Resume

• 54385

  Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW)

  The Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners (TSBSWE)

  Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW)

  The Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors

  Social Workers

  and  Marriage and Family Therapists

  MSW007442

• 2004

  PhD

  MSW

  Social Work and Sociology

  University of Michigan

• 1997

  BA

  Sociology and Ethnic Studies

  The University of Texas at Austin

  Advanced Social Work Field Practicum

  Assessment & Psychopathology

  Direct Practice with African American Adults

  Children and Families

  Qualitative Research Methods

  Social Work Practice with Groups

  Advanced Practice with Individuals

• University Teaching

  Public Speaking

  Black American Mental Health

  Data Analysis

  Social Services

  Program Evaluation

  Mental Health

  Illness and Wellness

  Community Outreach

  Direct Practice

  College Teaching

  Research Design

  Stigma

  Mental Health

  Field Liaison

  Theory

  Research

  Qualitative Research

  Higher Education

  Academic Advising

  Teaching

  Anxiety Disorders among African Americans

  Blacks of Caribbean Descent

  and Non-Hispanic Whites in the United States

  James S. Jackson

  PhD

  Robert Joseph Taylor

  PhD

  Raymond E. Baser

  MS

  Joseph A. Himle

  PhD

  Journal of Anxiety Disorders

  The central aim of this study is to estimate prevalence

  ages of onset

  severity

  and associated disability of anxiety disorders among African Americans

  Caribbean Blacks

  and non-Hispanic whites in the U.S. Results indicated that whites were at elevated risk for generalized anxiety disorder

  panic disorder

  and social anxiety compared to Caribbean Blacks and African Americans. Black respondents were more likely to meet criteria for PTSD. When African American and Caribbean Black respondents met criteria for an anxiety disorder

  they experienced higher levels of overall mental illness severity and functional impairment compared to whites. White respondents were at greater risk to develop generalized anxiety

  social anxiety

  and panic disorders late in life. Risk of developing PTSD endured throughout the life course for blacks whereas whites rarely developed PTSD after young adulthood. These results can be used to inform targeted interventions to prevent or remediate anxiety disorders among these diverse groups.

  Anxiety Disorders among African Americans

  Blacks of Caribbean Descent

  and Non-Hispanic Whites in the United States

  As a profession

  social work emphasizes the importance of cultural competence in education

  practice

  and research. The ability to view the ways in which people understand

  interpret

  and communicate their distress through a cultural lens is paramount to being a culturally competent scholar and clinician. In this Viewpoint

  I explore and compare the idioms of distress used by a select sample of African Americans and the language used in the informational publications by three top mental health organizations on the topic of African American mental health. Disconnects between the two will be discussed as well as the implications for social work professionals which may use these publications to educate themselves and/or clients.

  Revisiting African American Idioms of Distress: Are We Speaking the Same Mental Health Language?

  The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between “The Black Church”

  the mental health needs of its members

  and addressing those needs from the perspective of counsellors within the church. Four in-depth interviews were conducted with members of the mental health counselling team at one large

  African American-serving church in the Midwest to explore their thoughts about their church pastor’s desire to expand their current ministry to a fully operating counselling centre. The findings suggest that “the Black Church” not only has a role and responsibility in addressing the mental health needs of African Americans within and outside of the church but can also use religiosity as a facilitator rather than a barrier to mental health service use among African Americans.

  Mental health counseling in the Black American church: Reflections and recommendations from counselors serving in a counseling ministry

  Shari Miller

  PhD

  This special issue of Best Practices in Mental Health seeks to begin to fill this gap in knowledge through six contributions from authors whose research focuses primarily on the nuanced mental and behavioral health experiences of underserved populations in the U.S. Aside from highlighting a number of culturally divergent behavioral health experiences

  this particular issue of Best Practices in Mental Health also highlights best practices that address various social determinants of mental and behavioral health

  factors that often contribute to the racial and ethnic disparities in behavioral health.

  Disparity Inducing Social Determinants of Behavioral Health: Future Directions through Best Practices in Mental Health

  Little is known about the illness

  help-seeking

  and service-use experiences of Black men with depression. This study presents and explores the narratives of four Black men with depression to both highlight the voice of Black men in mental health research and better understand how Black men understand depression

  experience symptoms

  and engage in help-seeking. The influence of cultural beliefs on these experiences is also discussed. A thematic analysis was performed to detect threads across experiences. Catalysts for depression episodes included loss and financial difficulties. Depression began in childhood

  went unrecognized

  and was managed early on through alcohol and drugs. Respondents also saw their experiences as “different” from other men. Findings from this study can inform interventions designed to improve the mental health of Black men.

