How to Help Communities Recover From Disasters Have you wanted to find out how you may employ your clinical skills to help individuals/the community outside of the traditional setting? As per the inspiring talk “Outside the Four Walls,” Jack Saul, PhD gave at the 2015 Psychotherapy Networker Symposium, there are many different ways that mental health professionals and social […]
Best in Mental Health (9/21/15 – 10/4/15)
Below is a round-up of some of the latest news in mental health (and more)! This week’s wrap-up has 5 main themes: Advocacy/Cultural Sensitivity Technology and Mental Health Therapy/Relationships Self-Care Career/Non-Profit Advocacy/Cultural Sensitivity Asylum Discourse in New Zealand: Moral Panic and a Culture of Indifference – Bogen & Marlowe share their paper in which they discuss how the social work profession may address […]
Race Matters: How to Talk Effectively About Race
Have you wanted to be able to have a conversation about race but not really known how? Or have you wanted to help your clients feel comfortable in talking to you about race? While many of us recognize that racism is a big problem in the United States, we tend to be uncomfortable discussing race. This is because […]
Online Toolkit for New Social Workers
Essential new social worker resources created by Laurel Hitchcock, PhD, MPH, LCSW and Dorlee Michaeli, MBA, LCSW. This online toolkit features 10 carefully curated posts to help social work students and new practitioners develop professional skills, build their online presence, and advance their careers. Resources cover getting strong recommendation letters, acing job interviews, passing the LMSW exam, developing clinical and macro practice skills, leveraging social media for career growth, building online authority, and employing best practices in therapy. Includes potential assignments and exercises aligned with 2015 CSWE Social Work Competencies for classroom use or individual professional development.
Play Therapy: Healing Through Play
Comprehensive play therapy interview with Jennifer Taylor, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Registered Play Therapist (RPT) specializing in individual, group, and family therapy with children. Learn what play therapy is—a developmentally sensitive mental health counseling approach that allows children to use a specially designed playroom to facilitate expression of emotions and feelings. Discover how play therapy helps children who are not yet ready for traditional talk therapy designed for adults. Jennifer explains child-centered play therapy where children choose what they’d like to do and the therapist follows the child’s lead, with the relationship valued over specific techniques. Includes real examples of how play helps children process trauma like witnessing violence, an Inside Out Feelings Activity video and infographic for ages 5-8, assessment tools (ASQ-3, MCHAT, CATS, PHQ-9), recommended play therapy room equipment (expressive, aggressive, real-life toys, sandbox), essential books (The Art of the Relationship by Gary Landreth, The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog by Bruce Perry), and 9 practical tips for mental health professionals interested in becoming play therapists including joining the Association for Play Therapy, getting quality training and supervision, and trusting the process.
