Dr. Lawrence Shulman is Professor Emeritus and former Dean of the University at Buffalo’s School of Social Work.  As a social work practitioner-educator for more than 40 years, Dr. Shulman has done extensive research on the core helping skills that are used in social work practice, child welfare, school violence and supervision best practices. Dr. Shulman is the co-founder and co-chair of the International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Clinical Supervision sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Haworth Press. Recognized for his dedication to excellence in scholarship and research, pedagogy and curriculum development, and organizational leadership, Dr. Shulman is a recipient of the 2014 Significant Lifetime Achievement in Social Work Education Award, conferred on him by the Council on Social Work Education. Dr. Shulman has published numerous journal articles on the topic of direct practice and is the author of many books including the Enhanced Eighth Edition of the Empowerment Series: The Skills of Helping Individuals, Families, Groups, and Communities, the Dynamics and Skills of Group Counseling and the fourth edition of the seminal book Interactional Supervision.

According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), supervision is defined as:

​[T]he relationship between supervisor and supervisee in which the responsibility and accountability for the development of competence, demeanor, and ethical practice take place. The supervisor is responsible for providing direction to the supervisee, who applies social work theory, standardized knowledge, skills, competency, and applicable ethical content in the practice setting. The supervisor and the supervisee both share responsibility for carrying out their role in this collaborative process. (Best Practice Standards in Social Work Supervision, n.d.)​

National Association of Social Workers and the Association of Social Work Boards Best Practice Standards in Social Work Supervision are outlined as follows:

Standard 1. Context in Supervision

Standard 2. Conduct of Supervision

Standard 3. Legal and Regulatory Issues

Standard 4. Ethical Issues

Standard 5. Technology

Click here to review supervision standards.

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Dr. Frederic Reamer is a Professor in the School of Social Work at Rhode Island College for over 30 years.  He received his PhD from the University of Chicago and has served as a social worker in correctional and mental health settings. Dr. Reamer chaired the national task force that wrote the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics adopted in 1996 and recently participated in drafting new technology standards added to the code in 2017.  Dr. Reamer lectures both nationally and internationally on the subjects of professional ethics and professional malpractice and liability. He has conducted extensive research on professional ethics and has been involved in several national research projects sponsored by The Hastings Center, Carnegie Corporation, Haas Foundation, and Center for Bioethics of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Reamer is the author of many books, including: Risk Management in Social Work: Preventing Professional Malpractice, Liability, and Disciplinary Action; Boundary Issues and Dual Relationships in the Human Services; The Social Work Ethics Audit: A Risk Management Tool and his latest, On the Parole Board: Reflections on Crime, Punishment, Redemption, and Justice.

In a recent article in Social Work Today, Dr. Frederic Reamer discussed the recent developments of the New NASW  Code of Ethics Standards for the Digital Age (2017). In August 2017, the NASW Delegate Assembly formally approved significant updates to the profession's venerable Code of Ethics. The revisions focus explicitly on ethical challenges pertaining to social workers' and clients' increased use of technology. They reflect a broader shift in social work practice related to technology that has led to very recent and noteworthy changes in regulatory (licensing board) standards, practice standards, and ethical standards. Recognizing the profound impact that technology is having on social work practice, in 2013 the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) board of directors appointed an international task force to develop model regulatory standards for technology and social work practice. ASWB embarked on development of new technology standards in response to demand from regulatory bodies around the globe for guidance concerning social workers' evolving use of technology. The ASWB task force included representatives from prominent social work practice, regulation, and education organizations throughout the world. The task force sought to develop standards for social workers who use digital and other electronic technology to provide information to the public, deliver services to clients, communicate with and about clients, manage confidential information and case records, and store and access information about clients. The group developed model standards addressing the following key concepts: practitioner competence; informed consent; privacy and confidentiality; boundaries, dual relationships, and conflicts of interest; records and documentation; collegial relationships; and social work practice across jurisdictional boundaries.

