By Sarah Meisinger MSW, LICSW For social workers, returning to in-person interactions with clients, colleagues, and the community is shining a spotlight on our need to adapt and adjust yet again. Our ways of being with others is forever changed and I am wondering how...
mental health
Professional Boundaries Re-Visited: 3 Reasons to Pause and Self-Reflect | NASW Member Voices
When we experience the nagging, exhausted, spark-less feelings about our work, it is imperative that we consider the impact not only on ourselves, but our clients, communities, and our profession.
NASW Attends White House Meeting on Veterans’ Suicide
By Anna Mangum, MSW, MPH NASW was invited to participate in a meeting last Friday, Aug. 23, at the White House to discuss the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS) initiative. NASW Chief Executive Officer Angelo...
Congressional briefing to bring together social work, mental health experts on need to end gun violence
Gun violence has become an epidemic in our nation. Every year more than 7,700 children and teens are shot, and more than 36,000 people die from gun violence, according to the Brady campaign to end gun violence. Social workers and mental health professionals play a...
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
This May is the 70th anniversary of Mental Health America establishing Mental Health Month. Each year Mental Health America, and its affiliates, dedicate the month of May to educate the community about the impact of mental illness on Americans. Since 1949, this event...
Helping the Helpers: ‘Unlocked’ Initiative Aims to Aid Those Working in Mental Health Care
In the summer of 1967, after several suicide attempts, 17-year-old Lucy Winer was committed to Kings Park State Hospital’s female violent ward. More than 30 years after her discharge from the mental institution Winer—now an award-winning filmmaker—returned to Kings...
The Effectiveness of Guided Imagery in Treating Compassion Fatigue and Anxiety of Mental Health Workers
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...
SAMHSA: More mental health professionals needed
By Paul R. Pace, News staff Social workers are the among the behavioral health professionals greatly needed to meet a growing demand for services, says the new leader of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA. Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz...