I'm watching twitter, google+ and the web so you don't have to...
This
post is part of a weekly series, Best in Mental Health,
featuring the best posts of the week, in social work, psychology,
evidence-based practice/healthcare, non-profit and private practice
concerns on Social Work Career Development.
To get a quick idea of the topics covered in this week's round-up, please see the above word cloud :)
Evidence Based Practice/Healthcare:
Adults with serious mental illness have a mortality rate three times as high as the general population, according to new NHS statistics
The Mental Elf (Andre Tomlin)
"Under the measure, people with a ‘serious mental illness’ are defined as
those who have been in contact with specialist secondary mental health
services at any time over the previous three years; including
out-patients, people in contact with community services and in-patients..."
Your Affordable Care Act Toolkit: Preparing for the Assault
Occupy Healthcare (crgonzalez)
"Below, I have indicated the likely scenario of arguments and tactics to
be weighed against the Affordable Care Act and our options to reply,
both reactively and proactively. I invite your additions to this list..."
Social Work:
2012 Theme for 16 Days of Activism
A Social Worker's View (Sharon Wangene)
"The Center for Women's Global Leadership has announced this year's theme for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. The theme is From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women!"
The Five Most Popular Social Work Careers
USC Social Work (Jenn Pedde)
"There are many positions a graduate with an MSW degree can fulfill, but here are five of the most popular social work careers: Medical/Public Health: Social workers who work in the medical field are always in high demand... Substance Abuse..."
Top Ten Tips for the First Year of Placement
JFK Blog (Deborah Gray, MSW, MPA)
"What are reasonable things for parents to concentrate on during the first year home?... Spend ample time in nurturing activities... Teach children to play with you. Many little ones have missed the joys of play... Talk to your child..."
50 Tips and Strategies to Ace the LMSW Exam: Aunt Bertha's LMSW Master Guide A.C.T
Aunt Bertha (Mozart Guerrier)
"A license test can easily be considered an enemy we must conquer, but I recommend reframing it to be a challenge and barrier set up for those of us who say we are committed to the populations we serve..."
"Bouncers and Jugglers and Firefighters ... Oh My!": A Qualitative Investigation of Social Work Roles in Health (podcast)
Living Proof Podcast (UBSSW, Dr. Shelley Craig and Dr. Barbara Muskat)
"In episode 99, Drs. Craig and Muskat discuss their qualitative study
of social work roles in hospital settings. Seven major roles emerged
from their analysis: bouncer, juggler, janitor, broker, firefighter,
glue, and challenger..."
Busy Work
Practice Wisdom (Natalie L. Hill, LICSW)
"there is a lot of busy work. Most of it involves documentation. In fact,
just about every social work joke I've heard makes some mention of
paperwork...When it comes to documentation, I'll be the first to say that good records are important..."
Clinical motivation, for advocates
Classroom to Capitol (Melinda K Lewis)
"these are what I see as some of the applications of this motivational interviewing approach to... grassroots advocacy... Express empathy: we have to... meet our advocates (or would-be advocates) where they are, and understand the reluctance they express..."
Drama Llamas are pack animals
SocialJerk
"I’m gearing up for another girls’ group. These are generally the
highlight of my professional life, so I’m rather excited. The thing that
I don’t particularly enjoy about the girls, though, is the drama... "
Let the Sandusky convictions mean something
Child Protection Lessons (Peter Choate)
"If society truly wishes to see the end of these horrific
stories of abuse, then it must be willing to open the proverbial Pandora’s Box
and talk about what has and is going on. Sandusky is a high profile case in
which some of his former victims found the strength..."
Making Social Work Work Better
The Not So Big Society (Ermintrude2)
"Let us aspire towards excellence... By bringing people with experience of using services and social workers
who are asked to implement the systems, into discussions with
commissioning teams..."
Patients, Professionals and Social Media – Where are the boundaries?
The World of Mentalists (Zarathustra)
"Although my views have evolved to a degree as the guidance evolved, much
of this guidance is actually fairly basic common sense...There’s a reason why all this guidance has developed – professionals
have got into trouble because of social media..."
Psychodynamic therapy with vulnerable and oppressed populations (podcast)
The Social Work Podcast (Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW and Dr. Joan Berzoff)
"[Episode 72] Today's episode... explores the
question of what makes psychodynamic theory a valuable approach for
working with vulnerable and oppressed populations... Dr. Berzoff talked about the value of curiosity in psychotherapy; the use of insight..."
Watershed Moments in the Fight for Justice for Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
From Where I Stand (Andrea B. Goldberg, LCSW)
"Let's take a moment today to celebrate these watershed moments that can help child sexual abuse survivors feel more hopeful that our society is beginning to take their plight more seriously and hold abusers and their protectors accountable..."
Psychology:
12 Warning Signs That It’s Emotional Infidelity – And Not ‘Just Friendship’
Neuroscience and Relationships (Dr. Athena Staik)
"A relationship without sex can be just as intense, or more so than a
sexual one. Additionally, in most cases, the dynamics of these platonic
liaisons crosses over into sexual love sooner or later... If you’ve been thinking or saying, “we’re just friends,” think again..."
The Art of Being a Good “Bad Therapist”, Part 1
Dr. Greg Hinkle
"the early part of the psychotherapy involves building a sturdy
relationship in which the client can feel safe, understood, and
accepted... once the client can trust the sturdiness of the
therapeutic relationship, the client’s own unconscious processes... introduce key issues..."
Building Self-Esteem with Affirmations
HealthyPlace (Emily Roberts, MA, LPC)
"By using the power of affirmations and repeating them daily, you can
recondition your thoughts and change how you think and feel about any
situation... Start with a direct statement of a positive change you want to make in your life..."
A Yelp Review is Not an Authorization to Release Information: Online Reviews and Confidentiality
Dr. Keely Kolmes
"A client reviewing us on a website, no matter whether their real name is
used, is not the same thing as them signing a release of information
authorizing us to discuss their care... While it can be tempting to defend our professional reputations..."
Bearing Witness and Being Seen
After Psychotherapy (Joseph Burgo, PhD)
"The simple fact that the therapist devotes his or her full attention to the client’s experience — bears witness to it — contributes to the healing process in ways we don’t often mention... over time,
when we go through challenging periods together... and they continue to value
the work and stick with it... my affection grows
deeper..."
Coping Skills to Release Sadness – Part Two
Mindfulness Muse (Laura Schenck, M.A.)
"When it seems as though other people in our lives aren’t there to
provide that support or reassurance, sadness can easily intensify and
become debilitating. It is precisely during these moments when it is
most important to remember that we have all of the resources and gifts
that we yearn for from others within ourselves..."
Coping with The Daily Grind: Challenges of Chronic Illness
Dr. Ann Becker Schutte
"The problem is, that, even when you’re totally sick of the daily details
of being as healthy as you can, a chronic illness often doesn’t respond
well to being ignored... Call in some extra backup...Plan a treat for yourself..."
Dream Symbols of the Beloved
Matrignosis: A Blog About Inner Wisdom (Dr. Jean Raffa)
"The Self is our Beloved, the core energy in every psyche that compels us
to grow into loveable, empowered, authentic, enlightened beings. Our
egos often reject the Self’s guidance but it never gives up on us... It is often represented by things with centers..."
How to Avoid an Abuser: Understanding Grooming
Dr. Kathleen Young: Treating Trauma
"Predators do indeed test or “groom” their victims. The intentionally
violate boundaries in small ways and wait to see your reaction. Then
they up the ante. An example of this could be as simple as insisting on
eating pizza on a date if you have expressed not liking it..."
In the Mind of a Stalker
The Trauma and Attachment Report (Stephanie Rhys)
"The relentless neurotic nature of the stalker can take the form of
harassing their targets, calling them repeatedly, as well as sending
letters and gifts. If these are ineffective, the individual may
escalate to more intrusive behaviors such as spying on, and unexpectedly
confronting their victims..."
