Listen Now

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.

We speak with Dr. Charles Daniels Jr, PhD, MDiv, LICSW , co-founder and CEO of Fathers' Uplift in Dorchester, Massachusetts.  Fathers' UpLift provides mental health counseling, coaching, advocacy, and resource support to assist fathers with overcoming barriers — including racism, emotional, traumatic, and addiction-based barriers — that prevent them from remaining engaged in their children's lives. Dr. Daniels has spent the last decade providing therapy to Black men, helping them overcome the effects of toxic masculinity, racism, and oppression. He has taught at Harvard University and Simmons University and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs. Visit the show notes for related resources.

We speak with Dr. Allison Werner-Lin about genetics and family life. Dr. Werner-Lin is Associate Professor at the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research addresses the intersection of genomic discovery and family life. Her work is among the first to explore the psychosocial challenges unique to women and men of reproductive age who carry a genetic mutation that confers elevated risk of cancer. Dr. Werner-Lin has held multiple training grants to build and evaluate interdisciplinary educational programs in oncology, genome-based health literacy, and health care social work practice. Our host for this discussion is Elisabeth Joy LaMotte, LICSW. See the show notes for related resources.

We speak with Christina Erickson, MSW, PhD, about environmental justice. Dr. Erickson is professor and chair of the social work department at Augsburg University. She is author of “Environmental Justice as Social Work Practice,” (Oxford University Press, 2018) and “Spanked: How Hitting Our Children Is Harming Ourselves” (Oxford University Press, 2022). She co-developed the environmental studies program at Augsburg and teaches the course Environmental Justice and Social Change. She is the director of Augsburg's BSW program and has directed Environmental Studies. She was on the national working group to develop the Curricular Guide for Environmental Justice in 2020.  Visit the show notes for resources:     

We speak with Shreya Bhandari, PhD, LISW, editor of the NASW Press book “South Asians in the United States: A Guide for Social Workers and Other Helping Professionals.” Dr. Bhandari is professor and director of social work, Purdue University Northwest. She is also alicensed clinical social worker with her own private practice. Her research focuses on violence against women, specifically domestic violence. She has worked in the area of domestic violence and mental health for about two decades as a researcher, educator, and practitioner. You can buy a copy of "South Asians in America" on the NASW Press website. You can watch this conversation on YouTube and leave a comment or question there.  

Sleep is as essential to human well-being as food and air. Poor sleep habits and sleep deprivation can have negative effects on our physical and mental health. Further, racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to get insufficient sleep than their white counterparts. Jessi Pettigrew, MSW, LCSW, is a PhD candidate at the Graduate School of Social Work at Colorado State University. Working with clients, Jessi became curious about the intersection of sleep and mental health. She explains why social workers should be concerned about sleep health, even if they aren’t working in a clinical setting. Visit the show notes for resources

Michael H. Eversman, PhD, MSW, is the author of "Identifying Moral Panic: The Discourse of Fear in Social Policy" from NASW Press. This book uses historic and contemporary moral panic episodes — periods of exaggerated public fear triggered by high-profile incidents linked to feared social groups — to show how political discourse and stereotyping lead to policies that maintain social inequalities. Eversman emphasizes social work's social justice mission and the need to stay vigilant amid structural inequalities rooted in labeling and otherism, enabling readers to recognize the patterns of moral panic discourse in our culture.  Dr. Eversman is associate professor in the Department of Social Work at Rutgers University–Newark. You can purchase "Identifying Moral Panic" at https://naswpress.org/product/53667/identifying-moral-panic.

Deborah M. Figart, PhD, and Ellen Mutari, PhD, are the authors of "Economic Well-Being: An Introduction" from NASW Press. In this episode, we discuss this groundbreaking book, which makes the study of economic life accessible, applicable, and exciting. NASW member Elisabeth Joy LaMotte, LICSW, hosts this episode. Visit the show notes for related resources. You can also watch this interview and leave your comments on YouTube.  

