NASW Social Work Talks

Imagine this scene. You are sitting in your office when a call comes in. A man and his wife are on the line. The wife says she was given your name from someone who thought you could help. Their adult children have not spoken to them for 10 months. They have pleaded, cajoled, and apologized for all past transgressions hoping they can make amends and, yet no amount of remorse can stop the pain of be...

Wendy Cervantes is the Director of Immigration and Immigrant Families at the Center for Law and Social Policy. In this episode, she and Mel Wilson, NASW's Senior Policy Advisor focusing on social justice issues, discuss what mass deportation would look like under a potential Trump Administration and why such policies are harmful to children and families.

Dr. Judith R. Smith, LCSW is author of the new book, Difficult: Mothering Challenging Adult Children Through Conflict and Change. We chat with her about her research and the impact of having a "difficult adult child" on aging mothers and explore how social workers can best support these parents in navigating both the emotional and practical challenges they face.

Vote ER and NASW on mobilizing for the extremely important 2024 presidential and down ballot elections. It goes without saying that the upcoming election is one of the most important elections in terms of preserving America's democracy since the Civil War. Hopefully, this podcast will be able to share some important information about what is at stake for social workers, and more importantly, what...

In our latest podcast we chat with Relationship Expert, Author and Social Worker Terry Real!  An internationally recognized family therapist and best-selling author, Real is dedicated to helping couples build lasting, loving relationships. With a revolutionary approach known as Relational Life Therapy (RLT), Terry equips individuals and couples with the skills needed for deeper intimacy and authen...

Dr. Dale Masi is  a pioneering social worker renowned for her work in Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Dr. Masi, who recently edited the Fifth International EAP Compendium, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland, where she taught and directed the Employee Assistance Specialization for 22 years. With 16 books and over 70 articles to her name, Dr. Masi's expertise spans EAPs, evalua...

In this NASW podcast episode of Social Work Talks we examine why it's Never Too Late to enter the field of therapy. Our host NASW member Elisabeth Joy LaMotte, LICSW chats with chef Karey Swartwout, and political organizer and journalist Dr. Brooke Stroud, now a clinical psychologist, and author Daniel Duane (who today is featured in an article in The New York Times). Today, each discusses why the...

Dr. Michael Kaufman , MSW, PhD., author of the new book, Doing Good & Doing Well: Inspiring Helping Professionals to Become Leaders in Their Organizations, has managed countless crises that have needed quick, level-headed thinking and tough decisions delivered with empathy and heart. Board chair of Premier Education Partners he has seen other helping professionals, including social workers, do the...

Mary Cosimano, LMSW,   has been with the Department of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research since 2000 when they began research with psilocybin. She is currently a Psychedelic Session Facilitator and has served as Director of Clinical Services and as a research coordinator. She has been involved with all the psilocybin s...

Jasmin Saville, RN, MPH, MSSW, is whole health and equity director for Amerigroup, a health insurance and managed health care provider that covers older adults, low income families, state and federally sponsored beneficiaries and federal employees in 26 states. Saville talks about how she combined social work and nursing, why public health care could be a good career choice for social workers, and...

As of April 20, 2024, recreational use of marijuana has been legalized in 24 states, three U.S. territories, and Washington, D.C. But how have marijuana reforms affected Black and Brown populations that were heavily impacted by marijuana criminal prosecutions before legalization? NASW Senior Policy Adviser Mel Wilson sits down with Maritza Perez Medina, director of the Office of Federal Affairs at...

Social Work Instructor Dr. Thalia Anderen, MSW, RCSW, LCSW, and Social Work Talks Podcast Host Lorrie Appleton, LCSW, dive into the concerning trend of student-initiated confrontations (SIC) in universities. With over 20 years of experience as a therapist, Anderen's research sheds light on the impact of these behaviors on both educators and the field of social work. These confrontations in univers...

