Social Work Career Development: Best in Mental Health (wk of 2/20/2012)

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

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

To get a quick idea of the topics covered in this week's round-up, please see the above word cloud :)

Evidence Based Practice/Healthcare:

ABCs of Web Literacy: Interactive Tutorial
University of Pennsylvania

"If you are going to use the web for research, don't be duped by what you find out there. Learn five criteria for evaluation of information on the web..."

How to speak to your psychiatrist: are we ready for shared decision making in mental health?
The Mental Elf (Andre Tomlin)

"The evidence-base around shared decision making in mental health remains fairly sparse... Training in shared decision making was highly accepted by patients and changed attitudes toward participation in decision making..."

Satisfied? If not, do something
Occupy Healthcare (Dr. Miller)

"You have a role to play in healthcare too whether or not you admit it. Once we as a society stop seeing the healthcare system for only being about sickness, there will be a significant shift in our satisfaction of that system..."

So Much For “Everyone Can Get Care In An Emergency Room”
The Health Care Blog (Aaron Carroll)

"At least half of all hospitals nationwide now charge upfront ER fees... Hospital officials say the upfront payments are a response to mounting bad debt caused by the surge in uninsured and underinsured patients..."

Social Work:

Disproportional Suspension Among African American Youth: The Experience of Kinship Caregivers
Living Proof Podcast (UB School of Social Work)

"Dr. [Priscilla] Gibson speaks [in this 90th podcast] about her research exploring the experiences of kinship caregivers parenting African American children, who are disproportionately suspended under school zero tolerance policies..."

Don't Say "I Know" to a Client
A Case Manager's Verse (Anatolia)

"I have said "I understand" in the past but I've been told by a coworker that this may be tricky too because I don't really understand a situation... Our goal is to support the client to address her problem (and encourage her to do this on her own)..."

Human Trafficking - some interesting data
Child Protection Lessons (Peter Choate)

"... it now represents the second or third most profitable crime worldwide. It is the fastest growing crime and represents about $10 billion... This is a global problem in which technology has assisted in the ease of communication and movement..."

Intuition
This Is Me (spldbch)

"Everyone has intuition. We differ in how readily we recognize it, how comfortable we are with it, and how confident we are of its reliability... Notice your hunches, especially those that ultimately prove to be accurate. Become familiar w/the physical sensations..."

Perfectionism: Mastery Gone Awry
Practice Wisdom (Natalie L. Hill, LICSW)

"... perfectionists are often paralyzed by their perfectionism: they either spend an inordinate amount of time on one task or activity trying to get it just right, or they don't even start a task or activity because they know they can't meet their own standards..."

Psychologically Equipped? – White Paper Series #2
Mindfulness for NGOs (Alessandra Pigni)

"I shall explore the idea that aid workers may be greatly supported by practical psychological tools of self-awareness and by mindfulness practices that can help them to more fully know themselves, before they are exposed to trauma, crises and intense external stress..."

Reversals
What a Shrink Thinks (Martha Crawford, LCSW)

"There are times when we don’t carry our caseload, our caseload carries us... I am expected to be well. To be intact. To bear up. To be able to think clearly and feel deeply. And the expectation summons my strengths..."

Safety First…well, maybe third
SocialJerk

"Safety is an important topic in social work. We work in volatile situations with people who have difficulty controlling themselves... I recently canceled a home visit for the first time ever due to safety concerns...But that day, I had the uh-oh feeling..."

Seeking transformational solutions in a transactional world
Classroom to Capitol (Melinda K Lewis)

"Transforming our society by rethinking the systems that govern our lives... falls to all of us... It’s not enough for me as a social worker to be skilled at getting more for my clients, when I know that more is owed to many..."

Student power…? A personal response to the debate on student leadership
Social Work/Social Care & Media (Sasha Williams)

"Being proactive on your own behalf and that of your peers should not only improve the quality of your social work courses but it may also prepare you better for your role as advocate for service users..."

Trust, Anonymity and Authenticity
Connecting Social Care and Social Media (Ermintrude2)

"I’m moving away from ‘anonymity’ as a default and my defense of pseudonymity is fading. I feel comfortable standing publicly by the words I publish and I write as if I had my name attached in any case..."

Psychology:

3 Mindfulness Exercises to Soothe an Anxious Mind
Laura Schenck, M.A.

"Consider the information embedded within your subjective experience of anxiety… what is the experience trying to tell you? The next time you notice yourself experiencing your familiar cues of anxiety, make the choice to mindfully pause, breathe, and rest in the present moment..."

