NASW Social Work Talks

White Ribbon VA is a national call to action to eliminate sexual harassment, sexual assault, and domestic violence across the Department of Veterans Affairs by promoting a positive change in culture so that the actions outlined in the pledge become the organizational norm. NASW and other mental health organizations have partnered with White Ribbon. In this episode we talk about the importance of White Ribbon VA with  Dr. Bridget Truman, associate director of the Prevention and Management of Disruptive Behavior at the Veterans Central Office, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in Asheville, NC;  Doctor Angela Lamson is a professor at East Carolina University and a representative of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy; and Doctor Carole Warshaw, MD, director of the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma and Mental Health and a representative of the American Psychiatric Association.

Rachel Forbes, MSW, Associate Professor of the Practice of Social Work and Western Colorado MSW Program Director at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, and Kelly Smith, DSW, founder and the director of the Institute of Social Work and Ecological Justice, and a social work instructor at Columbia University and the Adelphi University, discuss what social workers can help communities deal with environmental issues. They are editors of the newly released NASW Press Book, EcoSocialWork, Environmental Practice and Advocacy.

JC Hall, MSW, LCSW, is a hip hop therapist and school social worker in the South Bronx, New York. He works at a high school there, where he is the Hip Hop Therapy Studio Program Director. JC says that hip hop saved his life. He talks about his mentor, the late Dr. Edgar H. Tyson, and how he turned his love of hip hop and working with youth into a career that he loves. The U.S. Census Bureau found that 38 percent of South Bronx residents live below the poverty line. The students JC works with in the South Bronx use this genre of music as a form of self-expression. Hip hop helps them to share their stories and provides a sense of belonging and empowerment, helping them navigate through their daily challenges. See the show notes for related resources  

Deany Laliotis, an internationally recognized trainer and psychotherapist, discusses EMDR therapy for social workers. The podcast explores the origins and effectiveness of EMDR therapy, personal experiences with it, case examples, and its applications beyond PTSD treatment. It emphasizes the importance of personal transformative experiences and the power of EMDR therapy in resolving long-standing issues and exploring attachment styles.

In Maui, more than 115 people have died after wildfires struck in early August. Some 1,000 people remain missing, and the death toll is expected to rise as recovery and identification efforts continue. The fires are especially heartbreaking for Hawaiians; more than 2,000 acres have burned in Lahaina, the historic town and the onetime capital of the former kingdom. We speak with NASW Hawaii chapter Executive Director Sonja Bigalke-Bannan, MSW, LCSW, about the devastation, loss of life, and how social workers in Hawai'i are coping while helping others.

We speak with David A. Wilkerson, PhD, MSW, and Liam O’Sullivan, MA, NQSW, co-editors of "Social Work in an Online World: A Guide to Digital Practice" (NASW Press, 2023). With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person social work service delivery was dramatically interrupted. The field continues to experience a shift toward modern technology-mediated forms of delivery. "Social Work in an Online World" addresses this shift and charts the changing landscape from analog to digital practice. David A. Wilkerson, PhD, MSW, is an associate professor and director of the Office of e-Social Work Education and Practice at Indiana University School of Social Work in Indianapolis.  Liam O'Sullivan is CEO of Care Alliance Ireland, an award-winning alliance of more than 95 nonprofit organizations supporting family caregivers in the Republic of Ireland.  Purchase "Social Work in an Online World" from NASW Press at https://www.naswpress.org/product/53673/social-work-in-an-online-world Our host for this episode is NASW member Elisabeth Joy LaMotte, LICSW, founder of the DC Counseling and Psychotherapy Center and author of "Overcoming Your Parents’ Divorce."  Visit the shownotes for resources: https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Social-Work-Talks-Podcast/EP104-Social-Work-in-an-Online-World Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jJz8gMHiMnA

Christine Gilchrist, LCSW, is a specialist in suicide in prevention and in helping those who are survivors of suicide. She speaks about how she and other social workers help people who are grieving after losing a loved one to suicide. Visit the show notes for related resources.

American children's mental health is worsening. Young people and their families are dealing with the emotional impact of inflation, social injustice, mass violence, and grief related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, we talk about the problematic decline in children’s mental health in the United States, and what social workers can do to help. Our guests are Gary Pettengell, co-founder and CEO of ECINS (Empowering Communities with Integrated Network Systems) and Kimberly Matias, LCSW, a school social worker in the Providence (Rhode Island) public school district. Visit the show notes page for related resources.

We speak with Mary Marden Velasquez, PhD, and Anna Mangum, MSW, MPH, about National Partnerships to Address Prenatal Alcohol and other Substance Use and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, the Centers for Disease Control grant that began October 2023 in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Our host for this discussion is NASW member Lorrie R. Appleton, LCSW.  Visit the show notes for related resources.

Dr. Charles Daniels Jr, specialized therapist, helps Black men overcome barriers to engaging with their children. They discuss societal downplaying of fatherhood, inequities in the child welfare system, and empowering fathers to be the dads they've always dreamed of. The services offered at Fathers' Uplift and their assistance to incarcerated fathers are also explored.