VCU School of Social Work

Dr. Kia J. Bentley recently announced that the 2012-2013 Hans S. Falck Scholarship has been awarded to doctoral candidate Nathan H. Perkins.

Nathan's application was among four outstanding projects submitted for review by Ph.D. alumna Dr. Lori Thomas (UNC Charlotte), and Assistant Professor Dr. Miriam M. George. Nathan plans to defend his proposal during the summer 2012 semester and begin data collection in the fall. He will use the $1,000 award to help defray costs of his research project.

In her support letter, Nathan's dissertation chair, Dr. Mary Katherine O'Connor, commented, "I have seen Nathan grow to become a scholar with a consistent focus on making a difference. He is making great progress on a very complex research project that is certain to do just that. Importantly, Nathan's work fits very well within the tradition that Dr. Falck established for both his students and his colleagues."

Continue reading "Perkins is 2012-2013 Falck Scholarship Recipient" »

We are pleased to announce that Jackie Maroney has joined the school as the new M.S.W. Program Assistant. In her new role, Jackie will be supporting M.S.W. faculty in a variety of capacities. She will make travel arrangements, maintain program files, and assist the M.S.W. Program Director.

Originally from upstate New York, Jackie studied Sociology at the State University of New York College at Cortland. She has extensive administrative support experience at VCU, as well as in health care and accounting settings.

Please join us in welcoming Jackie!

NASW News recently announced that the HIV/AIDS Spectrum: Mental Health Training and Education of Social Workers Project has been awarded a $334,000 contract modification through the Center for Mental Health Services of the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration which will support efforts to accelerate a federal response to HIV/AIDS as outlined in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. 1997 Ph.D. alumna Lisa E. Cox serves on the advisory committee for this national project.

Dr. Cox, whose dissertation The Relative Influence of Social Support and the Medication Compliance of People with HIV Infection was chaired by Dr. Beverly Koerin, is an associate professor of social work at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and, since 2007, has served as the Research Chair for Stockton College's Center on Successful Aging (SCOSA). Additionally, Lisa is an Associate Fellow with University of Pennsylvania's Institute on Aging, collaborates with the Tourette Syndrome Clinic at Rutgers University, and is currently working on several publications in the area of HIV/AIDS.

We are delighted to announce that Kim Flournoy DiJoseph has joined the school as the Director of Student Success. In her new role, Kim will serve as a resource to students in all programs at the School of Social Work. Kim will coordinate our Advising Center, which will open later this year. She will further develop student engagement and support activities, emphasize scholarship opportunities, coordinate student awards, and advise the school's various student organizations.

Kim earned her B.S.W. and M.S.W. degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has been a field instructor and adjunct instructor in addition to having provided course development for the School of Social Work and the Department of Sociology's Certificate in Gender Violence Intervention Program. She provides consultation and training in areas such as domestic violence, play therapy, non-profit program development, and the effects of trauma on children, families, and clinicians. Kim serves on the board of the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Work and is an active member of the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance.

Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Kim!

Doctoral candidate David Axlyn McLeod was excited to learn this week that he has been selected to participate in the 2012 Summer Research Institute at the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect to be held on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, June 11-15, 2012. Chosen from among a highly competitive national pool of applicants and selected as the recipient of the only all-expenses-paid graduate research fellowship, David will have the opportunity to further his dissertation data analysis with the data consortium and biostatisticians who were original compilers of the data. Congratulations on this important achievement, David!

A recent study suggests more than 300,000 troops suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain injury — no surprise to VCU School of Social Work Associate Professor, Dr. Karen Smith Rotabi, who runs Mission Healthy Relationships, a program aimed at teaching military couples how to manage conflict and improve their relationship.

RICHMOND, Va. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Thousands of military families are eagerly awaiting the arrival of troops from Iraq. Last month, President Obama announced that all the troops would be home by December 31. Re-adjusting to civilian life and a marriage after the stress of combat and extended separations can mean couples are more likely to face relationship trouble. That’s where a program aimed at saving troops’ marriages comes in.

Walking hand in hand, Roy and Mary Bell are a happy couple, but the road hasn’t been easy. The two got reacquainted at their 10-year high school reunion. Sparks flew and six weeks later, they were married.

“It was right, it felt right and I believe God sent him to me and for me,” Mary Bell told Ivanhoe.

Roy had just returned from Iraq, his third combat deployment and readjusting to life became a battle.

“I think emergency room doctors haven’t seen as much stuff as I have,” Roy Bell told Ivanhoe. “Each time I got deployed, it got harder and harder to be around groups of people. To trust people and to really be comfortable about myself and to be myself.”

“Roy just really kept a lot of things to himself. I think his time in Iraq really impacted him being able to verbalize how he was feeling,” Mary Bell, Roy’s wife, told Ivanhoe.

A recent study suggests more than 300,000 troops suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain injury. Roy suffers from both. The news is no surprise to Karen Smith Rotabi, who runs Mission Healthy Relationships.

“I’ve had people say, my husband is just not the same or my wife is not the same person. We’ve had to negotiate something new. They are no longer fun with the kids,” Karen Smith Rotabi, School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, said.

Her top tips? Create a safe environment for your partner. For Mary and Roy, that meant letting Roy open up at his own pace.

“That was one of the things that was real special about Mary is that she always showed that she was there for me,” Roy said.

Also, plan and commit to a date night.

“Write down five to 10 things that you think would be fun as a date night that you want to do,” Rotabi added.

But keep deeper issues out of the date.

“The way to prevent that is to talk about the tough issues at appropriate times so you can go out to dinner and enjoy each other,” Rotabi said.

And remember how you manage conflict will determine the health of your relationship. Fifty-nine percent of marital conflict is about hidden issues. Practice active listening.

“Another way to say it is, ‘So let me get this right: when I don’t take the trash out, you feel like I don’t care about the house,’” Rotabi said.

You can use these same skills you learn for smaller issues on the ones that really count.

“If we can overcome those things, then there is nothing we cannot overcome,” Mary concluded.

Even the stormiest of days.

The stresses of war could also be contributing to increased reports of family violence within the military over the last two years. A new report says 16 domestic abuse deaths were reported to the family advocacy program last year. In 81 percent of the cases, the perpetrator was on active-duty in the military.