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In My Own House: Experiencing Racism and Discrimination as a Black Academic in a School of Social Work
Full text linkSchools of social work often postulate that they are rooted in social justice and affirmed in the values and ethics of the social work profession. However, the lived experience of being a Black social work educator is oftentimes inclusive of working within an oppressive and toxic work environment, that is also a school of social work. My reflection describes the discriminatory practices exhibited in a school of social work faced by me as a Black social work educator and researcher within a research one institution. These experiences of discrimination include excessive critique, microaggressions, microinsults, and microinvalidations from senior colleagues, as well as a lack of action taken to address these discriminatory practices by administrators within the school. This piece identifies how emotionally overwhelming and mentally exhausting being a Black academic within a school of social work can be when colleagues and administrators demonstrate the actions of the oppressor
Invisibility Matters: Adult Sibling Loss and the Complicated Grief Experience
Full text linkHomicide is a word that unquestionably invokes visceral responses. For families who have endured this traumatic experience, the manner of death augmented by social determinants complicates grieving processes. This narrative uses Worden’s Four Tasks of Mourning to chronicle the author’s journey of complicated bereavement following the loss of a sibling
Nursing Home Social Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reflections Behind the Mask
Full text linkThe majority of COVID-19 deaths between 2020 and 2021 were older adults with compromised health. Nursing homes in the United States were the highest risk places for death caused by COVID-19 due to the physical vulnerability of residents, close quarters, and staffing shortages. Skilled nursing facilities are required to have trained social work professionals to meet the psychosocial needs of residents—made more severe as a result of the pandemic with visit restrictions, limited staff, and few incentives—yet the placement on trained social workers of incredibly high caseloads and expectations was only increased during the pandemic. Our article provides literature relating to social work wellbeing, recommendations from us the authors, and includes a first-person account of our daily work life to illuminate the complex and rigorous, psychologically demanding, and still too-little recognized role of the nursing home social worker as a key agent for change, problem-solving, and essential care
Financial Monitoring and Independent Assistance at Bridgewell
No full textThe core of Bridgewell's mission is to empower people with disabilities and other life challenges. This organization envisions a world in which everyone can accomplish goals, participate in communities, and lead satisfying lives, irrespective of their unique circumstances. Bridgewell, which is well-known for its creative and dynamic approach, offers a wide range of support services, such as day programs that encourage independence, residential care, and clinical and behavioral health treatments. By being involved in the community, the organization creates partnerships and promotes social inclusion. This project aims to improve residents’ financial independence through one-on-one financial monitoring; in order to achieve a success rate in accomplishing goals, encouraging efficient budgeting, and advancing long-term financial self-sufficiency
Reflections from the Editorial Leadership Team: A Call for Social Work Educators to Confront and Dismantle Systemic Racism Within Social Work Programs
No full textAnti-racism is defined as “an action oriented, educational and/or political strategy for systemic and political change that addresses issues of racism and interlocking systems of social oppression” (Dei & Calliste, 2000, p. 188). This first of a two-part Special Issue of a trilogy on race and racism describes anti-racism efforts to dismantle racism in social work programs and departments. Individual transformation, organizational change, movement-building, and efforts to create more equitable and inclusive classrooms and racial equity in policies within social work programs are described. Counter-storytelling, using identity as its central theme, is used to discuss personal and/or institutional strategies for addressing, confronting, or dismantling systemic constraints that inhibit institutional change
three nine twenty one (3/9/21)
Full text linkThis is a poem that emerged in the wake of another incident of anti-Asian violence and my own rage and exhaustion as a queer, Filipina-American social work educator and scholar-mama, teaching throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the endemic of anti-Blackness in the United States. I reflect on the experiences of feeling sadness and anger towards Asian community members who support white supremacy, feeling like the energy that goes into my teaching is built to be drained, and the loneliness of the work. The poem ends with a metaphorical monstrosity of the body of a woman of color in the academy that appears briefly and then slinks away seeking shelter and solace, buried in the sand
White Like Social Work
Full text linkThis essay joins personal narrative with an unpublished book review expressing my skepticism about current anti-racism rhetoric within social work programs and the performative actions that often accompany it. Here, I revisit a critique of the personal narrative written by anti-racism educator Tim Wise in White Like Me (2011) completed during course work in a doctoral program. I use my reaction to Wise’s reflection on his white privilege as material to explore and examine efforts to confront and dismantle systemic racism in social work programs and essentially throughout the profession. I challenge social work programs to think critically about the next steps towards their positions on anti-racism and their interactions with students, staff, and faculty. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the essay while offering opportunities for scholars to contribute to the conversation about dismantling, deconstructing, and divesting from racist ideology and policies in social work programs
Reflections from the Editorial & Publishing Teams: Our New Publishing Home
Full text linkReflections Volume 29(3) includes an update from the Editorial Leadership Team and our new Publisher at Salem State University. We follow this update by recognizing how Reflections is built around an multidisciplinary community of reviewers, authors, volunteers, students, and educators engaged in the enterprise of supporting a platform for narrative writing and creative expression. In this General Issue we are excited to introduce 13 engaging articles in which stories about personal and professional relationships influence our sense of community and impact every aspect of our lives. Beginning with articles on personal interactions and experiences that form us, our authors take us into educational and practice settings in which it is imperative to form cohesive bonds that sustain us as professional helpers
A Social Worker's Journey of Residing with a Military Member with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Full text linkThis reflection explores my (Collins') experience residing with a military member diagnosed with military-related post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite being a social worker, I was unsure what was happening to my partner and myself following the diagnosis. With little supports and understanding from others about what I was facing, I felt completely defeated and hopeless as my own mental health plummeted to the point that I was also diagnosed with secondary PTSD. This paper reflects upon this journey while also sharing insight to help others in similar situations, researchers, and practitioners so that they are better equipped to address the concerns. The connection between healing the body, mind, and spirit was instrumental in my healing. It is hoped that through some of the strategies, and by demonstrating that healing is possible, hope will be instilled in others while also educating helping professionals on the impact of PTSD
Flyer for The War In Ukraine: Displacement And Its Impact On Children
No full textFlyer for the webinar The War In Ukraine: Displacement And Its Impact On Children. Speakers were Zoë Kessler, Dmytro Say, and Yvonne Vissing. Co-sponsored by the Center For Youth And Childhood Studies and the School Of Social Work