California Society for Clinical Social Work Podcast
Mission statement of Podcast: The CSCSW’s Podcast will offer educational content by providing clinical social work training and information that builds professional practice competency for members. 1. CEU Episodes: Will provide a continuing education unit for listening to training and education on clinical social work topics. 2. Outreach Episodes: Will provide listeners with information and knowledge about volunteer opportunities in the organization, insight into the work of CSCSW, and Getting to know current and former board members (career trajectories and vision for service work).
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When Fear Becomes Reality: DBT Skills for working with clients with "Immigration Status Fear"
07/10/2025
When Fear Becomes Reality: DBT Skills for working with clients with "Immigration Status Fear"
Overview: Learn to adapt the DBT skills COPE AHEAD and PLEASE specifically for undocumented clients experiencing chronic fear of ICE detention (these skills will also help you as providers too). This training combines evidence-based DBT techniques with culturally responsive approaches, addressing the unique mental health needs of clients whose immigration status creates ongoing traumatic stress. This training will also offer you skills for yourself as you navigate these difficult conversations and scenarios with the people you serve. Learning objectives: Cultural considerations when working with undocumented communities Discussion around Enhancing Evidence Based Practice with a Decolonizing lens Modifications to standard COPE AHEAD protocols for immigration-related fears Practical self-soothing skills Addressing intersectional trauma Dialectics of joy and fear as a tool to navigate these turbulent times GUEST: author of Handouts: Podcast Editors: Transcript: CSCSWSofiaFullEpisode [00:00:00] Hello, you're listening to the California Society of Clinical Social Work Podcast. This podcast offers educational content by providing clinical, social work, training, and information that builds professional practice competency for our members. Hello, my name is Dr. Veronica gon and I want to give you a brief introduction to Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Before we begin the interview and training for today, I wanna begin by providing a basic psychological definition of what dialectical means. It refers to a way of thinking that acknowledges the existence of opposing or contradictory ideas and seeks to find a balance or synthesis between them. It recognizes that two seemingly opposite ideas can both be true simultaneously. DBT was developed by psychologist Marsha Linnehan in the 1980s. It began as an effort to treat a highly suicidal individuals using traditional behavior therapies. But the [00:01:00] process wasn't straightforward. It was shaped by trial error and deep clinical insight. Early on, Han and her team realized that standard behavior therapy with its heavy focus on problem solving and change, often felt invalidating to clients dealing with intense emotional pain. Some clients would lash out, others would drop out altogether, and the challenge was that people didn't just need tools for change. They also needed to feel accepted, radically accepted, just as they were. This sparked a shift from a focus on change to a balance of change and acceptance. DBTs core strength lies in this dialectic. The idea that two seemingly opposite truths can coexist. You can accept yourself as you are and still work toward change. You can feel pain and survive it. Drawing from behaviorism, Zen [00:02:00]Buddhism and contemplated practices, DBT introduced mindfulness and distress tolerance. Now, core components of therapy, Linehan and her team worked to to translate spiritual concepts like radical acceptance into concrete, teachable skills that didn't rely on religious or spiritual belief to make it all work. DBT was structured as a comprehensive treatment including individual therapy, group skills training, phone coaching, and therapist consultation teams all built around a clear hierarchy of treatment targets. Eventually, the federal grant requirements push Linehan to focus research on a diagnosable disorder. That led to the first clinical trials targeting individuals with borderline personality disorder. These studies were groundbreaking and they showed that DBT worked over time. DBT has been adapted for many other populations, including those [00:03:00] with substance use disorders, eating disorders, and adolescents. Researchers and clinicians continue to refine DBT testing new skills and standalone interventions, but the heart of the treatment remains the same, helping people build a life worth living. This is why DBT can be applied to work with undocumented immigrants and the people who love and support them. Sophia Mendoza is a bilingual, licensed clinical social worker working in Los Angeles since 2007. She's trained in EMDR, dialectical behavior therapy, trauma-focused CBT, and cognitive processing therapy. She is also currently co-authoring a soon to be published book on healing from racism stress. Her clinical offering for today provides our clinicians with training on intersectional DBT skills for working with immigration status sphere. I, for one, am [00:04:00] grateful, deeply grateful for her ability to meet the moment by weaving theory lived experience and professional practice experience to provide a timely. Important professional development experience for all of us because I was undocumented until I was 12 years old and most of my family were undocumented too. I love this community and I will always support them in living healthy and purposeful and happy lives. So it is my honor to host an episode today titled, when Fear Becomes Reality, intersectional DBT for Immigration Status Fear Provided by Sophia Mendoza, LCSW. Good morning, Sophia. Thank you for joining us today. A lot of our clinicians would like to know a little bit about yourself. Some questions that we get are what, what shaped you into the person that you are today, and tell us a little bit about your expertise and [00:05:00] career trajectory. Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here. A little bit about what shaped me and into who I answered. That's such a big question. But um, yeah. Sophia Mendoza. I am a licensed clinical therapist here in Long Beach, California. I'm a Bruin. That's important to say. What shaped me into who I am today. So when thinking about why I became a social worker, I always think back to being young. I think maybe, maybe eight or nine or something, and going with my mom to the county building in a Department of Public Social Services because we were receiving, um, you know, cash Aid tanex is what they called it back then. Medi-Cal. And I remember her being interviewed by the caseworker there. And as a kid I was always interested in people. And so I would people watch. And in the lobby I remember seeing all these people with [00:06:00] their kids and just really. Realizing like, wow, all these people have stories and how lucky are these caseworkers? They get to hear all these stories and help these people. Right? I mean, it's really funny because many, many years I actually interfaced with a lot of DPSS social workers and you know, a lot of them love what they do, but some of them do not consider themselves lucky, right. Because they're working, uh, they're helping with, with so much need and sometimes it's beyond what they can do. Mm-hmm. But at the time I just thought like, wow, they get to help all these people. Wow. They, they get to help us. And so I think that was one of the first experiences that I can remember of like, not only needing help, but wanting to help too. And as with most. First gen children. Right. First generation. You know, my mom's an immigrant and so [00:07:00] I was also translating for her. I was like a cultural broker for her. Right. And translating documents and reading and stuff for her. So for me, when I think about like, what shaped me into being a helper, it's really those early experiences of being, I saw a child of enigma friend in a single parent household and going to agencies to receive help. I, I really empathize with that experience that you have and that you had as a cultural broker. Mm-hmm. Translating and, and being present and, and the re the response, holding that responsibility of helping your parents. Yeah. So when you went to UCLA, how did you get into social work after that? Well, actually I went to UCLA for my master's, but I went to uc, Irvine from undergrad. But it's an interesting story because I actually, well, I'm also a community college baby, so I was a community college, really [00:08:00] straddling the line between I wanna be a writer or I don't know, you know? And so, mm-hmm. I remember taking all the pre-reqs and I was taking a lot of anthropology, sociology. I took some psychology, I took some creative writing classes and I was very discouraged in the creative writing classes there. There weren't Latinos there. I think I might have been the only one. It was, it was really hard. It was, it was. It was a weird space to be in for me, and I got really scared. Really, really scared. And so at that point. Like they were talking about like finding a literary agent. And I was like, I don't know what any of that means. Right? And I was kind of paralyzed with the writing. And so I said, okay, well maybe I'm not meant to be a writer or a novelist. I was still interested in like journalism and current affairs and things like that. So then I was like deciding between sociology and psychology. [00:09:00] And so I found a really great program at uc, Irvine, which is Psychology and Social Behavior. And in the School of Social Ecology, they also had criminology, which was taught mainly by sociologists. And a lot of those classes were cross-listed with the Chicano Latino studies classes. And so that's kind of where my interests were married. And so I did the psychology, social behavior, and then the criminology double majors where I learned about how society influences us. And then the psychology, like how it becomes individual and personal. And so I think that was such a great foundation for me because a lot of the classes were also about to Latino experience. And so I really, it really felt at home and knowing the influence and the impact of all our intersectionalities.