  “Just fighting my way through…”: Four narratives on what it means to be Black

  male

  and depressed

  African Americans have historically turned to the Black Church in times of trouble and/or need

  including when experiencing mental health problems. The purpose of this study was to better understand what the helping relationship between the Black Church and African Americans around mental health. Surveys were administered online to members of a Midwestern church and included questions about respondents’ mental health and service use histories and thoughts about church-based mental health services. A thematic analysis was performed on qualitative responses from 393 participants explaining why they supported a church-based counseling center. Findings suggest that the Black Church is seen as being well-positioned to address the unmet mental health needs of Black Americans

  reduce mental health stigma in Black and/or Christian communities

  and deliver culturally-appropriate

  community-based mental health services to these groups.

  Let the church say…: One congregation’s views on how churches can improve mental health beliefs

  practices and behaviors among Black Americans

  Jessica Scott

  Irang Kim

  Orion Mowbray

  PhD

  Research on racial/ethnic differences in quitting mental health services has yet to examine the multiple forms of services offered and reasons why racial/ethnic groups quit. Data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES) examined whether race/ethnicity was related to quitting nine types of mental health services within a multivariate framework

  and whether any racial/ethnic differences emerged among 16 assessed reasons for quitting mental health services (N = 437). Odds of quitting mental health services provided by social workers

  non-medical health professionals

  counselors

  psychiatrists

  and psychologists varied significantly by race/ethnicity. The most common reasons for quitting services included individuals wanting to handle the problem on their own

  getting better

  or not needing help anymore. The increased likelihood of quitting services represents an underexplored area for mental health service disparities and calls for improved efforts to retain racial and ethnic minorities in the mental health system.

  Quitting mental health treatment services among racial and ethnic groups of Americans with depression

  Research consistently shows that Black Americans’ symptoms of depression are more severe and persistent than their white counterparts yet they seek out and/or use services at a far lower rate. While trying to understand this disparity

  it is important that researchers explore the socio-cultural and historical context around Black Americans’ experiences with depression and help-seeking. This study involved semi-structured in-depth interviews with 17 Black American men and women

  aged 21-57

  who experienced depression. A thematic analysis revealed that Black Americans’ experiences are often rooted in a socio-cultural and historical context where Black people are seen as a strong people

  able to deal with anything

  and do not get depressed. These findings suggest that Black Americans may go through a process of reconciling being depressed with certain aspects of their cultural identity as they strive to better understand themselves

  their illness

  and options to help alleviate their symptoms. Researchers and practitioners alike should pay more attention to this complex process as they attempt to understand the illness experiences and help-seeking behaviors of Black Americans.

  “We pride ourselves on being strong…and able to bear a lot”: The importance of examining the socio-cultural context of Black Americans’ experiences with depression

  help-seeking

  and service use

  Linda A. Long

  PhD

  Culturally shaped notions of health and illness have a strong impact on how individuals engage in help seeking and how they view service use when they are ill. The current study was designed to look more closely at the impact of culture

  specifically cultural beliefs

  on help seeking and service use for depression among black Americans. Through qualitative interviews with seventeen black men and women

  the authors sought to identify culturally shaped beliefs that may be held by black communities and to understand their impact on participants’ thoughts about depression and treatment as well as their attitudes about help seeking. Key themes around three culture and culturally shaped beliefs were extracted: (a) black people don’t get depressed

  (b) I don’t trust the doctors and/or the treatment

  (c) you don’t need a doctor—it’ll go way— just pray. The impact of these culturally shaped beliefs was also discussed; their greatest impact was on how respondents thought about help for their depression and who they spoke with about their distress.

