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IntroductionIncarceration in the United States disproportionately affects individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders and often exacerbates mental health conditions due to the trauma of arrest, separation, disrupted care, and stigma. Forensic Peer Support (FPS) can improve recovery outcomes by building unique trust and rapport that supports community reintegration and recovery outcomes.MethodThis paper describes findings from a qualitative study of 22 participants who are a sub-sample of the larger Recovery Finance study, a multi-level community based participatory research study designed to reduce financial hardships of individuals involved in criminal justice with mental health challenges through system level interventions as well as an individual intervention (randomized control trial testing one-on-one financial capability support (FCS) versus FCS plus forensic peer support). The focus of this paper is the mental health and peer support experiences of the qualitative sub-sample.ResultsThematic analysis of in-depth qualitative interviews revealed the following themes: 1. The Impact of Incarceration, Trauma, and Mental Health, 2. Systemic Failings in Mental Health Care in Prison and Post-Release, 3. The Cycle of Financial Strain and Mental Health, and 4. The Unique Value of Shared Lived Experience through Peer Support. Results highlight the trauma and psychological impact of incarceration, systemic failures in treatment, financial stress as a dominant source of anxiety, often perpetuating cycles of poverty and criminal activity, and the critical role of supportive relationships, in particular FPS.DiscussionThese findings point to the need for integrated models in which forensic peer support is embedded within financial wellness and reentry services.

An Estonian saying holds that everyone has a unique song in their heart. This profound theme resonates throughout the pages of Song of my Soul. This work is not merely a memoir but a visceral journey through the heart of a besieged nation and a family’s unwavering struggle for survival. Rakfeldt’s narrative immerses the reader in the turbulent twentieth century, when Estonia became a pawn in Stalin and Hitler’s brutal power plays, marked by the devastating impact of three successive occupations. The author recounts his family’s harrowing escape to Sweden, their flight through Europe, and the process of building a new life in the West. He weaves together poignant episodes from his parents’ lives in Estonia, which were shattered by the Soviet invasion, forcing them to flee into forests and marshes and live as partisans hunted by Russian death squads. Beyond the historical account, Song of my Soul is a deeply personal journey. Rakfeldt begins to reclaim his ancestral heritage and fill the void left by displacement and loss. He grapples with questions of identity and belonging. This book serves as a testament to the resilience of refugee families and chronicles the suffering of the Baltic people. It resonates with anyone who has faced immigration challenges and with those seeking to understand the lasting strength of the human spirit.

Sexual minority women (SMW) are a resilient yet vulnerable population who may experience poor psychosocial outcomes due to minority stress associated with their marginalized status and traumatic experiences resulting from interpersonal and structural violence. When SMW are incarcerated, the trauma of this experience can exacerbate existing mental health challenges. Self-concept is a key measure of mental health that is associated with increased self-efficacy and positive psychosocial outcomes. This analysis explores the ways in which incarceration impacts the self-concept of SMW. Secondary data analysis of three qualitative interviews with formerly incarcerated SMW was conducted. Specifically, Gilligan’s Listening Guide was used to create “I poems” that articulate the participants’ narratives and contrapuntal voices. These poems were then analyzed to build knowledge about participants’ self-concept. This analysis informs our understandings of self-concept among SMW, violence against women, the vulnerability of binary constructs, and the ways in which people negotiate past, present and future selves. The findings can inform interventions that seek to mitigate the psychosocial risks faced by SMW and formerly incarcerated people and improve outcomes for these populations.

Objective: We aim to determine the association between insomnia symptoms and mental health in females and males and compare mental health care utilization and perceived barriers between females and males with insomnia symptoms. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using the National Health Interview Survey. Insomnia symptoms included self-reported “trouble falling asleep”, ‘trouble staying asleep”, and “waking up feeling not well rested”. Mental health included self-reported anxiety and depression. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between insomnia symptoms and mental health in females and males. Results: A total of 26,691 adults were included. The mean age was 48.2 years; 51.4% were females, and 48.6% were males. Insomnia symptoms were associated with anxiety and depression for both females and males. These associations were stronger in younger adults (<50 years) than older adults (≥50 years). Females with insomnia symptoms were more likely to receive mental health care (OR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.53, 1.87) but also to delay mental health care because of its cost (OR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.67, 2.30) or needed mental health care but did not get it because of the cost (OR = 2.14; 95% CI: 1.82, 2.50) than their males counterpart. Conclusions: Insomnia symptoms were associated with mental health in females and males, being stronger in younger adults than older adults, with gender differences in mental health care utilization and financial barriers to mental health care. Holistic approaches involving prevention and better access to mental health care are warranted.

Food is a central component of life in correctional institutions and plays a critical role in the physical and mental health of incarcerated people and the construction of prisoners’ identities and relationships. An understanding of the role of food in correctional settings and effective management of food systems may improve outcomes for incarcerated people and help correctional administrators to maximize the health and safety of individuals in these institutions. This report summarizes existing research about food systems in correctional settings and provides examples of food programmes in prison and remand facilities, including a case study of food-related innovation in the Danish correctional system. Specific conclusions are offered for policy-makers, administrators of correctional institutions and prison food services professionals,and ideas for future research are proposed.

