comprehensive guide for all educators seeking the current evidenced-based, model practices for suicide prevention in schools. The ‘expert tips’ reflect a wealth of knowledge gleaned from the front lines, where collaboration is essential between school psychologists, social workers, counselors, and their administrators. The authors paraphrase our national motto: ‘Everyone in the school plays a role in suicide prevention!’" Richard Lieberman, NCSP, school psychologist/consultant with the Los Angeles County Suicide Prevention Network
"Suicide in Schools is an essential, invaluable resource for all school personnel who are interested in preventing self-harm among their students. User-friendly, yet erudite, the book serves as a manual for evidence-based and innovative practices. If only this reference had been available when, as president of the National Association of School Psychologists, I issued a call to action to prevent suicide." Ralph E. (Gene) Cash, PhD, ABPP, professor at the Center for Psychological Studies and director of the School-related Psychological Assessments and Clinical Interventions Clinic at Nova Southeastern University
"This book provides a comprehensive examination of the many issues that schools face in working with suicidal youth and provides hands-on strategies that have been successfully implemented in school-based settings. The authors provide excellent case examples and practical information that aligns with clinical and research experts in the field of youth suicidal behavior. Finally, the authors structure their book to extensively explain how a multi-tiered approach can be implemented for suicide prevention, risk assessment, and management of youth suicidal behavior. This book provides exactly the help school personnel need to feel more confident in working with high-risk youth and thus is an invaluable resource for anyone working in the schools and/or working with them. It already has a place on my desk." James J. Mazza, PhD, professor and director of the school psychology program at the University of Washington
Thanks for all that you do, social workers. We’re an amazing and storied profession. Happy social work month. And keep up the good work.
[Episode 94] Today’s episode of the Social Work Podcast is on Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) for social work. My guests, Marion Bogo and Mary Rawlings, and their co-authors Ellen Katz and Carmen Logie, are pioneers in the development, implementation, and evaluation of OSCE adapted for social work.
The audience for today's episode is social work faculty, specifically practice instructors who are interested in learning more about how to objectively evaluate their student's skills. Today's episode reviews the origins of OSCE adapted for social work, how it is implemented in different types of social work programs, some findings from the research that has been conducted on OSCE, and some recommendations for faculty who are interested in learning more about this approach.
[Episode 93] Today’s episode of the Social Work Podcast is on Religious Child Maltreatment. Longtime listeners of the podcast will remember that I first addressed this topic in 2012 when I interviewed Janet Heimlich about her book “Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment.” In episode 72, Janet explained that religious child maltreatment is any abuse or neglect that was done in the name of religion, or that was encouraged, condoned, or assumed as a necessary practice by a religious community. Parents are more likely to engage in religious child maltreatment when they are members of authoritarian religious communities. Janet’s book is a wonderful primer on the topic, and her interview was a treasure trove of information for social workers.
In today’s episode I spoke with two people who bring very different perspectives to this issue. Bethany Brittan is on the board of the Child Friendly Faith project and is a survivor of RCM. Ann Haralambie is a certified family law specialist and a certified child welfare law specialist practicing in Tucson Arizona. I had two goals for our interview. The first was to give voice to the experience of people who have survived RCM. To that end, I present Bethany’s story as un-interrupted tape. The second was to unpack some of the differences between the personal experience of RCM and the professional challenges associated with protecting children from religious maltreatment. You’ll hear Ann and me talk about legal, educational, and bureaucratic issues associated with child maltreatment.
And now, without further ado, on to episode 93 of the Social Work Podcast: Personal and Professional Perspectives on Religious Child Maltreatment: Interview with Bethany Brittain and Ann Haralambie, JD.
[Episode 92] Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast looks at an innovative approach to developing strengths and resilience in youth experiencing homelessness - a music studio housed within an agency.
In today’s interview, I speak with Brian Kelly, Ph.D., assistant professor at Loyola University Chicago. Brian briefly describes factors that put youth at risk for homelessness and the three levels of services provided to homeless youth. We end with Brian playing some clips from the audio documentary, and discussing how the music provides insight into the youths' lives.
[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.
