Ashes2Art: Mitigation Strategies for Short-and Long-term Distress in Emergency Services Personnel During COVID-19
AbstractAshes2Art, a nonprofit organization working with fire fighters and first responders since 2017, promotes creativity to counter balance the exposure to extreme loss and trauma. Operating under the Northern Virginia Emergency Medical Services Council, Ashes2Art provides art supplies, art classes, and a creative community of support to mitigate the deleterious effects the stress of the job can take on fire fighters and first responders ’ health and mental health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashes2Art has seen an increased demand for art supplies and the, now online, creative arts classes and self-care strategies. ...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - February 25, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
A Pilot Study of Peer-to-Peer SBIRT Simulation as a Clinical Telehealth Training Tool During COVID-19
This study explores 35 social work graduate students’ experiences of learning SBIRT skills in a remote learning format and subsequently delivering a SBIRT intervention to a live “client” via a peer-to-peer simulated telehealth session. Overall, students reported that the shift from FTF to remote learning made learning SBIRT skills difficult, and that providing brief intervention and referral was the most difficult step of the simulated SBIRT telehealth intervention. Qualitative feedback indicates that overall, students found the simulated telehealth sessions a valuable learning experience, but also reported that rich...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - February 25, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Developing Engagement Competence for Public Child Welfare: Results of an Inter-University Simulation Project
AbstractStrong clinical competence is required for the successful engagement of clients in public child welfare. Successful engagement is associated with increasing positive outcomes for families. Three universities partnered to implement a simulation based learning (SBL) project to better prepare Title IV-E students in engagement competence when working with clients in public child welfare. Over three years, 70 students participated in a two scenario Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) interviewing an adolescent and her mother regarding an allegation of abuse with post interview reflection and feedback. The project ...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - February 21, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Engagement with a Multi-Component, Preventative Program to Reduce Child Maltreatment: Program Satisfaction and Acceptability
AbstractThe development and implementation of interventions to prevent child maltreatment (CM) is particularly challenging in view of the numerous stressors experienced by families within the child welfare system (CWS). Difficulties engaging families, particularly those who are most vulnerable, can lead to lower program dose and poorer outcomes. This qualitative study, conducted as part of a larger process evaluation, explored participant perspectives of a newly developed, multi-component, community-based intervention designed to reduce the risk of CM in families with young children. The study involved one-to-one interview...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - February 20, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Offsetting Racial Divides: Adolescent African American Males & amp; Restorative Justice Practices
AbstractZero-tolerance suspensions are exclusionary practices that disrupt and deny students access to structured routines, academic instruction, and school-provided meals. Throughout the United States, statistical comparisons in zero-tolerance suspensions illustrate harsh racial disproportionalities, particularly for adolescent African American males. Inequities in disciplinary practices place adolescent African American males at higher risk for dropping out of high school, retention, and incarceration. Recent literature highlights the pathway of restorative justice as a tool to decrease inequities in zero-tolerance schoo...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - February 18, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Emerging Elderhood: Transitions from Midlife
AbstractAs the number of older adults grows exponentially, social work and psychology practice must embrace a more nuanced appreciation of the aging process. Family life is evolving in unprecedented ways, leaving adults with new challenges and choices for how best to live out their lives. Adults may face difficult decisions and increased anxieties regarding their own health, concern for loved ones, and uncertainties about the future. The noteworthy trends associated with the “new adulthood” holds clinical significance and raises important questions for contemporary practice. Our collective clinical and research experie...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - February 16, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Using Mixed Methods to Assess the Coping and Self-regulation Skills of Undergraduate Social Work Students Impacted by COVID-19
AbstractDeveloping coping and self-care strategies has always been important for social work students as they prepare for work that can take a psychological, emotional, mental, and physical toll and adversely impact their health and well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in its impact on social work education as it forced students to quickly transition to online learning and leave field sites abruptly to do remote activities. The degree to which and how social work students effectively coped with these changes has not been adequately studied, despite recognition that understanding how personal experiences and a...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - February 11, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Decision-Making and Relationship Competence When Reporting Suspected Physical Abuse and Child Neglect: An Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation
AbstractMandatory reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect highlights the challenges between the ethical and legal obligations of social workers and the need to maintain the therapeutic relationship with the client. The ability to bridge this tension is paramount to ensure continued psychosocial treatment and the well-being of children. This paper discusses a study to determine the decision-making factors of social work students and practitioners when facing a suspicion of child abuse and neglect, how they justify their decision to report or not report to child protection services, and the current and future relation...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - February 6, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
COVID-19 and Beyond: A Prototype for Remote/Virtual Social Work Field Placement
This article will delineate the program redesign for oncology social work interns using remote/virtual modalities. This melded approach involved creating simulated clinical interactions, based on selected points along the illness trajectory targeting specific clinical competencies, which were presented to interns by phone and/or videoconference. Examples will be provided related to developing clinical skills and critical thinking and preparing for professional responsibilities within a b road range of healthcare settings. Guidelines for working with individuals, couples/families, and groups will be included. Issues of indi...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - February 4, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Teaching Mental Health and Well-Being Online in a Crisis: Fostering Love and Self-compassion in Clinical Social Work Education
This article is a reflexive collaborative autoethnography written by four educators of different international and cultural backgrounds at a regional university in Queensland. Our university has experienced a shift from primarily a face-to-face delivery to online delivery due to social distancing. This article is grounded in an ethic of love, a values-based relationship-oriented practice promoting care, collaborative dialogue and solidarity between people, using self-compassion and reflexivity. We explore how COVID-19 has forced the authors to alter their teaching practice, cope with uncertainties, and respond with loving ...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - January 28, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Faculty Respond to COVID-19: Reflections-on-Action in Field Education
AbstractThe field placement process has become increasingly challenging for schools of social work, particularly for large graduate programs situated in urban centers with competing schools. The unprecedented circumstances created by the COVID-19 public health crisis further strained the placement process, revealing a delicate balance of interdependent systems that schools must address when confronted with an unforeseen disruption of field education. This paper reflectively examines the steps taken by the field faculty and department of one large school of social work to address the impact of the pandemic on field educatio...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - January 22, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Virtual Reality Exposure Simulation for Student Veteran Social Anxiety and PTSD: A Case Study
AbstractExposure based exercises are a common element of many gold standard treatments for anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder and virtual reality simulations have been evaluated as a platform for providing clients with opportunities for repeated exposure during treatment. Although research on virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) indicates effectiveness and high levels of user satisfaction, VRETs require a participant to complete exposure exercises in-offices with specialized equipment. The current exploratory case method study evaluates the experience and outcomes of one student veteran with social anx...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - January 19, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
“Making Sure We Are All Okay”: Healthcare Workers’ Strategies for Emotional Connectedness During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This study focused on three extended-response questions about definitions of and strategies for emotional connectedness. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Participants conceptualize emotional connectedness as having empathy and value, help and support, presence, and vulnerability. They also describe emotionally connected relationships as being characterized by mutuality and frequent contact. Participants identify current behavioral strategies for cultivating emotional connectedness, such as using technology, providing instrumental help or sending gifts via mail, and building quality time within their ho...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - January 11, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Examining Cross-Cultural Child Welfare Practice Through Simulation-Based Education
AbstractSimulation-based learning is an emerging pedagogical approach in social work education that is expanding to specialized areas of practice. This research examines the intersection of cross-cultural practice and child maltreatment investigations. Thirty-one (N = 31) BSW and MSW social work students participated in a three-hour voluntary child welfare simulation workshop and engaged with one of three child welfare scenarios: (1) an immigrant Chinese family, (2) an Indigenous family, and (3) a White youth. Drawing upon the concept of cultural agility, a theoretically-informed mixed methods approach was used to ana...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - January 11, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Backing the Blue in the Midst of COVID-19: Simultaneous Shared Trauma and the Effects of Coping in Law Enforcement Couples
AbstractThe impact of the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has placed a significant amount of stress on local and state law enforcement departments. In addition to responding to crimes, police officers now have additional responsibilities that include enforcing non-essential business closures, dispersing social gatherings, and maintaining order at testing sites and local hospitals, all while trying to preserve their own health. Spousal support serves a critical role in helping officers cope with occupational stressors. However, when both officer and spouse are being affected by the same traumatic event, such as t...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - January 11, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
