implications of the moussaoui inside… -...

accessY O U R L I N K T O T H E C L I N I C A L S O C I A L W O R K A S S O C I AT I O N

Inside…

Eithical Issues in Supervision .... 4

State/National Collaborate to Protect CSW in Virginia ......... 6

Retroactive PhDs Conferred ...... 7

Disability Insurance ................... 8

Book Review ............................ 10

Executive Director’s Report ..... 12

Abbie Grant Steps Down ......... 13

State Societies .......................... 14

Join the CSWA! ........................ 17

CSWA Application .................... 19

continued on page �

continued on page �

Clinical Social Work Association: The Voice of Clinical Social Work Kevin Host, LICSW, CSWA President

On my drive home from work, listening to National Public Radio, the narrator for All Things Considered toned in, “Today’s programming was sponsored by the 150,000 members of the American Psychological As-sociation bringing the art and science of psychology to everyday living.” Reflecting for a moment, I fast forwarded to the NPR narrator announcing, “Today’s programming was sponsored by the 150,000 members

of the Clinical Social Work Association, the voice of clinical social work.” Farfetched?

Not really, there are approximately 350,000–400,000 MSWs nationwide, and of these there are 125,000 licensed independent clinical social work-

Implications of the Moussaoui Trial for Clinical Social WorkJan Vogelsang, MSW

When I was asked to conduct the biopsychosocial assessment for the trial of accused terrorist Zacarius Moussaoui, my acceptance came with great hesitation and caution. Historically, I had avoided high profile cases for a number of reasons not the least of which was the deeply held belief that the criminal justice system should serve equally the unknown and face-less.

But curiosity won out, and over the next year, I traveled extensively in France and Morocco, interviewing over fifty family and non-family ac-quaintances of this enigmatic man whose public persona had managed either to horrify or agitate.

It is not the purpose of the biopsychosocial assessment to excuse human behavior and it should especially not be used in court to expound on capi-tal punishment. In the sentencing phase of a death penalty trial, the as-sessment is used to shed light on human behavior and to speak to the ac-cumulation of factors that place an individual at risk, culminating in their current circumstances. It may also be used to diagnose depending on the role the clinical social worker takes at trial. Finally, the assessment assists the court in the disposition of a case, whether on behalf of a defendant

summer 2006

2 summer 2006 • access

Clinical Social Work AssociationAssociation Hotline: 800-270-9739

www.cswf.org

PresidentKevin Host, MSW

1191 2nd Avenue #680Seattle, WA 98101

(206) 654-4145 • Fax (877) [email protected]

Past-PresidentAbigail Grant, MSW

Cleveland Heights, OH

Vice PresidentSidney Grossberg, PhDFarmington Hills, MI

SecretaryNancy Sachner, MSW

Woodbury, CT

TreasurerGail Levinson, MSW

Wilmington, DE

Executive DirectorRichard P. Yanes

2251 Pimmit Drive #1401Falls Church, VA 22043

(O) 703-560-4042 • (F) [email protected]

National OfficeAdministrative Coordinator

Linda O’LearyPO Box 3740

Arlington, VA 22203(O) 703-522-3866 • (F) 703-522-9441

[email protected]

accessEditor

Susan Childers, PhD1325 Fourth Avenue #1345

Seattle, WA 98101(O) 206-382-7359 • (F) 206-938-8232

[email protected]

AdvertisingGail Levinson, MSW

302-764-0474Call for rates and format requirements.

Design & LayoutPrint Matters

[email protected]

access is a semi-annual publication. Deadline for the next edition is

October 27, 2006Please submit all text for publication as an

MS Word attachment in email to Susan Childers, Editor

[email protected]

© 2006 CSWF

Clinical Social Work Association, continued from page �

ers in practice. Do we need to spon-sor an NPR segment? Probably not, but we do need to speak in a single voice to our federal legislators when upcoming bills harm our clients and diminish our practice. We do need to speak in a single voice to graduate schools of social work as clinical pro-grams are marginalized. We do need to speak in a single voice to the next generation of social workers that social change begins with one rela-tionship at a time and that the clini-cal social worker is best positioned to initiate change. Can we find a single voice?

That’s up to you. At the end of May, the board of the Clinical Social Work Federation did what very few boards are capable of doing; it voted itself out of existence! In order to speak di-rectly to and for every clinical social worker a new organization came into being, the Clinical Social Work Asso-ciation. We are dedicated to promot-ing excellence in clinical social work practice through the advancement of the profession for the benefit of clients and the clinicians who serve them.

You can join; there is an application on page 23. Unlike the Federation where your membership in your state society bought you membership in the CSWF we are asking you to join the Clinical Social Work Association independently, on your own initia-tive. Please, continue to support your

state or regional society AND sup-port the single voice of clinical social work, the CSWA.

For those of us who have been lead-ers in our state societies and the CSWF it has become increasingly ap-parent that for a national organiza-tion of practicing clinical social work-ers to be relevant, it must address the pragmatic issues of clinical practice. Legislation, education and enhanc-ing our professional identity will be our areas of focus. If you have a prac-tice concern we want to provide you the support, consultation or legisla-tive strategy to move forward.

The final act of the CSWF board was to install an Executive Committee and elect five of the ten-member board. Joining me on the Executive Committee in guiding our organiza-tion during its formative stages is Sid Grossberg, Vice President; Gail Levin-son, Treasurer; Nancy Sachner, Secre-tary; and Abbie Grant, Past President of the CSWF. Our staff includes Rich-ard Yanes, Executive Director; Linda O’Leary, Administrative Coordina-tor and Laura Groshong, Director of Government Affairs. We have much work to do and in the next issue of access we will get you better ac-quainted with how and what we are doing to address your needs as a clin-ical social worker. In the meantime I’ll keep tuned into NPR, you never know…. v

“I want to be a member of a national clinical work associ-ation that is beholden to and looks out for my interests as a clinical social worker. I trust this association much more than one who is also beholden to the interest of under-graduate social workers, community organization social workers, deans of schools of social work, etc. This organi-

zation has a history and track record of strongly promoting the interests of clinical social workers and our clients.”

~ Sidney A. Grossberg, PhD Farmington Hills, Michigan

access • summer 2006 �

or a victim, and should never be a pulpit for personal views on the proper sentence.

In a recent Supreme Court decision, US v. Wiggins, it was decided that professional social workers should be called upon as a matter of course, to conduct a “family back-ground” history to be presented at sentencing in capital cases. Prior to this decision, there were those lawyers, in-vestigators, and mitigation specialists, who understood the significance of the social work biopsychosocial assess-ment in relation to mitigating evidence. Over the years a small but growing number of us have been qualified as experts and allowed to testify long before Wiggins, but demonstrating that our expertise was substantively equal to that of other mental health professionals has been a challenge. To those who fought this battle since the late eighties, I count myself fortunate to have been included with you in this “trial by fire” effort.

In my book, The Witness Stand, I have offered a basic guide not on the death penalty but on how to use the biopsychosocial assessment in all types of cases both in family and criminal court. The role of the social worker in court goes back to the late eighteen hundreds and when we moved away from the courts in the thirties, we took with us an entire history and all those skills that can not be replaced by other professional experts. And now as

Moussaoui Trial, continued from page �

“As a member of the CSWF, I have had an invaluable network of colleagues who offer a wealth of experience and expertise, clinically and practically, in

how to be a clinical social worker. There is no other na-tional organization for clinical social workers, let alone one with 30 years of work on behalf of clinical social workers, which offers this knowledge. In addition, there is a solid advocacy commitment, at the state and national level, with proven results. I look forward to continuing these benefits in the Clinical Social Work Association.”

