Recently some other faculty and I hosted a workshop for our MSW students on cultural humility and motivational interviewing (MI). The premise was that MI skills and spirit can be a supportive way to discuss culture with clients, which includes race and other social identities. While we spent most of the time looking at HOW […]
Fruition
(a Black History month poem for 2017) ©Sylvia Cameron Telafaro/February 2017) It began with the fruition of America for Prosperity; turning out 1000s of T-voters as we battled, for our lives to not be changed, nor altered in the image of the policies of “isms” Isms that come into play as Kochs’ donors meet with […]
Response to “Ramadan in Istanbul” by Tiago Antonio
Maysun, Thank you for sharing your story with us. I was really moved by it! My favorite part of your essay was the passage that says, “Society tolerates you. It doesn’t accept you.” I liked this part because I agree with you. I think society strives to tolerate the people, concepts, ideas, and etc, that […]
Ramadan in Istanbul by Maysun Khan, MSW student
June 27, 2015. Adhans rang melodically through the air as the sun set leaving a reddish glow to frame the waterfront. People gathered in the parks, sitting in circles on the grass and passing around disposable plates piled high with dates, olives, and halal meats. There was celebration on the cobblestone streets. It was Ramadan […]
Racial Justice: Moving From Macro to Micro and Back Again by Melinda Hohman, Ph.D.
I always find myself amused when writing or talking about macro social work, as I am definitely more of a micro kind of person, having studied, taught, and researched Motivational Interviewing (MI) (an interpersonal communication method) for the past 15 or so years. Becoming the Director of the School of Social Work has certainly moved […]
Social Work and Interns at Survivors of Torture, International by Carin Anderson
Survivors of Torture, International (SURVIVORS) was founded in 1997 to fill a gap in services for survivors in San Diego County. Their program takes a holistic approach to healing with psychotherapy, psychiatry, psychological evaluations and medial affidavits for asylum seekers, medical case management, and interpreters. Additionally, SURVIVORS offers case management. Tammy Pham is a MSW […]
Still Unclear: Why are There So Many Black Children in the Child Welfare System? by Ijeoma Nwabuzor Ogbonnaya, Ph.D.
Growing up in a house with a mother who is a children’s social worker made me privy to the many issues children and families involved with child welfare face, as well as the burden these issues may have on social workers. For example, I learned at a young age that some parents get their children […]
Training to Make Cultural Shifts with a Focus on LGBTIQ Clients by Kellie Scott, MSW
We all choose to practice social work for the same reason: to make a difference, to make change. In 2012, The Academy for Professional Excellence established a Cultural Competency Academy (CCA) that provides integrated training on cultural responsiveness to improve the cultural awareness, knowledge and skills of providers in San Diego County’s Behavioral Health Services. […]
Cultural Humility: A Lifelong Practice
Melinda Hohman, Ph.D. Social work as a profession places a great deal of emphasis on diversity and cultural competency. The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics (NASW, 2008) states that: a) Social workers should understand culture and its function in human behavior and society, recognizing the strengths that exist in all cultures. (b) […]