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Abstract: The global demand for clinical social work has risen alongside the growing need for specialized mental health interventions. In Zimbabwe, rise in drug and substance abuse has exacerbated mental health crises, yet clinical social work remains underdeveloped due to gaps in education, regulation, and professional identity. This study examines barriers to professionalizing clinical social work in Zimbabwe, addressing: (1) What systemic and structural obstacles hinder its development' (2) How do cultural and financial factors affect its recognition' The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 16 purposively selected participants, including regulators, educators, and practitioners from various settings. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), five key themes emerged: outdated regulatory frameworks, theoretical and disconnected social work education, weak professional identity in clinical settings, cultural and spiritual barriers, and limited financial incentives. Participants highlighted the need for more explicit clinical guidelines, inadequate faculty expertise, and resistance from other professions as significant obstacles. Additionally, cultural beliefs favoring spiritual and traditional healing over formal interventions further marginalized clinical social work. Low remuneration and restricted opportunities for private practice diminished professional motivation. These findings suggest an urgent need for regulatory reforms, curriculum alignment, and economic incentives to nurture clinical specialization and improve practitioner retention. Integrating cultural and spiritual practices into clinical frameworks could enhance acceptance and accessibility. In conclusion, addressing these gaps through multi-sectoral collaboration and systemic reforms can establish clinical social work as a cornerstone of Zimbabwe’s mental health system, ensuring its sustainability and relevance while improving mental health outcomes in the country. PubDate: 2025-07-01
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Abstract: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) enable access to counseling and therapeutic support for women, overcoming barriers such as stigma and geographic limitations. Digital platforms can empower women to access health resources, promoting their well-being, although it is crucial to address digital literacy and accessibility to ensure equitable access. This study explores the value of virtual therapy for vulnerable women, examining its benefits and challenges in delivering psychosocial care to vulnerable women using ICTs. As digital health interventions become more widespread, understanding their role in supporting marginalized groups is increasingly important. A systematic review identified 204 studies, with 16 meeting inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis was conducted in which inductive content analysis was applied to organize the findings into five main themes: participant profiles, intervention characteristics, tools used, benefits, and barriers. Key challenges include the need for diverse participant representation and addressing concerns such as data privacy, technology access, and internet and energy inequalities. Benefits included improved health, increased social participation, reduced isolation, better decision-making, and fewer healthcare visits. Despite positive outcomes, there remains a preference for combining these technologies with face-to-face counseling. The integration of clinical social work approaches, which emphasize direct therapeutic interventions and psychosocial support, could enhance the effectiveness of these technologies. The study concludes that addressing these challenges is essential to fully leverage the potential of these technologies in psychosocial care. PubDate: 2025-05-21
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Abstract: Military service can foster a sense of efficacy, self-value, and belonging, but it can also lead to longitudinal stress and inner conflict. Although combat veterans often face complex challenges in regulating long-term military influences, the formation of a postservice adult identity is particularly challenging, because combat experiences may affect their personal and public identities. The discrepancy between veterans’ strengths and vulnerable self-states—and perceptions of themselves as resilient—further complicates veterans’ postservice adaptation. Drawing on Bromberg’s [Contemp Psychoanal 32(4):509–535, 1996; Dissociation and the dissociative disorders: DSM-V and beyond, Routledge, 2009] multiple self-states theory and relational psychological approaches, this study explored how combat veterans cope with the need to integrate their personal and public identities upon discharge from army service and how clinical social work can assist in this process. Using a qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach, semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 male Israeli combat veterans. Researchers identified three primary adaptation strategies employed by participants: (a) preserving a dominant soldier identity that overshadows other identities; (b) splitting between diverged identities, using dissociation to manage traumatic experiences and conflicting self-aspects; and (c) blending conflicting identities in a balanced way through therapy, creative expression, and peer support. These findings highlight the complex interplay between military service and identity development, emphasizing the need to provide veterans with opportunities to process combat-related experiences and achieve a balanced, coherent sense of self after their discharge. This research contributes to clinical social work by providing insights into effective therapeutic approaches for supporting veterans in their identity integration process, highlighting social workers’ role in this process, and informing both practice and policy in veteran care. PubDate: 2025-05-09
