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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.

This research project was an exploratory mixed method study that explored risk and protective factors associated with Black women’s experiences with perinatal suicidal ideations. The sample included adult women who identified as Black and had experienced suicidal thoughts during pregnancy or postpartum (n = 9). Participants completed an electronic survey consisting of 54 total questions and the 30-item Racial Trauma Scale (RTS). Through their responses, most respondents reported being worried about a loved one’s safety and feeling that the world is unsafe. The respondents also felt that healthcare neglects the needs of Black women. The implications of these findings for clinical social work are that racism and discrimination create chronic stress upon Black pregnant women and their providers, resulting in poor health outcomes and stressful service delivery interactions. Therefore, improved screening and communication between providers and patients will have a positive impact on perinatal mental health in the Black community. © W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute 2025.

Persons with disabilities must be afforded a voice in constructing a system of inclusion in education to which they truly belong. Laws governing special education have increasingly adopted the concept of including individuals with disabilities in mainstream classrooms, often believing doing so counters the inherent othering of exclusion. Identity is not a singular dimension, and disability is only part of one's identity. But special education tacitly continues a mission of assimilating students with disabilities while simultaneously labeling them as disabled, revealing an ableist bias and perpetuating othering attitudes toward those on its rolls. This phenomenological qualitative study (N = 8) explored the lived experience of students enrolled in special education to gain greater understanding of the impact special education has on their sense of belonging in school. The study found enrollment in a school where all students had disabilities helped reveal to students nondisabled aspects of their identity, enabling them to feel more accepted by peers and staff, and enhancing their sense of belonging within the school. © 2025 2025 National Association of Social Workers.

In the spring of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the remote delivery of health and human services, few social workers were prepared to facilitate online groups. Research on virtual group work was limited, and the IASWG Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups offered minimal guidance for online practice. Charles Garvin encouraged the International Association for Social Work with Groups (IASWG) to enhance the Standards with “online considerations” that would support effective group work in virtual environments. Serving as a mentor and active member of the Task Force on Online Considerations, Charles Garvin inspired a systematic, collaborative, and internationally inclusive process that exemplified principles of socially just research. This paper describes the research and development of the online considerations and the limitations and possibilities of defining international guidelines for social work with groups. © 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

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.

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:

The impact of trauma on mental health has led to the increased development of trauma-informed organizations. Little is known, however, about the benefits of using a trauma-informed care perspective within a faith-based setting, particularly among Latino communities. This article reviews the literature and identifies gaps suggesting the problem of a lack of mental health and trauma-informed awareness among places of worship. The need for developing trauma-informed ministries within places of worship is recommended to assist in promoting the psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being of congregants and community members within faith-based settings. © 2024 Taylor & Francis.

Although many White social workers engage in ongoing anti-racist actions, they may still be complicit in perpetuating and reinforcing racism and White Supremacy Culture. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) social workers, activists, and scholars have described the numerous ways in which the harmful impacts of White Supremacy Culture appear in the well-intentioned efforts of White people who seek to be anti-racist. White social workers are thus responsible for engaging in intentional ongoing practices to identify, interrupt, and shift their interpersonal oppressive uses of power in their practice. The RE/UN/DIScover heuristic is an iterative, embodied set of three practices for working with one’s experiences of shame and internalized dominance, habitual not-seeing, and in-the-moment activations. Literature theorizing White Supremacy ideology and culture frames the description of the RE/UN/DIScover heuristic. This paper describes several heuristic applications, including prompts for engaging in REcover, UNcover and DIScover practices and two composite examples. These applications illustrate how to use the heuristic practices with dual awareness of self and one’s social work practice in the moment and over time. White social workers are encouraged to learn and use the RE/UN/DIScover heuristic practices to guide their efforts to more fully live into their anti-racist commitments in moments of not-seeing and moments of activation.

The authors have had many years of leadership and management experience in a variety of settings and have discovered that there are few books that cover the majority of topics related to leadership and management specifically for social work education and practice. This book covers all the main areas of expertise required in a typical social work leadership and management experience. It incorporates all 21 competencies and 126 practice behaviors from the Network on Social Work Management (NSWM) and nine competencies and 29 practice behaviors espoused by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and can serve as a textbook for social work programs at the graduate level. The book has many unique features. It provides a comprehensive list of leadership and management competencies from the NSWM and the CSWE along with a list of competencies and practice behaviors. The book presents leadership and management competencies and practice behaviors each chapter along with cases, examples, and activities of how to use them in practice situations. It discusses in detail the differences between management and leadership along with best management and leadership practices. The book provides examples of how to motive and successfully work with different age cohorts. It presents effective communication and marketing strategies. The book discusses in detail how to effectively work with groups and give examples of how to make meetings productive. It exhibits specific problem-solving and decision-making strategies along with examples. The book summarizes how to manage a range of organizational functions. It discusses the importance of collaborating with community groups and other stakeholders to succeed in making a difference. The book contains five parts that replicate the <abbrev>NSWM</abbrev>’s four domains of leadership: executive leadership in social work; resources management practices; strategic management and administrative skills for organizational growth and success; community collaboration; and supplemental materials.

The authors have had many years of leadership and management experience in a variety of settings and have discovered that there are few books that cover the majority of topics related to leadership and management specifically for social work education and practice. This book covers all the main areas of expertise required in a typical social work leadership and management experience. It incorporates all 21 competencies and 126 practice behaviors from the Network on Social Work Management (NSWM) and nine competencies and 29 practice behaviors espoused by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and can serve as a textbook for social work programs at the graduate level. The book has many unique features. It provides a comprehensive list of leadership and management competencies from the NSWM and the CSWE along with a list of competencies and practice behaviors. The book presents leadership and management competencies and practice behaviors each chapter along with cases, examples, and activities of how to use them in practice situations. It discusses in detail the differences between management and leadership along with best management and leadership practices. The book provides examples of how to motive and successfully work with different age cohorts. It presents effective communication and marketing strategies. The book discusses in detail how to effectively work with groups and give examples of how to make meetings productive. It exhibits specific problem-solving and decision-making strategies along with examples. The book summarizes how to manage a range of organizational functions. It discusses the importance of collaborating with community groups and other stakeholders to succeed in making a difference. The book contains five parts that replicate the <abbrev>NSWM</abbrev>’s four domains of leadership: executive leadership in social work; resources management practices; strategic management and administrative skills for organizational growth and success; community collaboration; and supplemental materials.