Institute for Social Work in Mental Health and Professional Wellness

Purpose

To establish a continuous dialogue with the social work expert community in family and mental health practice fields.
To increase the opportunities for student learning experience via generalist and advanced externships or community-based research.
To create a milieu for positive enrollment and recruitment of students and faculty of color at the Department of Social Work.
To provide a practice and teaching environment that enhances the development of cultural competence in the development of future social workers at Kutztown University.

Principal Investigator

Sharon Lyter, Ph.D., LCSW
610-683-4932
lyter@kutztown.edu

Collaborators

Dr. Yoon Mi Kim, Ph.D.
484-646-5826
yokim@kutztown.edu

Dr. Yasoda Sharma, MSW, Ph.D.
484-646-4328
sharma@kutztown.edu

Dr. Fang-Hsun Wei, MS, Ph.D.
610-6834935
wei@kutztown.edu

Community Activities and Presentations

Dr. John Vafeas is the Chair of the Board of Directors of SAM, Inc.

Svistova, Juliana, Harris, Chris, Hansen, Julia, Lee, Ahyoung, Department of Social Work. “Mental Health Literacy, Stigma, and Acceptance in Rural Settings: A State Wide Qualitative Study of Mental Health Professionals.” January 2022. Society for Social Work and Research, Washington D.C. (Virtual)

Svistova, Juliana, Harris, Chris, Lee, Ahyoung, Horton, Jillian, Department of Social Work. “Interagency collaboration in Rural Mental Health: Experiences and Perspectives of Service and Public Insurance Providers.” .” January 2022, Society for Social Work and Research, Washington D.C. (Virtual)

DeBiase, Lydia, August 31, 2021, Trauma Informed Supervision, 26^th Annual Case Management Conference, Las Vegas, NV

Vafeas, John, August 31, 2021, Research on Case Management and Covid, 26^th Annual Case Management Conference, Las Vegas, NV

Weller, Mary Rita, September 1, 2021, Supporting Processional’s’ Comfort with Uncomfortable Topics, 26^th Annual Case Management Conference, Las Vegas, NV

Gasker, Janice, August 31, 2021, Microaggressions and Microinterventions: What Case Managers Need to Know for Cultural Responsiveness, 26^th Annual Case Management Conference, Las Vegas, NV

Hanna, E. (September 23, 2019). Ethically-Focused Reflections about Current Times Using a talking Circle, National Association of Social Workers PA Conference, Mt. Pocono, PA

Lyter, S.C. (April 28, 2019). 2019 Annual Conference of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Titled: Adverse childhood experiences of social workers: Implications for education and supervision. Atlantic City, NJ.

Lyter, S.C. (2000 to 2018). Community Behavioral Health Consultant & Lecturer, Philadelphia Mental Health Connections (PHMC). PHMC is an organization funded by the city of Philadelphia that works to increase the quality of behavioral health care for consumers and their families in the Philadelphia Behavioral Health System (BHS). Developed and taught their first course on DSM for Behavioral Health Workers and have collaborated with the director, Dr. Molinaro, in refining and updating the content; providing input on test construction; developing and refining the assessment tools; providing input on cultural competence themes and impact of urban poverty; and a lecture on use of constructive criticism in field supervision skills and strategies.

Weller, M.R., Department of Social Work, September 2016 - September 2017. Board Member, Service Access and Management, Inc., Reading, PA.

Weller, M.R., Department of Social Work, September 2016 - September 2017. Board Program Committee Chair, Service Access and Management, Inc., Reading, PA.

Bender, W. F., January 9, 2019, National Association of Case Management Webinar Presentation “Psychopharmacology for Case Managers,” National Webinar

Hanna, E. (2018, August). Critical thinking and ethics in supervision: Challenges and opportunities. NASW-PA/PAUSWE Annual Conference, Pocono Manor, PA.

Gasker, J. (2017, October). Barriers to supervision in case management. Annual Conference of the National Association of Case Management, Omaha, NE.