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Abstract: The study investigates factors contributing to the low level of skill in the adoption of quantitative approaches in clinical social work aligned students’ thesis. We collected the data over a five-year period, spanning from 2019 to 2023. The data was collected from a sample of (n = 264) social work students who had completed a Bachelor of Social Work with Honors Degree or a Master of Social Work, all with research topics related to clinical social work. A self-administered questionnaire was used as a research instrument to measure the influence of four major items: attitudes and beliefs, knowledge and skills, institutional factors, and confidence, in predicting the adoption of quantitative approaches in clinical social work aligned students’ thesis. A bivariate Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that knowledge and skills had a moderately negative correlation at ρ PubDate: 2025-05-03
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Abstract: Infertility treatment failure can be unavoidable and often leads to significant psychosocial distress for women. Patients may face ongoing decision-making challenges when considering whether to continue or terminate treatment. Integrating psychological services provided by medical social workers into routine care is an emerging global trend. This randomized controlled trial was conducted to examined the efficacy of a single-session, medical social worker-led meaning-based implications counseling approach in reducing decisional conflict and improving the mental health of women experiencing unsuccessful in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. Eighty women who had experienced at least one failed IVF cycle were randomly assigned to either an intervention or a waitlist control group. The between-group effect analysis showed a significant time x group interaction in informed decision-making scores (F = 5.18, p PubDate: 2025-04-24
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Abstract: Single parenthood represents an arduous journey in which the parent without partners faces unique difficulties, such as financial and psychosocial challenges in child-rearing. For single mothers, this journey is complicated by the additional need to navigate structural gender inequalities in Singapore. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the experiences of single mothers in Singapore, including their strengths and coping mechanisms in addressing social inequalities. Fifteen single mothers were interviewed in this descriptive study. Thematic analysis of the data revealed an overarching theme of “navigating solo: empowering paths through single motherhood,” along with five sub-themes: (1) challenges when navigating single parenting; (2) guilt and stigma from single motherhood; (3) the value of support; (4) insights and coping mechanisms; and (5) growth and beyond. Such findings thus underscored the vital role played by social workers in supporting single mothers. Despite the challenges, perceived guilt, and stigma, single mothers strove to ensure that their children were protected from the potential detrimental impacts of single parenthood. Support systems, both formal and informal, acted as a bulwark in their journey of single parenthood. Their resilience and hope for a better future underpinned their perseverance in the face of these difficulties. Insights from this research align with the broader goals of social work, which include promoting social justice, enhancing individual well-being, and addressing issues of inequality and discrimination. Understanding the challenges and strengths of single mothers will enable social workers to develop targeted interventions that enhance their well-being from a strengths-based perspective. Additionally, our insights serve as a catalyst for social workers to advocate for more inclusive policies and practices that address the challenges faced by single parents. PubDate: 2025-04-17
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Abstract: This study, grounded in existential social work theory, investigates the relationship between specific free will beliefs (free will, scientific determinism, fatalistic determinism, and randomness) and authenticity among young adults in Türkiye. It further examines the mediating role of meaning in life, offering insights for clinical social work practice related to authenticity. The study employs structural equation modeling using data collected from 452 participants aged 18–45. Results show that free will belief positively predicts authenticity, while scientific determinism belief, fatalistic determinism belief, and randomness belief negatively predict it. Furthermore, the presence of meaning mediates the relationships between free will belief and authenticity (partially) and between randomness belief and authenticity (fully). The current study contributes to the limited empirical literature on the relationship between free will beliefs and authenticity, particularly from an existential social work perspective. It also highlights the significant role of life meaning in this relationship. These insights have important implications for clinical social work practice, suggesting that addressing free will beliefs and promoting meaning-making processes could be valuable tools in fostering authenticity and psychological well-being. These findings have significant implications for clinical social workers supporting marginalized communities in expressing their authentic selves and asserting their rights across diverse cultural contexts. PubDate: 2025-04-09
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Abstract: Social work is recognized as a human rights profession. However, integrating human rights principles into everyday practice has remained a challenge. Building on previous work, this paper introduces an innovative “three spheres” framework, which recognizes three distinctive, yet interconnected spheres of rights-based practice in social work: (1) respecting rights, where social workers meet their own human rights obligations; (2) claiming rights, where social workers assist clients in accessing their rights; and (3) changing rights, where social workers influence policy changes that better protect and facilitate clients’ rights. We argue that while all of these spheres necessitate a human rights framework that regards clients as rights holders, each sphere frames and applies social workers’ rights-based practice in unique ways. The article clarifies the distinct purposes, normative sources, and social work roles in each sphere while exploring their interconnectedness. PubDate: 2025-04-09
