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ON OUR MINDS
June 2022

“Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?”

—Ernest J. Gaines

***Please note that if you click on a link and it doesn't take you to the section listed, it's because it's in the later part of the newsletter. In order to access it you'll need to go to the end of the email and select "View entire message."***

What's Happening in Our Community?

Families whose kids survived the Uvalde school shooting turn to crowdfunding to afford therapy for them

This Insider article discusses how Uvalde families are turning to crowdfunding to support the medical and mental health needs of the children impacted by the shooting. Particularly highlighted is the history of mental health funds in Texas being diverted to other areas.

GoFundMe has created a list of verified crowdfunding to support these families and can be found HERE.
 

What Gun Violence Does to Our Mental Health

This NYT Article discusses what mass shootings and other types of trauma do to survivors and also those who follow the news of these events. The article focuses on the experiences of survivors and the impact on each community's mental health.


 

American Racism and the Buffalo Shooting

This New Yorker article describes the alternative vision of history that is pushed by the alt right, in which American racism never existed and how this influenced this tragedy.

Messages to the Community

Dear Membership,

Thank you for sharing your perspective over the past few months and working with the board to invite an evaluator to assess where the organization has been, where it stands, and what work it needs to accomplish in the coming years to shift towards becoming a thriving community that upholds anti-racism and anti-oppression. As we lean into doing the necessary work of reshaping our organization, we recognize that it will take the collective power of us all to create a healthy, healing, and compassionate space. 

In the spirit of ongoing transparency, we would like to share an update on what the board is currently doing.

  • The last five years’ worth of monthly financial budgets and meeting minutes will be online for you to review. The financial budgets will be stored in the same location as the meeting minutes.

  • If you need to access older meeting and/or financial budget records that are not listed on the page, please email admin@wsscsw.org and share your name and contact email. Please be sure to include the date range and the purpose of your request. Owing that our executive administrator is employed with the clinical society part-time, the board is determining what the associated fee will be to cover this additional expense. If you would like to receive paper copies of the forms, the cost of printing, postage, mileage, and the associated time it would take our executive administrator to perform these tasks will be billed to you. All bills are to be paid in full before the forms will be mailed. When making the request for paper copies please send your full name, mailing address, date range, the type of forms you’re requesting, and the reason for your request to admin@wsscsw.org. Please note that collecting historical records may take time, including scanning, formatting and transcription so time of delivery may vary. At this time we are only sending historical records electronically. An update will be forthcoming when we have capacity to send paper copies. 

  • The monthly financial budgets and meeting minutes are reserved for current members in good standing. If you pause your membership, please remove these forms from your possession by shredding paper copies and deleting computer files. When shredding documents, please shred to the point where the document is no longer able to be reconstructed. All electronic copies of the documents must be deleted forever and the person, or any person outside of membership, must be unable to access them. All forms are to be disposed of in this manner within one day of lapsed membership.

  • If you would like to receive forms outside of the categories of meeting minutes and financial budgets your request will be shared with the lawyer that we are partnering with. Any associated legal fees for consultation will be billed to you in combination with the fees listed above. The policies and procedures outlined above will be shared via a document that members can access in the coming months. Thank you for your patience.

  • Next year’s professional development events will include anti-racism and anti-oppression training throughout the year. If you know of an organization or trainer that would be a good fit for the clinical society, please email your recommendation to presidentwsscsw@gmail.com.

  • We are speaking with various organizations to provide BIPoC members and former members with healing spaces and to provide white members with white caucusing groups. If you know of any organizations or healers that would be a good fit, please feel free to share them with us at presidentwsscsw@gmail.com.

  • We are speaking with various healers to provide social events throughout the year centered on supporting the well-being of our members. Again, if there is anyone that you believe would be a good fit to provide this support, please email their names to presidentwsscsw@gmail.com.

  • The ListServ will temporarily be a space where members can engage in dialogue around anti-racism and anti-oppression within the clinical society. Members will continue to be held to the current ethical standard and ListServ guidelines. We will be working with our evaluator to determine what future spaces are most supportive of this type of dialogue.

  • In order to continue to increase transparency and communication with membership, updates from the board will be emailed to members and included in On Our Minds. We encourage you to schedule a time to speak with the president at presidentwsscsw@gmail.com if you would like to discuss these updates.

  • The board is researching what it would look like to host quarterly town halls in the upcoming fiscal year. This space would be open to members to stay up-to-date about the organization as well as ask any questions that they may have.