[00:10:00] Right. I went to undergrad at UCLA, so I'm a Bruin too. Mm-hmm. And my major was, uh, Chicano studies and psychology. Mm-hmm. And I didn't know about, I didn't know about social work until I graduated. I met this, this really powerful woman at the time, her name was Yolanda Redder. She was a, a, a queer activist in the community. And, uh, she met with me and she, after hearing all about my. My goals, my dreams. She's like, oh, you don't wanna be a psychologist, you wanna be a social worker because you have this Chicano studies, a social justice major and psychology, psychology plus a, a social justice equals social work. And so she took, I was like, oh, that sounds great. Where do I go do that? And she said, well, you can do it at UCLA or you can go to USC. So I went to to USC because I wanted a different campus experience. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, yeah, you know, I, I also was [00:11:00] gonna go the psychology route because I did a summer research program at the University of Wisconsin Madison right before I graduated, the year before I graduated. And they were like, Hey, there's a home grade here if you wanna get your doctorate, wouldn't, seems really far away from me. And I didn't know how that would be for me, like personally being so far away from home and not having a support system out there. And so I was like, okay, maybe. But I actually took a job right after graduating. I took a job as a research assistant at a, that's a private evaluation firm, but they did the evaluations for nonprofits in, in, in la. Mm-hmm. And so I was a research assistant who would go and help them collect the data, input the data. I would do some of the interviews in Spanish because a lot of them were with the SAMHSA grants. And so then I was interfacing with a lot of social workers. And so I was like. [00:12:00] I like what they're doing. Right. I would interview participants at substance abuse inpatient centers in both languages. And so I actually was really interested in more like my evaluation piece and I thought I'm, I'm also gonna do macro social work. That's why you went to UCLA? Yeah. Well I, well, I went to UJA because it was a lot cheaper. Yeah. So I said, well, we'll see if I, you know, they only took a small number of students. I think the cohort's like 90 or something. And so I was like, I'm just gonna give it a shot. You know, I'm gonna be really upset at myself if I don't at least try. And so, you know, I got a deal I couldn't refuse with UCLA and so I went in, but my first, you know, your first year internships, they don't, you don't get to pick it. They pick it for you. And because I was gonna be a macro student doing research, they put me with LA County Department of Mental Health. [00:13:00] For my first year In Watts or in, yeah, Linwood. Right next to the Martin Luther King Junior Center. It was the directly operated clinic. August Hawkin doing therapy. And I fell in love with therapy and I've been a therapist ever since, still with the Department of Mental Health. And that is, uh, a great, when we are able to find, find our path or our way. And now we have you here sharing some of the, some of this knowledge with our, our clinician. Yeah. And this leads me to the question about why is this topic of immigration status fear so important to you? It is so important to me. Um, one, I am a child of immigrant, so I know that here, my mom, um, migrated to the US right around 76 when the civil war in El Salvador was like about to start. She grew up in El Salvador. [00:14:00] Deep poverty. You know, El Salvador has been underdeveloped country for a long time, who went through a lot of civil war genocide. They just, they've been through so much that, that country, and so she came as, as an immigrant and my family too. And so, one, it's deeply personal, but also, you know, as a Spanish speaking, bilingual bicultural Latina in LA and the working for, you know, the county or department of mental health, my caseload has always been primarily Spanish speaking with immigrant families. And so it's been my life's work. I've watched immigrant families navigate the system and I know it's, it's not easy for them. You know, and also working with the county, I work with other disenfranchised populations as well. And so like underneath it all [00:15:00] is reactions to stress and trauma caused by racism, unfair and unjust policies. Mm-hmm. Right? Discriminations, microaggressions, violence. Yes. A lot of inequity. And so unfortunately, you know, it's been my life's work and what I'm passionate about is helping folks work toward healing. And we are very fortunate that you've been able to, you've been able to take this, this lived experience and translate it into some trainings for our clinicians because I, I think that a lot of us share this lived experience, uh, with you. I myself was undocumented until I was 12 years old and I became a citizen with a immigration reform and control act of 1986. I didn't, I got my first green card as when I was [00:16:00] 14, I became a citizen at 21. My parents were undocumented, my cousins were undocumented, my uncles and aunts, and