Clinical Social Work Policy & News

The 2020 NASW Virtual Conference featured a breakout session “Best Practices at the Intersection of Pain Management, Opioid Use and Mental Health,” which highlighted efforts to reduce stigma and improve access to quality care for individuals living with pain. The presentation emphasized the importance of understanding the unique needs of people with chronic pain, mental health disorders, or opioid or substance use disorders.

This is an opportunity to bring awareness to those suffering from mental illness, and the importance of physical health on mental health.

Suicide rates are rising in nearly every state in America. Many of these deaths are preventable if everyone from family to friends to health-care providers asks the right questions, uses the right language, and helps them get the right care.

July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.  During National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month HHS Office of Minority Health has many resources to help address the mental health needs of minority communities. Racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. are less likely to have access to mental health services, less likely to use community mental health services, more likely to use emergency departments, and more likely to receive lower quality care. Poor mental health care access and quality contribute to poor mental health outcomes, including suicide, among racial and ethnic minority populations.

Clinical social workers are the largest group of mental health services providers in the United States and are recognized by federal law as one of five core mental health professions. NASW urges Representatives and Senators to cosponsor and support the Improving Access to Mental Health Act to enhance Medicare beneficiaries’ access to mental health services.

During National Family Caregivers Month in November, NASW joins the nation's leading researchers on aging, work and family issues to send a first-of-its-kind letter to Congress urging lawmakers to address the rapidly growing demand for care.