  • We are interviewing a potential lobbyist, Nick Federici, during the upcoming June board meeting. The board would like to ensure that we are doing our due diligence and reaching out to membership to gain any additional feedback or prior experience that you may have with the lobbyist candidate. Please email presidentwsscsw@gmail.com to share your feedback and/or prior experience.

  • The renewal application and new member form will include an acknowledgement statement recognizing that the organization is moving towards becoming an anti-racist organization.

  • We recognize that there are areas of the clinical society that you may wish to see updated. If there are areas that you think could be improved upon please email your suggestions to admin@wsscsw.org. We welcome your feedback on how we can create a more inclusive culture.

In closing, we believe that now is the time to enact change and now is the time to show that we are not simply going through performative motions. The work that we are doing, and will continue to do, does not belong to any single political party. It is human work that aligns with our code of ethics.

We acknowledge and apologize for the harm that was done in the past towards BIPoC and LGBTQ members, and we are committed to doing the ongoing work of becoming an anti-racist and anti-oppressive organization. We look forward to continuing to provide ongoing updates and engaging in rich dialogue as we navigate this journey together. Our clinical society has a powerful and unique history and we believe that we can become a space where we uphold our values and create an anti-racist and anti-oppressive environment. We look forward to partnering with you and bringing our shared vision to fruition.

In Community,

The WSSCSW Board

Salomé Valencia-Bohné, President; Chris Garrido-Philp, Communications Chair; Danielle Baird, Ethics Chair; Katherine Walter, Outreach Chair; Jenna Montgomery, Secretary; Brenda Bible, Treasurer

 

Message from CSWA to the Community 5-17-2022

The Improving Access to Mental Health Act (S.870), which CSWA has been supporting since 2012, has provisionally been included in the omnibus mental health legislation package being developed by the Senate Finance Committee.  The request from the Committee is that we find more Republican cosponsors for the bill.  This needs to happen by Friday, May 20, 2022 COB.

To review the high points of this bill, they are:

  • Increase reimbursement rates for clinical social workers from 75% to 85% of the psychotherapy rates for other mental health clinicians in the Physicians Fee Schedule;
  • Allow LCSWs to be reimbursed independently for providing psychotherapy in Skilled Nursing Facilities; and
  • Allow LCSWs to use Health and Behavior Assessment and Intervention (HBAI) codes to be reimbursed for mental health disorders in the context of medical conditions

 The Committee members/Legislative aides that are most important to this effort are:

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID): Rebecca Alcorn, Senior Policy Advisor, rebecca_alcorn@crapo.senate.gov

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA): Nic Pottebaum, Health Policy Advisor, nic_pottebaum@grassley.senate.gov

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): Aluara Ervin, Legislative Assistant, alaura_ervin@cornyn.senate.gov

Sen. John Thune (R-SD): Danielle Janowski, Health Policy Director, danielle_janowski@thune.senate.gov

Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC): Angela Wiles, Health Policy Director (HELP Committee), angela_wiles@help.senate.gov

Sen. Rob Portman (R-NC): Jack Boyd, Health LC, jack_boyd@portman.senate.gov

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA): Mike Weiss, Health LA, tom_pfeiffer@toomey.senate.gov

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC): Brianna Wood, Legislative Correspondent, brianna_wood@scott.senate.gov

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA): Mary Moody, Health Policy Advisor, mary_moody@cassidy.senate.gov

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK): Cambridge Neal, Legislative Assistant, cambridge_neal@lankford.senate.gov

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT): Rachel Green, Health Policy Advisor, rachel_green@daines.senate.gov

Sen. Todd Young (R-IN): Beth Nelson, Health Policy Director, beth_nelson@young.senate.gov

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE): Shannon Hossinger, Policy Advisor, shannon_hossinger@sasse.senate.gov

Sending the following message to the LAs is a good way to make contact with the senators. You can send your message even if you are not a constituent.

The suggested message is as follows (feel free to use your own language):

“I am [a constituent and] a member of the Clinical Social Work Association. Please consider becoming a cosponsor for S.870 which will provide greater access to mental health and substance use treatment, desperately needed in these difficult times. S. 870 will increase the number of LCSWs who become Medicare providers. Thank you for your consideration.”

As always, please let me know when you have sent your messages.

Laura Groshong. LICSW, Director, Policy and Practice  
Clinical Social Work Association  
lwgroshong@clinicalsocialworkassociation.org

Currently Accepting Referrals

Members have FREE access to post their availability, contact information, areas of specialization, and insurance preference in the, On Our Minds newsletter. Email your information to WSSCSWComm@gmail.com.
LET'S CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER
Danielle Branton Therapy, PLLC
 
I'm Danielle Branton, LSWAIC, and I have recently started my own private practice (DanielleBrantonTherapy.com) and am looking for referrals/currently accepting clients.

