inSocialWork - The Podcast Series of the University at Buffalo School of Social Work

In this episode, Dr. Stella Resko discusses her research examining the role of substance use, PTSD, and environmental barriers in contributing to early treatment dropout.

In this episode, Dr. Joshua Miller discusses the many types of disasters that affect people around the world and how to help individuals and communities recover. He highlights the social ecology of disaster and the consequences of different types of disasters on individuals, families, and communities. Dr. Miller proposes an alternative to traditional, individually-focused mental health approaches, called Psychosocial Capacity Building, which is multi-systemic and addresses collective cultural orientations and helps foster access to the social support and connections that exist in groups and communities.

Dr. Carol Tosone discusses shared traumatic stress, the experience of mental health clinicians dually exposed to a traumatic experience, both primarily as citizens and secondarily through the trauma narratives of their clients. Dr. Tosone discusses results and implications of her research examining the long-term impact of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina on Manhattan and New Orleans clinicians respectively. Implications include possible shifts in professional boundaries, including increased self-disclosure and therapeutic intimacy, as well as the need for training and self-care for clinicians living and working in a traumatogenic environment.

Dr. Jeffrey Edleson, a nationally known researcher in the field of domestic violence and its effect on children, concludes his discussion by interpreting longitudinal research related to the impact of early exposure to violence and risk factors influencing future experience with violence. He explains the "comprehensive community response" to children who are exposed to DV and the potential protective factors that can be utilized in communities.

Jessica Greenawalt discusses her work with the Chelsea Collaborative Social Capital Campaign to improve community-level outcomes. The Collaborative used participatory action research methods to assess the community's needs and develop initiatives to meet those needs through civic engagement.

Dr. Jeffrey Edleson of the University of Minnesota is well known for his research on adult domestic violence, particularly how it affects children in the home. In this episode, Dr. Edleson describes his work and that of his colleagues over the past two decades in their efforts to study, raise awareness of, and change both policies and practices focused on children exposed to domestic violence.

Changing the culture of care in an organization is a challenging, continuous, and transformational process. In this episode, Brian Farragher discusses the work of the Sanctuary Institute, which has trained over 200 agencies worldwide in the principles and methods of the Sanctuary Model.

It's our third anniversary, and in this special episode Dr. Lawrence Shulman returns to our series to discuss his research and experience with Mutual Aid groups and group practice. Dr. Shulman's extensive research and experience are complemented by numerous examples that illustrate his points and practical recommendations for effective mutual aid group leadership. Seasoned professionals and those just getting started in group work will find a useful framework and concrete ideas from a leader in the field.

Brian Farragher, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Andrus Children's Center, discusses the impact of trauma and repetitive stress on staff and organizations and the quality of service they provide. Mr. Farragher presents the Sanctuary Model as an antidote to trauma and describes the process and outcomes of the organization-wide transformation to reflect Sanctuary Model principles at Andrus.

In this episode, Dr. Patricia Shannon discusses her research related to the impact of war trauma and torture on the mental health of resettling refugee communities. Our guest describes research on the state of mental health screening practices based on a recent national survey and findings from her recent focus groups on the mental health of Karen, Bhutanese, Oromo and Somali refugees. Dr. Shannon describes efforts to develop community capacity for meeting the mental health needs of refugees and how community based healing can be utilized as a strategy to address the larger context of international human rights.

Child welfare has a strong crossover with the disability field, yet there has been little critical examination of child welfare services through a disability lens and no substantial examination of how its policies and programs affect people with disabilities and their family members. In this episode, Dr. Elizabeth Lightfoot discusses her research on the impact of child welfare policies on parents with disabilities.

As the field of traumatology has grown, it has become increasingly apparent that the effects of psychological trauma extend beyond those that directly experience traumatic events. In this episode Dr. Bride discusses the term Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) and the conceptual issues that arise when talking about and researching STS. He provides an overview of current research on prevalence, risk, and protective factors associated with STS and concludes by addressing implications and recommendations for practice.

Microfinance is recognized as an anti-poverty tool and a conduit for financial assistance and capacity building. In their research, Drs. Rebecca Thomas and Jill Witmer Sinha examine differences between the benefits provided by nonprofit and for-profit microfinance institutions specifically as they pertain to women. Drs. Thomas and Sinha present findings from a case study of one program in Kolkata, India highlighting the array of complementary services offered to microloan clients and their potential for bridging the gap between the "haves and have-nots."

Drs. Jan Ivery and M. Lori Thomas discuss the findings of their research with the often overlooked older adult homeless population. Our guests describe the challenges of meeting the unique needs of this population and the contradictions that are raised as the older adult homeless population burgeons.

In this episode, Katherine Montgomery, MSSW and doctoral student, reports on the findings and implications of her recent study on domain-specific factors that distinguish "throwaway youth" from delinquent youth. Ms. Montgomery also describes how understanding specific individual and relational factors may inform more individualized, evidence-based treatment planning among this unique population of adolescents.