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Abstract: Scholarship has suggested that compassion is the foundation of quality social work practice. However, research exploring specific ways in which social workers utilize compassion is limited. Therefore, this qualitative study examined how social workers actualize compassion in practice. Semi-structured interviews were completed with 12 social workers. Thematic network analysis was used to examine the data. Results included a thematic network that demonstrates how social workers actualize compassion in social work practice. The analysis identified three organizing, eight basic themes. Lastly, one global theme was generated and reflects the relationships between three organizing and eight basic themes. The global theme described that “social workers embody compassion through interconnected internal experiences and outward expressions.” Results highlight the dynamic nature of compassion as both an internal (cognitive) mindset and a series of external (behavioral) actions in social work. These findings underscore the importance of understanding the nuanced ways in which compassion is integrated into professional practice and provide a framework for enhancing compassionate approaches in social work education and training. PubDate: 2025-04-07
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Abstract: Social workers internationally suffer from high rates of stress and burnout. One of the main drivers of these phenomena, is that social work is a rewarding but challenging profession that can heavily deplete practitioners’ emotional resources, particularly if they haven’t been trained on how to reflect on, label, and process challenging emotions, which are commonly experienced in practice. This paper will outline how enhanced capacities for reflection, engendered through mindfulness-based practice can support practitioners to engage with their emotional experiences as part of their routine practice. Using practice case studies, this theory paper will illustrate how challenging emotions, using shame as an example, which social workers often avoid, can be safely reflected on, labelled, and processed. The personal and practice benefits of the deeper engagement with, and processing of challenging emotions will be outlined. This paper also highlights the corrosive effect that unprocessed shame can have on the professional and personal life of a social worker. It also provides a theoretical framework and suggestions on how social workers and social work organisations could be supported to enable effective emotion regulation in social work practice. PubDate: 2025-03-24
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Abstract: Children develop in the context of their environment, and as such, factors relating to the psychosocial environment are important to integrate within assessments of child development. Such integration would provide holistic, family centred understanding that may improve diagnostic accuracy and inform opportunities to optimise developmental outcomes. This paper reports on a scoping review of the recognition and integration of psychosocial contexts within neurodevelopmental diagnostic assessments conducted in child development practice settings. A systematic scoping review was conducted to synthesise literature targeting three primary concepts including psychosocial characteristics, child development, and clinical integration. Bioecological systems theory was utilised as a framework for research design, analysis, and interpretation and synthesis of findings. Twenty-four articles were identified following systematic review and critical appraisal of peer-reviewed articles published between 2010 and 2024. Results indicated significant heterogeneity across terminology, conceptualisation, methodological approach, operationalisation of measures, and integration within diagnostic outcomes. Dominant psychosocial variables, integration principles, and current barriers and enablers within clinical practice will be reported. Results suggested a significant gap in the recognition and integration of psychosocial contexts in clinical child development assessments. The review found that biomedically driven, positivist paradigms continue to dominate the field, utilising methods and developing measures that aim to quantify risk or dysfunction within an environment to assert a causal impact on developmental outcomes. Results highlight significant gaps and opportunities for future research that emphasise the need for a philosophical shift, a renewed focus on family-centred practice, and an understanding of how integration occurs in current clinical practice. PubDate: 2025-03-24
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Abstract: With recent studies citing that as many as 44 Veterans die by suicide daily, Veteran suicide is a pressing public health concern (America’s Warrior Partnership. (2022). Operation deep dive summary of interim report. https://e55c5558-502f-457d-8a07-a49806f5ff14.usrfiles.com/ugd/e55c55_086099607d86 49aa8b5227f106f24865.pdf). Despite this alarming statistic, few evidence-based psychotherapies specifically target suicide prevention. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for suicide prevention (MBCT-S) is a nine-week, manualized group intervention that integrates mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) with the safety planning intervention to address suicidality. A randomized controlled trial (n = 140) found that MBCT-S significantly reduced suicide attempts, suicidal behaviors, and psychiatric hospitalizations among participating Veterans. To illustrate the application of this intervention and maintain participant anonymity, this paper presents a case composite highlighting the intervention’s rationale and the facilitator’s role in teaching Veterans the skill of staying present with intensely painful, harmful, and self-alienating experiences without resorting to suicidal behavior. The embodied presence of the MBCT-S facilitator emerges as a critical agent of change, fostering curiosity, compassion, and openness when addressing complex and isolating suicidal thoughts. This presence creates a foundation for connectedness within the group, which is essential for Veterans at risk of suicide. By illustrating these processes, the paper highlights the potential of MBCT-S to transform clinicians’ capacity to support individuals in building equanimity and life-saving resilience. PubDate: 2025-03-17
