Best in Mental Health: Social Work Toolkit!

Mental Health Roundup 6/18/18 – 7/22/18

This roundup contains some of the latest news in social work, healthcare, private practice and more! It may assist you in understanding anger, our three brain parts, how to manage trigger foods, diversity/inclusion, motivation, the impact of net neutrality, the best internet and mobile phone filters, creating your brand persona 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

• Anger:  A Prelude to Courage – Linda Graham/Love and Life Toolbox – “anger… hardwired-in, body-based survival response… cued by our perceptions of unfairness, disrespect, discrimination…”
• Books About Mental Health Help Me Combat Self-Stigma – Laura Barton/HealthyPlace – “these kinds of books help is by offering validation… Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig…”
• Bringing Yoga Therapy Into A Talk Therapy Practice – Therapy Chat interview w/Nityda Gessel – “a bowl of yoga and a bowl of therapy is one of the same… goal of self-discovery… reconnecting to the truth about yourself… yoga brings a somatic focus [connection to the body or including the body]…”
• Creative Ideas for Assessing Vulnerable Children and Families – Katie Wrench/JKP – “offer a trauma informed response to children and their families… build safety into assessments…”
• Essential Lessons from Mr. Rogers and Won’t You be My Neighbor? – Lynn Lyons – “you will hear Mr. Rogers talking about HOW to handle strong emotions, HOW to communicate… He modeled problem solving. He normalized the difficult parts of growing up so children didn’t feel alone…”
• Getting to Know Your Three Brains: Part 4 Triggers – Hilary Jacobs Hendel – “work effectively with our thinking brain, emotional brain and body brain to feel better… get curious about when our triggers originated, such as in childhood, adolescence or adulthood…”
• How can I trust myself around trigger foods? – Michelle May – “when we restrict certain foods, for whatever reason, we put them up on a pedestal… important step to learning to trust yourself around certain foods, is to stop making them “bad” or “forbidden”…”
• How Social Workers Can Address the Trauma of Family Separation – A Anderson/SJS – “Decades of studies have found a clear link between legal status and mental health… Volunteer as translators… Support advocacy groups… Lobby…”
• Optimism and hope – All in the Mind w/Martin Seligman – “PERMA… pleasant emotions, like happiness, contentment, joy, rapture…. being completely engaged… positive relationships… meaning and purpose… competence, achievement, accomplishment…”
• Push Reset on the Parent-Teen Relationship After High School – Neil D. Brown – “Have a conversation with your son about how you are going to work together while he is in college and how you can put the past behind you and enjoy his moving forward together…”
• The Ripple Effect of Childhood Trauma – Practice of Being Seen w/Laura Reagan – “Our “unresolved stuff” affects relationships… what children need most is the guidance to express their feelings and cope with them in order to develop healthy relationships…”
• Should You Disclose Your Mental Illness? – David Susman – “Your decision to disclose your mental illness is your decision alone. No one can or should make this decision for you…”
• Tips and tricks for being a mindful counselor – John Wheeler – “Don’t buy in to the story; it only makes your client a victim… Be you and trust your training… Acknowledge that your clients are the experts in their own lives…”
• A To-­Do List For New Trauma Workers, From The Trauma Therapist Podcast – Guy Macpherson/Family Therapy Basics – “understanding the value of the therapeutic relationship, and then being able to cultivate and honor that… Do. Your. Own. Work…”

Healthcare

• Asking about suicide does not cause harm, in fact it may help – Mental Elf – “benefits are twice as pronounced in adolescents compared to adults…”
  • App, brief intervention may be lifesaver for suicidal teens – Science Daily – “rate of attempted suicides by teenagers who received the intervention was halved compared to those who received the standard care during their hospitalization…”
  • How Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade could change mental health – KevinMD – “we cannot assess happiness or depression based on outward appearances… take the time to actually listen when someone tells you about their emotional pain…”
• The New York Times: “Sometimes Patients Simply Need Other Patients” – Susannah Fox – “Other patients can help. They have (or have had) your condition, as well as your anxieties and questions, and they’ve found a path through…”
• Tools For Practice Tuesday: Unite US – Stuck on Social Work – “single patient record of referral to organizations like mental health, other specialties, and social services (like childcare, employment, shelter, food, etc..)… means to follow through with both the patient and organization…”

Advocacy

• 5 Things I Learned About Holding A Predominantly White And Cisgender Feminist Space – Ayesha Sharma /Everyday Feminism – “No feminist space that is predominantly white and cis is “safe” or “open to everyone.”… marginalized people in those spaces can often feel silenced, small, and microaggressed…”
• Creating Healthy Spaces for Black Women – Family Couch interview w/Joy Harden Bradford – “how we can reset the image that black women need to be strong and have it all together… be intentional about seeking out… training opportunities to hold safe spaces for other cultures….”
• Helping Families Talk About School Shootings – Torrey A. Creed – “One of the best places for parents to start the conversation is by asking kids what they already know… Reassure kids, but don’t make promises that can’t be kept…”
  • Youth leadership, mental health, school shootings, adult allies – Doin’ The Work w/Martin Rafferty – “how Youth ERA [a national organization that empowers youth to achieve their potential] responds to school shootings as well as the stigma surrounding mental health…”
• It’s Not Just the Tampon Tax: Why Periods Are Political – Karen Zraick/NYT – ““Menstrual equity” refers to equal access to hygiene products, but also to education about reproductive health…”
• Language – Helpful Social Work – “importance of language… how social workers communicate, the meaning of language, and how it can give or take away power…”
• The only way to fight racism in our sector – Jennifer Lentfer/How Matters – “speak up… we can make changes – right now… learning the difference between diversity and inclusion…”
• ‘Red Sparrow’ and the Tradition of Violence Against Women Onscreen – Heather Griffin/Shrink Tank – “a woman alone in a room full of men today can never be entirely at ease due to the worst case scenario…”
• Social Action 105: Radical Community Organizing –  Rachel L. West – MacroSW twitter chat transcript from 7/19/18… What is radical community organizing?… What examples exist of radical community organizing (in the US or internationally)?…”
• Strategies to Advance Service Delivery & Address Challenges of Homeless Population  – InSocialWork interview w/Heather Larkin & Amanda Aykanian – “examples of current models and programs designed to prevent homelessness…”

