The Social Work Podcast

Episode 134: Today's episode is the first of a two-part series with Lisa Damour about her 2023 book, The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents. In today’s episode we talk about the difference between adolescent distress and adolescent mental illness, how the COVID-19 pandemic made it more difficult for parents to distinguish between normative adolescent distress or pandemic-related mental health concerns. She talks about the most destructive myth that is out there about adolescent mental health and what we as parents, professional and a society can do about that. Along the way Lisa shared some practical tips about to manage a teenage meltdown, a story about swimming pools, and she encourages us to think critically about the research that is being done on adolescent mental health and how the news media is portraying adolescent distress. You can read a transcript of today's interview at https://socialworkpodcast.blogspot.com/2023/02/Damour2023-1.html You can connect with other social workers at the Social Work Podcast Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/swpodcast, or follow the Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/socworkpodcast.

Episode 133: In today's interview, NASW-IL Executive Director, Joel Rubin, and I talk about the legislative process that NASW-IL went through to eliminate the requirement that BSW and MSW graduates from accredited social work programs in Illinois had to take the ASWB licensing exam in order to get their LSW. Joel shares the story about how and why the legislation changed. We talked about how the legislative process works, from connecting with other social workers online about pressing issues, to reaching out to NASW staff and volunteer board members, supporting prospective legislative candidates, meeting with your elected officials and how NASW state chapters serve as a resource for social workers and legislators. You can read a transcript of today's interview at https://socialworkpodcast.blogspot.com/2023/02/NASWIL.html You can connect with other social workers at the Social Work Podcast Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/swpodcast, or follow the Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/socworkpodcast.

Episode 132: In today's interview, Stacey and I talk about how she drew on her personal and professional experiences to write a book for families, friends and parents of someone who is suicidal. She talks about why and how families can create support teams, when and why it might not be appropriate to reach out to others, and how to navigate reaching out even when the suicidal person doesn't want you to. We talked about how to find support on social networks like Facebook. She talks about how friends and family can feel manipulated by a suicidal loved one, even if the suicidal person isn't being manipulative. Throughout the interview, Stacey speaks to families AND social workers. For example, in her book she takes the classic therapy phrase "active listening" and suggests that for families we call it "brave listening." I love that. Active listening is so professional. If you're listening to your kid or your partner or your parent talk about how they don't want to live any more, you're brave listening... that's what it is. You can read a transcript of today's interview at https://socialworkpodcast.blogspot.com/2022/12/Freedenthal2022.html You can connect with other social workers at the Social Work Podcast Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/swpodcast, or follow the Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/socworkpodcast.

Episode 131: In today's episode, I speak with Scott Miller, Ph.D. about how we can use feedback to improve client outcomes. Scott is one of the developers of Feedback Informed Treatment, or FIT - an "empirically supported, pantheoretical approach for evaluating and improving the quality and effectiveness of behavioral health services. It involves routinely and formally soliciting feedback from clients regarding the therapeutic alliance," client outcomes, and using that information to improve services. You can read a transcript of today's interview at https://socialworkpodcast.blogspot.com/2021/12/FIT.html You can connect with other social workers at the Social Work Podcast Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/swpodcast, or follow the Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/socworkpodcast.

Episode 130: Today’s episode is about the 2021 revision of the NASW Code of Ethics to include self-care and cultural humility. To unpack these two new additions, I spoke with Allan Barsky, Professor of Social Work at Florida Atlantic University and former Chair of the National Ethics Committee of the National Association of Social Workers. You can read a transcript of today's interview at https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/technology-articles/power-podcasting-social-work-education/. Listen to Shimon's podcast at https://dointhework.podbean.com/. You can connect with other social workers at the Social Work Podcast Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/swpodcast, or follow the Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/socworkpodcast.

Episode 129: Today's episode is about the Power of Podcasting in Social Work Education. Shimon Cohen, founder and host of Doin' The Work: Frontlines of Social Change, and I read the article we wrote for New Social Worker Magazine about podcasting for social work education You can read a transcript of today's interview at https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/technology-articles/power-podcasting-social-work-education/. Listen to Shimon's podcast at https://dointhework.podbean.com/. You can connect with other social workers at the Social Work Podcast Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/swpodcast, or follow the Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/socworkpodcast.

Episode 128: Today's episode of the Social Work Podcast is a conversation with Dr. Holly Oxhandler (https://hollyoxhandler.com/). I speak with Holly about the definitions of religion and spirituality, similarities and differences in religious and spiritual affiliation between social work professionals and their clients, how to address religion and spirituality in practice, and her experience as the co-host of the CXMH podcast (https://www.CXMHpodcast.com). You can read a transcript of today's interview at https://www.socialworkpodcast.com. You can connect with other social workers at the Social Work Podcast Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/swpodcast, or follow the Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/socworkpodcast.

Episode 127:Today's episode is the audio recording of a Facebook Live discussion that happened on Tuesday, July 14, 2020 called Both/And or Either/Or: Social Work and Policing. My guests were Alan Dettlaff, Laura Abrams, Charles E. Lewis, Jr., and Terry Mizrahi. You can read a transcript of today's interview at https://www.socialworkpodcast.com. You can connect with other social workers at the Social Work Podcast Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/swpodcast, or follow the Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/socworkpodcast.

Episode 126:In today's episode of the Social Work Podcast I speak with Carol Tosone, Ph.D., Professor of Social Work and Director, DSW Program in Clinical Social Work at NYU's Silver School of Social Work. In today's episode we talked about how the concept of shared trauma can help us to understand what's going on in a global pandemic, how we can think about the role of technology-mediated services, and what social workers can do to care for themselves while caring for others. You can read a transcript of today's interview at https://www.socialworkpodcast.com. You can connect with other social workers at the Social Work Podcast Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/swpodcast, or follow the Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/socworkpodcast.

One of the solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic is physical distancing. Because there is a relationship between physical and social distancing, I am rebroadcasting Episode 70 from 2011 which deals with loneliness. I hope you enjoy. Today’s episode of the Social Work Podcast is about loneliness. According to my guest, Thomas Joiner, the Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Florida State University, loneliness might be at the heart of one of the most perplexing contemporary public health paradoxes. That paradox is, despite the fact that men are by all indicators the most powerful and privileged in every country in the world, “for each of the 12 leading causes of death, mortality is higher for men than women” (Joiner, 2011, p. 7). If we look at just one of those causes of death, suicide, the disparity between men and women is astounding: Of the approximately 36,000 Americans who died by suicide in 2009, approximately 80% were men. Of those men, approximately 90% were white men. Why would white men, who are the most privileged of the privileged, be the most likely to kill themselves? Dr. Joiner’s answer is simple: Loneliness. Dr. Joiner is the author of the book, "Lonely at the Top: The High Cost of Men's Success" published in 2011 by Palgrave Macmillan. In today's episode of the social work podcast, Dr. Joiner and I talk about biological and social factors that contribute to men's loneliness. We talk about the effects of loneliness on men's health and wellbeing, including the issue of suicide. We talk about how Dr. Joiner's research speaks to women and men who are not on the top, for example sexual and racial minorities. We talk about some of the solutions that Dr. Joiner proposes, including the simple soution of reaching out. We end our conversation on a personal note. I tell Dr. Joiner that my wife recently gave birth to twin boys. I ask him what I can do to prevent my sons from growing up and becoming lonely men. He was kind enough to give me some free advice. You can read a transcript of today's interview at https://www.socialworkpodcast.com. You can connect with other social workers at the Social Work Podcast Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/swpodcast, or follow the Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/socworkpodcast.