JSU Social Work Program and NASW Alabama to Present October 4 Workshop-- HIV/AIDS Spectrum: Mental Health Training and Education of Social Workers

09/30/2013

The JSU Social Work Program and NASW Alabama will present a workshop, HIV Spectrum Project: Mental Health Training and Education of Social Workers-- Co-Occurring Conditions, on Friday, October 4 from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. on the 11th floor of the Houston Cole Library. 

Jill Sabatine, MSW, LICSW, will facilitate the workshop, which targets social workers, allied mental health professionals, social work and counseling students. The workshop is developed to increase the knowledge and skill level of social workers serving diverse groups of clients and consumers across the range of practice settings.

The National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) is “the nation’s first-ever comprehensive coordinated HIV/AIDS roadmap with clear and measurable targets to be achieved by 2015” (NHAS, 2010).

In the fall of 2011, NASW received funding to support SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services to further the implementation plan by expanding the knowledge and capacity of mental health service providers – particularly social workers – as they work to address the mental health and psychosocial issues confronting people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. The funding created the NASW Chapter HIV/AIDS Partnership Initiative, a collaborative effort administered through the NASW HIV/AIDS Spectrum: Mental Health Training and Education of Social Workers Project.

The National Association of Social Workers HIV/AIDS Spectrum: Mental Health Training and Education of Social Workers Project (NASW HIV/AIDS Spectrum Project) offers education, training, and technical assistance to health and behavioral health care providers on the impact of HIV/AIDS on the mental health and wellness of individuals, families, and communities affected by HIV/AIDS.  The project works in collaboration with federal and state agencies, universities, community-based organizations, NASW chapters and other professional associations. The goal of the NASW HIV/AIDS Spectrum Project is to provide necessary practice skills on mental health, substance use, trauma, end-of-life care, ethics, long-term health impact of HIV/AIDS, and medication adherence to enhance and promote culturally competent practice with individuals, families, and communities affected by HIV/AIDS.

NASW HIV/AIDS SPECTRUM interventions complement and extend activities that will lead to realization of the NHAS goals and strategies, most specifically in the areas of professional preparedness, provider education, linkage to care and workforce development.   A hallmark of the NASW HIV/AIDS Spectrum Project has been training in cultural competency for social workers to incorporate into their own practice setting, as well as with other providers to produce non-stigmatizing environment by reducing or eliminating the impact of personal and institutionalized stigma. The NASW HIV/AIDS Spectrum Project has reached over 18,000 providers in the United States and worldwide through in-person skill-building workshops.  Internet-based programming offered through NASW WebED courses have ensured that an additional 20,000  social workers from 38 countries better understand HIV/AIDS as a global health pandemic.   

Program content is presented via knowledge-focused, skill-based training that addresses mental health and HIV/AIDS within a strengths-based bio-psychosocial–spiritual perspective. Participants typically are university lecturers, program directors of local CBOs and NGOs, mental health practitioners, community advocates, health volunteers, and other community health professionals interested in the psychosocial aspects of care for persons living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. 

To register for the October 4 workshop, contact Alabama@naswal.net or lpugliese@jsu.edu.