Best in Mental Health: Happy Social Work Month!

Mental Health Roundup 2/5/18 – 3/4/18

Happy Social Work Month! This roundup contains some of the latest news in social work, healthcare, private practice and more! It may assist you in preventing burnout, understanding military trauma, talking to children about diversity and social media, moving from cultural and disability awareness to active inclusion, incorporating HIPAA into your private practice and more.

This wrap-up’s main themes are:

Therapy and Relationships
Healthcare
Advocacy
Self-Care/Inspiration
Social Work, Technology & Education
NonProfit Career & Private Practice

Therapy and Relationships

7 Skills for Loving Relationships – Christina Hibbert – “Love your loved ones… Learn and use The 5 Love Languages… better understand how we give and receive love… “
Basics of Military Sexual Trauma: A Primer – Ron Jones – “sexual harassment through sexual assault and rape, incl. gang rape… male survivors… more likely to question… sexuality… suicidal ideation… female survivors… depression & social isolation…”
Behavioral Activation Tip – Robert Hindman – “counter the isolation… common to depression… obtain the client’s values by listing different value categories… asking… to rate the strength of each category…”
Borderlines and the Underdeveloped Sense of Self – Kellevision – “In a normal, healthy family… parents respect and support the child’s development of an identity separate from theirs…”
Cultural Competency and C-PTSD: Why Therapists Can Never Know Enough – Fabiana Franco – “True familiarity with even one culture is the work of years… cultural variation in what is considered traumatic around the world, as well as how this trauma affects people…”
- Emotional Eaters & Cultural Competency: Collaborative Practice (1 of 2) – InSocialWork interview w/Tasha Ford – “role of socialization and culture in the development of emotional eating… personal narratives clients develop about their relationship with food…”
- Ethics, religion and diversity – Gregory K. Moffatt – “Hurting relationships are the same regardless of culture, age, religion or sexual orientation… We cannot — we must not — attempt to evaluate who we think is worthy of our help…”
- Free Course to Promote Religious Tolerance & Understanding – “widespread illiteracy about religion… spans the globe” and “fuels bigotry and prejudice and hinders capacities for cooperative endeavors in local, national, and global arenas…”
- How to Talk About Diversity With Your Child – Family Couch interview w/Deidra Sorrell – “book explains racism as a germ, where a germ is very harmful… but through education and awareness can be reduced… children are not born racist… very open to people that do not look like them…”
- Should We Discuss Race with Our Clients? – InSitu/SDSU – “Having discussions with our clients about their culture—and experiences as a member of whatever race they identify with—can help us understand them individually instead of stereotyping them or making assumptions…”
Death by Suicide – The Resources Therapists Need to Know – Tamara Suttle – “Stacey Freedenthal’s book Helping the Suicidal Person: Tips and Techniques for Professionals…”
Demystifying Medical Marijuana– Women-in-Depth interview w/Rachna Patel – “conditions… commonly treated with medical marijuana… How exactly does marijuana relieve pain…”
Positive social work improvement – Helpful Social Work – “how we can use targets positively and take different approaches to learning from good practice… avoid a focus on compliance and blaming…”
Preparing Our Kids for Courtship in the Digital Age – Caroline Hilton – “healthy relationship will naturally move forward through a series of courtship stages… Noticing… Attraction… Flirtation…”
- Having Your Teen’s Nude Video Go Viral – Your Teen Mag – “It happens more than you think… Educate your teens on the legal repercussions of sexting…”
Shifting How Women Think About Their Appearance & Body – Julie Hanks – “women are still valued more for their looks than for their minds… narrower definition of beauty for white women…”
Therapy and Transformation: What Are We Promising Our Clients? – William Doherty/Psychotherapy Networker – “most therapy cases don’t lead to dramatic changes… we help clients get past some problems and improve their well-being…”
Yoga as a Tool For Mental Illness Recovery – Nancy Zacharakis/HealthyPlace – “it forces you to get out of your mind and into your body… a form of moving meditation…”

Healthcare

All fair comparisons and outcomes should be reported – Students 4 Best Evidence – “Reporting bias refers to the tendency to selectively report studies or outcomes… prevalent in healthcare research…”
Challenges of Measuring Quality and Costs of Behavioral Health Services in Primary Care – Virna Little – “ACA’s parity requirements and recommendations… have encouraged primary care providers to respond to screening for behavioral health…”
NIMH’s Portfolio Balance: Quality Science Comes First – “our balance has changed over the past 10 years… changing scientific priorities likely played a role in this shift… There is no optimal portfolio balance if the science underlying it lacks impact…”
SSRIs and suicidality: effects of SSRIs on rating-scale-assessed suicidality in adults with depression – Mental Elf – For those aged 25 and above, the mean rating of suicidality in the HRSD was significantly lower in those taking SSRIs than those given placebo…”
I Tried Apple’s Health Record – Katie D. McMillan – “goal of the update to Apple Health is to empower patients to pull together a complete picture of their health history…”
Technology and Suicide Risk: Moving Beyond Fear to Opportunity – SPRC – ” ConnectSafely has helpful resources to help parents and educators teach kids about technology safety, privacy, and security… SPRC offers resources that can help, including an information sheet for teens that lists call, text, chat, and email options for finding support…”
Why do we treat psychiatric illness different from other illness? – Banu Symington – “first step to destigmatizing psychiatric illness is to treat it the same way we treat other medical conditions. Keep the patient in the hospital until you are sure their illness is under control…”

