YOUR COLLEGE

Mental health, today and tomorrow

It’s great to be back at the College! And I’m pleased to introduce a new issue of Connection magazine. As we prepare for our annual conference in the spring, we’re taking a closer look at the conditions that affect mental health in Nova Scotia, and opportunities to co-create change in our community.

In these pages, we’re connecting readers to the recent report card from the Nova Scotia branch of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA-NS) which demonstrates the lack of progress in reducing child and family poverty in this province (page 17).

Other articles are about opportunities for change, collaboration and innovation. Turn to page 14 to read about an upcoming book that explores possibilities for clinical social work and social resistance. The work and needs of unpaid caregivers are all too often made invisible in a capitalist, patriarchal society, but there’s an organization working to give them support (page 23). And SchoolsPlus offers a collaborative model of service delivery that literally meets Nova Scotian children where they are (page 26).

Some of the stories in this issue are rooted in personal experience. On page 10, a social worker shares how she uses the ethical decision-making tool she helped develop, and how the questions it contains continue to challenge her. On page 20, a private practitioner reflects on her understanding of the interaction between alcohol and anxiety.

And four future social workers are in our pages this month. A pair of social work students from Dalhousie University share highlights from their research into school-to-prison pipelines in Nova Scotia (page 28). Readers can turn to page 31 to celebrate the latest recipients of our student bursaries as well.

I invite and welcome all social workers to join us in honouring African Heritage Month in February. The 2020 theme, The Ties that Bind: Faith, Family and Community, recognizes the essential traits that sustain the strength, resiliency and togetherness of the African Nova Scotian community. This month offers an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of African Nova Scotians to our province; to consider the impact of past and current oppression towards the African Nova Scotian community; and to ask ourselves how continued prejudice and historical context has impacted our own perspective and bias, and how we can address this behaviour.

And I hope that you’ll join me to celebrate National Social Work Month in March! This year’s theme is United in Diversity. Strengthened by Inclusion. I’ll be travelling across the province, from Sydney to Digby, to meet with our members in person. Check nscsw.org for our upcoming events.

I encourage you to share this issue with friends and colleagues.

Alec Stratford, MSW, RSW NSCSW Registrar/Executive Director