I Will Not Look
Teenage Whisperer (Sam Ross, BSc, MSc, Cert EP (YJ))
"You see, when you ask me to think about what I do and about my decisions,
my actions, that’s not what you’re really asking. Well at least as far
as I see it. You’re not asking me to reassess what I’ve done, you’re
asking me to reassess who I am... And I don’t want to look at that reflection in the mirror..."
Learning the art of being still
American Counseling Association (Nicole Michaud)
"When I did my first number of sessions I immediately felt that it was my
job to “fill the void” in quiet moments... The silence can allow the client to process a thought that could be a key to their understanding of what is happening to them..."
The Mindful Manifesto - Awareness, Engagement, and Choice
The Mindful Self-Express (Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D)
"Mindfulness can help us to become less fused and identified
with our own thoughts, allowing us to watch them, rather than being
defined by them. We may not be able to control what our thoughts tell
us, but we can learn to relate to them in new ways..."
Portrait of the Psychotherapist as a Young Artist
What a Shrink Thinks (Martha Crawford, LCSW)
"I
had started therapy the year before dropping out – and was certainly
the most annoying, defended, overtly resistant patient that had ever
presented voluntarily in a therapists office... I was pursuing acting as
a career... But, it was clear as crystal that showing up for therapy
was my real
job..."
Should More Mentally Ill People Be Institutionalized?
Bipolar Burble (Natasha Tracy)
"Once upon a time there were places known as insane asylums... Insane asylums made a lot of sense because we didn’t have a lot of
treatment to offer those who were too “insane” to live in the general
population. Fast-forward to the 1960s...A movement of de-institutionalization spread..."
Nonprofit:
5 Apps Doing Good for the World
care2's nonprofit marketing blog (Avi Kaplan)
"The First Aid app from
the American Red Cross... With this app, you can
learn the basics of first aid and quiz yourself... Another great feature is handy list of
step-by-step instructions to follow during a variety of emergencies and
an integrated button to call 911..."
A Profile in Forbes Online by Shel Israel
Beth's Blog (Beth Kanter)
"Shel talks about my early days in social media fundraising, my passion
for teaching, learning, and sharing – as well as cupcakes and Cambodia..."
Private Practice:
5 Signs It’s Time To Raise Your Fees
Private Practice Toolbox (Julie Hanks, LCSW)
"If it’s been over five years since you’ve raised your therapy fees, it’s
time to revisit the issue. Your cost of living goes up approximately 2%
every year due to inflation. If you haven’t raised your fees you are
likely making less than you made five years ago..."
Five Ways You May Be Losing Clients
Therapy Marketing, SEO, Tech and Fun! (Elizabeth Doherty Thomas)
"Pay attention to the incoming emails and calls compared to who actually
joins you for therapy. Figure out how to make that ratio better!...If you’re getting a lot of clients that aren’t a good fit, you need to
review your marketing materials as well as your intake process..."
Counselor Self-Care: Tools for the Journey
Private Practice from the Inside Out (Traci Hart, MA, LPC)
"Here are a few useful tools I have found along the way to help 1)
measure and identify our risk for burnout and 2) identify wellness
activities that are helpful to each of us... the ProQOL-III and Self-Care Assessment provide useful information on life balance..."
The Perilous Price of a Good Living
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)
"if you have a business plan, and if you can have a concrete conversation
with your patients about how much money they make and expend in their
life, you have my blessing, you can have a sliding scale. But if you
have not taken a good look at how much YOU need to make..."
Please share any thoughts or comments you have below. I'd love to hear which were your favorite posts out of this week's bunch!
Also, please feel free to mention any great posts that I may have missed.
You May Also Enjoy:
Best in Mental Health (wk of 6/18/2012)
Best in Mental Health (wk of 6/4/2012)
Best in Mental Health (wk of 5/28/2012)
Key Take-Aways from NASW's Trauma & Addictions Workshop
Understanding Public Documents: A Privilege or a Right?