  Culture as a Social Determinant of Mental and Behavioral Health: A Look at Culturally-Shaped Beliefs and the Impact on Help-Seeking Behaviors and Service Use Patterns of Black Americans with Depression

  Rob Whitley

  PhD

  Social Science and Medicine

  Evidence suggests that people with a severe mental illness still suffer high levels of stigma and discrimination. However little is known about how people with a severe mental illness manage such stigma. As such

  the overall aim of this study is to document and analyze behavioral and psychological strategies of stigma management and control in a sample of people in recovery from a severe mental illness. To meet this aim

  we conducted a five-year (2008-2012) qualitative longitudinal study in Washington D.C. Participants were recruited from small-scale congregate housing units ('recovery communities') for people in recovery

  provided by a public mental health agency. A key finding of this study is that stigma and discrimination were not perceived as commonly experienced problems by participants. Instead

  stigma and discrimination were perceived as omnipresent potential problems to which participants remained eternally vigilant

  taking various preventive measures. Most notable among these measures was a concerted and self-conscious effort to behave and look 'normal'; through dress

  appearance

  conduct and demeanor. In this endeavor

  participants possessed and deployed a considered degree of agency to prevent

  avoid or preempt stigma and discrimination. These efforts appeared to have a strong semiotic dimension

  as participants reported their developing 'normality' (and increased agentic power) was tangible proof of their ongoing recovery. Participants also routinely discussed severe mental illness in normative terms

  noting its similarity to physical illnesses such as diabetes

  or to generic mental health problems experienced by all. These behavioral and psychological strategies of normalization appeared to be consolidated within the recovery communities

  which provided physical shelter and highly-valued peer support. This fostered participants' ability to face and embrace the outside world with confidence

  pride and dignity.

  Stigma

  Agency and Recovery amongst People with Severe Mental Illness

  Rethinking Culturally Competent Social Work Practice in Health Care Settings

  Disclosure is often used as a teaching tool in a variety of learning and teaching contexts

  settings

  and disciplines. This paper shares one instructor's view on disclosure in teaching clinical social work practice courses. It discusses how disclosure is used in the classroom and explains why the instructor sees it as a valuable education tool.

  Disclosure in teaching: Using personal mental health experiences to facilitate teaching and learning in clinical social work practice

  While stigma is a large barrier for all racial/ethnic groups

  research suggests that stigma has a particularly strong impact on the help-seeking behaviors and service use patterns of Black Americans. In this qualitative study

  in-depth

  semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 Black American men and women

  ages 21 to 57

  who have experienced depression. Several thematic categories emerged: (a) race/culture-specific aspects of dealing with depression; (b) the impact of the diagnosis on depression sufferers; and (c) pushing back against the stigma. These findings highlight the impact of sociocultural factors like stigma on illness experiences

  help-seeking behaviors

  and service use patterns among Black Americans. They also offer targets for intervention to increase service rates and improve care for Black Americans with depression.

  The Stigma of Depression: Black American Experiences

  Jaclynn M Hawkins

  Diabetes is a highly prevalent and damaging disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC

  2017)

  30.3 million Americans (9.4% of the US population) live with a diabetes diagnosis

  with approximately 7 million undiagnosed cases. Diabetes increases the risk for a variety of potentially life-threatening health conditions such as hypertension

  heart attack

  stroke

  eye problems

  kidney disease

  and lower extremity conditions (American Diabetes Association

  2006). Diabetes was also the seventh leading cause of death listed on US death certificates in 2007 and is likely to be underreported as a cause of death (CDC

  2017).

  A Brief Review of the Influence of Gender on the Onset and Progression of Diabetes in Men and Implications for Interventions and Practice

  Rosalyn Denise

  Campbell

  PhD

  LMSW

  University of Georgia

  Dartmouth College

  School of Social Work

  Assistant Professor

  University of Georgia

  Dartmouth College

  Recipient

  Mentor Recognition Program

  Training and mentoring the next generation of scholars is very important to me as a social worker in the academy. I will be recognized for my efforts at the 2019 annual meeting of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)

  receiving special recognition from the Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education (CORSW) for my support and guidance of social work students.

  Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education (CORSW)

  The Council of Social Work Education

  Faculty Recognition for contributing greatly to student career development and success

  Career Center

  University of Georgia

  Faculty Recognition for contributing greatly to student career development and success

  Career Center

  University of Georgia

  Dean’s Recognition for contribution to teaching and learning

  School of Social Work

  University of Georgia

  Faculty Recognition for contributing greatly to student career development and success

  Career Center

  University of Georgia

  Dean’s Recognition for contribution to teaching and learning

  School of Social Work

  University of Georgia