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Ansong, David; Appiah-Kubi, Jamal; Amoako, Emmanuel O; Brevard, Kanisha; Denby, Ramona W
doi: 10.1093/sw/swaf001pmid: 39955084
Financial assistance programs, such as the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program, provide essential ongoing support for the care of children when reunification with their biological parents or adoption by other families is not feasible. However, these programs are underutilized by relatives who step in to provide stable, permanent homes for these children, partly due to unresolved internal conflicts about accepting financial support for caring for family members. Formative data (N = 178) and Bayesian inferential methods were used to examine whether a tailored training and support program for kinship caregivers could influence the internal conflict and attitudes of these caregivers concerning their acceptance of financial assistance. The study also assessed whether reductions in internal conflicts differed by program delivery mode: in-person versus virtual. Findings indicate that internal conflicts and stigma (a) reduced after participation in the program, (b) reduced with both delivery modes, with greater reductions among the virtual participants, but (c) did not reduce for participants of the standard foster parent training program. Results trending in the desired direction indicate that kin-specific training and programs may have crossover effects on internalized financial stigma, thus highlighting the need for future evaluations to affirm these results and inform intervention planning.
Hong, Sunghyun; Ribaudo, Julie M; Safyer, Paige; Routte, Irene E; Watkins, Daphne C
doi: 10.1093/sw/swaf003pmid: 39938564
Psychodynamic-based practice (PBP), including approaches informed by attachment theory, is a widely used therapeutic modality in clinical social work for addressing trauma. Yet, in some clinical spaces, PBP has faced challenges due to its process-oriented nature, particularly in an era that increasingly favors manualized, short-term interventions. Meanwhile, sociocultural neuroscience has emerged as a field providing evidence for trauma interventions. Recently, both clinical social work and sociocultural neuroscience have begun highlighting the impact of structural trauma on mental health and the need to alleviate harms stemming from experiencing such trauma. Integrating neuroscience insights and methods may offer an opportunity to enhance PBP in clinical social work practice, particularly in addressing structural trauma. This article reviews recent developments in sociocultural neuroscience that is relevant for clinical social work practice with clients who have experienced trauma, outlines how these insights can inform PBP grounded in attachment theory, and discusses the potential implication of integrating sociocultural neuroscience with PBP in addressing structural trauma underpinning the place attachment framework.
doi: 10.1093/sw/swaf008pmid: 40056154
This article explores the development of Indigenous knowledge in relation to the ecosystem and how traditional concepts of planetary well-being can enhance ecosocial work approaches. From an academic point of view, ecosocial work is a unique paradigm that seeks to understand a holistic view of human health, social justice, and environmental sustainability. There is a strong focus on community development in ecosocial work, which is why the profession must be equipped with tools to address the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized groups including refugees and First Nations peoples. While these threats to human life and planetary well-being are well documented, little is known about the divergence of Indigenous epistemology in ecosocial work and how cultural strategies can enhance recovery and resilience building with community. Connecting cultural knowledge with contemporary ecosocial work theory and practice can provide effective pathways for communities suffering from grief and loss. This article explores Indigenous perspectives on living symbiotically with the natural world alongside traditional approaches toward enhancing community wellness. As Indigenous academics, the authors tell this story.
doi: 10.1093/sw/swaf002pmid: 39946542
Spiritual practices are important strengths for many members of the general public, but little is known about practices among transgender people. To address this gap in the literature, this study investigated the frequency with which self-identified transgender adults participate in a diverse array of spiritual practices and compared their level of participation with that of members of the general population. To conduct this nationally representative study, data were abstracted from the National Religion and Spirituality Survey 2020. Frequencies are reported for 17 spiritual practices, and logistic regression was used to determine differences in participation. The results indicate transgender adults participate in spiritual practices at levels equal to, or greater than, that of other adults. Transgender adults were significantly more likely than other adults to participate in 10 spiritual practices: yoga, meditation, tarot cards/fortune telling, fasting, attending other spiritual/religious groups, art, being in nature, writing, acts of protest, and teaching in a spiritual/religious setting. With one exception, moderate to large effects were observed across all 10 spiritual practices. The results highlight the importance of administering spiritual assessments with transgender clients to identify potential spiritual practices that might be operationalized to assist clients cope with or ameliorate problems.
Mian, Maha N; Horan, Jordan; Hunter, Taweh; Davis, Alan K; Armstrong, Stacey B
doi: 10.1093/sw/swaf005pmid: 39935253
Given the widespread interest and ongoing study on MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) for PTSD, its implications for unique populations—such as adolescents—require further understanding. Social workers will likely play a crucial role in the potential implementation of this intervention, but their perspectives remain unknown. The study includes 222 social workers randomized to read one of two vignettes about MDMA-AT or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor–assisted therapy (SSRI-AT) for treating adolescent treatment-resistant PTSD. Participants rated each treatment’s acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility, followed by drug stigma, perceptions of drug risk, and psychedelic knowledge. Participants in the SSRI-AT condition reported significantly higher mean ratings of treatment acceptability (p < .001; d = .72), appropriateness (p < .001; d = .72), and feasibility (p < .001; d =. 64). In the MDMA-AT condition, perceptions of MDMA risk were greater (p < .001; d = .59) and psychedelic stigma positively correlated with perceived risk of MDMA (r = .46, p < .001). Moreover, greater psychedelic knowledge was significantly related to less stigma (r = –.33, p < .001) and less perceived risk of MDMA (r = –.21, p < .001). Concerns among social workers about the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of MDMA-AT for adolescents with PTSD may limit clinical trial recruitment, engagement, and future implementation.
Sinai-Glazer, Hagit; Cohen-Achdut, Miri
doi: 10.1093/sw/swaf011pmid: 40036864
Multiple documents outline social workers’ professional obligations, such as the Global Definition of Social Work, laws, and codes of ethics. But how do practitioners themselves understand and perceive their professional obligations? In this critical discourse analysis study, authors examined closely what social workers talk about when they talk about the things they “have to do” or “must do.” Authors conducted interviews with 24 social workers working in a social services department in Israel. Focusing on linguistic analysis, authors isolated all tokens of “must” and “have to” and analyzed these excerpts using critical discourse analysis. Findings show that social workers perceive professional obligations on two axes. Under the first axis, “things you have to be,” authors found that personal characteristics and qualities, such as humility and diligence, were perceived as necessities in order to perform well as a social worker. Under the second axis, “things you have to do,” two kinds of obligations were identified: administrative obligations and professional obligations; the latter include an obligation to negotiate professional boundaries and to build helping relationships with service users. Authors showcase how participants’ linguistic choices reflect complex perceptions of professional obligations and carry significant implications for the profession of social work.
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