Steve Hicks School alumna Heather Jones and her work at the Austin Bat Cave to empower youth to find their voices through creative writing.
Spring 2020
The power of human interaction
Against a backdrop of increasing dehumanization of migrating families, Steve Hicks School students and alumni strive to address trauma in a Texas detention center.
More than a diagnosis
A first-of-its-kind Department of Health Social Work at Dell Medical School reflects medicine’s need to see the whole person — and the whole system.
Stories of return
Master’s student Rosa Alvarez Vela interviewed Guatemalan female immigrants who were deported or decided to return to their country.
What are you thankful for?
By Allan Hugh Cole Jr. It’s bedtime for our young daughters, Meredith and Holly. They have taken baths, put on pajamas, and brushed teeth. Their mom Tracey and I have read a nightly lineup of books to them. The smell of lavender baby shampoo, lingering on still damp brown bangs that fall just above sleepy […]
Mapping out your social work career
Strategic career planning involves identifying opportunities in your current situation that will propel your career to the next level. Jennifer Luna, director of the DiNito Career Center, shares six strategies to ensure that your next career move will contribute to a clear and logical career trajectory when you put it on your résumé. 1. Explore […]
How to notify victims when sexual assault kits are tested
Many communities and police departments across the country are clearing their caches of untested sexual assault evidence kits. They face a challenging question: how best to notify the victims in those cases that require the investigation to be re-opened. How to reengage victims is critical to their well-being and to the investigation and potential prosecutions. […]
Mapping veteran service organizations
The Institute for Military and Veteran Family Wellness has partnered with the nonprofit Combined Arms to conduct a comprehensive mapping of veteran service organizations in the Greater Austin area– Bastrop, Hays, Caldwell, Williamson, and Travis Counties. This project is in partnership with the nonprofit Combined Arms. The information, collected through surveys, will help veterans identify […]
Substance use in Texas
In her latest report about Texas substance use trends, professor Jane Maxwell shares the following findings: Methamphetamine is the top DEA-reported drug threat. The Texas Prescription Monitoring Program has led to a decrease in prescriptions of opiate, synthetic narcotic, and benzodiazepine drugs. Texas’ response to the opioid epidemic has resulted in additional outreach and training […]
Twitter and mental health
What do health providers and patients tweet about schizophrenia? Professor Mercedes Hernandez is a co-author on a study that answered this question by exploring trends in health information about schizophrenia exchanged by patients, doctors, and health organizations through tweets posted using the hashtag #schizophrenia. Study results indicated that most tweets focused on improving schizophrenia literacy, […]
