101515: Social Work Today Jan/Feb 2009

About the Course:

Love and Ageism—A Social Work Perspective Why are some people still uncomfortable with thoughts of older adults and intimacy? Learn how social workers can support clients in late-life relationships.

Reducing the Risk of Domestic Homicide What interventions at the macro and micro levels could help prevent the deaths of women and men due to domestic violence?

Social Work and Public Health—Perfect Partners The social work/public health partnership is not new but may see increased interest with the expected changes in healthcare delivery and emphasis on prevention and integrated health and wellness services that a new administration could bring.

Therapist’s Notebook: Case of Hannah Read the case presentation of a woman with serious mental illness and compare your observations with the two therapists who discuss the case.

Journal/Publisher:

Great Valley Publishing

Publication Date:

January/February 2009

Authors

Gail S. Levinson, MA, LCSW; Charles A. Rizzuto, MSW; Marlene I. Shapiro, LCSW; Amanda Smith Barusch, PhD; Jennifer Van Pelt, MA; Katherine van Wormer, MSSW, PhD

About the Authors:

is in private practice in Wilmington, DE, and is the treasurer of the Clinical Social Work Association.

is a member of the summer adjunct faculty at Smith College School for Social Work and maintains a private practice in psychotherapy and supervision in Holyoke and Amherst, MA. He frequently consults in the areas of sexuality and loss or bereavement.

is the program director of a partial hospitalization program for patients with psychotic disorders at Sheppard Pratt Hospital in Baltimore. In addition, she sees patients and families in a private practice.

is a professor and head of the department of social work and community development at the University of Otago in New Zealand. She has been teaching and researching in the field of aging for more than 25 years, mostly as a faculty member of the College of Social Work at the University of Utah. Her most recent book is Love Stories of Later Life: A Narrative Approach to Understanding Romance.

is a Reading, PA-based freelance writer with 15 years of experience as a writer and research analyst in the healthcare field. She has written on depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, mental wellness, and aging.

is a professor of social work at the University of Northern Iowa and coauthor of Death By Domestic Violence: Preventing the Murders and Murder-Suicides.

Recommended For:

This course is recommended for psychologists, counselors, social workers, and healthcare professionals who seek knowledge about mental health and social issues. It is appropriate for all levels of participants’ knowledge.

Course Objectives:

1. Discuss how ageism affects older adults who wish have late-life romantic relationships and/or be sexually intimate and how social workers can support their needs.

2. Explain the interventions at the macro and micro level that can reduce the risk of domestic homicide.

3. Discuss the issues in Hannah’s treatment and the observations made by the two discussants.

4. Recognize the professional partnership of social work and public health and how those with the dual MSW/MPH degree will be needed as healthcare delivery changes and prevention and wellness programs may be augmented in the future.