NASW Social Work Talks

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 Memory Care" (UBC Press).

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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 better physical and mental health.

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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, and Postvention."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 work.

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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 can be done to put an end to this inhumane practice.

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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. She worked with immigrants and refugees, at a domestic violence shelter, and a homeless outreach and substance abuse treatment program. She also directed a gang intervention program that provided services to youth and their families.