Dr. Kyla Liggett-Creel talks with us about her work to support young people who squeegee car windshields at intersections in Baltimore. She outlines why squeegee workers have been a divisive topic in the city, and discusses her work to get their voices heard. Dr. Liggett-Creel is an associate clinical professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She leads The Collaborative: A Healing Centered Community, which partners with community groups, grassroots organizations, governmental organizations, universities, and non-profits to address equity and violence prevention in Baltimore City. Read the show notes to learn more and find related resources. Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to Social Work Talks podcast so you'll get new episodes delivered right to your podcatcher. And take a moment to leave us a lovely review in Apple Podcasts.

Ann Steiner, PhD, is a certified group psychotherapist, licensed marriage and family therapist and consultant in private practice for 30 years. She is creator of “Therapist's Professional Will™: Guidelines for Managing Planned and Unplanned Absence.” She pioneered the creation of the therapist’s professional will and has published over 20 articles on the subject. Dr. Steiner talks about why you need a professional will, and how to create an emergency response team to manage your practice in case something happens to you. 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 show notes for related resources.

In February 2021, the Myanmar military staged a coup that overthrew the democratically elected government. Since then, the killing of civilians in Myanmar has increased. In response, Jue Jue Min Thu, a licensed social worker from Myanmar now based in Hawai'i, created Jue Jue's Safe Space, to support mental health for the Myanmar community. Visit the show notes page for related resources.

Yvonne M. Chase, PhD, LCSW, ACSW, will begin her three-year term as NASW president on July 1, 2023. Dr. Chase is an Associate Professor at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She’s also an NASW Social Work Pioneer, and a long-time champion of NASW. We talk about some of her experiences as a social worker; why she's passionate about social work and about NASW; how the organization has changed over time; and what she envisions for her tenure as NASW's President. Visit the show notes to learn more about Dr. Chase's work.

We speak with NASW member Kristen Lee, Ed.D., LICSW, about overcoming fear and learning to take risks. Visit the show notes page for related episodes and resources.

Monique Bingham, MSW, is NASW's 2022 Emerging Social Work Leader. She works as a mental health therapist at the Anti Recidivism Coalition, which works to end mass incarceration in California. Ms. Bingham’s own father was incarcerated when she was a child and released when she was an adult. She has produced a documentary, “Unchained Scholars,” about formerly incarcerated social workers. Read the show notes for resources.

Social worker Caitlin Ryan, is founder and executive director of the Family Acceptance Project. She talks with us about how her organization has worked for 20 years to help families support their children who are LGBTQIA2S+ and how social workers can also do this work.

We speak with Will Frances, Executive Director of NASW's Texas chapter about the aftermath of the horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.  Schools should be safe, supportive havens for students and staff. What can be done to stop the epidemic of mass shootings across the country?  Visit the show notes page for related stories

In this episode, we talk about how social workers can talk to harder-to-reach special populations about vaccines and use motivational interviewing to inform people about vaccines.  Our guests are NASW Mississippi Chapter Executive Director and Special Populations Coordinator Gwen Bouie Haynes and Mary Velasquez, professor and director of the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute at the University of Texas at Austin.  NASW and the NASW Foundation are partnering with the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute at The University of Texas at Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work on Connect to End COVID-19, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded initiative to support social workers and their clients in informed vaccine decision-making.  

Our guest Suzin Bartley, is executive director at The Children's Trust, an organization working to stop child abuse in Massachusetts. Their programs partner with parents to help them build the skills and confidence they need to make sure kids have safe and healthy childhoods.  Read the show notes for related resources.  

The limited Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) waiver, which is a short-term opportunity for borrowers to seek student loan forgiveness through Oct. 31, 2022. Our guest is Lindsay Clark, Director of External Affairs at Savi, a company that helps student loan borrowers discover and understand repayment and loan forgiveness options. Read the show notes to learn more.