Two Steve Hicks School professors tackle maternal health in Central Texas Elaine Cavazos As a mother who experienced postpartum depression and mood disorders first-hand, professor Elaine Cavazos has dedicated her life’s work to reproductive mental health. Cavazos is passionate about serving all parents and is concerned about the barriers that keep marginalized populations from receiving quality mental health services during this […]
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A daughter’s promise
By Melina Acosta, MSSW ’19 Are you learning anything in school that could help me?” This was a question my father asked me one weekend in November 2013 during my first semester of college. He was experiencing depression and suicidality and I had no idea how to support him, nor did I understand what it meant to be depressed or suicidal. […]
Balancing the art and science of psychiatric diagnosis
During Deborah Cohen’s first job, as a case manager for adults with a serious mental illness, an older, experienced psychiatrist told her that she would be working with many African American clients, because schizophrenia was more prevalent in this population. “This was presented to me as a fact, with no explanation needed,” Cohen said. “These […]
LinkedIn for social work
LinkedIn can help social workers discover connections to people and organizations, search for jobs, find resources for clients, extend networks of trusted contact, and engage with professionals from other disciplines. Jennifer Luna, director of the DiNitto Career Center, shares tips for strategically using LinkedIn to help your career and your clients. PROFILE Your LinkedIn […]
On finding the right EBP
Not all evidence-based practices (EBPs) are created equal. When a practice or program is designated as EBP, it simply means that there is research showing that it produces statistically significant change in just one short-term outcome — and it may not be the one your clients need. Therefore, when choosing an EBP, it’s recommended to […]
What makes family, family?
How do we determine who is in our family? The easy answer is that family is the people we are related to. But for kids living in foster care, the answer is not so easy. As someone who aged-out of the Texas foster care system, I have firsthand experience with the difficult journey that many […]
Finding oneself through hip-hop
“In search of Hip Hop…you gotta find yourself” is a mantra that guides the way I live my life. In fact, these nine words are tattooed on my right forearm, and they are a daily reminder that this life is a journey and a continuous search to understanding my purpose. In this mantra, I can […]
On migrant children
When AMY THOMPSON was an undergrad in international studies, her Spanish professor assigned a news article from the Texas-Mexico border on the detention of migrant children in U.S. federal prisons. After reading that many unaccompanied children were detained indefinitely alongside criminal adults, she realized that her work in children’s advocacy would be back home in […]
The art of clinical supervision
Tammy Linseisen, MSSW ’89, was one of the main forces behind the inaugural Texas Clinical Supervision Conference, which in Fall 2017 gave a multidisciplinary group of practitioners — from social workers to counselors and family therapists — the opportunity to enhance supervision skills and knowledge. Linseisen, who has been teaching at the school since 1998, […]
Empty pedestals
By Diane McDaniel Rhodes There was a total eclipse of the sun the first day it was possible to walk around the South Mall without encountering a civil war monument. I’m not much one for coincidence. As Sherlock said, “the universe is rarely so lazy.” There has been debate about monuments honoring Confederate leaders of […]