Five Factors That Bump Up Levels of Toxic-Stress in Your Body & Mind, 2 of 3
Neuroscience and Relationships (Dr. Athena Staik)

"the ‘American Diet’ is poison to the body... avoid inflammatory foods like the plague, and replace them with foods rich in nutrients... Exercise is also a critical component that factors into your level of mental and physical health..."

Nine Essential Qualities of Mindfulness
The Mindful Self-Express (Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D)

"Developing an observing mind that watches your own daily experience, notices your automatic patterns, and gently redirects attention to the present moment is the beginning of growing a "mindfulness muscle" to help you navigate the... stresses in your life..."

Anger is my friend
Teenage Whisperer (Sam Ross, BSc, MSc, Cert EP (YJ))

"If you really want to help me, you need to treat my anger for the friend it is... What you've got to do is help me come to realize that the way my friend treats me isn't helping me in life... that there are better friends out there for me, other options..."

Do One Thing
Dr. Ann Becker Schutte

"If you’re struggling to get out of a slump, it’s not helpful to give yourself a huge “to do” list... So, I ask my clients to identify one single action that they can take toward forward progress... If you get that one thing done, you have succeeded..."

Mindfulness Practice for the Treatment of PTSD
Heal My PTSD (Wayne Nadler)

"In Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a person is left in a state of hypervigilance and hyperreactivity, always in a state of readiness to respond to attack... Mindfulness practice helps with PTSD by calming the nervous system..."

Patient Suicide: Part Five--Treat People Like They Matter
The Irreverent Psychologist (Jason Evan Mihalko, Psy.D)

"My patient who killed herself told me once that when she died she wanted no obituary... no marker of any sort that made mention of her life... My patient is etched in the record of my heart. I wish I had thought to tell her this when she was alive..."

Performance Anxiety and Shame
After Psychotherapy (Joseph Burgo, PhD)

"When toxic shame becomes non-toxic — that is, when it becomes bearable, it means you can still develop an authentic self-esteem that is entirely different from a narcissistic defense against shame...”

Self-Talk: Managing Your Inner Voice
HealthyPlace (Natasha Tracy)

"Self-talk can be used to lift yourself up, make you resilient and help you get on with your day or self-talk can work to tear you down... while self-talk can seem automatic and even partially unconscious, we do actually have control over our own inner voice..."

Spotlight on Eating Disorders
National Institute of Mental Health (Thomas Insel)

"What is the most fatal mental disorder? The answer... is anorexia nervosa... While many young women and men with this disorder die from starvation and metabolic collapse, others die of suicide..."

When To See A Psychiatrist
A Friend to Yourself (Sana Johnson-Quijada, MD)

"When we find that we can’t do what we want, don’t respond the way we intend, have negative emotions and behaviors we didn’t invite, see the associated deterioration in our connections and quality of life – when we are suffering, we need to look for help..."

Worrying Yourself Sick: A Personal Account
The Trauma and Attachment Report (Jeanine Tang)

"Their [anxiety disorder] effects can be pervasive and severe, both physically and psychologically... Left unchecked, stress can have serious negative consequences on health and well-being... Unfortunately, this is precisely what happened to my mother..."

Nonprofit:

Three Powerful Career Questions from Google
Allison Jones

"These three characteristics of their [Google's] ideal employee struck me as characteristics we all should be developing as we navigate our careers and lead in the nonprofit sector... do you know your field...can you apply what you know..."

Wisdom 2.0: Balance in A Hyper Connected World
Beth's Blog (Beth Kanter)

"The Wisdom 2.0 Conference is a one-of-a-kind event in Silicon Valley that brings together an unusual mix of technology leaders, Zen teachers, neuroscientists, and academics, to explore how we can live with deeper meaning and wisdom..."

Nonprofits Want Talent, Not Cash
The NonProfit Times

"The Washington Post published an article today by Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation, in which she discussed the nonprofit sector's need for more talent in strategic areas of importance..."

Private Practice:

Peek Inside An Office Overlooking A Lake!
Private Practice Toolbox (Julie Hanks, LCSW)

"Our first virtual office tour is the office of Peter Hannah MA LMHC, in Seattle, WA...I have to admit that I am SO jealous of his view. Water is amazingly therapeutic..."

Health Care Blogging: Choosing Topics
Dr. Susan Giurleo

"Your patients and clients are telling you what to write and how to write it. They come to you every day with questions, complaints and confusion that you then explain to them face-to-face. Your blog topics come for those conversations..."

When They Hate You
Gamer Therapist (Mike Langlois, LICSW)

"Would-be presenters please take heed. When you put yourself out there, people will take shots at you... In my opinion, part of what makes a person an effective speaker is also bound to make them hated: namely, their passion and conviction..."