everybody was undocumented and at, at that time. So every time I see an attack or persecution against my community right now, it just hurts my heart because I am them. They, they are mean. Oh, lucky. And I hear this from many clinicians who are out there who want to help. Mm-hmm. Who, who want to support. And it's important that they do because this community is experiencing a high level of trauma right now. Absolutely. We have evidence from the post bill rates in Iowa in 2000. State that these long, the long-term consequences of this persecution is going to be seen in, in, in, in low birth weight. Mm-hmm. In mental health, mental health, uh, uh, negative mental health [00:17:00] consequences, socioeconomic consequences. This, this town in Iowa was completely devastated by the violent detainment of 400 undocumented immigrants. Yeah. 15 years later, they're still seeing, seeing the consequences of that violent attack. So I'm wondering now I, I know that we are going to see the same here in, in Los Angeles. Yeah. How do we attend to this population right now so that we can prevent, uh, help prevent a public health crisis in the future? And this is why I reached out to you, Sophia, because you have the, the knowledge and, and the skills to be able to teach this to, to our clinicians. Still, I just wanna thank you for that. Oh, thank you. I wanna thank, thank you. Thank you. Yeah. It's, you know, it's, I think for social workers, we're there, we're, we're, we're boots on the ground. We're doing the work and without it, it just, for the sake of doing it [00:18:00] and not doing it for big payoff or the acknowledgement. A lot of our work is confidential because of Hitler, whatnot. And we still, so I think for me, I'm like just chucking along. Yeah. Doing the work. So, but thank you for, for validating. We, well, the work that I'm doing. You're welcome. We, we, we need you. And on that note, why don't we transition into a lecture on this topic. So let, let's do that now I wanna start with an acknowledgement and validation. This is hard. What we're going through right now is very, very hard, and I want you to notice where this is living in your body right now. When I say this is hard, where do you feel it for me right now, [00:19:00] it's in my heart. I want you to take a second and do a scan and notice where this, this is hard, where it's living in your body, and I want you to notice it without judging it, without trying to fix it or move away from it. Just notice it because this is your humanity, this is your empathy, and simply breathe through it. This is gonna be really important for you as you've noticed that the people, maybe you've been talking with your clients, fellow staff, they're bringing some of these really tough topics to you and, and you might notice it in your body and it's okay to notice it. It's okay to notice it and sit with it. All [00:20:00] right. So I like to start this talk with talking about decolonizing and enhancing EBPs. I've been trained in evidence-based practice for the last 17, 18 years. And what I have to say about it as a, uh, Latina person of color is that there is so much about evidence practice that is great and that I absolutely love and align with. And at the same time, the dialectic, it's not everything right. And so there are ways that we can decolonize and we, we can, and we always have. I've been a clinician for 17 to 18 years now, and we've always modified. I've always adapted. I actually am now using the phrase I've enhanced because I feel that I have added so much to evidence-based practice. When I include my clients, when I include their cultures or beautiful traditions [00:21:00] and other ways of healing, we will continue to, I say that we're we. We keep what works and we toss what doesn't and then challenge the rest. I wanted to share a few bipoc centered therapy books that are talking a lot about this work. The first one, it's gonna be Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Georgia Roy. She does, she is actually one of the first books I read when I was getting ready to give a talk on dialectical behavior therapy, kind of like a training. And so I came across work because I really felt like there was something else missing in terms of the invalidating environment, or there was something missing in terms of the experience for Bipoc. And so I came upon Joy de Roy's work, um, which talks about a lot about epigenetics and research done. Going back to the times of slavery and what that trauma looks like and how it's been passed [00:22:00]down, not just at the cellular level, but also in the way we respond to stress. Decolonizing therapy by Dr. Jennifer Mulan is also a really great text that talks a lot about how we do this work. Natalie Gutierrez, the pain we carry. She looks in healing from, uh, an IFS internal Family systems perspective. Highly recommend her book. And then there's Dr. Jennifer Shepherd Payne. Who wrote out of the fire, and this is an acceptance and commitment therapy text. Uh, for, I believe it's for, it says Navigating Black Trauma and the next one, and, and Act and DBT. They, they kind of, a lot of people, they, they use both because they're very aligned. And so the...