Advocacy

Austerity Politics: What Social Workers Need to Know About Emergency Management Laws – InSocialWork interview w/Amy Krings – “policies disproportionately affect… poor and minority populations… actions… to help improve communities, mitigate harm, and shape public policies…”
Black Boys and Men: Changing the Narrative – NYU Silver/McSilver Institute – “14 episodes… thought leaders… analyze stereotypes and dispel myths concerning Black boys and men. Issues of systemic and institutional racism and oppression are addressed….”
Doin’ The Work Podcast – interview w/Jonathan Foiles- “trauma, cross-cultural practice, whiteness, and self-disclosure… self-care… includes writing about social policy issues and their impact on clients…”
Global Social Welfare Digital Summit 2018 (Virtual Event) – Social Work Helper – “Mar 19 through Mar 20.. diverse range of speakers… timely issues facing today’s children and families at home and abroad…”
Grand Challenge is a Focus of Social Work Day on the Hill – Charles E. Lewis/SJS – “Wednesday, March 21^st… majority-rule democracy can only exist in a society with a strong middle class…”
Moving From Disability Awareness Toward Active Inclusion – Malka Goldberg – “disabilities community has one of the highest unemployment rates in America, yet offers a large pool of qualified individuals for employment…”
New Narratives of Hope This Black History Month–And Beyond – Culture of Health – “We are now more than 50 years beyond the civil rights movement, yet change has been excruciatingly slow…”
Protect Yourself from Masked Budget Cuts – Marcyline Bailey/SWH – “Become well versed in the… development of social welfare policy… Investigate information… Don’t be afraid to speak up…”
White Denial, Mental Health, and Mass Shootings – Relando Thompkins-Jones – “mass shooters are disproportionately white and male… easier to scapegoat mental illness…”
Why Black Disability History Matters – Vilissa Thompson – “the story of leadership, advocacy and survival…”
Why is LGBT+ teacher training so important? – Elly Barnes/JKP – “portray the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans + people, both past and present within… existing lessons…”

Self-Care/Inspiration

12 Ways to Get Rid of Insomnia – Christine Hammond – “Minimize negative thoughts… Maximize positive thoughts… Set target sleep times…”
Connection Between Self Care & Social Justice – Therapy Chat interview w/Loretta Pyles – “exercise… Miriam Greenspan… learn about where… emotions are in their body… guided meditation… get them to connect… in their body… what is the color, texture [of emotion]… draw on [blank] body map…”
How to Meet Your Needs – Being Well podcast w/Rick Hanson – “The three needs… role of mindfulness… Getting comfortable with neediness… How to address deep, rather than superficial, needs…”
Maybe – To My Social Work Colleagues – Kathryn Conley Wehrmann/New Social Worker – “Congratulations… You have made a selection that can take you many places and present you with many opportunities and challenges in your effort to make the world a better place…”
Preventing Burnout in Human Services – Network for Social Work Management webinar recap… symptoms of burnout… managerial strategies for creating healthier and happier workplaces…”
Prevent Therapist Burnout, by Knowing and Using Your Strengths – Ili Walter chat w/Jessica Prater – “If you understand your strengths, and you’re required to stretch, then you know ahead of time that these tasks hold the potential to induce stress…”

Social Work, Technology & Education

Creating diverse schools and workplaces requires inclusion, not just numbers – Science Daily – “organization can be diverse in numbers, yet minorities may still report feelings of discrimination…”
Open Letter to Social Work Professors Who Love Social Work Month – Jonathan Singer/New Social Worker – “I think we should celebrate social work every month. Without social workers we wouldn’t have social security, fair labor laws, minimum wage…”
Technology and Mental Health – Healthy Minds w/Tom Insel – “how social media and smart phone technologies can help people monitor themselves, their symptoms, and level of functioning…”
Social Work Educator Tips: Guidelines for Online Discussion Forums – Karen Zgoda/Laurel Hitchcock – “set ground rules so both educators and students are clear about what technology is being used, for what purposes…”
Virtual reality improves offenders’ empathy – Science Daily – “domestic violence… violent people have a lack of emotional recognition… virtual experience improves the participant’s perception of emotions…”
What Are Active-Shooter Drills Doing to Kids? – James Hamblin – “Forgoing any pretense of a bear, sometimes a faculty member plays the role of a shooter, jiggling doorknobs as children practice keeping perfectly silent…”

Nonprofit Career and Private Practice

Concept of Out-Of-Network Benefits – Selling the Couch w/Rachael Norman – “Benefits for clinicians in providing out-of-network care… biggest mistakes clinicians make on superbills, including NPI confusion and code issues…”
Facebook Usage Declines: What Does It Mean for Your Nonprofit’s Digital Strategy? – Beth Kanter – “users… spending less [time] on Facebook… As Facebook usage goes down, Instagram and WhatsApp and Messenger usage go up…”
How to Optimize Your Psychology Today Profile – Practice of the Practice – “You want first your website to go to either your Home page or have it go to your About page…”
Imposter Syndrome and Your Niche – Abundance Practice-Building – “Feeling solid on your niche… What being certified means to you, your clients, and your clinical peers…”
Introduction to Behavioral Economics: What It Is and Why Your NPO Should Care – Allison Carpenter – “understand why people make decisions, errors, and choices… how to engage donors and keep existing supporters coming back for more…”
Should I Use a Treatment Planner for My Notes? – Maelisa Hall – “Rather than buying a book… go through your own notes… best way to create a list of interventions and goals that are personalized to you and your client…”
Understanding HIPAA Security Policies and Procedures – Roy Huggins – “free webinar Mar 29… policies and procedures that set out what security behaviors your practice will engage in…”