I graduated with my Master's degree in Social Work from Columbia University in 2021. I have experience working with individuals ages 9-25 and their parents/families. I also have experience providing evidence-based treatments: CBT, FBT, PMT/BPT and am DBT trained.

Right now, I'm not accepting stage 1 DBT clients but do have experience and training in DBT. I'm currently accepting clients who have anxiety disorders, OCD, low risk depression, and parenting cases (I'm not limited to these disorders but these are a general idea of what I'm looking for).

I'm scheduling for Monday, Wednesday, Fridays and have after school availability. All my sessions are virtual and start with scheduling a free 15-minute consultation before scheduling an intake. My hourly fee is $150 and I do not take insurance. Please reach out if you have any questions and feel free to give out my contact information below if you think I'd be a good fit for a client.

I do have an associate license, my supervisor is Marisa Keller, PhD (Marisa Keller PhD).

Office Phone: (425)835-3490
Email: Danielle.Branton@BrantonTherapy.com
Website: Danielle Branton Therapy, PLLC
Calla Lily Counseling, PLLC
 

Calla Lily Counseling
Sharla Semana Yuen, MSW, LICSW
Virtual and In-person sessions available- taking new referrals
Private pay and in-network with First Choice and Premera
Sliding spots available 
Office located in downtown Renton
www.callalilycounseling.com
 

WSSCSW Professional Development Events

WSSCSW PROFESSIONAL EVENTS
ARE OPEN TO ALL MEMBERS & THE COMMUNITY
Register Here
Register Here

Employment and Financial Opportunities

Wellspring Therapist Openings
 

Wellspring has two openings for therapists in their general counseling department and their LGBTQ+, BIPOC & Youth Care Clinic. Click below for the job descriptions, salary and application instructions.

Position 1
Position 2
Group Practice Job Fair on June 3rd
 

Hey Everyone! A bunch of us Group Practice folks are hosting a Job Fair next month! We welcome students as well as experienced clinicians - come on down to meet local practice owners and directors. We'll be at the Phinney Center from 12:30 to 3pm on June 3rd.

Feel free to spread the word! More info at wagpon.com/job-fair

See you there!
Katherine

 

Looking for Volunteers

WSSCSW is looking for Volunteers!

If you'd like to be a part of our programs, support our community, and keep our organization growing we are looking for you!

Contact our Board of Directors with your volunteer interest at: https://wsscsw.org/Board-of-Directors

We're looking forward to meeting you!

Community Posts, External Trainings, Resources & Groups

Have you ever wondered about how to provide CEU's?
*Are you a clinician looking to diversify your income?
*Are you a group practice owner looking to provide a much-appreciated benefit to your staff?
*Are you an organization looking to increase your public profile?
The Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work can help! We can offer concrete support and guidance as you develop your CEU offerings. Reach out and connect with us! https://www.wsscsw.org/CEU-Application

Couples Therapy & The Enneagram - A Developmental Approach


Join leading expert Michelle Joy, MFT for an interactive and educational workshop designed to take your knowledge of The Enneagram to a deeper level in your work with couples.

This unique and powerful workshop combines developmental-based methods with the Enneagram to help couples transform their communication, conflict resolution and connection.

Each Enneagram type leads the couple to do a “dance” together, causing them to get stuck repeating the same habits over and over.

When you have a map of understanding in front of you, you can guide your couples down the path of growth, one that they are not able to see themselves.
 
More Information
More Information
Google Document: Anti-racism Resources

This Google Document contains various resources that include, parenting, articles, videos, podcasts, books, and Film/TV series to learn more about anti-racism and anti-oppression. The list was compiled by Alyssa Klein in May 2020.

This is a helpful tool for clients and personal growth.
 
Document

Dr. Robin DiAngelo discusses "White Fragility"

University of Washington professor Dr. Robin DiAngelo reads from her book "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism," explains the phenomenon, and discusses how white people can develop their capacity to engage more constructively across race. Speakers include: Misha Stone, Seattle Public Library Robin DiAngelo, PhD, Critical Racial & Social Justice Education

EWU Graduate Certificate in Social Emotional Learning for Educational Equity

Hi There,
 
My name is Alyson Rode and I am the Student Engagement Administrator for the College of Professional Programs at Eastern Washington University. We have a new graduate hybrid certificate program that we think your members might be interested in for professional development: Social Emotional Learning for Educational Equity (SEL-EE). Please consider including this information in your next newsletter.
 
