NASW Social Work Talks

Heather Burzynski, MSW, APSW, SAC-IT, works as a clinical social worker with the Green Bay Police Department. She talks about the benefits of having a social worker embedded within a police department.

The hard-working members of the podcast team take a few moments to reflect on the topics we covered in 2019, what we're working on for 2020, and to give thanks to our listeners and our amazing guests. Head to the show notes to see photos of our 2019 guests and a transcript. If you liked listening to NASW Social Work Talks this year, please leave us a review in Apple Podcasts to help us reach more...

We speak with Raymond Monsour Scurfield, DSW, LCSW, ACSW, author of "Faith-Based and Secular Meditation: Everyday and Posttraumatic Applications" (NASW Press, 2019). This NASW 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is professor emeritus of social work at The University of Southern Mississippi, Gulf Coast. His work focuses on the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in combat veteran...

Elizabeth B. Strand, PhD, LCSW, Director of Veterinary Social Work and Associate Professor, University of Tennessee, talks about the need for veterinary social workers and why she loves her work. See the show notes for resources and a transcript. Love this episode? Please leave us a review in Apple Podcasts!

Megan Fenyoe, LCSW, is an Air Force veteran, host of the Blonde Bombshell podcast, and author of "You Are Enough: 5 Steps To Move From Struggle to Strength." Her work focuses on how the mind affects well-being, and how individuals can move from struggle to strength. See the show notes for resources and a transcript. And if you like this episode, please leave us a review in Apple Podcasts.

In this episode, we speak with Ruth Glenn, President & CEO of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, is a domestic violence advocate and survivor. She was in Washington, DC, presenting at NASW's 2019 virtual forum, "Addressing Domestic Violence Through the Social Work Lens." See the show notes for resources and a transcript.

We talk to Jean E. Balestrery, PhD, MA, MSW, LICSW, about what social workers need to know about how dementia effects indigenous peoples. Dr. Balestrery is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research aims to improve health and social service outcomes particularly for marginalized communities. She's co-editor and author of "Indigenous Peoples and Dementia: New Understandings of Memory Loss and Memo...

Our guest Michael Wilkins, LCSW, is therapist at the Center for Trauma & Resilience in Denver. We speak with Michael about his work bringing yoga and breathing techniques to inmates in Colorado. Michael is a yoga instructor, an ultra-marathon runner, and is certified in auricular acupuncture. Michael helps clients attain skills that enable them to experience an active lifestyle as a means to bette...

Our guest Jonathan B. Singer, Ph. D., LCSW, is an associate professor of social work at Loyola University Chicago and a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in working with children and families. He hosts the award-winning Social Work Podcast, and is author of multiple publications, including "Suicide in Schools: A Practitioner's Guide to Multi-level Prevention, Assessment, Intervention...

NASW CEO Angelo McClain, PhD, LICSW, speaks with Mary Jo Monahan, CEO of the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) about efforts to increase social work practice mobility. See show the notes for resources and a transcript. And if you like this episode, please leave us a review in iTunes!

Clawbacks are when an insurance company requires a provider to return money they've been paid in the past. Clawbacks can occur months, or even years, after the service has been provided. Rebekah Gewirtz, MPA, Executive Director of NASW's Massachusetts Chapter, speaks with us about how her chapter is fighting against clawbacks in her state.

NASW member Debra Walsh Keane talks about why libraries need social workers, the kinds of services library social workers provide, as well as the rewards and challenges of the job. Debra is the social work coordinator for the Jefferson County Public Library in the Denver area. She's also a member of the Public Library Association's Social Work Task Force.  See the show notes for resources and a tr...

Ellen Kahn is a social worker and Director of the Children, Youth and Families Program at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). We speak with her about HRC's work to serve youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. See the show notes for resources and a transcript. If you like this episode, please leave us a review in iTunes!

Animals provide some of our most reliable, uncomplicated and valued relationships, which contributes to our health and well-being. Philip Tedeschi, LCSW, is Clinical Professor and Executive Director of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection at the University of Denver's Graduate School of Social Work. We speak with Professor Tedeschi about the benefits of animal-assisted interventions in social...

Martha Gonzalez-Cortes is Senior Vice President of Community Investment at Kalamazoo Community Foundation in Michigan. She has a deep working knowledge of immigration policy issues, and a passion for finding systemic solutions to challenges faced by immigrant and refugee families. We speak with her about immigrant children in the United States who have been separated from their families, and what...

Athena Viscusi, LCSW , is a Psychosocial Care Specialist at Doctors Without Borders. She's directed mental health programs in Haiti, South Sudan, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, and Palestine. She's hired, trained and supervised local workers in refugee camps and worked with clients in cholera and Ebola treatment centers. Prior to this, she was a community mental health provider in Washington, DC....

Allison Peeler, LMSW, believes social workers need to drop the outdated story of "underworked and unpaid" and to redefine the way they view themselves and their earning capabilities. See show notes page for resources.

Valerie Arendt, MSW, MPP, discusses why it's so important for social workers to negotiate their salaries. Arendt is the Executive Director of NASW's North Carolina Chapter. See the show notes for resources, and please leave us a review on iTunes!

Suze Orman is a New York Times best-selling author and smart money expert. She hosted the award-winning "Suze Orman Show" on CNBC for 13 years. Her books include "Women & Money," "The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke" and "The Courage to be Rich." We spoke with her about balancing working in a helping profession and taking care of yourself first. See the show notes for resources and if...

Social work has the highest debt-to-salary ratio of any profession. Robert Schachter, DSW, LMSW, describes how social workers in New York City advocated for pay equity in one of the highest cost-of-living cities in the country. Dr. Schachter served for 27 years as the Executive Director of the NASW New York City chapter.

Michael Sinclair, MSW, PhD, assistant professor at Morgan State University School of Social Work, often gets questions about pay from his students. Dr. Sinclair talks to us about why the social work pay landscape looks the way it does, and what can be done to change that. This is the first in our series of episodes about social work salaries as part of Social Work Month 2019. See show notes for re...

Susan Munsey, LCSW, founded GenerateHope, which provides innovative programs for young women and teens who have survived the trauma of sex trafficking. Munsey is a trafficking survivor herself, and she's passionate about rescuing and rehabilitating women and educating people on this issue. Please see the show notes for resources

Sean Erreger, LCSW, MSW, is a clinical case manager for children and youth at the New York State Office of Mental Health. He believes that for social workers who work with teens, striving to understand the social media that their clients are using is part of cultural competency. For related resources, see the show notes

Mike Langlois, MSW, LICSW, is author of "Reset: Video Games & Psychotherapy." He is a gamer-affirmative therapist whose work focuses on gaming, social media, and the impact of social networks on relationships. Langlois encourages us to change our perspective of gaming and to understand that they can be very social in nature. See show notes for resources

Zander Keig, MSW, LCSW , is a clinical social work case manager on the U.S. Navy Medicine West Regional Transgender Care Team. He's a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and co-author of three books and several journal articles. He is also a transsexual man who transitioned in 2005. His peers at the NASW California chapter named him Social Worker of the Year in 2018. He is chair of NASW's National Committee...