Self-Care/Inspiration

• Busyness and the Overscheduled Woman – Women-in-Depth interview w/Yvonne Tally – “How ignoring self-nurturing and self-care can spiral into bigger issues… How “I’m busy” became the new “I’m fine”…”
• How To Motivate Yourself (Even When You’re Feeling Dull) – Stephen Borgman – “remember why you were excited about that goal in the first place… What’s the first action I can take…”
• Intuitive Art Journaling – Amy Johnson Maricle – “Start by writing about your feelings… Cover your writing with a color that feels good to you…”
• Meditate – Rick Hanson – “Meditation is to the mind what aerobic exercise is to the body…”
• Self-Care Summer: Mindfulness Practice – Two for One – Robert Blundo/New Social Worker – “slow down and wash your dish with attention and thoughtfulness in your everyday life…”
• When Life Keeps Happening: Stop. Listen. Learn – Christina Hibbert – “When life challenges arise, we must stop… the busyness… the distractions…Stop ignoring, denying, or suppressing what’s happening and how we really feel…”

Social Work, Technology and Education

• Micro Meets Macro: Gender Selection and Population Problems – Karen Sternheimer – “Our personal decisions are shaped by both our culture and social structure. Public policies created to reduce fertility rates and stem poverty can have unintended consequences…”
• How Will the End of Net Neutrality Affect Social Work? – Stephen Cummings/New Social Worker – “could mean paying multiple charges: you pay Netflix to see their content, then pay the carrier additional fees for access… educate friends and colleagues…”
• #husITa18/#SWSD2018: Sustaining lifelong learning through the use of Technology-Mediated Professional Learning Networks – Laurel Hitchcock, Melanie Sage, Nancy J. Smyth and Jonathan Singer – “PLNs… practice of connecting to people who share interests and can learn from each other… Worksheet, which takes a social worker through the steps of creating their own PLN…”
• Ideas for participatory arts/design activities with a digital health focus – Deborah Lupton – “Mapping the service ecology… Inspiration cards… Collages…”
• Safe and Savvy: The Best Internet and Phone Filters of 2018 – Courtney Cagle/Educate Empower Kids – “K9 is a great filtering software that is available for free…”
• Social work is booming worldwide – because it’s proven to work – Guardian – “When social workers are active in a community, it tends to have a positive impact on crime rates, health statistics, school attendance and employment…”
• Staying Healthy When Your Job Doesn’t Provide Health Insurance | Part 1 and Part 2 – Amy Bergen – “Know the location of your nearest low-cost community health center or clinic…”
• Summer Reading, Viewing, and Listening List 2018– Pat Shelly – “based upon the June 28 #MacroSW Chat… Post Traumatic Success: Positive Psychology and Solution-Focused Strategies… Technology, Activism and Social Justice…”
• Using Facebook in social work assessment: An unethical practice or an effective tool in child protection? – Tarsem Singh Cooner and Liz Beddoe – study observed incidences of Facebook being used by social workers as part of risk assessment and on-going case work with families…

Nonprofit Career/Private Practice

• Three Mobile Marketing Strategies to Raise Awareness – Max Chekalov/SWH – “There are four major micro-moments you should take advantage of repeatedly… “I want to know”… “I want to go”… “I want to do”… “I want to buy” moments…”
• Business Partnership Ending in Private Practice: Conversations about the reality when life happens – Kelly Higdon w/Gina Aguayo –  “forming a business with a partner is like getting married… experience of starting a practice with a business partner and… separating from her partner…”
• Collaboration Hacks for Private Practitioners – Abundance Practice w/Laura Long – “There are going to be some people out there who are afraid of collaboration. But the vast majority of people are not… There’s always room for more therapists that are good…”
• Exercise To Create And Understand Your Brand Persona – Practice of the Practice – “think about your ideal client… give them… A name…An age…think about them the night before they pick up the phone or send you an email to start counseling at your practice…”
• How Psychotherapists Can Get Free Publicity and Media Exposure – Melody Wilding/Social Work Coaching – “HARO is a completely free service that connects journalists and reporters with experts just like you…”
• The Magic of “Multisolving” – SSIR – “where people pool expertise, funding, and political will to solve multiple problems with a single investment of time and money…”
• Making The Move From Solo To Group Practice – Practice of Therapy w/Kristen Breese – “various tasks that come with being a group practice owner… Success comes from having a clear picture of where you want to be…”
• Quick Clinical Case Notes (Collaborative Documentation Q&A) – Maelisa Hall – “Writing notes with clients in session… Less time writing notes… Better engagement of “resistant” clients…”
• Understanding Our Money Stories and Setting Private Practice Fees – Selling the Couch w/Deb Lyman- “How our money stories impact us as business owners AND the work we do with our clients…”
• The Well-Being & Equity Bridging (WEB) Network – Beth Kanter – “emerging network of people and organizations who believe that equity, well-being and health go hand in hand…”
• Your Questions Answered (About Telemental Health) – Roy Huggins – “you can only work with clients in states where you’re legally permitted to practice…”

Like this post? Please share it!

SaveSave