Researchers have noted that mental health professionals constantly exposed to clients’ traumatic experiences can themselves develop negative effects, such as vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, or compassion fatigue. These psychological and physical effects can hamper a mental health professional’s ability to assist her clients and perform her job. Are there ways to mitigate the effects of compassion fatigue? Researchers are ... Read More »

There are many challenges that face children who age out of the foster care system, including education, housing, and health care. One rarely-addressed challenge is oral health care. Children who have aged out of the foster care system face considerable barriers in accessing oral health care. Although this population of foster care alumni may have Medicaid insurance while they are ... Read More »

Each year in the United States, nearly 400,000 students drop out of public high school. Among high school graduates, approximately one-third complete no postsecondary education or training. Of those who do, many are unprepared. Forty percent of four-year and 63 percent of two-year college students require some type of remediation. Contributing to these alarming trends is a host of complex, ... Read More »

Social work is such a broad field, encompassing micro-, mezzo-, and macro-practice, that it can feel like it lacks a unifying professional identity. What are the underlying values and concepts of social work that delineate the profession, and how can these values and concepts help social workers frame their identities and situate themselves as professionals? An article in a recent ... Read More »

Black and male youths are over-represented at every stage of juvenile justice processing. Despite laws passed decades ago to mitigate these disparities, they persist to this day. That racial bias may be a potential cause of the over-representation of minority youths should be of great concern to social workers, both as a matter of social justice and as professionals whose ... Read More »

Abuse has immediate effects on health and, in some cases, is fatal. It has been established that exposure to abuse results in physical, mental, and behavioral health consequences. Maltreatment is a common and significant burden on the health care system that can produce residual effects, both short and long term. In fact, the negative health consequences can persist long after the ... Read More »

Childhood emotional, behavioral, and social problems are serious developmental challenges affecting the lives of a substantial number of youths. Estimates suggest that 20 percent of children in the United States have difficulty with attention, disruptive behavior, and mood. Severe social, emotional, and behavioral health difficulties are predictive of a variety of pervasive problems, including substance abuse, criminal behavior, risk taking, ... Read More »

Over the past few decades, the role of religion and spirituality in health and mental health clients’ lives has caught the attention of a variety of helping professionals, including social workers. Research indicates that not only does the inclusion of religion and spirituality have the potential to enhance health and mental health outcomes, but clients prefer such integration in treatment. ... Read More »

  The relationship between schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, and mood disorders is not well understood. Evaluating and comparing cognitive impairment in these disorders can help clarify how these disorders are related. To further our understanding of these conditions, Rong Xiao, PhD, MD, Roxanne L. Bartel, MD, and John Brekke, PhD, MSW, conducted a study to examine cognitive impairment in people with ... Read More »

Chronic disease takes a heavy toll on residents in the United States. Heart disease is the leading cause of death. Risk factors for heart disease include diabetes, obesity, poor diet, and physical inactivity. Additionally, mental health concerns also affect a large proportion of Americans and are many times experienced concurrently with chronic diseases. Individuals with mental illness are more likely ... Read More »