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Abstract: Kahramanmaraş earthquake devastated city centers, districts and villages in a total of 11 provinces located on the Eastern Anatolia Fault Line in Türkiye over 50,000 people lost their lives in the earthquake. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of individual and collective trauma in posts about earthquakes on social media after the earthquake. The study was designed with a qualitative research method. Tweets containing the keywords "earthquake", "psychology", "psychological support", "trauma", "post-trauma stress" were collected on Twitter between February 6 and April 13, 2023. As a result of the analyzes, three main themes were determined as “call for help”, “post-traumatic stress” and “collective trauma”. Accordingly, under the main theme of "call for help", the sub-themes of "call to reach relatives", "call for basic needs" and "call for psychological support" were identified. The 2nd main theme, post-traumatic stress, includes "flashbacks", "insomnia, nightmares", "fear and helplessness" and "anger". Under the 3rd main theme of collective trauma, the sub-themes of "sadness", "fear" and "anger" were identified. In our study, it was determined that the earthquake had traumatic effects at the individual and collective level. Findings of the study highlight the importance of comprehensive disaster response strategies that address survivors' psychological well-being, promote recovery, and build resilience in the face of adversity. PubDate: 2025-03-12
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Abstract: This pilot study aimed to investigate the acceptability and effectiveness of a brief-guided internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) for people with emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a quasi-experimental research design with a 3-arm study, eligible participants were assigned to a group with student counsellors (n = 24), a group with counsellors (n = 23) or a non-active control group (n = 21). Participants received eight online modules and regular support via telephone counselling or video conferencing app (Zoom) from a counsellor or student counsellor during a 5-week intervention period, while the control group did not receive any intervention during the intervention period. An adherence rate of 85.10% was observed. The results of the 3 (group) × time (pre vs. post) repeated-measures analysis of covariance showed that the student counsellor and counsellor groups demonstrated significantly greater reductions in total emotional distress (partial η2 = 0.10) and stress (partial η2 = 0.14) than the control group. In addition, student counsellors and counsellors produced comparable intervention effects, and telephone counselling and Zoom support produced comparable intervention effects. This pilot study supports the acceptability and effectiveness of brief-guided iCBT for people with emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. PubDate: 2025-02-11
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Abstract: The profound effects of working within shared traumatic realities (STRs) on experienced social workers are well-documented and raise critical concerns about training students in such contexts. However, only limited research has addressed the training of students in the context of STRs related to terrorism and war, with little emphasis on professional identity formation in these contexts. Drawing on a thematic analysis of twelve reflective written assignments, this qualitative study explored the process of professional identity formation in the STR context from the subjective perspective of Israeli third-year social work students during the 2023-24 war with Hamas. Training social workers against the background of war was unsettling and challenging, but it also bolstered professional development and resilience. In this context, professional identity formation was identified as involving three main personal and professional processes: (1) Questioning one’s professional competence; (2) Blurred boundaries between personal and professional; and (3) Developing personal resilience and professional growth. These findings underscore that exposure to extreme traumatic events in the early stage of professional identity formation can easily destabilize the already fragile identity of social work students, and thus requires unique attention to its implications for social work education and practice. PubDate: 2025-02-10
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Abstract: The use of psychedelics in treating mental health disorders is gaining attention due to a growing evidence base and pending FDA approval. Very little is known regarding what social workers know and how they feel about psychedelics as a treatment for mental health disorders. The purpose of this study was to explore social worker attitudes towards psychedelics and social worker knowledge and interest in using psychedelics with psychological support (PAT). One hundred sixty-eight social workers (69.3% female, 73.1% white) completed an online survey. Overall, social workers had positive attitudes towards psychedelics. Previous use with psychedelics, previous training with psychedelics, being male, and non-Christian predicted positive attitudes toward psychedelics. Only 19% reported they were knowledgeable about delivering psychedelics with psychological support, indicating a lack of knowledge, but 75% were interested in learning more about incorporating psychedelics with psychological support, pointing to the need for specialized training. PubDate: 2025-02-06