~ Laura Groshong, LICSW Seattle, WashingtonTHE CENTER FOR GROUP STUDIES

we make a successful return to the courts, we are in a position to make a real difference both in the lives of our clients and in our profession.

We must not be afraid of the court environment nor should we allow anxiety about going to court stand in the way of our professional development. Good prepara-tion is the key to good testimony and lowered anxiety. In fact, the ripple effects of our testimony affect lives in ways we might never imagine. It is not unusual to be stopped by a judge, a bailiff, a law enforcement officer, a juror or a spectator, and told that your testimony has changed the way they view their child or their family. We are renewing respect for our way of viewing human be-ings, their environment and their behavior through the lens of the biopsychosocial assessment.

The Moussaoui case was incredibly complex and intrigu-ing. My clinical training in diagnosis, culture, race, socio-economics, education, gender, family systems, etc., and my own method for using the biopsychosocial assessment as a basis for gathering information, was invaluable in aiding me to develop the visual aids and lay out my testi-mony. While I had to get national security clearance and sign a secrecy agreement regarding certain government documents about which I may not speak, and while I have turned down requests for interviews both nationally and internationally, I am honored that the CSWA has asked me to share some of the behind the scenes activities and testimony that was not reported by the media. Because my testimony is now public record, I can do that and I be-lieve that sharing this information in a professional set-ting is appropriate.

I look forward to describing for you some of the more fascinating experiences I had on the Moussaoui case in the next issue of this newsletter.

Jan Vogelsang, LISW-CP, BCD, is a clinical social worker in pri-vate practice in Greenville, South Carolina. She is author of The Witness Stand, a guide for clinical social workers in the court-room.

� summer 2006 • access

Codes of ethics tend to have less detail about the ethical responsi-bilities supervi-sors have to both their supervisees and the clients served by them.

Nevertheless, there is a considerable body of information about the ethi-cal issues that arise for supervisors. This paper will provide an overview of some of those issues.

Laws versus Ethics

Laws are specific in nature and are introduced when a particular act, or series of acts has been perceived to have endangered or harmed those whom the profession serves. In con-trast, ethical codes tend to be con-ceptually broad in nature, few in number and somewhat open to in-terpretation by the practitioner in most cases (Bernard and Goodyear, 2004). These characteristics of broad and interpretable mean that profes-sions must maintain a constant dia-logue about ethics to help practitio-ners find a common understanding of what community standards are while taking into account the infinite number of situations in which thera-pists find themselves.

Ethical Issues in Supervision

Ethical issues in supervision can be broken down into three areas: gen-eral supervision issues that pertain to supervisees; issues in training pro-grams that pertain to supervisees; and ethical responsibilities of super-visees.

General Issues

• Dual Relationships: Generally, dual relationships are considered prob-

lematic in supervisor/supervisee rela-tionships when there is a likelihood that it will impair the supervisor’s judgment, and/or there is a risk to the supervisee of exploitation (Hall 1988).

Dual relationships can be broken down into two types, sexual and non-sexual. The first type, sexual relation-ships can in turn be broken down into consensual and non-consensual.

Sexual relationships may be found in 10–25% of all supervisory relation-ships (Hall 1988). Where mutual sex-ual attraction exists between super-visor and supervisee, there is a higher likelihood of problems. Most sexual relationships between supervisor and supervisee fall into the consensual category and end when the super-visory relationship ends (Hall, 1988). However, there is a subtype that re-sults in a romantic relationship that outlives the supervisory relationship.

Another type of sexual relationship is one that falls into the sexual ha-rassment category. This is where a supervisor takes advantage of his/her position of authority to demand sexual favors of a supervisee. In train-ing situations, the supervisor may de-mand sex in return for a favorable evaluation. Both types of sexual re-lationships run afoul of what most writers consider to be ethical behav-ior, although sexual harassment is es-pecially egregious and dangerous.

There is less consensus around what constitutes nonsexual dual relation-ships. The most common example is a supervisor providing therapy to a supervisee either during or after the end of the supervisory relation-ship or entering into some sort of business relationship with the super-visee. Most writers consider these grey areas with no clear answer as to whether or not these relation-

ships are appropriate. Most clinicians would consider being a therapist and supervisor at the same time to be a serious boundary violation. However, in rural communities where options are few, this type of dual relationship may be more common. Nevertheless, it is optimal to consider other options such as telephonic supervision first.

Most ethicists suggest that instead of setting hard and fast rules about nonsexual dual relationships, prac-titioners have a plan for situation analysis such as consultation with an ethics committee or senior practitio-ner.

• Competence—monitoring client welfare: In order to provide supervi-sion a supervisor must be more ad-vanced than the supervisee, must be an effective therapist and must be able to supervise within their area of competence. This means that su-pervisors must stay current with lit-erature in the field and include cul-tural understanding in their areas of competence. In addition, supervisors must be able to monitor supervisee competence and must themselves, be competent at supervision.

• Confidentiality: Supervisors ensure that trainees keep client material confidential except for purposes of supervision. In addition, supervisors make sure that supervisees know that information received in supervi-sion, especially in group supervision where the material may not be from your own client, remains confiden-tial.

• Other Issues: Other issues that su-pervisors must consider are seeking consultation themselves or referring a supervisee when they find them-selves unable to be helpful; seeking help if they are impaired in any way; and exposing unethical conduct by colleagues.

Ethical Issues in SupervisionR. Keith Myers, LICSW


Issues Specific to Training Situations

In addition to the ethical issues men-tioned above, supervisors in train-ing programs or who are supervis-ing practitioners obtaining licensure, have some additional things to con-sider.

• Due Process: Supervisors in train-ing programs must ensure that the criteria and procedures that govern a training program must be applied consistently and fairly”(Forrest et. al. 1999). In this way, all participants have an equal playing field where evaluation is concerned.

• Informed Consent: There is con-troversy as to whether or not clients should be informed of supervision procedures. One must weigh the ef-fect on therapy of such an explicit dis-closure to the client of the supervision process. However, trainees should be informed about the requirements of the supervision/training program as well as conditions under which infor-mation about them would be shared with others.

• Monitoring Competence and Pro-viding Evaluation: In addition to being a competent supervisor, su-pervisors must take seriously their responsibility to monitor the compe-tence of trainees. This is protection not only for the client, but for the training program as well. Supervisors must also be able to provide an ob-jective evaluation of the supervisee’s skills and competence to a school or licensing board. In an agency setting, supervisors must be able and willing to complete a performance evalua-tion on each supervisee.

• Administrator’s Responsibilities: It is incumbent on administrators of training programs and agencies to ensure that proper resources are al-located to supervision of trainees and employees. Most administrators do not think of this issue as an ethical one. However, ethical responsibilities as well as proper risk management demand that adequate resources be

allocated to ongoing supervision of all staff.

Ethical Issues for Supervisees

Finally, there are ethical issues that supervisees must consider as being their responsibility as a professional.

• Intentional non-disclosure of in-formation has to do with supervisees intentionally not reporting informa-tion about a case. In most instances, this is because they are embarrassed about their actions in a session and wish to hide their behavior. This can have important consequences for the case and can lead the supervisor to draw the wrong conclusion.

• Mismanagement of records oc-curs when supervisees either do not keep proper records or misstate the information in records. While it is im-portant for all professionals to keep good, accurate records, new profes-sionals may not yet have identified with professional standards involved with record keeping.

• Inappropriate autonomous prac-tice is practicing in any setting with-out proper supervision. This often happens when new professionals en-ter private practice before they are licensed, but could also apply to an agency setting where adequate su-pervision is lacking. In the later case it is incumbent both on the agency to provide supervision and for the new professional to demand supervision.

• Failure to address personal biases that impact therapy. New profession-als often feel that they shouldn’t have personal biases when it comes to cli-ents. Yet, most of us do have person-al issues that can interfere with our treatment of some clients. New pro-fessionals need to understand that personal biases can be worked with in therapy, but they need to be ex-posed and addressed in supervision in order for therapy to be helpful.

• Inappropriate methods of manag-ing conflict with supervisors. Super-visees have an obligation to be direct with supervisors when they have a

conflict with that supervisor. In some cases, it may not be in the supervis-ee’s best interest to directly confront a supervisor. In organizational set-tings, that is best handled by going to the supervisor’s supervisor.

• Failure to engage in necessary pro-fessional development. New profes-sionals are often happy to be out of school and working in their field of choice. However, new professionals must realize that their education is just beginning and in fact is a life-long process. New professionals need to be helped to understand that on-going continuing education starts immediately and continues for the rest of their career (Worthington et al., 2002).

BibliographyBernard, J.M. and Goodyear, R.K. (2004) Fundamentals of clinical supervision. (3rd Edition). Boston: Pearson, Allyn and Bacon.

Forrest, L., Elman, N., Gizara, S., and Va-cha-Haase, T. (1999). Trainee impairment: A review of identification, remediation, dismissal, and legal issues. Counseling Psychologist, 27(5), 627-686.

Haas, L.J. (1991). Hide –and-seek or show-and-tell? Emerging issues of informed consent. Ethics and Behavior, 1, 175-189.

Hall, J.E. (1988). Dual relationships in su-pervision. Register Report, 15(1), 5-6.

Worthington, R.L., Tan, J.A., and Poulin, K., (2002). Ethically questionable behav-iors among supervisees: An exploratory investigation. Ethics and Behavior, 12, 323-351.

“We need a nation-al voice to increase mental health cov-erage and parity for our clients, to dis-

seminate information throughout the nation about the quality of clini-cal social work practice, and to work towards equal pay for equal codes. CSWA is that voice of clinical social work.”

~ Patricia Baker, PhD Silver Spring, Maryland


The Virginia Society for Clinical Social Work (VSCSW) received great help from the Federation (now the Clini-cal Social Work Association) this past legislative session in a serious threat to our licensure law. HB 1146 would have undermined all clinical social work practice by creat-ing a new licensure level called the “Professional Social Worker.” This category would have required no training, supervision, or examination requirements thereby low-ering standards for social work practice in general and specifically devaluing the regulations currently in place for the Virginia LCSW.

We drew on the expertise of our state lobbyist, Chris Spanos; CSWA’s Government Affairs Director, Laura Gro-shong; and our Legislative Chair, Mark O’Shea; all of whom put in hundreds of hours stopping this bill. We also had the support of schools of social work at several col-leges, including Virginia Commonwealth University. The VSCSW Board worked many hours on several conference

calls to make crucial decisions including developing ma-terials, considering what might make the bill workable (ultimately discarded), and a multitude of other issues. The whole effort started in January and ended on March 2, a typical legislative time frame, but warp speed for our board. Although it was our board members who recog-nized the dangers of this bill, we would not have been able to respond as professionally and efficiently without the consultation and guidance of the Federation.

VSCSW is using this success as the basis for an upcom-ing membership drive. As this case so aptly demonstrates, there is no other organization that can respond as ef-fectively to the concerns of our profession as the CSWA. We encourage other societies to use the unique legisla-tive services of the new Association when you face similar problems. Contact Richard Yanes, [email protected] or Laura Groshong, [email protected] for further information. v

State/National Collaboration Protects Clinical Social Work Practice in VirginiaJane Hundley, Virginia SCSW President, and Laura Groshong, CSWA Government Affairs Director


It began over three years ago when Greater Washing-ton Society members Dolores Paulson, Alice Kassabian and Connie Hendrickson, and Maryland Society member, Patricia Baker, all holders of the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) from Catholic University, decided to work toward retroactive reinstatement of the PhD. When Catholic University reestablished the PhD degree in the National Catholic School of Social Service (NCSSS) program in 1996, all expected the PhD conferral to be retroactive. The PhD was the original degree awarded by NCSSS in 1937 when the program, established in 1934, graduated its first doc-torate. In the late 1940s a debate over social work iden-tity led to the establishment of DSW rather than PhD programs in schools of social work. NCSSS followed that trend and changed their PhD to a DSW. However, the de-gree requirements never changed. The PhD standard of knowledge development through scholarly research, a foreign language requirement, comprehensive examina-tion, the dissertation and oral defense remained.

A chance encounter with the newly installed Dean of the NCSSS, James Zabora, at an alumni meeting and confer-ence offered Dolores Paulson and Alice Kassabian the opportunity to tell the story of the 239 DSWs who were left behind. The Dean offered a meeting with the DSWs, and he and the Doctoral Chair, Barbara Early, began the work to retroactively reinstate the PhD while stressing there were no guarantees that this goal could be accom-plished.

The first thing the four Society members did was to choose a name—The Organizing Committee—and devel-op a letterhead. They began meeting no less than once a month to strategize and collaborate. Their first task was to try to locate as many DSWs as they could to see how much interest there was in taking this on. That seemed easy enough—just check out the Alumni Office. How-ever, that turned out to be almost useless. The Alumni Office had lost track of many of its doctoral graduates. Then began the grueling task of going through the list of graduates and Googling, phone book surveying, and networking to find their addresses, phone numbers and/or email addresses.

The Organizing Committee’s task was to get letters from all the newly located DSWs that explained the difficul-ties they encountered holding an antiquated degree that only one out of over one hundred schools now granted and that few professionals recognized or understood,

even within the profession. The response from the DSWs was overwhelming. The Committee analyzed their letters and put the information in a brief, easily-read narrative format.

Not willing to leave any stone unturned, the Organizing Committee wrote back to the DSWs and asked for their resumes. Many months were spent analyzing the resumes and placing the data in a table that illustrated the accom-plishments of the DSWs over their post-doctoral careers in the event that information was needed. The Commit-tee bound and presented all the information to the Dean for his use in presenting to the Graduate Board and the Academic Senate. These two bodies would make the final decision regarding the retroactive reinstatement of the PhD. The Committee also sent the information to eagerly waiting DSWs, some of whom were not very hopeful.

In February of this year, the Graduate Board voted unani-mously to retroactively reinstate the PhD. In March, in a historic move, Catholic University’s Academic Senate acknowledged the equivalency of the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degrees earned at the National Catholic School of Social Service of Catholic University.

Looking back on the struggle, one jubilant new PhD stated, “I didn’t think there was a snowball’s chance in Hell!” v

Tenacious Social Work Advocacy Wins Retroactive Conferral of DegreePatricia Baker, PhD, Maryland SCSW

“The Clinical Social Work Federation has been the connecting point for state societies of clinical social work-ers to have a voice that is national.

A national presence and organizational resource is the hope that our profession will thrive and grow instead of only struggling to survive. We are a profession under siege in a caustic environment of health and welfare cuts. Our services are more needed than ever. We need to rep-resent our presence by gathering together. The Clinical Social Work Association is a more efficient way to maxi-mize our professional presence.”

~ Carolyn J. Moynihan, LCSW Verona, Wisconsin

� summer 2006 • access

If you are a social worker in private practice, it is important that you con-sider Disability Insurance coverage. If your extended family has money which can be available to you in an emergency, if you have significant in-vestments that generate income, or if your spouse or domestic partner can support your household, then

replacing your practice income in the event of disability becomes less urgent. However, if you are dependent on the revenue from your practice, Disability Insurance may be an important investment to make.

