I didn’t plan this, but it ends up that my social work career has had an underlying focus on trauma. My first professional assignment involved studying the traumatic consequences for frail elders when moved involuntarily. Forty years later I am working with suicidal veterans. In between I’ve had a whole host of work experiences that […]
A Decentralized Service Delivery Model Benefits Clients and Providers at SURVIVORS By Carin Anderson, MSW Intern
Social work, like other human service professions, requires the clinician to practice self-care to balance work with physical, emotional, and psychological well being. This is especially true when working with torture survivors. Even those such as immigration court clerks or interpreters need to be cognizant that the work they are doing can have an effect […]
Stepping on the Toes of Self-Determination By Melinda Hohman, Ph.D.
Did you ever dance with someone who stepped on your toes? Ouch! What do you do when that happens? Some people back up, giving themselves some space from their partner. Others fumble a bit, losing their rhythm. Others might let out a loud yelp and get upset with their partner and maybe say something that […]
Making Skeletons Dance by Kurt Wellman
We all have a “story“ or certain events and experiences that shape our future, define our present and help anchor us to the world in which we live. Our past is the foundation upon which we build our future and we cannot escape our past just as we cannot escape our shadow on a sunny […]
Immigration Issues for Social Workers
Immigration Issues for Social Workers[1] Social workers are often on the front lines of helping people in emergencies, and in communities like San Diego many of the people social workers help are immigrants. Some of these immigrants are lawful permanent residents (“green card holders”) and others have no legal status (“undocumented immigrants”).[2] This article […]
What is Your Menschenbild?
Motivational interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based practice that is used in individual or group settings to help clients identify and mobilize change in their lives using their own internal motivators. In the most recent edition of Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People for Change, authors Miller and Rollnick (2013) discuss a concept captured by the German word […]
Are You a Mechanic Driving a Clunker? Or, Why I Care If You Have Good Balance in Your Life
Compassion Fatigue. Vicarious Trauma. Secondary Traumatic Stress. Or, what people who do not have annoying professional jargon might call Had It Up To Here. Can’t Walk In That Office One More Time. The accumulation of experiences resulting in you having taken in more of other people’s pain and trauma than you let out until it […]
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) […]