NASW Celebrates Black History Month
from The National Association of Social Workers
Every social worker is uniquely qualified to help people right in their own environment, by looking at all the different aspects of their life and culture. This month, as the nation celebrates black history, the National Association of Social Workers asked some of their outstanding African-American social workers to share reasons why they joined the profession and what they believe are the greatest challenges in the black community. More

Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln.....
from NASW IL
Unless you live in a cave, you probably know that this past Thursday was Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday ( I still remember when we got Lincoln's Birthday off from school, as well as Washington's Birthday - this was pre-President's Day.) If you're a Lincoln buff, you're in heaven, and even if you're not, there are some fabulous books out there about Lincoln's life and the challenging time period during which he was President. More

Love and Ageism — A Social Work Perspective
from Social Work Today
Why do thoughts of romance and intimacy in older adults make some people squirm? Find out more about this lingering prejudice from a social worker's research on late-life relationships. More

Homeless Student Numbers on the Rise
from The Chicago Tribune
Across the Chicago suburbs, a 67 percent increase in homeless students during the two years that ended in June reflects a faltering economy. Some districts are reporting their first homeless students. In Chicago, the schools expect to top last year's record number of 10,642 homeless students. At the same time, the state ramped up pressure on schools to more aggressively identify students eligible for homeless services. That includes not just youngsters living in shelters, but those doubled up with other families out of financial need. More

Bullies' Brains Empathize, But With A Twist
from Science News
Seeing a hand slammed in a car door makes most people cringe. But others seem to lack such empathy, which might help explain why some are capable of repeatedly inflicting pain on others. Now a study suggests that adolescents with aggressive conduct disorder — characterized by physical aggression, bullying and disregard for rules — may have robust rather than blunted reactions to others’ pain. More

As Job Losses Mount, Free Clinics Become More Important
from MSNBC
As more Americans lose their jobs, they're also losing their health insurance, according to a report by Families USA. The advocacy group's study concludes that 54 percent of the country's lower-income unemployed workers do not qualify for Medicaid yet cannot afford private insurance coverage. High quality health care is available for these workers and their families, however, through the nearly 1,200 free clinics across the country. More

Bipolar Disorder Increases Risk of Disease
from United Press International
Bipolar disorder, like smoking, increases the risk of early death from medical illnesses, a U.S. review found. The review of 17 studies, published in Psychiatric Services, involving more than 331,000 patients suggested that people with bipolar disorder have a higher mortality from natural causes compared with people in the general population of similar age and gender but without mental illness. More

Some Women Driven to 'Baby Addiction'
from MSNBC
Some parents cite religious or cultural reasons for having many children. Some say they just love kids and feel they can provide a big family with a stable, loving home. Some want to help a child in need so they add to their biological families through adoption. But sometimes the desire to keep having children can be rooted in complex psychological issues dating as far back as one’s childhood. More

Reducing the Risk of Domestic Homicide
from Social Work Today
Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics tell us that in the United States, more than 1,000 women and more than 300 men are killed annually due to intimate partner violence. At one time, these numbers were roughly even. This was before women’s shelters and other services for female victims were introduced to provide an alternative avenue of escape. This fact—that domestic violence services are saving the lives of more men than women—is little noted. In any case, today, men clearly are more likely to kill their partners than women are to kill theirs. More

Upcoming Events Beyond a Shadow of a Diet: The Treatment of Compulsive Eating (2/27/09) Are You Sure About Positive Psychology? (3/6/09)