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 […]
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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 […]
Sam Woollard on the business of social work
Sam Woollard still remembers the refurbished apartment building with the filled-in swimming pool where the School of Social Work was housed in 1988, when she got her bachelor’s degree. Woollard now owns two consulting business that respectively support philanthropy planning and social impact initiatives. She thinks there is much opportunity for social workers to bring […]
V is for Volunteering
Service is one of the core values in the NASW Code of Ethics. Nine alumni share where and why they volunteer. Stephanie Glass, MSSW ‘16, Women’s Storybook Project, Austin “I visit women who are in prison and record them reading books to their children. In my last visit, I went to the Gatesville Women’s Prison […]
Norton Armour: A teaching life
On Tuesday, April 4, 2017, in his fifteenth year as an adjunct instructor, Norton Armour taught in his Loss and Grief course for the last time. With his beloved Marilyn by his side, he lay at home in a hospice bed, his head propped up by pillows. His voice was slightly weaker than usual, but […]
Jonathan Singer on why social workers should embrace technology
Jonathan Singer is the creator of the Social Work Podcast, which covers everything from direct practice to research, policy, and education. The podcast started in 2007 and today it gets about 60,000 unique monthly visitors. Singer (MSSW ‘96) is an associate professor at Loyola University Chicago, and a strong advocate for social workers to embrace technology and […]