The Girasol team at the Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing published a free, trauma-informed digital workbook in Spanish titled Un Rayito de Luz. This workbook intends to support immigrant women currently in detention or who have been previously detained. It contains activities to help process the migration journey, grounding techniques, psycho-education on trauma […]
@TexasSteveHicks: Ideas, findings, people
MSSW student Angela Vela awarded Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial Scholarship by NASW Foundation
Angela Vela, MSSW ‘21, was recently awarded the 2020 Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial Scholarship by the NASW Foundation, for her commitment to American Indian and Latino populations and her outstanding academic record. The scholarship is awarded to master’s degree candidates in social work who have demonstrated a commitment to working with, or who have a […]
Facing Two Pandemics: How Black Mamas Community Collective is Combating Global Health Crises
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Black women in America were three times more likely to die of pregnancy- and childbirth-related causes than white women. Now, the pandemic is compounding inequity even further. Recent data reveals that Black and Latino individuals are twice as likely to die of […]
Telehealth can help older adults with depression
Telehealth visits by lay counselors may improve depression in older homebound adults, though not as effectively as sessions involving licensed clinicians, a new study led by professor Namkee Choi suggests. In a randomized controlled trial, patient depressive symptoms improved significantly with both lay counselor sessions and clinician tele-visits compared to controls, according to the report […]
Five facts social workers need to know about alcohol and pregnancy
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one in nine pregnant women say they have had at least one drink in the past 30 days, and about one third who have had alcohol report binge drinking–for women, this means having four or more drinks at one time. These statistics are especially […]
NASW Leadership Town Hall on Racial Equity
Dean Luis H. Zayas was a panelist in a Social Work Leadership Town Hall organized by NASW on the topic of racial equity on August 14, 2020. Panelists discussed #BlackLivesMatter, what are social work organizations doing to advance anti-racism and answered questions from the audience. Access the town hall recording…
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, […]