These model technology standards, formally adopted in 2015, are now influencing the development of licensing and regulatory laws around the world. Following this development, in 2017, with unprecedented collaboration among key social work organizations in the United States—NASW, Council on Social Work Education, ASWB, and Clinical Social Work Association—the profession formally adopted new comprehensive practice standards focused on social workers' and social work educators' use of technology. Approved by these respective organizations' boards of directors, these transformational comprehensive standards address a wide range of compelling issues related to social workers' use of technology to provide information to the public; design and deliver services; gather, manage, and store information; and educate social workers. These new standards constitute a sea change in social work practice, administration, and education. Most recently, social work has adopted an updated NASW Code of Ethics that incorporates 19 new (and some revised) technology-related standards. The process started in 2015, when NASW appointed a task force to determine whether changes were needed in its Code of Ethics to address concerns related to social workers’ and clients’ increased use of technology. The last major revision of the code was approved in 1996. Since 1996, there has been significant growth in the use of computers, smartphones, tablets, e-mail, texting, online social networking, monitoring devices, video technology, and other electronic technology in various aspects of social work practice. In fact, many of the technologies currently used by social workers and clients did not exist in 1996. In August, 2017, NASW adopted a revised code that now includes extensive technology-related additions pertaining to informed consent, competent practice, conflicts of interest, privacy and confidentiality, sexual relationships, sexual harassment, interruption of services, unethical conduct of colleagues, supervision and consultation, education and training, client records, and evaluation and research (Reamer, 2017; Reamer 2018).

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Dr. Doug Behan is the Director of Continuing Education and an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at Rutgers School of Social Work. Dr. Behan has been at Rutgers School of Social Work since 2007 where he enjoys leading the nation’s largest university-based continuing education program for social workers and teaching clinical courses to MSW students. Dr. Behan has over 30 years of experience in a variety of social work settings. He has worked extensively in the mental health field as a clinician, supervisor, and administrator. In his career, he has enjoyed developing many programs including the school’s continuing education program, professional conferences and certificate programs, international training programs in China and India, a domestic violence treatment program, a children's intensive outpatient program and an intensive outpatient detoxification program. Dr. Behan has a deep connection to Rutgers where he has earned his undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees.

What are the Common Factors of Effective Psychotherapy? Meta-analytic studies show that no major treatment approach (e.g. CBT, psychodynamic, family systems) has proven superior to other approaches in treating psychiatric disorders. After decades of devotion and refinement, why has no treatment approach emerged as superior to the others? The answer is that treatment models are effective, not primarily because of their unique qualities, but because of the therapeutic factors they all share. Known as the “common factors”, when these components of psychotherapy are present, positive outcomes are maximized. Learn more about the common factors by visiting Dr. Behan’s website, WhatWorksInTherapy.com, where you can find valuable information on what to look for when seeking psychotherapy.

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Dr. Ursula Whiteside is a licensed clinical psychologist and a member of the Clinical Faculty at the University of Washington. Dr. Whiteside trained under Dr. Marsha Linehan, the creator of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and later served as a DBT-adherent research therapist on a clinical trial led by Dr. Linehan that was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.  As a researcher, she has been awarded grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Dr. Whiteside is the CEO of NowMattersNow.org which was conceived from her research study involving over 18,000 high-risk suicidal patients in four major health systems. This study includes a guided version of NowMattersNow.org which is a program she developed that includes skills for managing suicidal thoughts and is based on DBT and paired with Lived Experience stories. Dr. Whiteside is national faculty for the Zero Suicide Initiative, a practical approach to suicide prevention in healthcare and behavioral healthcare systems. Dr. Whiteside serves on the faculty of the National Action Alliance Zero Suicide Academy. She is also a founding board member of United Suicide Survivors International and a member of the Standards Trainings and Practices Committee for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. As a person with Lived Experience, she strives to decrease the gap between "us and them" and to ensure that the voices of those who have been there are included in all relevant conversations. Nothing about us without us.

Suicidal Behavior Disorder is a proposed separate diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition. Firstly, in order to have this diagnosis, an individual has made a suicide attempt within the past two years. Secondly, the criterion for non-suicidal self-injurious behavior is not met during the aforementioned suicide attempts. Thirdly, the diagnosis is not applied to preparation for a suicide attempt, or suicidal ideation. Fourthly, the act was not attempted during an altered mental state, such as delirium or “ confusion.” Finally, the act was not ideologically motivated, i.e., religious or political.

A prior history of suicidal behavior is a key predictor for future suicidal behavior. Other environmental factors such as unemployment, financial crisis, bullying, military combat, incarceration, or relationship disruptions are also associated with risk. Although suicidal behavior may co-occur with another psychiatric condition, this is not always the case. Many people who die by suicide have not been diagnosed with a mental disorder.

Suicidal behavior is the cause of over a million deaths worldwide every year. Non-fatal suicidal behavior is estimated to be even more common. It is important to create strategies to identify those individuals at risk within the health care system. This is critical because, as mentioned above, many people who complete suicides have not interacted with a mental health worker but may have been seen by a medical professional such as a primary care physician. Defining suicidal behavior disorder as a separate diagnosis in the DSM-5 is important to standardize care in order to develop methods to identify suicidal behavior, document in medical records, and track patients at every level of care.

The fact that suicidal ideation waxes and wanes over time can create perilous situation in which key information may be missed. Continuity of care is very important with patients with a risk of suicidal behavioral—some healthcare systems have more robust medical records systems than others. Even in cases when the past suicide attempt is identified, data about suicide risk is often lost during hand-offs and may not be included in discharge summaries.

Twitter: @ursulawhiteside, @NowMattersNow

Lifeline: Suicide Prevention Hotline or call 800-273-8255

Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is not a substitute for getting help from a mental health professional.

Dr. Stephanie Carnes is the President of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals, more commonly called ITAP, which is a training institute and professional organization for addiction professionals. Dr. Carnes is a Senior fellow at Meadows Behavioral Healthcare where she works with sexually addicted clients and their families. Her father, Dr. Patrick Carnes, is the founder of ITAP and is an internationally recognized expert in the field. He also created the assessment tool and the 30-task model treatment modality which is used by clinicians all over the world to help their patients recover from sexual addiction. Dr. Carnes’ credentials include being a certified sex addiction therapist, a clinical sexologist, a licensed marriage and family therapist and a supervisor specializing in therapy for couples and families struggling with sexual addiction. Dr. Carnes is the clinical architect for Willow House at The Meadows, a 45-day inpatient program designed specifically for women who are struggling love addiction, relationship issues, and intimacy disorders.  Dr. Carnes currently co-facilitates Module 2 in the Certified Sex Addiction Therapist Training as well as the Certified Partner Trauma Therapist Training.  She is the author of numerous publications including her books Mending a Shattered Heart: A Guide for Partners of Sex Addicts and Facing Heartbreak: Steps to Recovery for Partners of Sex Addicts.

Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder was added as a new mental diagnosis by the World Health Organization in the ICD-11. Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder is characterized by a repetitive and intense preoccupation with sexual fantasies, urges, and behaviors, leading to negative consequences and impairment in a person’s functioning on many levels including family, work and social life. A defining feature of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder is when a person makes unsuccessful efforts to stop or control the time they participate in sexual fantasies, urges or behavior in an attempt to cope with stress or mood states.

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Dr. Stapleton is an Associate Professor in Psychology at Bond University in Australia and in 2019 she was named Psychologist of the Year by the Australian Allied Health Awards. Dr. Stapleton is the world’s leading researcher in Emotional Freedom Techniques which is commonly called EFT or Tapping and has established herself as one of Australia’s leading online Health Professionals. One of Dr. Stapleton’s most significant contributions to the field of mental health was to lead the world’s first randomized clinical trials investigating the effectiveness of EFT. I encourage you to read Dr. Stapleton’s new book The Science Behind EFT Tapping which was published in 2019.

Emotional Freedom Techniques, commonly known as EFT or Tapping, are groundbreaking techniques that combine psychotherapy and acupressure, bringing together elements of exposure, cognitive therapy and somatic stimulation. EFT’s developers see it as being similar to acupuncture but without the needles, and it has been referred to as ‘psychological acupuncture’. As with acupuncture, EFT stimulates various pressure points on the face and body to relieve stress, which then alleviates many psychological-based concerns. EFT is a powerful self-applied, stress reduction method based on extensive research that demonstrates that emotional distress can contribute to illness. EFT can help a range of symptoms or conditions by simply focusing on the issue you would like to address and linking it to an acceptance statement using a simple two finger tapping technique. EFT is a surprisingly easy technique to use and works by stimulating pressure points on the body with this two finger tapping technique which result in a calming effect on the amygdala (the stress center of the brain), and the hippocampus (the brains memory center), both of which play a role in the decision making process to determine if something is, or isn’t, a threat, and in the fight or flight response. EFT also seems to have the same calming effect on cortisol – the stress hormone. High cortisol levels can be caused by a variety of things, including biological stressors, and mood disorders such as depression and anxiety and psychological stress. Clinical trials have shown that EFT is able to rapidly reduce the emotional impact of memories and incidents that trigger emotional distress. EFT has an immediate calming effect and can be used by children as young as 3-4 years old.