I am including our flyer (attached) and details below:
 
EWU now offers a Graduate Certificate in Social Emotional Learning for Educational Equity (SEL-EE). The program is intended for working professionals who plan to teach, coach, or support SEL in educational environments. We will be offering an informational session on Monday, April 18th, 5:00 – 6:00 pm. The Zoom link for the session is: https://ewu.zoom.us/j/3469750580. Feel free to pass this invite along to others.
 
Why SEL-EE? SEL is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions (casel.org). Washington State’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction formally adopted SEL standards for grades K-12, charging schools to establish and implement practices to support SEL and positive school climates. Educational equity means that every student has access to rigorous and meaningful learning opportunities, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, language, disability, family background, or family income. SEL-EE candidates learn to apply Transformative SEL skills to foster relationship skills founded on an appreciation of similarities and differences, to select, implement, and monitor SEL programs through a culturally sensitive lens, and to collaborate through school based community partnerships to enhance student mental health.
 
Tuition is $310/credit plus fees for online learning. The total cost of the program is approximately $6,000. Program completers receive a graduate certificate on a formal transcript, which may support current practitioners to move along the pay scale. We are in conversation with the Professional Educator Standards Board to request approval for a specialty endorsement.
 
Candidates in the program complete a personal growth project as a part of the workshops, beginning with a self-assessment and culminating with a demonstration of knowledge and skills. Keeth Matheny, award winning SEL teacher and coach provides Workshop 1 Kick off sessions. Courses in the program include:

  • Workshop 1, Introduction to SEL, 2 credits (offered in summer and winter quarters)
  • Seminar: Educational Equity, 3 credits (offered in fall quarter)
  • Workshop 2, SEL Theory and Applications, 3 credits (offered in summer and spring quarters)
  • Seminar: Applications of Stress and Coping, 2 credits (offered in summer and winter quarters)
  • Workshop 3, SEL Methods, 3 credits (offered in summer and fall quarters)
  • Advanced Consultation for Integrated MTSS, 4 credits (offered in spring and summer quarters)

Here is more information about the graduate program: https://www.ewu.edu/cpp/psychology/sel/sel-graduate-certificate/
Our application for the graduate certificate is now open: https://www.ewu.edu/apply/graduate/. The application does not require letters of rec, just verification of an undergraduate
or graduate degree!
 
Sincerely,
Alyson
 
_________________________________________
Alyson "Aly" Rode, M.A.
Student Engagement Administrator
College of Professional Programs (CPP), EWU
 
 
she / her / hers
 
 
arode@ewu.edu | 509.359.6477
ewu.edu/cpp

Helpful Apps and Websites to Check Out

 

Insight Timer

Description: 
Insight Timer is a free app that has various practices for mindfulness, relaxation, and sleep. Their vast library has options for everyone to connect with.


 
Website
 

Free 6 Hour Suicide Prevention Training

All Patients Safe is providing a free Suicide Prevention Training through June 2022. 

Medical Professionals (6-hour course):

  • Content from 3-hour course plus:

  • Integrate screening, safety, and assessment tools into your practice

  • Advocate for protocol and practice changes to improve suicide prevention care

Website

Free Tool: Translations of Trauma and PTSD Psychoeducational Resources

*Please note tools are for educational purposes, and not to be sold, to adhere distribution guidelines*
Free Ukrainian, Polish, And Russian Translations of Trauma and PTSD Psychoeducational Resources

This page from Psychology Tools has links to free downloads of translated materials in Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian centering on trauma psychoeducation.
Click Here

Book Recommendation for June: The Transgender Teen

 

Description: Is it just a phase, a fad, or a real issue with your teen? This comprehensive guidebook explores the unique challenges that thousands of families face every day raising a teenager who may be transgender, gender-variant or gender-fluid. Covering extensive research and with many personal interviews, as well as years of experience working in the field, the author covers pressing concerns relating to physical and emotional development, social and school pressures, medical options, and family communications. Learn how parents can advocate for their children, find acceptable colleges and career paths, and raise their gender variant or transgender adolescent with love and compassion.

More Information

Engaging Podcast: Lifting Black Voices (Free 1 CE)

Description:

This panel interview, featuring three BIPoC clinicians, explores the impact of transgenerational trauma and personal racial trauma on the pursuit and engagement in mental healthcare by Black and African American people. This frank and engaging podcast covers themes about what it means to be Black in America, and the first steps therapists can personally take to build therapeutic safety and trust.

Click Here

Have a Therapy Meme Today

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Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work
PO Box 252 • Everett, WA  98206 • wsscsw.org
Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work
PO Box 252 • Everett, WA  98206 • wsscsw.org






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