Recently, Ray Barrett sat down to interview Laura Groshong about the field of social work and the direction in which the field is headed. Laura is a licensed clinical social worker and has been in clinical practice for the past 43 years. She was a registered lobbyist in Washington for five mental health organizations for 25 years. She has been the director of policy and practice for the Clinical Social Work Association nationally since 2006. Laura’s diverse range of experiences allows her to bring a wealth of knowledge to the field. Her passion for social work developed while she was working in the foster care system. She fell in love with the field but decided to pursue the mental health route.
Laura explained that the social work field has a broad range, but the branch of social work that provides mental health treatment is “clinical social work.” According to Laura, there is overlap between social workers and mental health counselors, but social workers often address systemic issues beyond the individual.
Recently, the Interstate Compact for Portability was passed for the field of clinical social work. The passing of this compact “provides a floor” for any state that agrees to the compact to allow clinicians from other states to practice across state lines. The passage of this compact will allow more people in need to access mental health care through telehealth services. Laura encouraged people to get involved with the Clinical Social Work Association to further efforts to develop the compact and eventually pass it along to legislators.
Laura will be facilitating a live, continuing education webinar with Raymond Barrett on July 15 titled, “To Be Or Not To Be: Clinicians Returning to Office.” This course will help you make the complicated decision of when and how to begin seeing clients in your office following and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This course will cover the legal, ethical, and practical aspects of returning to the office. Register for the course today.
To learn more about getting involved in the Clinical Social Work Association, click this link.
Listen in on the interview with Ray Barrett today!
By: Jessica Sweigert
The course was so informative and I was glued to my screen for the entire duration. I received so much knowledge concerning ethics in telehealth and I am greatly encouraged to read about all the standards and policies that pertain to my practice. Thank you!.