News Archive
Opinion
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Nonprofit and volunteer veterans groups, along with the Department of Defense, rightly focus on the mental health needs of the warriors who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their children deserve attention as well. After more than a decade of living with the separations and uncertainties endemic to military life, many children from military families are paying the emotional and psychological costs.
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Edgar Rico was 24 when his life changed forever.
It wasn’t graduating from college or starting a new career, but it was a car accident that broke his neck and left him paralyzed from the neck down. An avid athlete who played baseball and soccer, Rico was told by doctors that not only would he never again be able to play the sports he loved, but that he would never be able to do anything else but lie in a bed. Unwilling to accept this prognosis, Rico refused to feel sorry for himself and instead fought to give himself opportunities to live a normal life.
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Omar Lopez, clinical assistant professor in field education at the USC School of Social Work, has been recognized by San Diego Metro magazine with one of its 2013 40 Under 40 Awards, which annually honors the best and brightest minds in the area.
Lopez was chosen from a record 115 nominations and said the distinction of the award added to its personal significance.
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A social worker listens to a client talk about what’s on her mind. The client, an elderly woman who lives on her own and has several chronic illnesses, is very depressed and has trouble managing her daily life. The social worker talks the client through these problems, helping her find ways to manage her various doctor appointments and medications, as well as how to improve her mood so she can better tackle day-to-day tasks.
Sounds like any normal counseling session, but it’s not.
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Annalisa Enrile, a clinical associate professor with the USC School of Social Work, has been selected as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World (Global100) by the Filipina Women’s Network for her work to improve the well-being of women in the Philippines and beyond.
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Graduate student Lawrence Doss didn’t aspire to be a Trojan, but thanks to advice from a professor, he is thriving at USC.
Doss is pursuing a Master of Social Work while working as a graduate assistant for USC’s Recreational Sports Intramural Program, a perfect combination for the former football player who said he knew he wanted to be a social worker because “I could merge some of the convictions I have about service to people into a profession.”
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Mental health has earned increased attention in recent years, but services for children, despite being one of society’s most vulnerable groups, have often gone overlooked.
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When Clinical Associate Professor Beverly Younger of the USC School of Social Work assigned Split at the Root: A Memoir of Love and Lost Identity to her Human Behavior and the Social Environment class, she knew it was the perfect choice to convey how the influence of class, race and ethnicity can impact one’s growth and development. What she didn’t know was she would have the opportunity to discuss it with the author herself—former actress and model Catana Tully—an introduction she owes to her student and Facebook.
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The recognition and praise associated with a Medal of Honor for heroics during one of the deadliest battles in Afghanistan does not come easy to Staff Sgt. Ty Michael Carter. But that is starting to change.
“I’ve learned to accept it because I now have a new mission,” he said.
Speaking to more than 100 people Tuesday at the University of Southern California, Carter said he wants to use his newfound attention to destigmatize the invisible wounds of war—post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Students in the USC School of Social Work’s social welfare course (SOWK 535) learn by doing, engaging in advocacy and persuasion for positive social change. From writing editorials and creating public service announcements to rallying for reform and lobbying government officials, they are making their voices heard on policy while helping others. And, thanks to the course’s availability through the school’s online Master of Social Work degree program, those efforts reach far beyond Los Angeles.