Articles by Dr. Lynn K. Jones
Maigret was just a 13 week old puppy when we snapped this picture at my office. (He is a Standard Poodle rescue puppy, in case you were wondering.) Like the good detective he is named after, he still likes to go to the office–and keep me company as I ponder the issues that I enjoy writing about.
Most of these articles were written as feature articles for Social Work Today. What I loved most about writing these articles was interviewing the courageous helping professionals and social workers that are featured in them. They deal with tough issues, but every one is a story of amazing resilience, positivity and strength. I hope you will enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
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Articles by Dr. Lynn K. Jones
The Stigma of Mental Illness–Will it Ever Go Away?
Will the stereotypes of “psycho” and “loco” ever totally go away? Probably not. But we can reduce the impact of stigma and bring people to life-restoring treatment. Everyone wins when people with mental illness are not just tolerated but appreciated for who they are and can be full participants in society.
Person-Centered Thinking in Developmental Disabilities — Dreaming Possible Dreams
People with developmental disabilities dare to dream outside the box of standard social services options with the guidance of astute, creative professionals, family, and community.
Surviving Childhood Cancer — Growing Up Too Fast
Having cancer is at odds with normal childhood development. The illusion of immortality is crushed and young minds must face issues most come to terms with in mature adulthood.
Emotionally Focused Therapy With Couples — The Social Work Connection
Social workers are finding emotionally focused therapy to be a good fit with a strengths-based perspective. Grown out of attachment theory, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) recognizes that humans innately need emotional bonding with others; in fact, it is one of our deepest instincts. Validated by a lot of research, EFT has proven to be an effective way of counseling couples and families facing a variety of issues.
A Spoonful of Sugar and Graduate School Optimism
Being successful in a graduate school program requires perseverance, dedication and commitment. But one thing you may not realize is that going to grad school is also an act of optimism. By going to grad school, you are investing lots of money, time and effort because you expect good things to result, even in the face of a tanking economy, high unemployment and social service budgets being cut.
Exercise Your EQ With Email
Ever been guilty of pushing that “send” button too fast because someone pushed your buttons? If you are like the rest of us, you have. Does this sound familiar? Email is a fact of life. It is not going away. Given that reality, spending a little time learning how to manage email with emotional intelligence has the potential to pay big dividends.
Change your Mental Models and Hire Great Employees
This article assesses some of the stigma and realities of the far reaching challenges in getting the Mentally Ill employment. Read the different perspectives from people working in the field and what experts say about this issue. Appreciative Inquiry may be the key.
Better Wages for Social Worker’s, Why Not?
“Social Worker Shortage puts Children at Risk.” Headlines like this have been ringing alarm bells in communities across the country. The implications are far-reaching and cross all sectors of society. The demand for social workers is likely to be even greater over the next few years as boomers retire.
Appreciation and Happiness Begin With “Thank You”
A simple “Thank You” makes you happier, healthier and makes your organization run better, too. Read on to see how simple acts of gratitude can affect your happiness and that of those around you.
Everyone Is a Leader – 24/7
Phyllis Greenberger, MSW, is everything that the social work profession could ask as our representative on the 100 Most Powerful Women list. As social workers, we believe that effective leaders cultivate relationships, live by their values, share information widely and welcome participation in decision-making. Most important, we believe that a leader has responsibility towards the greater good.
Depression and Anxiety…Too Costly For Employers to Ignore
“Super competent,” “creative” and “energetic” is how Jackson, a middle manager at one of the most successful high-tech firms, is described. Everyone counts on him: his superiors, for his responsiveness and resourcefulness; his direct reports, for his dependability and support; and his peers, for his teamwork and collegiality. Jackson’s boss credits his superior performance as the reason Jackson’s unit consistently exceeds productivity standards.
Depression in Late Life – Proven to Have a High Risk For Suicide and a High Focus For Hope
Depression in Late Life has been proven to have a high risk for suicide. Is there hope for these feelings? This article uncovers some of the common feelings and emotions which accompany many in the aging process and how many are dealing with them in a balanced and healthy way.
Do Social Work Managers Have a Future? An Interview With Felice D. Perlmutter
Felice D. Perlmutter, MSW, Ph.D. is a household name in the field of social work management. Many social work students in administration read her early book in the field, Changing Hats: From Social work Practice to Administration, aimed at helping the practitioner decide whether to shift from case work or group work to administration. In addition to authoring 10 books and 80 articles on social policy, human services, and nonprofit management, Perlmutter is Professor Emeritus at Temple University.
Final Ovations – Social Workers Are Celebrants For the Bereaved
The moment Julia had been dreading arrived. Even though she always knew her husband John’s death was an eventuality, it was still unexpected. Somehow she had assumed that because he was only 34, still active and full of life, that his chronic illness would not claim him so soon.
Harnessing Ambivalence to Unleash Motivation – Motivational Interviewing With Substance Abusers
How can creative listening and Motivational Interviewing change the Ambivalent to Ambitious? Read on to see how many people’s lives have changed simply by the psychological resource of Motivational Interviewing to unleash the potential inside those who have lost the ability to access it themselves without support.
Making Meaning Through Adversity…Surviving Childhood Cancer
What does it mean to be who I am? What does it mean to have survived cancer? Who means something to me in my life? Who do I want to be? These are questions that children who have survived cancer find themselves asking. While their peers are thinking about shopping and swapping video games, childhood cancer survivors are preoccupied with the meaning of life. In some respects, they are premature adults who present a new set of challenges to social workers.
Psychiatric Advanced Directives – Roadmaps to Recovery From Severe Mental Illness
Psychiatric Advanced Directives – Roadmaps to Recovery From Severe Mental Illness is an in depth look at the Psychiatric Advanced Directive, or PAD. Psychiatric Advanced Directives, like Health Advanced Directives, provide persons with mental health conditions the opportunity to determine in advance the treatments they would choose, should they become incapacitated.
Poisoned Pets – Losing Man’s Best Friend
Exploring the journey of pet loss, why it hurts and validating the reasons it does.
The Aphrodite Project – – A Discovery of Life in Cancer Survivors
The Aphrodite Project: A Discovery of Life The Aphrodite Project captures the journey in which Cancer survivors translate the experience of Cancer into art. This article highlights the power of art to transform pain and suffering into a strengthening experience which changes both the sufferer and those in their environment, gaining empowerment from trauma.
Private Practice for Social Workers- Build a Business You Love
When Cheryl Dolinger Brown, CSW, headed off to social work school, she took with her a mental model formed while growing up with her social work administrator father. She imagined that she would follow in his footsteps; it never occurred to her that she had started on a path to become a therapist. What set her in this direction?
The Stigma of Mental Illness – Will it Ever Go Away?
We all know that there is a stigma involved with saying the words “Mental Illness,” and it’s never easy to admit to our environments that this is the case. This article covers the common stigma and how people are dealing with this and using skills to be able to move forward with confidence in this world, with a Mental Illness and without shame.
What Leaders Should Do When Times Are Tough
These times demand creative, brave leaders. We discuss how to maximize leadership potential in a diverse team. A diverse collection of independently-deciding individuals is likely to make certain types of decisions and predictions better than individuals or even experts.
When Managed Care Visits Run Out – What Can You Do?
The need for Social Workers is growing, yet the wages are not following the trend. Why does the skill set and value of Social Workers seem to stay underrated when it comes to compensation? Read on about what experts are saying on the subject and what the future of Social Workers’ incomes shows in the forecast.
Dr. Lynn K. Jones is a Certified Personal and Executive Coach based in Santa Barbara, California and a sought after coach and consultant for organizations and individuals across the US. Her doctoral work completed at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University concerned organizational culture; she coaches, consults and trains organizations on what they need to do to create organizational cultures that are aligned with their vision and values using a process of Appreciative Inquiry. She coaches individual on achieving their reflected best selves. An MSW@USC faculty member, Dr. Lynn K. Jones, MSW, DSW, CSWM, teaches Human Behavior and Social Environment.