Social Media and Social Work Education: Like Oil & Water?

Is it truly impossible to find ways to apply and use social media within the paradigm of social work education?

No, it's not! As per the proverb, "where's there's a will, there's a way."

Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/21/2011)

                  I'm watching twitter, google+ and the web so you don't have to...

This post is part of a weekly series, Best Tweets in Mental Health, featuring the best posts of the week, in social work, psychology, mindfulness, non-profit and private practice concerns on Social Work Career Development.

Social Work:

Do Some Social Good On Your Lunch Break: Sparked.com
Aunt Bertha (Mozart Guerrier, MSW)

"Sparked works with non-profits all across the world to match your skills and interests with small tasks you complete for them on your computer ! The jobs are fun, high impact, and usually require less than 15 minutes to complete..."

An Expression of Gratitude

       
Thanksgiving can mean different things to different people...

As a result, I will be sharing with you a poem, as well as three video clips about being thankful: Deepak Chopra's gratitude meditation, "What Oprah Knows about Gratitude," and Dr Martin Seligman's gratitude exercise.

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/14/2011)

                  I'm watching twitter, google+ and the web so you don't have to...

This post is part of a weekly series, Best Tweets in Mental Health, featuring the best posts of the week, in social work, psychology, mindfulness and private practice concerns on Social Work Career Development.


Social Work:

Caring
How Not to Do Social Work

"Poverty, Unemployment, lack of Education, Drugs, Domestic abuse, Services being cut, Budgets being cut...As social workers there is a need to challenge these changes, challenge societies views of discrimination, racism, and abuse and neglect..."

College football–what could possibly go wrong?
SocialJerk

"Many people are at fault. Number one, of course is Sandusky. The child molester. The actual monster...The one who repeatedly raped children and exploited their trust. But it goes beyond that. We have the bystanders. Many, many bystanders in this case..."

Tools to Help You Pass the LMSW Exam

       
Are you looking for good study guide tools to help you pass the LMSW exam?

This post will provide you with links to free sample practice exams, as well as helpful study guide tools and information about a wonderful google+ hangout study group.

Below are links to sites that allow you to take a Free Sample Practice Exam:

Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 11/7/2011)

                  I'm watching twitter, google+ and the web so you don't have to...

This post is part of a weekly series, Best Tweets in Mental Health, featuring the best posts of the week, in social work, psychology, mindfulness and private practice concerns on Social Work Career Development.

With the Penn State scandal being this week's painful hot topic, please note that there are three social work articles dedicated to the child abuse that occurred there and was covered up.

The Unplanned Detour

             
Have you ever had to take a totally unplanned detour from your well laid-out plans, be it at home, school or work? If no, count your blessings... If yes, how did you deal with it?

While my original plan had been to look for a job as soon as I graduated with my Masters in Social Work (MSW), I have had to put my job search on hold. This is as a result of personal reasons beyond my control and this frustrates me to no end...

I had hoped and dreamed of being able to work as a clinical social worker as soon as at all possible after I graduated. Not being able to right now is a huge letdown. Initially, I beat myself up for this but this was not helpful.

Best Tweets in Mental Health (wk of 10/31/2011)

                  I'm watching twitter, google+ and the web so you don't have to...

This post is part of a weekly series, Best Tweets in Mental Health, featuring the best posts of the week, in social work, psychology, nonprofit and private practice on Social Work Career Development.

Social Work:

Debate Summary for 01-Nov-2011 on Developing Leadership in Social Work and Social Care
Social Work/Social Care & Social Media (Claudia)

"The debate was quite lively, in fact, we hit our “daily Twitter limit” during the debate and during the final minutes @SWSCmedia could not tweet any further...SWkrs need to be proactive as agents of change to advocate for their own practice needs..."

Driving Distractions
what a shrink thinks (Martha Crawford, LCSW)

"My attention crashes back into the office (to an imaginary client, let’s call him Sam, and a fictitious session that never happened and yet, seems also to have happened too many times to count): My first focus is entirely on... recapturing the thread..."

Menopause - Is it the Beginning of the End?

Menopause - we've all heard of it. We've heard about the hot flashes, the mood swings but is it really the beginning of the end for women (and their partners)?

It's most definitely not! In fact, according to Dr. Christian Northrup, it may be one of the most exciting times in a woman's life.

For some humor, before digging into some of the facts behind menopause, watch: "Welcome to my Meno-Pausal Life" :)