Weller, M.R. (2017, September). Social worker's sexuality competency. NASW-PA Statewide Conference, Pocono Manor, PA.

Chaundy, L. M. & Toth, C., Department of Social Work, January 13, 2017. Best Practices in Assessment of Depression and Advances in Treatment. Kutztown University Department of Social Work Clinical Updates Colloquium, Kutztown, PA.

Chaundy, L. M., Department of Social Work, October 8, 2016. Spiritual Life Maps: Discovering Your Journey. National Association of Case Management, King of Prussia, PA.

Gasker, Janice, Department of Social Work, September 19, 2016. Case Manager Retention: An Empowerment Method of Intervention for New Hires. National Association of Case Managers (NACM), Los Angeles, CA.

Lyter, S.C., & Lyter, L.L. (September 19, 2016). DSM-5.0 and beyond: The transdisciplinary fit of the diagnostic manual. National Association of Case Management Annual Case Management Conference, Los Angeles, California.

Vafeas, John G. & Gasker, Janice, Department of Social Work, September 19, 2016. Case Manager Retention: An Empowerment Method of Intervention for New Hires. National Association of Case Management (NACM), Los Angeles, CA.

Vafeas, John G., Department of Social Work, September 20, 2016. National Case Management Practice Guidelines Review Session. National Association of Case Management (NACM), Los Angeles, CA.

Wei, FangHsun & Foulds, Amanda, Department of Social Work, October 6, 2016. Faculty-Student presentation. Review of Adolescent Depression Treatments. National Association of Social Workers - PA State Conference, King of Prussia, PA.

Kim, Y. M. June. 2016 Risk and Protective Factors of Secondary Traumatic Stress in Social Workers Responding to the Great East Japan Earthquake. South Korea.

Kim, Y.M. 1/1/2016. Psychological Distress in Disaster Social Workers Responding to the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research.

Kim, Y.M. 1/1/2016. Nursing Homes As Cultural Adaptive Systems: Relationship Between Acculturative Stress and Abusive Attitudes Among Immigrant Nursing Assistants. Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research: Washington D.C.

Lyter, L.L., & Lyter, S.C. (October 15, 2015). Teaching DSM: Part Deux. Faculty Development Institute, Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, Social Work on the Frontiers of Change, Denver, Colorado.

Chaundy, L. 9/21/2015. The Awakening: Integrating Religion and Spirituality into Practice. NACM.New Orleans.

Chaundy, L. 9/21/2015. Mindfulness and Yoga-Self-Care Practices for Caregivers. NACM. New Orleans.

Lyter, L.L., & Lyter, S.C. (October 23, 2014). Teaching DSM-5. Faculty Development Institute, Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, Advancing Social Work Education: The APM @ 60, Tampa, Florida.

Constance-Huggins, M. & Kim, Y. M., Department of Social Work, 2014. Preparing Students to Address Clients' Needs Through Social Capital Building. 2014 Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education, Tampa, FL.

Kanno, H., Kim, Y. M., & Umezaki, K., November 2, 2013, Secondary Traumatic Stress in Social Workers Responding to 2011 Japanese Earthquake. Paper accepted for oral presentation at the 2013 Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education: Dallas, TX.

Lyter, S.C., & Lyter, L.L. (November 2013). DSM-5.0: Implications for Social Work Education workshop presentation. Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, Global Social Work–The World Is Here, Dallas, Texas.

Lyter, L.L. , & Lyter, S.C. (November 5, 2013). Understanding DSM-5 workshop. National Association of Social Workers - Brandywine Division. West Chester, PA. Attendees received 3 continuing education credits.

Lyter, S.C., & Bender, W. (October 2, 2013). Managing risks to case managers. Workshop presentation. National Association of Case Management, Annual Conference, Atlantic City, NJ.

Hanna, E. P., Stress and Life Balance, April 16, 2013, for OPTUM on behalf of Nationwide Insurance Corp., Harrisburg, PA.

Lyter, S.C., & Lyter, L.L. (November 2012). Preparing for DSM-5: Social Work Pedagogy workshop presentation. Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, Washington, DC.

Lyter, S.C., & Lyter, L.L. (March 16, 2012). Mental health and diagnosis: Fit with BSW education. Paper presentation. Association of Baccalaureate Program Directors (BPD), Portland, Oregon.

Lyter, L., Lyter, S.C. (October 14, 2011), Gearing up for DSM V: 2013, Annual Conference of the National Association of Social Workers, Pennsylvania Chapter, Lancaster, PA.

Lyter, S.C., & Abbott, A.A. (February 24, 2011). Assessing faculty competence in the academy: Perceived threats to psychological safety. Paper presentation. Association of Baccalaureate Program Directors (BPD) Annual Conference, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Lyter, S.C., & Abbott, A.A. (October 16, 2010). Constructive criticism in the social work academy: Sustaining faculty performance. Poster presentation. Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, Portland, Oregon.

Lyter, Sharon. “Help! What can families do to prevent the abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs?” The Kutztown Area Patriot 30 September 2010: 4-5. Print.

Lyter, S.C., & Lyter, L.L. (July 1, 2010). Delegate to conference and refereed paper presentation. Sixth International Conference on Social Work in Health and Mental Health. Diagnosis and mental illness: Maximizing fit with social work mission and values. Dublin, Ireland.

Lyter, L.L., & Lyter, S.C. (June 29, 2010). Delegate to conference and refereed paper presentation. Sixth International Conference on Social Work in Health and Mental Health. Parent-focused prevention: Strengths, protective factors, and resilience with emphasis on responsible drinking by adolescents. Dublin, Ireland.

Lyter, L.L., & Lyter, S.C. (May 4, 2010). 2010 Annual Conference of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Titled: Psychopathology and the DSM: Antithetical to social work ethics and values? Atlantic City, NJ. Attendees received 4 ethics and clinical credits.

Abbott, A.A., & Lyter, S.C. (May 3, 2010). 2010 Annual Conference of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Titled: Constructive criticism in supervision: A tool for professional growth. Atlantic City, NJ. Attendees received 2 continuing education credits.

Lyter, L.L, & Lyter, S.C. (May 2009). Psychopathology and the DSM: Antithetical to social work ethics and values? National Association of Social Workers, New Jersey Chapter. Annual Conference. Atlantic City, NJ.

Lyter, S. (April 2009). Lilly-East Conference on College and University Teaching. Wounded healers: Troubled students who choose helping professions. Refereed roundtable discussion. University of Delaware, Newark, DE.

Lyter, L.L., Lyter, S.C., & Abbott, A. A. (November 2008). Teaching psychopathology and the DSM: Antithetical to social work ethics and values? Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, Philadelphia.

Lyter, S.C., Lyter, L.L., & Abbott, A. A. (March 2008). Integrating safety for social workers into the curriculum: A cross-Atlantic perspective. Association of Baccalaureate Program Directors (BPD), Annual Conference, Destin, Florida.

Abbott, A. A., & Lyter, S.C. (October 2007). Home visits in a violent world: Agency, supervisor and worker strategies. Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, San Francisco. (More than 1,300 proposals were submitted for this juried conference.)

Lyter, S.C., & Abbott, A.A. (September 28, 2007). Home visits in a violent world. This was based on our journal article and served as a complement to training provided by the Philadelphia Police Department for the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging.

Lyter, S.C., & Lyter, L.L. (March 2007). Guest lecture to addictions trainers of the Down Lisburn Trust on the topic of our work on protective factors in the prevention of alcohol misuse among youth. A workbook based on our previous article was published in Northern Ireland, titled Talking to our Children about Tough Issues (a workbook written by Ed Sipler, Health Development Specialist in Alcohol, Drugs and Behavior Change: Down Lisburn Trust and the Ulster Community Hospitals Trust).

Spelman, D., & Lyter, S.C. (2006). Human rights begin here: Case studies of wounded students. New York State Social Work Education Association.

Lyter, S.C., & Abbott, A.A. (December 4, 2006). Keeping ourselves safe: Social worker safety and risk management. Brooklyn campus of Long Island University, Social Work faculty, and students.

Lyter, S.C., & Abbott, A.A. (December 1, 2006). Keeping ourselves safe: Social worker safety and risk management. New York City National Association of Social Workers Private Practitioners Group.

Lyter, S.C. (January 2005 to July 2006). Faculty Advisor to the Bloomsburg University Chapter of NAMI: The Nation’s Voice on Mental Illness, the first NAMI campus affiliate in Pennsylvania.

Lyter, S.C., & Lyter, L.L. (May 2006). Mental Health Matters television program panel member on childhood resiliency. Moderated by Dr. David Palmiter, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Marywood Psychological Services Center. Broadcast on Scranton Today television (Adelphia Cable).

Lyter, S.C., & Spelman, D. (April 2006). Troubled social workers: Qualitative research with experienced supervisors. National Association of Social Workers, New Jersey Chapter. Annual Conference. Atlantic City, NJ.

Lyter, S.C., & Spelman, D. (March 2006). Troubled social workers: Qualitative research with experienced supervisors. National Association of Social Workers, New York State Chapter.

Lyter, S.C., & Spelman, D. (February 2006). Woundedness in social workers: Views of experienced supervisors. Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, Chicago.

Lyter, S.C. (October 2005). Wounded healers: Troubled students who choose helping professions. Provided lecture to and conducted discussion with colleagues on the topic of gatekeeping of troubled students in collaboration with the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Center of Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Lyter, S.C., & Abbott, A.A. (March 2005). Personal safety: Policies for practice with vulnerable populations. Eastern Sociological Society, Washington, DC.

Lyter, S.C. (January 2005). Social worker safety. Catholic Social Services, Philadelphia, PA.

Lyter, S.C. (November 2004). Social work in a violent world: Implications for practice. Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services (JBFCS), New York City, NY.

Lyter, S.C. (April 2004). Invited to serve on a panel for the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies (NJAMHA), to discuss work force issues and the affiliations between colleges/universities and the mental health system in New Jersey.

Lyter, S.C. (March 2004). Social Worker Safety, for the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), Private Practitioners Committee.

Lyter, S.C. (May 2002). Social Work in a Violent World: Implications for Field Education. Recognition luncheon providing continuing education credit for field instructors serving the University of Pennsylvania.

Lyter, S.C. (April 29, 2002). Raising Alcohol-Free Adolescents: A Mother's Point of View on the Research Findings. National Association of Social Workers, New Jersey Chapter. Annual Conference. Atlantic City, NJ.

Lyter, L.L, & Lyter, S.C. (October 2001). Parent-Focused Prevention: Raising Alcohol-Responsible Adolescents. Marywood University and Jefferson Medical College.

Lyter, L.L, & Lyter, S.C. (May 2001). Parent-Focused Prevention: Raising Alcohol-Responsible Adolescents. National Association of Social Workers, New York City Chapter.

Lyter, S.C. & Abbott, A.A. (April 2001). Social Workers and Home Visits. Workshop on safe and effective home visitations and vicarious liability for supervisors. National Association of Social workers, New Jersey Chapter. Annual Conference. Atlantic City, NJ.

Lyter, L.L. & Lyter, S.C. (April 2000). Why Some Youth Don't Use Alcohol: Proactive, Protective Parenting Model. Lecture as part of distance education initiative, disseminated electronically to school districts by Marywood University.

Lyter, S.C., & Martin, M. (February 2000). Playing it safe: A survey addressing dangers in the field. Workshop on results of survey on agency safety practices, undertaken by Rutgers University in collaboration with all other universities represented in the Tri-State Consortium of Field Directors. Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, New York City.

Lyter, S.C. (October 1999). Safety and the Social Worker. Workshop on strategies to promote safe practices for social workers in the agency and the community. Infectious Disease Conference, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Lyter, S.C. & Abbott, A.A. (April 1999). The Ostrich Syndrome: Safety and the Social Worker. Continuing education workshop on strategies to promote safe practices for social workers in the agency and the community. New Jersey Chapter. Annual Conference. Atlantic City, NJ.

Lyter, L.L. & Lyter, S.C. (March 1999). Why some kids don't use alcohol and other drugs: Protective factors. Workshop on a Proactive Parenting Model: Parent-Focused Prevention. Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, San Francisco, California.

Lyter, S.C., & Martin, M. (November 1998). Safety and the Social Worker. Invited to speak on strategies to promote safe practices for social workers in the agency and the community. Marywood University School of Social Work.
Research and Publications

Svistova, Juliana, Harris, Chris, Fogarty, Barbe, Kulp, Christina, Lee, Ahyoung, Department of Social Work, November 30, 2022, Use of Telehealth amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences of Mental health Providers Serving Rural Youth and Elderly in Pennsylvania. Administration and Policy in Mental health and mental Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-021-01181-z.

Svistova, Juliana, Harris, Chris, Song, Juyong, Horton, Jillian, Fogarty, Barbe, Hansen, Julia, Mills, Carlie, Department of Social Work, January 2022. Access to Mental Health Services in rural Pennsylvania. Research report prepared for the Center for Rural Pennsylvania: https://www.rural.pa.gov/download.cfm?file=Resources/PDFs/researchreport/Mental%20Health%20Access%20Final%20Report%20January%202022.pdf

Lyter, S. C. (2021). Assess and address vestiges of childhood trauma in the social work classroom. Social Work Research, 45(2), 101-115. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svab008

Lee, A. (2017). The Impact of Work/Family Conflict and Workplace Social Support on Mental Distress in Home Health Workers. Home Health Care Management & Practice.

Lee, A. with Jang, Zadrozny, Bae, Kim, and Marti. (2017). Determinants of Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intent in Home Health Workers: The Role of Job Demands and Resources. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 36 (1).

Lyter, S.C. (2016). Safety and risk management. In C.A. Hunter, J.K. Moen, & M. Raskin (Eds.), Social work field directors: Foundations for excellence. Chicago, IL: Lyceum.

Lyter, S.C., & Lyter, L.L. (2016). Social work educator views of DSM. Social Work in Mental Health, 14(3), 195-214. DOI: 10.1080/15332985.2015.1011365

Lyter, S.C. (2012). Potential of field education as signature pedagogy: The field director role. Journal of Social Work Education, 48(1), 179-188.

Lyter, S.C., & Lyter, L.L. (2012). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: Making it work for social work. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 6(6), 53-64.

Lyter, S.C., & Abbott, A.A. (2010). The journey of planned change. In A.A. Abbott (Ed.), Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs: Challenging myths, assessing theories, individualizing interventions (2^nd ed., Chapter 7, pp. 209-243). Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Lyter, S.C., & Lyter, L.L. (2010). Group strategies in ATOD treatment. In A.A. Abbott (Ed.), Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs: Challenging myths, assessing theories, individualizing interventions (2^nd ed., Chapter 10, pp. 331-404). Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Lyter, S.C. (2008). Woundedness and social workers: Strategies for supervision of practicum students. Arête, A Professional Journal Devoted to Excellence in Social Work, 32(1), 20-37.

Lyter, S.C., & Abbott, A.A. (2007). Home visits in a violent world. The Clinical Supervisor, 26 (1/2), 17 – 33. doi: 10.1300/J001v26n0l.03

Lyter, L.L., & Lyter, S.C. (2003). Why some youth don't use alcohol: Protective factors and implications for parenting skills. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 3(2), 3-23. doi: 10.1300J160v03n02_02

Gasker, J. (2002). Incorporating sexual trauma into the functional life narrative. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen.
Related Courses

SWK505 Psychopharmacology for Social Workers
SWK575 Clinical Supervision in Social Work