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Lobby Days with CSCSW
04/11/2025
Lobby Days with CSCSW
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CEU TRAINING: SELF CARE- A MORAL AND ETHICAL IMPERATIVE
03/12/2024
CEU TRAINING: SELF CARE- A MORAL AND ETHICAL IMPERATIVE
This presentation will cover aspects of self care and coping with stress through the lens of NASW’s ethical code and moral determinants found in social work practice. Participants will gain not only an understanding of self care but also of coping through a practice informed framework. Learning Objectives: By the end of this workshop, participants will understand: Understanding changes to NASW Code of Ethics Understanding Components of stress/Research in the areas of stress/coping Coping and its role in stress mitigation Development of a personal wellness plan Top 5 tips for those in helping roles (Supervisors/Frontline Staff) This presentation will cover aspects of self care and coping with stress through the lens of NASW’s ethical code and moral determinants found in social work practice. Participants will gain not only an understanding of self care but also of coping through a practice informed framework. Learning Objectives: By the end of this workshop, participants will understand: Understanding changes to NASW Code of Ethics Understanding Components of stress/Research in the areas of stress/coping Coping and its role in stress mitigation Development of a personal wellness plan Top 5 tips for those in helping roles (Supervisors/Frontline Staff) This WORKSHOP meets the qualifications for 2 hours of continuing education credit for MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Note: With supervisor approval, registered ASWs may use CEs toward LCSW hours.
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Meet our Presidents!
02/08/2024
Meet our Presidents!
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Board Member Introduction: Monica Blauner LCSW
01/05/2024
Board Member Introduction: Monica Blauner LCSW
Mission: This podcast offers educational content by providing clinical social work training and information that builds professional practice competency for our members. Monica Blauner is a licensed clinical social worker and psychoanalyst, with over thirty years of experience practicing psychotherapy. She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Smith College and she’s also the past president of the California Society for Clinical Social work. She joins us today to share past and present experience with providing volunteer service as a current board member and past president. Links: California Society for Clinical Social Work: https://clinicalsocialworksociety.org/membership/
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Introduction
01/02/2024
Introduction
Mission Statement of Podcast: The CSCSW’s Podcast will offer educational content by providing clinical social work training and information that builds professional practice competency for members. This episode will briefly introduce the podcast mission, a podcast of the . Dr. Veronica Obregon, a licensed clinical social worker and board member of the California Society for Clinical Social Work, presents the podcast. Serving as both host and interviewer, Dr. Obregon outlines the podcast's dual focus on outreach and training. The training episodes aim to provide educational opportunities for mental health providers, offering continuing education credits. Following each episode, listeners are encouraged to visit the organization's website, where they can take an episode quiz to earn their CEU certificate for mental health providers practicing in California. Additional resources and handouts are also made available. In addition, the outreach episodes feature interviews with board members, committee members, and/or student members, shedding light on the benefits of joining the California Society for Clinical Social Work. The organization's mission to advance and promote the profession and practice of clinical social work is emphasized, inviting listeners to consider membership. Interested individuals can sign up at , clicking on the membership tab to access the valuable benefits offered by the organization. The podcast looks forward to welcoming new members and fostering a collaborative learning experience.
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