[Episode 90] Today's episode is about adolescence. I spoke with Laurence Steinberg, who wrote the book Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence.He is the author of approximately 350 articles and essays on growth and development during the teenage years, and the author, co-author, or editor of 17 books. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Psychological Association’s Bronfenbrenner Award for Lifetime Contribution to developmental Psychology in the Service of Science and Society and its Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy, as well as the National Academy of Sciences Henry and Bryna David Lectureship. In 2009, Steinberg was named the first winner of the Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize for Productive Youth Development. In 2013, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In today's interview Dr. Steinberg and I spoke about the growing gap between onset of puberty and the end of adolescence; challenges facing parents, providers, and policy makers to provide adolescents with experiences and skills needed to be successful; and how reconceptualizing adolescence as an age of opportunity rather than an age risk is an essential reframe to address the needs of this youth in this developmental stage. We ended our conversation with recommendations for practitioners, educators, and policy makers.
One note, even though Dr. Steinberg and I work in adjacent buildings at Temple University, I interviewed him over Skype because he was out of the state.
[Episode 89] Today’s episode of the social work podcast about Cystic Fibrosis, or CF. We’re looking at CF in two parts. In Part I we learn about this chronic, terminal illness. In Part II we learn about what social workers can do when working with people with CF.
There are about 30K people in the USA with CF, 75% of whom were diagnosed as babies, and half of whom are over the age of 18. CF is a genetic progressive chronic disease. People are born with it. The disease causes the body to produce thick and sticky mucous in the lungs and wreaks havoc on the digestive system, pancreas, bone density and other things. Because of this thick mucous in the lungs, people often describe having CF like breathing through a straw. This mucous leads to chronic lung infection, loss of lung functioning, and disability and death. In the 1980s children born with CF could expect to live until they were about 12 years old. The life expectancy for someone born with CF in 2014 is 38 years old. Treatment for CF includes daily medications, breathing treatments and chest physical therapy in the form of a mechanized vest that helps break up the mucus. In some cases people with CF need lung transplants.
So, those are the stats. But what does it mean to live with CF, and what should social workers know about working with people with CF? I’m delighted to say that for today’s episode of the Social Work Podcast I found the ideal guest. Elizabeth Shuman is a licensed clinical social worker who works as at the Grove School in Madison, CT. She also has CF.
[Episode 88] Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast is about Medicaid. Medicaid is one of two health insurance programs signed into law on July 30, 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Medicaid has long been erroneously thought of as "insurance for the poor." Medicare, the other program LBJ signed into law, is thought of as "insurance for older adults." Are you bored yet? Yeah, me too.
"An hour long episode on Medicaid? Are you serious?" I hear you. I've dealt with Medicaid audits, those mind-numbing time studies, and the pathologically rigid billing regulations. But before you hit the "skip" button and head over to one of my competitors - Podsocs, inSocialWork, or the Social World Podcast, consider this: Medicaid has been called "the most important program [in the USA] that nobody understands." (Matt Salo, November 22, 2013). Did you know that it is a 450 billion dollar health insurance program that served 72 million people a year? 72 million - that's twice the population of Canada, and more than the populations of France, Italy, Germany, and the UK.
In order to get a handle on this enormous program I spoke with someone who is in the news on nearly a daily basis answering questions about Medicaid - Matt Salo. Mr. Salo is the executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD), "a bipartisan, professional, nonprofit organization of representatives of 56 state Medicaid agencies (including the District of Columbia and the territories). NAMD is committed to providing a focused, coordinated voice for the Medicaid program in national policy discussion and to effectively meet the needs of its member states now and in the future" (NAMD website).
I spoke with Mr. Salo about his role in NAMD and the function of the organization. We spoke at length about the ethical and economic dilemma that has faced Medicaid lately - the development of a cure for Hepatitis C (Sovaldi). As Mr. Salo explained in this New York Times piece from August 2, 2014, Medicaid directors estimated that covering this cure for Hepatitis C could drive up the cost of health care by 10% to 15% across the board. Mr. Salo and I talked about how social workers can advocate for clients within a system that is constrained by economics. In the second half of our conversation, Mr. Salo described a future for health care that addressed many of the criticisms of the way managed care was conceptualized. He talked about the role of social workers in this new world of integrative behavioral health.
I'm VERY interested in your thoughts about Mr. Salo's thoughts on medicaid. Please join me in an on-going online discussion. If you're on Twitter, use the hastag #medicaid. If you're on Facebook, please go to the Social Work Podcast Facebook page and leave your comments. And if you listened to the very end of the episode and know the answer to the question "how does Jonathan know Matt Salo" please give the answer on the poll at the top of the page. Thank you!
I’ve read it. I think it is fantastic. I recommend this book without hesitation to anyone who is raising or will be raising a teenage daughter. The writing is engaging, scholarly without being boring, and full of practical tips that parents can adopt and implement immediately.
"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.
Download MP3 [12:26]
