100 episodes

NASW Social Work Talks seeks to inform, educate and inspire by talking with experts and exploring issues that social work professionals care about. Brought to you by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

NASW Social Work Talks National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

    • Science
    • 4.1 • 89 Ratings

NASW Social Work Talks seeks to inform, educate and inspire by talking with experts and exploring issues that social work professionals care about. Brought to you by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

    Genetics and Family Life: What Social Workers Need to Know

    Genetics and Family Life: What Social Workers Need to Know

    We speak with Dr. Allison Werner-Lin about genetics and family life.
    Dr. Werner-Lin is Associate Professor at the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research addresses the intersection of genomic discovery and family life. Her work is among the first to explore the psychosocial challenges unique to women and men of reproductive age who carry a genetic mutation that confers elevated risk of cancer.
    Dr. Werner-Lin has held multiple training grants to build and evaluate interdisciplinary educational programs in oncology, genome-based health literacy, and health care social work practice.
    Our host for this discussion is Elisabeth Joy LaMotte, LICSW.
    See the show notes for related resources.

    • 52 min
    Environmental Justice as Social Work Practice

    Environmental Justice as Social Work Practice

    We speak with Christina Erickson, MSW, PhD, about environmental justice.
    Dr. Erickson is professor and chair of the social work department at Augsburg University. She is author of “Environmental Justice as Social Work Practice,” (Oxford University Press, 2018) and “Spanked: How Hitting Our Children Is Harming Ourselves” (Oxford University Press, 2022).
    She co-developed the environmental studies program at Augsburg and teaches the course Environmental Justice and Social Change. She is the director of Augsburg's BSW program and has directed Environmental Studies. She was on the national working group to develop the Curricular Guide for Environmental Justice in 2020. 
    Visit the show notes for resources: 
     
     

    • 1 hr 5 min
    EP97: South Asians in the United States

    EP97: South Asians in the United States

    We speak with Shreya Bhandari, PhD, LISW, editor of the NASW Press book “South Asians in the United States: A Guide for Social Workers and Other Helping Professionals.”
    Dr. Bhandari is professor and director of social work, Purdue University Northwest. She is also alicensed clinical social worker with her own private practice. Her research focuses on violence against women, specifically domestic violence. She has worked in the area of domestic violence and mental health for about two decades as a researcher, educator, and practitioner.
    You can buy a copy of "South Asians in America" on the NASW Press website.
    You can watch this conversation on YouTube and leave a comment or question there.
     

    • 43 min
    EP96: Sleep Health is a Social Justice Issue

    EP96: Sleep Health is a Social Justice Issue

    Sleep is as essential to human well-being as food and air. Poor sleep habits and sleep deprivation can have negative effects on our physical and mental health. Further, racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to get insufficient sleep than their white counterparts.
    Jessi Pettigrew, MSW, LCSW, is a PhD candidate at the Graduate School of Social Work at Colorado State University. Working with clients, Jessi became curious about the intersection of sleep and mental health. She explains why social workers should be concerned about sleep health, even if they aren’t working in a clinical setting.
    Visit the show notes for resources

    • 27 min
    EP95: Identifying Moral Panic

    EP95: Identifying Moral Panic

    Michael H. Eversman, PhD, MSW, is the author of "Identifying Moral Panic: The Discourse of Fear in Social Policy" from NASW Press. This book uses historic and contemporary moral panic episodes — periods of exaggerated public fear triggered by high-profile incidents linked to feared social groups — to show how political discourse and stereotyping lead to policies that maintain social inequalities.
    Eversman emphasizes social work's social justice mission and the need to stay vigilant amid structural inequalities rooted in labeling and otherism, enabling readers to recognize the patterns of moral panic discourse in our culture. 
    Dr. Eversman is associate professor in the Department of Social Work at Rutgers University–Newark.
    You can purchase "Identifying Moral Panic" at https://naswpress.org/product/53667/identifying-moral-panic.

    • 34 min
    Economic Well-Being

    Economic Well-Being

    Deborah M. Figart, PhD, and Ellen Mutari, PhD, are the authors of "Economic Well-Being: An Introduction" from NASW Press. In this episode, we discuss this groundbreaking book, which makes the study of economic life accessible, applicable, and exciting.
    NASW member Elisabeth Joy LaMotte, LICSW, hosts this episode.
    Visit the show notes for related resources.
    You can also watch this interview and leave your comments on YouTube.
     

    • 46 min

Customer Reviews

4.1 out of 5
89 Ratings

89 Ratings

Karina. C ,

A Wonderful Podcast that has Room for Improvement

Normally I am not one to leave a review, however after listening to the episode on self-care and avoiding burnout I felt compelled to do so. Although the particular episode I listened to was taped back in 2018, I believe the topic holds true and is relevant to todays world. Since as the episode clearly details there is this heightened societal pressure that is often projected through social media that individuals must be actively productive and perfect within their lives. However, often this pressure leads individuals to place a greater emphasis on overworking and their overall performance. Ultimately, this results in individuals disengaging form the valuable connections and their treasured activities within their lives. However as the episode highlights, individuals can break this toxic cycle and regain a sense of connectivity and calmness in their lives, through allowing themselves the permission to take a step away from their work or obligations in order to engage in activities that bring them joy such as going on a walk, reading a chapter of a book they been wanting to read for some time, and/or spending some time with their friends and family.

As I can personally speak for myself that I have definitely felt burn out in my life especially so during the pandemic as I was juggling my schooling and work from home. However, through experiencing burn out first hand and learning further about the topic, I began to prioritize the act of self-care within my daily routine through making it a ritual of mine to go on a daily walk with my dog for at least 15 minutes each day, which has really allowed me to step away from my computer screen and take some to enjoy the nature around me and find more stillness in my life. Overall, I thought the episode did an effective job of defining what burn out is, detailing the signs someone may be dealing with burn out, and also how individuals can prioritize self-care within their daily schedules. However, I would have loved to hear further about the guests professional journey and any obstacles they may have faced along the way, since I felt the episode quickly jumped to the questions and did not offer an opportunity for the listener to connect with the guest. Moreover, in the future the podcast can consider adding an ice breaker before stepping into the content of the episode or even a question of the day in order so that it feels more relatable for the listener and more like a conversation between two people.

TuttiFruity ,

Pretty good but needs work

Overall I find the show helpful to keep me up-to-date and the topics are relevant to me. I just really wish the show host said fewer umms because it interferes with my listening experience.

D.CJ. ,

great podcast but

I do expect more from NASW. The topics and guests are super. The host/interviewer says um and like “like” too much. I sometimes cringe but still listen.

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