July 2022
🐰🐰 ACCESSIBLE HEALTHCARE
We talked in June about taking a holistic approach to wellness and making sure to attend to your physical health. Were you able to schedule a visit with your healthcare practitioner, and if so, is there anything we can be doing to follow up on health issues? If you have not yet seen your healthcare practitioner this year, are you able to get something scheduled? Let me know if you have any barriers so we can work on a plan together.
Our commitment to accessible healthcare is ever more important in light of the recent SCOTUS decision... for ourselves, our friends and families, and generations to follow. All individuals have the right to freedom of choice in accessing healthcare. Mental health, reproductive health, physical health - all are necessary, and access needs to exist without barriers.
While I (generally) steer away from political discussion, as a Social Worker I am compelled to advocate on behalf of individuals and communities to increase their access to basic resources such as housing, food, and health care. Social Work as a discipline is founded on a mission of advocacy and social justice; this is a key difference when compared to other disciplines such as psychology, counseling, and marriage and family therapy. Social work advocacy ranges from small-scale actions that impact individuals to large-scale programs designed to benefit entire communities and society as a whole. Social Workers are bound by a Code of Ethics which includes the following values:
Value: Social Justice
Ethical Principle: Social workers challenge social injustice.
Social workers pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people. Social workers’ social change efforts are focused primarily on issues of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice. These activities seek to promote sensitivity to and knowledge about oppression and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers strive to ensure access to needed information, services, and resources; equality of opportunity; and meaningful participation in decision making for all people.
Value: Dignity and Worth of the Person
Ethical Principle: Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person.
Social workers treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers promote clients’ socially responsible self-determination. Social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs. Social workers are cognizant of their dual responsibility to clients and to the broader society. They seek to resolve conflicts between clients’ interests and the broader society’s interests in a socially responsible manner consistent with the values, ethical principles, and ethical standards of the profession.
Value: Importance of Human Relationships
Ethical Principle: Social workers recognize the central importance of human relationships.
Social workers understand that relationships between and among people are an important vehicle for change. Social workers engage people as partners in the helping process. Social workers seek to strengthen relationships among people in a purposeful effort to promote, restore, maintain, and enhance the well-being of individuals, families, social groups, organizations, and communities.
Injustice is our call to action. Advocacy takes many forms, so if you are interested in helping but aren't sure how, let's talk about some ideas that fit your interests and abilities. It is a long road ahead of us, but it’s a good road when traveled together and along the way we can still enjoy our lives, the seasons, friendship, and family. Together we will make the difference.
I know that we are weary from the events of the last two years, the last six years... Our responsibility is to ourselves first. Self care and commitment to our own wellbeing must be the priority. If your strength now goes only so far as to ensure your own self care, that is the most important thing. If you do find that you have the bandwidth to support your cause, do so mindfully.
And for some good news... 988 goes live on July 16!
988 is the new Suicide Prevention Lifeline number. It's exciting to have an easy-to-remember number available to access crisis support quickly.
For more information: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/current-events/the-lifeline-and-988/
Some housekeeping items:
Has your health insurance situation changed? Do you have behavioral health coverage that is managed by Aetna, Cigna, Humana, Highmark, or Optum, or a plan that includes TelaDoc or HealthierYou? If you have lost coverage or expect to lose coverage in the near future, let’s talk about how to keep therapy affordable.
Scheduling:
Summer brings warm weather and more activities on your social calendar. I believe that family, friends, and fun are priorities in our lives, and am happy to reschedule our session times when you have something enjoyable to do (or otherwise important, like studying or a project). Please remember to cancel or reschedule your appointments with as much advance notice as possible so that we can reschedule and I can offer the session time to someone else.
Just a reminder that BetterHelp instituted a 45 minute limit on sessions last year. 30-minute sessions are also available if you feel you want just a quick check in.
Crisis Numbers: I recommend adding these to your contacts in your phone. If you don't need them, you might be able to share them with someone who does.
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. NOTE: the new 988 line will be available July 16!
Text crisis line... you can send a text to 741741 and just write HOME and someone will get right back to you. https://www.crisistextline.org/text-us/
Trans Lifeline: (877) 565-8860
Unique & special July holidays: (http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/july.htm)
Some of my favorites:
National month for: Blueberries, Ice Cream, Watermelons, and Picnics
July 1 Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day (what's your favorite?)
July 3 Compliment Your Mirror Day
July 4 Independence Day - have a safe and healthy holiday 🇱🇷
July 7 Global Forgiveness Day
July 26 All or Nothing Day
July 27 Take Your Plants for a Walk Day
I'm grateful to know you and I thank you for letting me be a part of your journey. Please let me know if there is anything more I can be doing to support you.
Some resources and references:
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/roe-v-wade-overturned-how-to-help-action/
https://www.socialworkers.org/Advocacy/Policy-Issues/Reproductive-Rights-Are-Human-Rights
https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/act
https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/current-events/the-lifeline-and-988/
“No bought potpourri is so pleasant as that made from one's own garden, for the petals of the flowers one has gathered at home hold the sunshine and memories of summer, and of past summers only the sunny days should be remembered." - Eleanor Sinclair-Rhode