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Abstract: This study examined the relationship between paternal involvement and maternal depression among American Indian fragile families, a demographic often overlooked in research. Using data from Wave 3 of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we analyzed 186 American Indian mothers to examine the association between decreased paternal involvement in co-parenting activities and perceived depressive symptoms as well as control factors such as income, age, and employment. Contrary to the hypothesis that higher paternal involvement would decrease maternal depression, results showed no significant relationship between these variables. Instead lower income was found to play a more critical role in influencing increased levels of maternal depression. These findings highlight the need to consider extended family support systems, historical factors, and unique cultural elements when looking at income levels and addressing mental health disparities in American Indian populations. Clinical implications point to specific resources that social workers could help American Indians access in order to promote stronger mental health and poverty alleviation. Future research should explore these and other factors influencing maternal depression and develop evidence based treatments and interventions to support these families. PubDate: 2025-02-04
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Abstract: Adolescent-parent relationships have been impacted by rising mental health challenges that strain healthy relational dynamics. Distress, loneliness, anxiety and depression are commonly addressed by clinicians with therapeutic interventions that center symptom reduction and problem resolution. The aim of this paper is to explore how Polyvagal theory can be integrated into clinical work with adolescent-parent dyads to emphasize the relational constructs of attunement, conflict/avoidance, and disconnection between parents and their adolescent children. This paper presents an explanation of the neurological dynamics of Polyvagal Theory to offer a framework for understanding how adolescent-parent attunement can be achieved through shared somatic experiences. This theoretical grounding is valuable to therapists to help facilitate relational healing using Polyvagal-informed co-regulation techniques, so vital for achieving a state of safety for the child, and well-being for both. Composite case examples illustrate the integration of somatic theories into practical applications with adolescent-parent dyads. PubDate: 2025-02-03
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Abstract: COVID-19 created a community trauma for all of society, including healthcare. This qualitative research project examines one healthcare agency’s organizing of a COVID-19 support group for agency staff and the experiences of the non-medical community-based behavioral health workers facilitating the groups for agency co-workers. The COVID-19 staff support group program (SSG) spontaneously evolved within the agency to respond to the pressing needs arising during this traumatic crisis. The SSG groups were facilitated by behavioral health social worker managers who volunteered for this role, with the understanding that group facilitators and staff group participants were co-workers. The SSGs were designed to promote safe, confidential discussion of all issues. One year into the program, a research project was designed to study the experiences of the SSGs facilitators using three focus groups to elicit common themes. While other COVID-19 support programs used evidence-based strategies to structure their groups, the SSG groups used a more open-ended approach to promote and manage the trauma-induced feelings discussed in the groups. The concept of shared trauma and shared resilience helped the research team understand the group processes that emerged. Focus group analysis yielded four major themes related to the SSG facilitator role, COVID-19 trauma, political upheaval, and agency impact. We conclude that a program design organically arising from an agency’s use of its own readily available staff resources can be effectively deployed and clinically effective in supporting staff and organizations struggling with traumatic crises like COVID-19. PubDate: 2025-01-31
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Abstract: Women in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) face multiple, specific challenges. Establishing healthy and close relationships can contribute to women’s mental health and enhance their recovery. Unhealthy relationships with men are a key factor in women’s onset of drug use, relapse, and attempts to recover from a SUD. Given their frequent personal history of sexual trauma, violence, and abuse caused by men, women recovering from SUD need to cope with multiple relational issues. This study explored the perceptions and experiences of women in recovery from SUD as regards their relationships with men. Fourteen women treated in women-only residential programs for SUD were interviewed using a qualitative-naturalistic approach. Inductive content analysis identified four categories: (1) From disgust and mistrust to attraction to boys and men in the context of abuse, (2) Exploitative relationships: use and be used, (3) The absent predator: justifications for the absence of men in women-only residential treatment program, and (4) Old patterns alongside new insights into recovery. These categories were contextualized conceptually in terms of the dialectic between “Respect and Suspect”. The findings, as interpreted through the lens of Relational Agency theory, highlight changes in power dynamics within relationships over the course of recovery. Clinical social workers should be aware of the multifaceted nature of attitudes towards relationships with men in women with SUD, to better help these women establish healthier, more secure relationships as a part of their recovery. PubDate: 2025-01-23
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