I have had a number of clients unclear about the differ-ence between Disability Insurance and Long-Term Care Insurance, so let me take a moment to differentiate them. Long-Term Care Insurance covers the cost of your care if you become unable to manage the activities of daily liv-ing on your own. The classic example of a need for Long-Term Care Insurance is a Ronald Reagan scenario where Alzheimer’s disease renders the individual unable to care for him/herself, and that person lives on for many years. Disability Insurance on the other hand provides income replacement for people who had been working, but are currently unable to work due to an injury or illness. The classic example is the private practitioner who has a stroke and cannot return to work for a number of years while she is recovering.

Disability Insurance policies vary widely in their quality. Unfortunately, high-quality policies are expensive: expect to pay one to three percent of your annual income. Here are some things to look for in a disability policy:

Definition of Disability – some policies use a definition of disability as restrictive as that of Social Security, i.e. the insured cannot work at any occupation. This restrictive definition would be problematic for the clinical social worker in private practice. Say a clinician had a stroke and needed speech rehabilitation before she could func-tion again in her practice—despite being able to do some other kind of work such as computer work. She would want disability insurance that defines disability as the in-ability to function in one’s “own occupation,” so that she could receive benefits until she is ready to return to the consulting room.

Partial Disability Benefits – Say a clinical social worker has a heart attack and is recovering. She has a small num-

ber of patients who must continue to see her in order to function, but she cannot work more than a few hours a day. Partial disability benefits cover either partial or re-sidual disability following a total-disability. Such benefits may be desirable for the private practitioner. Residual disability benefits are designed to make up the differ-ence between income prior to disability and income earned during disability. Look for a policy that allows the definition of prior income to be the greater of two base periods so that you are not penalized by defining your income during a slump in your practice.

Non Cancelable and Guaranteed Renewable – You do not want a policy that will be cancelled if you begin to de-velop a medical problem, so you should look for a policy that is either Non-Cancelable or Guaranteed Renewable. A Non-Cancelable policy is best as it locks in rates and benefits. “Guaranteed Renewable” means that your pol-icy can’t be cancelled, but the insurer reserves the right to raise premiums for specific reasons. Least desirable is a

“Conditionally Renewable” contract. An insurer can raise premiums at any time on these policies. Avoid policies that can raise your premium on an individual rather than a class basis. Some companies will offer Guaranteed Re-newability to age 65 and then Conditional Renewability to age 75. Many clinical social workers continue to work past the traditional retirement age, so this feature may be worth looking for.

Elimination Period – Disability policies have an elimina-tion period, or waiting period before benefits become available. Of course, you can save on premium with a longer elimination period. Typical options are 30, 60, 90 and 120 days. If you have savings or other sources of short-term income, you can save premium dollars by opt-ing for a longer elimination period.

Duration of Disability – How long your policy pays for dis-ability is, of course, a key provision. Obviously the longer your benefit duration, the higher your premium will be. Duration periods can be as little as two years or as long as until the insured reaches age 65, when Social Secu-rity kicks in. Some carriers even offer a lifetime duration period. The choices you make regarding this provision of your policy can have a lasting impact on the financial health of yourself and your family—so think carefully about this provision in the context of your overall finan-cial situation.

CLINICIAN’S MONEY UPDATE

Disability InsurancePeter Cole, LCSW, ChFC


Cost of Living Adjustments – Many insurers offer Cost of Living Adjustments as an option and also allow you to decide the percentage rate used to calculate the adjust-ment. As with other features in your disability policy, a higher level of benefit will normally equal a highter pre-mium. Younger social workers, in particular, are well ad-vised to add an inflation rider to their coverage to insure that their benefit amount will keep pace with inflation.

Taxation Issues

For a self-employed clinical social worker who pays taxes as a sole-proprietor, Disability Insurance premiums do not qualify as a tax deduction. The good news, however, is that the benefits are non-taxable. On the other hand, Disability Insurance provided by an employer is a tax de-duction for the employer, but the benefits are taxable to the beneficiary. Let’s say that a Clinical Social Worker is employed at a Family Service Agency three-quarters time and sees about 8 patients a week in private practice. She has Disability Insurance through the agency which pro-vides 60% replacement coverage of her agency income. Should she become disabled, that disability income will be subject to income taxes – significantly reducing her re-placement income. It may be prudent for her to consider supplementing her agency policy with one she purchases herself.

Disability Insurance is expensive and unpleasant to think about. However, if you purchase a quality policy and end up needing it, you will thank yourself many times over for having made the investment. v

Peter Cole, LCSW is a regular contributor to access and a Char-tered Financial Consultant, director of Insight Financial Group� and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry with University of California Davis School of Medicine. His book, Mastering The Financial Di-mension of Your Practice: The Definitive Guide to Private Prac-tice Development and Financial Planning was the May ’05 main selection for the Behavioral Sciences Book Club. Peter can be reached at (800) 4�6-��99; www.insightfinancialgroup.com.�Securities through Securities America Inc, a registered broker/dealer, member NASD/SIPC, Peter Cole, Registered Representative. �Advisory Services Through Se-curities America Advisors, an SEC Registered Investment Advisory Firm, Peter Cole, Investment Advisor Representative. CA insurance lic. 0D049��.

“Without clear intention to stay con-nected to other clinical social workers, private practice can be an isolating ex-perience. For me, being engaged with

my state and national professional organizations (Ken-tucky SCSW and CSWA) is essential to maintaining a co-herent professional identity.”

~ Jacky Thomas, LCSW Lexington, Kentucky

“I have been an enthusiastic supporter of CSWF because this group of profes-sionals more than any other, shares the commitment to a vision of clinical social work that sets a high standard. Without

exception this organization speaks to, and for, the best of the profession.”

~ Margie Howe, LCSW Raleigh, North Carolina

access DISPLAY ADVERTISING

For information regarding specifications and submission requirements, please call

Gail Levinson, MSW 302-764-0474

1/8 page ...............................$200

1/4 page ...............................$300

1/2 page ...............................$550

Full pages ............................$1000

Deadline for the next issueOctober 15, 2006


In the past when reporter Pete Earley interviewed people for his articles and books about crime, he was aware of standing “on the outside looking in” (p. 1). When his son, Mike, be-came psychotic, however, he found himself, as a concerned parent, on the inside looking out. Combining the two perspectives—that of the detached reporter and that of an af-fected party— Earley recounts both the frustrating search to get care for his son and the fate of prisoners who are mentally ill.

Mike Earley suffered his first psychot-ic breakdown during his last year at college in Brooklyn. As other crises came and went, he was variously diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder, each diagnosis bringing in its wake different drugs and differ-ent therapies. What a difference, Mike’s dad notes, between the pre-cise medical diagnosis and treatment of, say, a broken leg and the impres-sionistic, trial-and-error labeling and treatment of mental illness.

Preliminary attempts to stabilize Mike met with no success. Eventually, psychotic and noncompliant with his medication regimen, he broke into a house while the occupants were away, rummaged through the con-tents, turned on several bathroom faucets, and stripped for a bubble bath. Police officers arrested him with the help of a dog.

At this point Mike and his family be-gan to learn how hard it can be to ac-cess mental health care. “Listen,” one

officer told Pete, “even though your son has broken into a house, unless you tell the medical personnel inside that he’s threatened to kill you, they aren’t going to treat him. We’ll end up taking him to jail, and you don’t want that to happen. You don’t want him in jail in his mental condi-tion” (p. 22). Pete found himself tell-ing lies to get treatment for his son only to discover that, once admitted into the hospital, Mike could not be medicated against his will. Adding to the irony, from Pete’s point of view, was the statement made by the law-yer appointed to represent Mike at a commitment hearing. She told Pete that she would work to get Mike re-leased from the hospital, psychotic or not, if he did not want to be there.