EFT on Twitter: @PetaStapleton

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Dr. Michael Kerr succeeded Dr. Murray Bowen as Director of the Georgetown Family Center and served in that role until 2010. Dr. Kerr co-authored with Dr. Bowen the seminal book Family Evaluation: An Approach Based on Bowen Theory. Dr. Kerr’s new book, Bowen Theory’s Secrets: Revealing the Hidden Life of Families, was released in February 2019. Dr. Kerr was also the founding editor of Family Systems: A Journal of Natural Systems Thinking in Psychiatry and the Sciences. Dr. Kerr is now the Director of the Bowen Theory Academy in Islesboro, Maine.

Family System Therapy  uses systems theory to describe the family as a complex emotional unit where members are intricately and intensely interconnected. FST looks through the lens of system theory where each family member is emotionally and behaviorally connected through complex interactions. In FST, “Families so profoundly affect their members’ thoughts, feelings, and actions that it often seems as if people are living under the same ‘emotional skin.’” Family members react to one another in both behavior and emotions. If there is a change in one person, there will most likely be reciprocal changes in other family members. Family members who “absorb” the anxiety of others are vulnerable to depression, alcoholism, affairs, and physical illnesses.

Family Systems Therapy on Twitter: @thebowencenter

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Dr. Judith McCoyd is an Associate Professor at Rutgers School of Social Work and co-author of Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan, a book that seeks to educate mental health clinicians on how to address the needs of someone experiencing grief and loss. 

Grief and loss experiences can affect a person’s feelings, behaviors, and thoughts. During a lifetime, we all experience multiple losses. Grief and loss therapy can help to offer support through the bereavement or transition process, regardless of whether or not an individual has a formal mental health diagnosis. There are many types of losses and talking to a therapist can allow one to process the meanings of these losses and the changes in identity that they can spur. Loss can include the loss of a job, home, functioning, and even the loss that occurs when there is a transition. One example of loss is when a child goes off to kindergarten or college, which may bring on grief as well as a longing for the past. Indeed, any change can be a form of loss of the way things once were. Cultural beliefs and traditions influence how people express grief. In some cultures, grief may be open and sociable. In other cultures, grief is experienced privately and quietly. Culture generally guides the time period in which family members are expected to grieve. In short, culture, the support of family and friends, and the adaptability to change all influence an individual’s ability to cope with loss. Having a therapist to accompany one through the process of change and reflection can be powerfully beneficial.

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Dr. Michael Nichols currently serves as a Professor of Psychology at William & Mary and has been a leading teacher and practitioner of Family Therapy for over 40 years. He is the author of many revolutionary books, including Stop Arguing with Your Kids, The Lost Art of Listening, The Essentials of Family Therapy, which is currently in its sixth edition, and Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods, which is currently in its 11th edition.

Family Therapy is a strength-based, outcome-oriented treatment that focuses on the interaction between the individual and his or her family.  According to Family Therapy, our behaviors are a function of our relations with others, and Family Therapy examines the interplay among family members, rather than focusing solely on individuals. The role of the family therapist is to discover each member’s underutilized strengths and to help him or her move past negative patterns of communication that interfere with the family’s health and functioning. After observing how your family interacts, the therapist will draw a chart, or map, of your family’s structure. Since there is an overall organization or structure that maintains a family's dysfunctional interactions, this chart helps identify the hierarchy, family subsystems, and boundaries (both rigid and flexible) within the family unit, such as the relationship between parents or between one parent and one particular child. Using this plan, the therapist can also see where changes are needed and what type of interventions will help restructure the family.

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Dr. Marlene Maheu is a licensed psychologist and the founder of the Telebehavioral Health Institute. She is the originator of the Framework for Telebehavioral Health Competencies for Ethical Telebehavioral Health and Online Counseling. Dr. Maheu is the author of many books, including A Practioner’s Guide to Telemental Health: How to Conduct Legal, Ethical and Evidenced-Based Telepractice.

Telebehavioral Health is a remote mental health service where the delivery of mental health care services uses technology, such as videoconferencing, computer programs, and mobile applications, led by mental health providers, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, and marriage and family therapists. Recently, there has been an increase in Telebehavioral Health services. Because physical contact with mental health clients is generally not necessary, it seems that this type of mental health service is a good fit for mental health practices. The use of large computer screens may actually enhance the level of communication between the client and the clinician. If a person is concerned about the stigma associated with going to the office of a mental health provider, they can meet with that provider remotely. Due to the shortage of mental health providers, having the opportunity to see individuals remotely may actually make it easier for clinicians to see more clients.

Telebehavioral Health on Twitter: @telepsychology

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Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is not a substitute for getting help from a mental health professional.