Newsletter

The CSWA offers a bi-annual newsletter, access,  to its members which is found in the Members Only section of this website.  The content for the winter 2011 edition of access includes a variety of interesting articles ranging from topics on clinical focus, to practice management, to legislation and advocacy. 

In the current edition, Diane Ranes, PhD, writes about Evidence Based Tools for Depression that are easy and reliable for use in everyday practice. Relying on the work of Donald Nease, MD, Ranes takes us through a carefully orchestrated history of the development of two tools that offer a simple, easy to use, inexpensive way to help reliably determine when treatment goals have been met, and to sensitively track remission and relapse.

The two instruments taken together should be considered by clinical social workers for their practice use.  No company authorizations are needed and there are no ongoing costs to providers in obtaining the instruments.  Moreover the PHQ has been shown to be equally effective in adolescents as young as 13 as well as in adults, and it does not lose sensitivity in multi-cultural situations (Richardson,et al.2010).

The current edition also offers us the opportunity to think about how the future of clinical social work will be changing with the ongoing development of telehealth.  Laura Groshong, LICSW, in her article entitled, To Skype or Not to Skype:  That is the Question, encourages us to consider a number of important questions before making the decision to engage in telehealth.

• What kinds of conditions are likely to be treatable?
• What laws and rules apply to telehealth?
• How does telehealth increase or decrease the legal exposure of an LCSW?
• How does malpractice coverage apply to telehealth?
• What forms of treatment lend themselves to telehealth?

These articles are just a few of the many important writings that are available to you as a member of the CSWA.  Be sure to click on the JOIN NOW button to be able read all of the articles included in the winter edition of access, as well as the past editions which are available online.