The law’s premium on civil liberties and autonomy came as cold com-fort to Pete Earley, who discovered that the legal system makes few al-lowances for mental illness. Mike’s charges in connection with the break-in threatened to ruin his life, but he was lucky, and a felony was averted. In time he accepted medica-tion, stabilized, and found work; by the book’s end he has reentered the community as a productive, college-educated, law-abiding young adult. Still, his father remains uncomfort-ably aware that his son’s situation is precarious, contingent on his medica-tion. And as Pete makes plain, many mentally ill Americans who run afoul of the legal system fare considerably worse than Mike.

For his portrait of mentally ill prison-ers, Pete Earley journeyed to Miami,

BOOK REVIEW

Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness

Author: Pete EarleyPublisher: 2005 Putnam: New York

Reviewed by Marcia E. Brubeck, JD, LCSWConnecticut SCSW

Florida, “home to a larger percent-age of mentally ill residents than any other major metropolitan area in America” (pp. 4–5). Judge Steven Leifman put him in touch with Dr. Jo-seph Poitier, a psychiatrist at the Mi-ami-Dade County jail. To help read-ers understand the brutally harsh conditions awaiting mentally ill pris-oners on the jail’s ninth floor, Earley reviews the history of mental health care from the early nineteenth cen-tury to the present. He traces the ef-forts of reformer Dorothea Dix, the emergence of psychopharmacology in the 1950s, and the movement to eliminate state mental hospitals in favor of community mental health centers starting in the early 1960s.

With deinstitutionalization, Earley reminds us, hundreds of thousands of troubled people poured onto the streets, where few resources awaited them. The community mental health centers were simply not equipped to treat the severely and chronically mentally ill. And so, as their bizarre behaviors brought them into conflict with mainstream society, these dis-turbed people shifted, not back into treatment facilities, but into prisons and jails. Some, arrested for a minor crime, were held for a few days and released only to be arrested again and placed in jail. Others, charged with a felony, were sent to a hos-pital to be “made competent” and shipped back to prison, where they decompensated during the wait for trial until they needed to be returned to the hospital. Today some prisoners spend years in this endless loop with-out ever getting appropriate medical care.

Avoiding tedious polemic, Earley recreates the catch-22 world of the criminal justice system with vivid portraits of the mentally ill prisoners and the workers who labor on their behalf. He follows several inmates as they make their way through the sys-tem, onto the streets, and back into prison. He speaks with Terry Chavez, a social worker in the court system who helps judges deal with the tide of

access • summer 2006 11

deranged offenders. He accompanies Rachel Diaz and Judy Robinson, two seasoned advocates, as they counsel parents and advocate for reform. He joins a treatment group in Passage-way, a pioneering facility that gives participants in its program a sense of community. He listens to family mem-bers describe the anguished deaths of kin who succumbed to drugs and crime when health care proved inac-cessible. And he ponders the good fortune that has so far spared his son a similar fate.

Crazy belongs to the latest genera-tion in the genre of mental health confessional books: it not only de-scribes the sufferer’s ordeal and that of the family members watching helplessly but also looks at the big picture. In so doing, it calls into ques-tion public policy and the priorities of contemporary American society at a critical moment in history.

Where can a concerned parent ac-cess the treatment needed to restore a child’s reason and thereby keep him, and society, safe? When some-one is chronically ill and unable to function, do we really want to set greater store by the right to liberty than by the right to medical care? Does the risk of locking someone up unnecessarily or against his will inevi-tably trump the risk that an innocent

Legal questions for your practice?

Preparing to testify in your professional capacity?

The Association’s Committee on Clinical Social Work

and the Law can heLP!

Free BrieF TeLePhone ConSuLTATion For MeMBerSWe operate as a consultation and education resource to help social workers to function in legal and quasi-legal settings and to better understand the impact of legal criteria on various aspects of clinical social work practice. Not an attorney.

NOT FOR CLINICAL EMERGENCIES OR ADVICE

• How to interface with the legal system

• Testifying as a lay or expert witness

• Structuring attorney-solicited reports

• Social worker recognition by the courts

• Risk management and practice issues

• Definition of privileged communications

• Confidentiality decisions

Call us at 1-800-270-9739

“I think it is very important to have an organization that protects and promotes the profession of Clinical Social Work and the clients we serve. I have appreciated the CSWF for being our profession’s watchdog in the courts and in the legislatures. CSWF has been admirable for

fighting for licensure in all states and the CSWA will continue working on es-sential national issues like clinical social work education standards and licen-sure reciprocity. I have personally had so much benefit from Lane Veltcamp and the Clinical Social Work and the Law committee for answering many questions about legal liability and responsibility. His help and guidance has been invaluable. I would have had to pay hundreds of dollars for the help he’s given me.”

~ Linda Pevnick, MSW St. Louis, Missouri

person will die or be harmed for life by actions committed while he was out of his mind? What about cases like that of inmate William Weaver, who, psychotic and terrified, decided to dive off the top bunk of his cell, struck his head on a metal toilet, and became paraplegic?

Which point of view should prevail on the many issues raised by Earley’s narrative? That of the sick person and those who love him? That of the surrounding society, with its need for prescriptive laws to balance com-peting interests? Whichever way we turn, we face fundamental questions about our national values. What ba-sic rights should a citizen have? Who should decide?

As the disparity grows in this country between the few who have in excess and the many who struggle to get by, we may well ask which should count for more, the lofty ideals em-bodied in the Bill of Rights, with its eighteenth-century elite sensibility, or the essentials of life—including food, shelter, and medical care—that all citizens need to survive. Crazy is a worthy contribution to the ongoing debate. v

Marcia E. Brubeck, JD, LCSW, offers psy-chotherapy and advocacy to adults, chil-dren, and families in Hartford and West Hartford, Connecticut. You can visit her on the Web at www.MarciaBrubeck.com.


The new mission of the Clinical Social Work Association, not dissimilar to the mission of the Federation from which we emerged, provides the overarching guide for the work of our organization, work such as the development of national licensing standards and the improvement of the clinical content of social work education. Equally im-portant, however, is the work we do with individual cli-nicians; responding to the questions and concerns that arise every day in practice and the work place. It is here that promoting excellence, advancing the profession, im-proving quality, and better serving our clients takes place on a day-by-day, individual-by-individual basis. As you can imagine, it is a very satisfying part of the work we do. So here is a little bit of that in the hopes that it may be helpful to you.

Since the start of our fiscal year in July 2005, the Clinical Social Work and the Law Committee, the national office, and I have responded to over 150 inquiries from both members and nonmembers alike. Many of the inquiries relate to administrative aspects such as: “Am I a member? Is there a society in my state? I’ve forgotten my password to the Member’s Only Section. Or, I’ve misplaced my CEU certificate, how do I get another?”

Most inquiries, however, touch upon the practical or professional or ethical questions that frequently arise in daily clinical life. In the practical area, questions related to malpractice insurance are not uncommon. Questions such as “I work for an agency that has its own policy, do I need one for myself?” or “I’m closing my practice, do I still need to carry insurance?” During the Katrina hur-ricane crisis many of you had questions about how to make financial contributions, where best to send cloth-ing and blankets, what alternatives were available to stu-dents whose education was disrupted, and even “How do I volunteer to help?”

Questions relating to the profession of clinical social work will frequently touch upon clinical materials such as the ETherapy Paper related to electronic counseling or the Ethics Code, both of which are requested for use for re-search and education purposes. Questions related to the

ability to bill Medicare, or other government programs, regularly arise as well as concerns about fees and bill-ings related to individual clients in specific circumstances. We’ve even had tax questions posed (no, we don’t give tax advice) and questions on business licenses; in these cases we can direct the clinician to the local or national agency that can answer their question.

Often the above kinds of questions are particularly inter-esting in their uniqueness but perhaps the most consis-tently intriguing questions arise in the areas of the law, ethics, and where the two meet. The questions we field in the legal arena frequently have to do with the process itself—“I may have to testify in court or give a deposition, what do I need to do to prepare?” Requests for release of records may frequently cause clinicians to pause and ask “Do I have to provide a copy of all the records?” or

“I know this is my client’s attorney but I don’t have a re-lease, what do I do?” More difficult still are questions such as, “I’ve been counseling a couple, now they are di-vorcing and he wants the records but she doesn’t want to release them, what do I do?” or “My client has signed a release and her attorney is asking for the records but I’m concerned that they may contain information she’s not yet ready to receive, what do I do?” And then there are the questions that put the clinician at both professional and personal risk; questions related to the duty to warn if a client is a danger to herself or himself or others.

From the mundane to those that cause deep ethical and professional concern, the questions we receive by direct telephone calls, email, and through the “800” hotline telephone number give us the opportunity return to you a direct service we find to be a satisfying part of our work and we hope of significant assistance to you.

Perhaps the discussion that will stay with me longest from this year was with the clinician who immediately launched into her concern as soon as she knew why I was returning her call. She began so quickly I didn’t have the opportunity to ask what state she was from and if she was a member, a routine part of these discussions (inci-dentally, we answer nonmember inquiries but we also

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Promoting Excellence, Answering Your Questions – It’s All Linked TogetherRichard P. Yanes, CSWA Executive Director

“To promote excellence in clinical social work practice through the advancement of the profession for the benefit of clients and the clinicians who serve them.”

~ Mission of the Clinical Social Work Association

access • summer 2006 1�

ask if they would like to receive membership material). After a detailed, lengthy discussion of her situation and my response she remarked with great gratitude that this was the first time she had ever used her NASW mem-bership for anything. When I informed her that we were that “other” organization she was only momentarily em-barrassed. We did send her membership material.

It is truly satisfying to be able to make a difference at a national level developing standards and advocating for legislation but it is no less satisfying to be able to make a difference on a personal level with those of you who turn to us as a resource. Thank you for the opportunity to do both. v

There’s a reason we rarely ask a president to serve a sec-ond term, two reasons actually—it’s plain hard work and it requires great personal and professional sacrifice. Ab-bie Grant knew this before she accepted a second term but accept she did and we, the organization, the mem-bers, the profession, and the clients we serve, are richer as a result of her leadership.

When Abbie became president in July 2002 the Fed-eration, now the Clinical Social Work Association, was poised to make a series of changes to provide more effec-tive and more efficient service to its members and the profession. Change is rarely easy, even when we’re prepared and accept that it’s necessary. Competing points of view, competing directions, competing interests, all became part of the mix of factors that had to been discussed, argued over, reasoned through, and fi-nally resolved. Throughout the years as we struggled toward solutions and built the consen-sus necessary to move forward, Abbie’s leadership, tact and di-plomacy, strength and grace be-came the center-point around which we were able to coalesce. Her style was quiet and firm but the results were truly dramatic.

While there were difficult issues at times, and even a heartbreak or two along the way, during Abbie’s presi-dency we experienced some great successes and a few

“firsts” for the organization as well. As she stepped into her first term we had just embarked on the HIPAA proj-ect. Named for the expansive federal regulations that would change the way clinical social workers practice their profession, the project required the development of materials and a training program that encompassed

13 states. While the size and scope of the project were unprecedented in the history of the organization, the changes the regulations would bring required that we provide this service if we were to stay true to our Mission, a concept clear to Abbie from the beginning, a concept never far from her thoughts.

During her tenure we saw the development of the Child Custody Evaluation Guidelines and their publication in the Clinical Social Work Journal, the development of the

soon to be published paper, Clin-ical Content in Social Work Edu-cation, and the commencement of the development of national licensing standards, an effort that will lead to uniformity of state licensing laws and reciproc-ity throughout the country.

Her efforts, however, were not focused solely on the national agenda as she was equally en-gaged in supporting and nurtur-ing the societies. As president she saw the completion of mate-rials related to New Professionals take place, presided over mul-tiple membership development and marketing trainings, and personally visited many of the societies to brief them on up-

coming issues, answer questions, or just “show the flag” of the national organization.

Perhaps her greatest achievement will be guiding us to the creation of the Association, a renewed opportunity for service to a changing profession. Her efforts were tireless, her sacrifices were many, and her commitment larger than life. The debt of gratitude we owe to Ab-bie Grant can never be adequately expressed in words or deeds. We were truly fortunate to be the recipients of her leadership. v

Tireless Service, Commitment to Mission…

Abbie Grant Leaves the Presidency

In the tradition of transitioning presidents, Kevin Host gives a gift to Abbie Grant at the May board meeting.

1� summer 2006 • access

STATE SOCIETIES

CONNECTICUT

Jack Doyle, MSWPresident, Connecticut SCSW

Since our last gathering, the CSCSW has been undergoing self-scrutiny. When I became president in July 2005, I felt a lot of optimism concern-ing the coming year. Toward this end, our Education Committee organized a full day fall conference, co-spon-sored with a school of social work, on brief treatment of adolescents. The theoretical base was an empirically tested model used successfully in a major urban school system. While we had hoped that this topic would be of interest to many in our field, the attendance was disappointing. A few months later we had our an-nual meeting featuring a nationally- known speaker. Again, the atten-dance was less than expected. These disappointments were followed by the resignation of our membership recruitment co- chairs.

It seems our Society has become os-sified. We have had several board meetings where the focus has been on reinvigorating the Society. At an Executive Committee meeting our past president, Peter Kane, volun-teered to facilitate a focus group of younger members. The Executive Committee hopes new energy and direction will come from this group, but it is, as yet, unclear where this process will lead.

Our dues renewal date is January. This year we lost 47 members. This, coupled with ongoing inertia of the membership, despite the best mar-keting efforts of the previous presi-dents, gives me grave concern for the future of our Society. The next few months, and the outcome of our fo-cus group, will be telling.

DELAWARE

Gail Levinson, LCSWPresident, Delaware SCSW

CSWSDE has had a good year with membership development (93) and a successful purveyor of continuing education and conference oppor-tunities for our members and the larger clinical social work community. We are required to have 45 hours of continuing education for each two-year cycle. Many members take ad-vantage of our free “clinical sharings” for which we pay a $150 honorarium to our presenters for two hours. We were fortunate to have Frederic Reamer, PhD from the Rhode Island College School of Social Work for our ethics conference. We were bursting at the seams with 78 attendees for the six hour workshop that cost $90 for our members and $125 for non-members. People are clamoring for him to come back and do his work-shop on documentation.

GREATER WASHINGTON

Margot Aronson, LICSWCSWF Representative, Greater Washington SCSW

Four GWSCSW programs earned outstanding evaluations this winter. Minnesota Past-President Tamara Kaiser, MSW, PhD, flew in from the Midwest to give us a day of training in supervision using concepts from her book Supervisory Relationships: Exploring the Human Element. Our longtime member Jon Frederickson, MSW, presented a workshop for us (and a co-sponsor, the Washington School of Psychiatry) demonstrating principles from his book Psychody-namic Psychotherapy: Learning to Listen in Multiple Perspectives. Wil-

liam Meyer, MSW, a past president of NMCOP (National Membership Com-mittee on Psychoanalysis) came from Duke University to present a work-shop called “the ABCs of Defenses” that challenged experienced and new clinicians alike. And from the Smith College School for Social Work, Joan Berzoff, MSW, EdD, came to speak at a dinner meeting on how grief and bereavement work can lead to client transformation and growth.

Other notable society activities in-cluded Continuing Education Com-mittee programs on postpartum depression, attachment, and “blink: the power of thinking without think-ing;” two professional development seminars organized by our Mentor Committee; publication of our an-nual directory and quarterly newslet-ter; monthly updates to our Web site, gwscsw.org; and ongoing dialogue on our listserv.

Our Membership Committee orga-nized a new member tea, hosted a dessert party for graduating Catholic University MSWs, and participated in a social work job fair. This commit-tee’s Ambassador Program is now underway, pairing new members with long-standing society members. Our Outreach Committee has been struggling to get a very special pro bono project going, offering us an opportunity to do clinical work with returning soldiers. This is taking lon-ger than expected due to the com-plexities of the military bureaucracy.

In the legislative arena, we faced challenges in two of our three juris-dictions. Our Legislative Committee members worked closely with Mary-land Society counterparts under the leadership of our lobbyist, mobilizing an impressive grassroots campaign. Unfortunately, at the very last mo-ment an amendment was introduced and passed to eliminate CSWs from the bill we’d been fighting for, but we have unquestionably gained rec-

CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK ASSOCIATION HOTLINE

800-270-9739


continued on page �6

ognition among legislators for our clinical social work coalition. In Vir-ginia, with much-appreciated help from the Federation’s Laura Grosho-ng, we joined VSCSW in a successful strategy to prevent passage of a bill that would have severely watered down social work licensure.

Our glorious user-friendly referral panel Web site now identifies 100 members, each with an individual-ized web page, and we’re beginning to get direct referrals. (Be sure to take a look; the Referral Panel box on our www.gwscsw.org home page will take you right there.)

With more than 500 members now on the roster, and active committees in place, President Diana Seasonwein is focused on much-needed stan-dardization of procedures and devel-opment of leadership potential. And finally, she—and we all—are looking forward to working with the new As-sociation.

KENTUCKY

Jacky Thomas, LCSWPresident, Kentucky SCSW

The Kentucky Society has worked hard over the last six months to in-crease service and visibility. We have

published two newsletters and have hosted a variety of educational events, including a five-hour trauma training, five monthly CEU luncheons, and three general membership din-ner meetings with speakers. We have active e-mail lists of members, stu-dents, and interested (but unaffiliat-ed) professionals, and regularly send out legislative alerts and notices of trainings and job opportunities.

We have worked with the University of Kentucky College of Social Work to increase student involvement, with free training to graduate stu-dents, information tables at College events, and recognition letters and CEU certificates sent to graduating MSW students.

The Board has collaborated on vari-ous issues with our state Mental Health Coalition, NASW, and the state Board of Social Work, and has roused membership to respond to relevant legislative concerns during the 2006 Kentucky General Assembly.

We are happy to report that these efforts have resulted in a significant increase in membership, including a small but growing student member-ship, though we are still only about a third as large as we were at one time. However, there are still many ar-eas of concern, including increasing member involvement and expanding services into a broader area of the state. We remain humble, and recog-nize the need to continue our efforts if we are to thrive.

PENNSYLVANIA

Diane Frankel, LCSWCSWF Representative, Pennsylvania SCSW

Our Society remains in good shape with a strong Board; growing mem-bership; active presence in the local graduate schools of social work; sup-portive outreach to new profession-als; numerous opportunities for our members to learn from each other; as well as excellent educational pro-gramming with outside speakers.

Our organization is dynamic. We have supervision groups, reading groups, peer consultation groups, supervisory pairs, and mentoring re-lationships all going on among our members. The newly created Yellow Pages for Groups offers members who are leading groups a chance to get the word out to fellow clinicians who may have clients who could ben-efit from group work and support. Our listserv continues to be a vital forum for referral information, job postings and Society announcements as well as questions about a range of clinical topics. The kinks have largely been removed from our Web site and members, nonmember clinicians as well as prospective clients are in-creasingly turning to it for informa-tion about us.

We are monitoring legislative issues and actively lobbying for what’s im-portant to our profession and our cli-ents in Harrisburg. We are involved in finalizing the licensing regulations and CE requirements for renewal of the LCSW license. Getting diagno-sis included in the scope of practice for clinical social workers is the most pressing issue we are actively lob-bying for. We are working with lo-cal insurance companies to resolve problems in the areas of authoriza-tion, billing and reimbursement. This year the Board updated the bylaws, reviewed the code of ethics and ad-judication procedures and posted them on the Web site for access by members as needed, insuring that the Society’s structure remains sound and responsive.

Based on requests from members who live in south central Pennsylva-nia, we held our first Coffee & Con-versation in Lancaster in May. We are hoping to develop membership in the Lancaster/York/Harrisburg ar-eas so that clinical social workers in these areas are better supported, with more access to formal and infor-mal programming, consultation and reading groups, and networking. We

“It is good to have an organization whose only purpose is to represent clinical

social workers. We need a national voice to represent us—to provide an entity that is bigger than the indi-vidual and the State, to protect the rights and privileges attained so far, and to maintain high standards of credentialing. CSWA will provide ser-vices and products that states cannot provide.”

~ Nancy Sachner, LCSW Woodbury, Connecticut


are continuing to consider ways that we might better reach out to agency social workers, including the possibil-ity of establishing a type of agency membership.

We have a strong line-up of continu-ing education programs and Coffee and Conversations programs for the ’06–07 year. Our annual dinner and meeting, planned for this fall, has been a wonderful way for close to 100 of our members to get togeth-er, renew friendships, network and have a wonderful dinner, an excel-lent speaker AND get CE hours.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Robin McKenna, LISWPresident, South Carolina SCSW

South Carolina is finally spreading beyond our upstate presence into two of the other larger cities in the

States, continued from p. 15

Earn Your PhD at

THE CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK INSTITUTE

Interested in joining our 8th Class for the 2006–07 Academic Year?

You are invited to attend one of our

INFORMATION SESSIONS

Saturday, June 2412:30 – 2:00 PM

Saturday, July 1512:30 – 2:00 PM

Come learn more about our cutting-edge clinical social work curriculum, meet some of our students,

and arrange to sit in on some of our classes.

Scholarships are available

Please RSVP!The Clinical Social Work Institute, Inc.

5028 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 404 Washington DC 20016

(202) 237-1202

Email: [email protected] Website: www.wdc-cswi.org

232 Bay State RoadBoston, MA [email protected]

www.bu.edu/igsw

The Growing OlderPopulation Needs YOU!

Prepare for the biggest demographic phenomenon ofour time, while advancing your career with IGSW onlinecourses in aging.

Available now from the Institute for Geriatric Social Work at BostonUniversity, IGSW courses are designed for busy social workers and othersocial service and health professionals working with older adults in any set-ting. A leader in providing state-of-the-art, high-quality online training forprofessionals, IGSW offers an extensive course catalog featuring more than30 accredited online courses in aging. Take courses individually, or enroll in the IGSW Online Certificate in Aging Program to develop the corefoundation of knowledge and skills you need to meet the demands of our changing society.

For more information and to register, visit our website at: www.bu.edu/igsw

852499_IGSW_Acc 4/12/06 1:07 PM Page 1

state. Our membership chair has done such a wonderful job nurtur-ing the members her committee re-cruited through social networking/one hour CEU “get togethers” in the homes of social workers in that area. Those members are now organizing more regular and extensive offerings. We have 114 members at the time this was written—which is more than we have ever had at this point in our calendar year.

Our presence in Columbia, SC is espe-cially helpful since the University of South Carolina is located there and has the only school of social work in the state. We have many new gradu-ate members (one is even our new membership chair!) who have lots of ideas on how to recruit more mem-bers and provide services that meet the needs of these newer clinicians.

We have been working hard with our lobbyist to assure positions for our in-terested members on the state Social

Work Board. We have not always had a Board that worked in favor of clini-cal social work. The LPCs and LMFTs are presenting their licensing bill that looks very similar to ours and we are watching its progress closely.

Our 25th Annual Conference in Charleston was a huge success. Mi-chelle Weiner-Davis spoke on The Sex Starved Marriage for an entire day and Jim Wrich, from the Guild, spoke on making more money in private practice for a half day. We had 80 participants enjoying the beautiful weather once they got out at noon on Saturday!

We have a new logo—a palmetto tree, which is our state tree, and a formation of three circles represent-ing our purposes: education, legisla-tion and sense of community. v


ABOUT THE CSWA!

. . . and Advocacy for the Clinician and the Profession

• in the Congress and Administration on mental health matters, privacy and confidentiality issues, access to private mental health information, mental health parity, and more.

• with testimony before Congressional committees and administrative agencies.

• in the courts supporting clinical social workers as experts to testify, end of life legal issues, and more.

• with training and materials on national federal regulations like HIPPA and the National Provider Identification.

• before the National Institute of Mental Health on research initiatives and studies.

• by collaboration with national mental health organizations on shared interests.

• in the schools with national standards for clinical social work education.

• with the licensing boards with national licensing standards.

• with the states on licensing and vendorship legislation and regulations.

. . . for Professional Development

• with articles, studies, and guidelines to enhance your clinical, practice, and business skills.

• with an “800” hotline telephone number to answer questions on ethics, billing, the law, HIPAA, malpractice insurance, requests for records, licensing examinations, home offices, managed care, client failure to pay, and more.

• with a job board for those seeking work and where employers may post their job announcements.

• with a national Code of Ethics.

• with the Clinical Social Work Journal.

Leading with Services and Benefits

• with professional liability insurance at competitive rates, a 50% administrative fee discount, outstanding benefits, and many free enhancements.

• with the national newsletter, access.

• with discounts for books and financial planning.

• with the ED Notebook, an electronic summary of national and state mental health research, initiatives, legislation, regulations, clinical practice and thought, and more.

• with CEU Certification.

• with a Member’s Only Section on the Web site with information on clinical thought, the law, professional standards and development.

“For me, investing in a national organization is purchasing insur-ance that I will be able to practice clinical social work in 10, 20, 30 years—in the way I have planned.

It is the vehicle I need to attempt increased reimburse-ment for my services, improved recognition of my professional ability and protection of the practice acts that were so valiantly fought for. It has the ability to produce cutting edge clinical education and informa-tion from a social work perspective. There is no other organization that can provide me with these specific products that are vital to me in practicing at the high-est level.”

~ Robin McKenna, LISW-CP Greenville, South Carolina

1� summer 2006 • access

Founding Member - $250(This category is open for one year only.)

• Your name permanently inscribed on the web site as a Founding Member.

• Lifetime additional discount of 15% on all items offered at a discount by the Association to its members. (Must maintain a General membership after the first year.)

• Free one year subscription to the Clinical Social Work Journal.

• Specially designed Founding Member certificate.

• Plus all the rights and benefits of General member-ship (see below).

Charter Member - $125(This category is open for one year only.)

• Your name permanently inscribed on the web site as a Charter Member.

• Lifetime additional discount of 5% on all items offered at a discount by the Association to its members. (Must maintain a General membership after the first year.)

• One year subscription to the Clinical Social Work Journal for $25, a discount of 50% off the regular subscription rate.

• Specially designed Charter Member certificate.

• Plus all the rights and benefits of General member-ship (see below).

General Member - $125(This category will not be open until July 1, 2007.) (Must hold a Masters degree from a CSWE accredited school.)

• Member discount below regular nonmember price on items offered by the Association.

• One year subscription to the Clinical Social Work Journal for $25, a discount of 50% off the regular subscription rate.

• Specially designed General Member certificate.

• The right to attend and participate in the annual meeting, vote in Association elections, and stand for election to Association offices.

new Professional - $75(Must be a graduate of a masters of social work program CSWE accredited; eligibility for this category limited to four years from the date of graduation.)


• One year subscription to the Clinical Social Work Journal for $15, a discount of more than 65% off the regular subscription rate.

• Specially designed New Professional Member certificate.


Student Member - $25(Must be currently enrolled in a masters or doctoral degree program, CSWE accredited.)



• Specially designed Student Member certificate.


emeritus Member - $50(Open only to those no longer engaged in the practice of clinical social work and who meet the requirements of General membership.)



• Specially designed Emeritus Member certificate.


Membership Dues

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Please print clearly

Name __________________________________________________________ First Middle Last

Address ________________________________________________________

City ___________________________________________________________

State _______________________Zip Code_____________________________

Work Phone (__________) __________________________________________

Home Phone (__________) _________________________________________

Fax (__________) ________________________________________________

Email __________________________________________________________

(Required to receive ED Notebook, articles and studies. We do not sell, rent, or provide Members’ email addresses to anyone.)

Employment (check all that apply):

Private Practice: Full-time Part-time

Care Facility

Hospital

Agency

Other ___________________________________________________

If joining as a New Professional

School _____________________________________________________

Date Master’s Degree Conferred __________________________________

If joining as a Student

School _____________________________________________________

Date of Enrollment __________________________________

Attestation

I agree to abide by the professional standards and principles expressed in the Code of Ethics of the Clinical Social Work Association.

To the best of my knowledge, the information provided on this form and attached hereto is complete and accurate.

Signature ___________________________________________

Date ______________________________________________

We do not sell, rent, or provide Members’ contact information to anyone except our Member Benefit Partners which are our sponsored credit card, MBNA, and our malpractice insurance provider.

MeMBerShiP CATeGorieS

Founding Member ........................... $250 ................$ __________Requires master’s or doctoral degree from CSWE accredited school and currently engaged in social work practice.

Charter/General .............................. $125 ................$ __________Requires master’s or doctoral degree from CSWE accredited school and currently engaged in social work practice.

new Professional ............................... $75 ...............$ __________Requires graduation from a CSWE accredited master’s of social work program; eligibility limited to four (4) years from date of graduation.

Student ............................................... $25 ...............$ ___________Must be currently enrolled in a CSWE accredited master’s or doctoral degree program.

emeritus ............................................. $50 ................$ __________Requires master’s or doctoral degree from CSWE accredited school and individual is no longer engaged in the practice of clinical social work.

CSW Journal Yes, I wish to subscribe at the reduced rate: (Nonmember subscription price is $50)

Founding Member ................................. $0 ...............$ __________

Charter/General Member .................... $25 ...............$ ___________

New Professional / Student / Emeritus .. $15 ...............$ ___________

FACeT

I wish to make a contribution to the Foundation for the Advancement of Clinical Education & Training .......$ ___________

ToTAL Due ..............................................................$ ___________ (Membership, CSW Journal subscription, contribution)

PAyMenT inForMATion

Check (payable to CSWA) enclosed $ _________

Charge my Credit Card (VISA or MasterCard only) for $ ________

Print Name on Card _________________________________________________

Billing Address ____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Credit Card # __________________________________________ Exp ___ / ____

Signature ________________________________________________________

Return this form to:Clinical Social Work Association

PO Box 3740 • Arlington, VA 22203or fax to: 703-522-9441

Clinical Social Work Federation, Inc.PO Box 3740Arlington, VA 22203

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE

P A I DArlington, VAPermit No. 320

Building on 30 years of service

to Clinical Social Workers…

You can join today!(application on page 19)

implications of the moussaoui inside… -...

Documents