During Social Work Month 2024, the University of Kentucky College of Social Work is celebrating with the campaign "Social Work is Everywhere." The college is seeking to raise awareness that social workers help millions of people each day and work in a variety of settings, including many people may not be aware of such as sports and financial planning. NASW CEO Dr. Anthony Estreet sits down with Dr...

Gun violence remains a serious public health issue in the United States. About 46,000 Americans died due to gun violence in 2023, with half using guns to die by suicide. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is a partner with Brady, a campaign to end our nation's gun violence epidemic. In this episode of NASW's Social Work Talks podcast, NASW Policy Advisor Mel Wilson talks to Kelly Sa...

Mirean Coleman, LICSW, director of clinical practice at the National Association of Social Workers, talks about a new regulation that will allow clinical social workers to bill for Health Behavior Assessment and Intervention (HBAI) Services. Learn why this development is so important for social workers.

White Ribbon VA is a national call to action to eliminate sexual harassment, sexual assault, and domestic violence across the Department of Veterans Affairs by promoting a positive change in culture so that the actions outlined in the pledge become the organizational norm. NASW and other mental health organizations have partnered with White Ribbon. In this episode we talk about the importance of W...

Rachel Forbes, MSW, Associate Professor of the Practice of Social Work and Western Colorado MSW Program Director at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, and Kelly Smith, DSW, founder and the director of the Institute of Social Work and Ecological Justice, and a social work instructor at Columbia University and the Adelphi University, discuss what social workers can help communi...

JC Hall, MSW, LCSW, is a hip hop therapist and school social worker in the South Bronx, New York. He works at a high school there, where he is the Hip Hop Therapy Studio Program Director. JC says that hip hop saved his life. He talks about his mentor, the late Dr. Edgar H. Tyson, and how he turned his love of hip hop and working with youth into a career that he loves. The U.S. Census Bureau found...

EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) is a form of psychotherapy designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories. What do social workers need to know about EMDR? Deany Laliotis, LICSW, is an internationally recognized trainer, consultant, and psychotherapist who teaches EMDR therapy using a relational approach to treating complex trauma. She is the founder and...

In Maui, more than 115 people have died after wildfires struck in early August. Some 1,000 people remain missing, and the death toll is expected to rise as recovery and identification efforts continue. The fires are especially heartbreaking for Hawaiians; more than 2,000 acres have burned in Lahaina, the historic town and the onetime capital of the former kingdom. We speak with NASW Hawaii chapter...

We speak with David A. Wilkerson, PhD, MSW, and Liam O'Sullivan, MA, NQSW, co-editors of "Social Work in an Online World: A Guide to Digital Practice" (NASW Press, 2023). With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person social work service delivery was dramatically interrupted. The field continues to experience a shift toward modern technology-mediated forms of delivery. "Social Work in an Onlin...

Christine Gilchrist, LCSW, is a specialist in suicide in prevention and in helping those who are survivors of suicide. She speaks about how she and other social workers help people who are grieving after losing a loved one to suicide. Visit the show notes for related resources.

American children's mental health is worsening. Young people and their families are dealing with the emotional impact of inflation, social injustice, mass violence, and grief related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, we talk about the problematic decline in children's mental health in the United States, and what social workers can do to help. Our guests are Gary Pettengell, co-founder and...

We speak with Mary Marden Velasquez, PhD, and Anna Mangum, MSW, MPH, about National Partnerships to Address Prenatal Alcohol and other Substance Use and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, the Centers for Disease Control grant that began October 2023 in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Our host for this discussion is NASW member Lorrie R. Appleton, LCSW.  Visit the show notes for...

We speak with Dr. Charles Daniels Jr, PhD, MDiv, LICSW , co-founder and CEO of Fathers' Uplift in Dorchester, Massachusetts.  Fathers' UpLift provides mental health counseling, coaching, advocacy, and resource support to assist fathers with overcoming barriers — including racism, emotional, traumatic, and addiction-based barriers — that prevent them from remaining engaged in their children's lives...