This chapter describes a two-step process including videotaping and process-recording activities to facilitate self-awareness and the expression of empathy and acceptance toward other points of view. These activities are designed for beginning student clinicians who are currently completing their coursework and their first clinical internship. The first step of videotaping helps clinicians become more aware of their inner thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and personal values. This first step also helps participating clinicians become more aware of their nonverbal communication with clients, helping them assess how their internal experiences of empathy and acceptance match what is being conveyed nonverbally to their clients. The second step of the activity, process recording, helps clinicians reflect on their ability to use self-awareness to analyze their inner experiences and their outer expressions of empathy and acceptance (both verbal and nonverbal) while still being attuned to their clients' communication.

Proceedings of the XXXVIII and XXXIX International Symposium of the International Association for Social Work with Groups, New York City, New York, USA, June 15-18, 2016 and June 7-10 2017

Can the story of social work be told through Objects? Might a collection of objects be more illuminating than a formal text book or a dry definition? In this engaging, photographic book, Mark Doel curates a collection of 127 objects contributed by people from around the globe to evoke a sense of social work - past, present and future. Written as a Guide to an Exhibition of Social Work, this is the ideal book to introduce social work to newcomers, and to entertain those with long experience of the profession. The objects are presented by a diverse group of people with different perspectives on social work, but with a common imagination.--From publisher.

Proceedings of the XXXVIII and XXXIX International Symposium of the International Association for Social Work with Groups, New York City, New York, USA, June 15-18, 2016 and June 7-10 2017

Proceedings of the XXXVIII and XXXIX International Symposium of the International Association for Social Work with Groups, New York City, New York, USA, June 15-18, 2016 and June 7-10 2017

Worldwide labor migration has transformed and reshaped various fields of government policy and professional practices. Labor migration is associated with the non-economic social phenomena that scholars have increasingly paid attention to in both sending and receiving destinations. For practitioners in the field of education, medicine, nursing, social work, mental health, public health, and other professional practices, the human face of labor migration migrant workers and their families daily challenges often reveals the human cost of migration behind the image of economic gain and benefits. Migrant workers and their families are facing vexing challenges ranging from basic needs to psychosocial well-being, despite who they are and where they come from. Traditional ways of thinking and knowing cannot address these challenges adequately; rather, established divisions of professions, systems, disciplines, and/or areas of practice might just be the factor that constrains the ability to clearly articulate compelling problems and adds an additional layer of complexity to problem solving. This book focuses on country policies and practices, and draws on theoretical ideas that provide the intellectual basis. In addition, it offers vivid examples of how migrant workers manage to work, pursue economic security, strive and adjust in new communities, define and negotiate self and identity, and seek health and well-being. While the book illuminates shared challenges and experiences for each group of migrant workers (i.e. low-skilled workers, internal migrants and other types of migrating laborers), it also synthesises the intersectionality across all migrant workers, as they remain committed to bettering the lives of their families and communities in their origin countries as well as new host countries and communities. This volume reflects the efforts of interdisciplinary research and collaboration

Background: HIV risk behavior in women who use drugs is related to myriad psychosocial issues, including incarceration. The experience of incarceration elevates women’s HIV risk by disrupting social networks, housing, employment, and access to health care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in criminal-legal practices resulted in decreased incarceration, especially among women. These changes may have largely altered HIV risk among women who use drugs, depending on their access to care in the community. Objective: This study seeks to build knowledge about the impact of shifts in criminal-legal practices during the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV risk behaviors of justice-involved women who use drugs. Methods: Qualitative methods are used to gather and analyze women’s narratives about their life experiences before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on individual and structural determinants of HIV risk behaviors. Thirty formerly incarcerated women with a history of substance use are being recruited through collaboration with community partners. Each participant completes a sociodemographic survey and two interviews. The first interview uses a life history instrument that invites participants to reflect on key turning points in their lives. The second interview uses a calendar approach to gather information about participants’ lives during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020-March 2021). The interviews (1 hour each) are audio-recorded and transcribed for analysis. Rapid Qualitative Inquiry and thematic analysis are being used to manage, organize, and interpret the data. The study team will collaborate with a subset of participants to develop digital stories about their COVID-19 experiences, a process that allows for member-checking and triangulation. Findings will be disseminated to program and policy makers in academic venues, community settings, and social service agencies. Results: To date, 10 women’s data have been collected. In total, two themes have been identified in this preliminary data: (1)the chaos and instability of participants’ lives increased during the COVID-19 pandemic: participants reported a wide range of psychosocial and health problems and limited engagement with social service systems. Interaction with criminal-legal systems was rife with uncertainty; participants described living in a state of limbo, which was extremely stressful. (2) When asked to describe a “turning point” in their lives, many participants attributed their substance use to the traumatic loss of a child due to death, incarceration, or termination of parental rights. During the COVID-19 pandemic, participants’ struggles to cope with these unresolved experiences of grief and loss were intensified by the widespread death and dying of the pandemic. Conclusions: Preliminary findings suggest that HIV risk factors increased for participants during the COVID-19 pandemic and invite further investment in community-based harm reduction programs, especially housing, that support women who use drugs. Interventions that address experiences of maternal grief and loss may reduce women’s substance use. Trial Registration: