Rebecca Mirick

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• LICSW PhD
• Associate Professor at Salem State University

Doctoral program attrition is a significant issue, with 50% of doctoral students leaving their program before completion. Personal life events, such as marriage and children, are risk factors for attrition, but little research has focused on factors that positively affect persistence and success through these life events. In a nationwide survey pro...

Trauma-informed practices are recommended when working with individuals with suicidal thoughts and behaviors due to the strong relationship between trauma and suicidality, but there is a dearth of information on how a trauma-informed approach is applied to work with this population. Practicing clinicians were recruited from professional networks, l...

Adolescent suicide is a public health issue with 15 percent of adolescents experiencing the suicide loss of a classmate, acquaintance, or friend. This article reports findings from an online survey of individuals (N = 40) who lost a peer to suicide in middle or high school. The most frequently provided school-based postvention responses were school...

This paper highlights the role of school social workers and other school-based mental health professionals in postvention activities, supports and services provided by the school following a student’s suicide death. Reflecting the traumatic nature of the unexpected death of a student in the school community, the described postvention activities use...

There are elevated rates of trauma in individuals with suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and individuals with suicidality or bereaved by suicide have an increased risk of trauma. Due to this relationship between trauma and suicide, there is a consensus from experts that suicide prevention work must be trauma-informed. Currently, there is a dearth of...

In 2020, hospices supported 1.72 million Medicare patients and their caregivers. The end-of-life experience can be difficult for caregivers and many experience anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Little literature has explored the role of hospice social workers in addressing and treating caregivers' suicidal thoughts and behaviors. This paper wil...

Suicide is a major public health issue in the United States, but it is unknown how many social work programs have courses specializing in this topic. The purpose of this study was to establish baseline knowledge of suicide-focused course offerings in social work programs in the United States. A survey of CSWE-accredited programs (n=151) in the Unit...

Schools have an important role to play in adolescent suicide prevention. This article describes universal screenings for depression and suicidality as one component of the Signs of Suicide (SOS) program in middle and high schools following the suicide death of a student in the past few years. Of the students screened (N = 7,429), 11.0 percent of yo...

Self-care is an essential social work practice skill that should be taught in social work courses. This teaching note describes the evaluation of an assignment for BSW students (N=48) designed to teach self-care skills. The purpose of this project was to 1) understand students’ conceptualization of self-care and 2) determine if this assignment expa...

Although suicide has been identified as a major public health issue in the United States, social work education has not yet clearly determined its role in suicide prevention. There has been a dearth of research on suicide content and education within social work programs, particularly baccalaureate programs. This teaching note presents the result o...

When the COVID-19 pandemic closed in-person schools in March 2020, SOS Signs of Suicide shifted to a virtual program. This paper describes an evaluation of the acceptability of the online program by middle and high school students (N = 1196). Students generally responded favorably to virtual SOS. Although some were unsure, of those with an opinion,...

This exploratory qualitative study of youth (N = 13) exposed to a peer's suicide death examined responses to the death and needed school-based responses and supports. Youth reported emotions including anger, grief, and fear, described suicide as a profound and impactful experience, and shared beliefs about entitlement to grief. Participants wanted...

In 2020, almost 46,000 individuals in the United States died from suicide, 1.2 million adults made a suicide attempt, and 12.2 million had serious suicidal thoughts. Clinicians in diverse practice settings will work with clients experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Due to a strong association between trauma and suicidality, suicidology exp...

Suicide is a major public health issue worldwide, with approximately 46,000 individuals dying by suicide each year in the United States alone. To prepare a mental health workforce to work effectively with individuals with suicidal thoughts and behaviors, schools of social work must teach students to use evidence-based practices for suicide preventi...

Women enter doctoral programs at higher numbers than ever before, earning half the doctoral degrees in the United States. Some women doctoral students experience pregnancy and parenthood during their studies. As infertility and pregnancy loss are common occurrences, likely many women doctoral students encountered these reproductive challenges as we...

This presentation focused on the issue of BSW gatekeeping. Using six years of data from one state university’s gatekeeping process, the presenters will identify barriers, concerns, and factors facilitating success, as well as the ways in which supportive advising can support students in successfully entering field education, as well as through the...

Women in many fields have described challenges during their doctoral work due to pregnancy and parenting, but no research has explored these issues within social work education. This cross-sectional survey describes pregnant and parenting female students’ (N=75) experiences in social work doctoral education. Participants identified challenges in fi...

In March 2020, a national emergency was declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In accordance with public health guidelines, social work programs rapidly responded by moving their courses online and modifying or ending field placements. The current study (N = 1,522) describes these responses from the perspective of BSW (n = 632) and MSW (n = 890) st...

Social work students need to develop skills to respond to microaggressions targeting people from marginalized social identity groups. In this qualitative study, BSW students and recent graduates (N=20) were presented with 10 five vignettes based on real-life examples from social work classrooms. Through semi-structured interviews, students shared t...

In March 2020, the federal government declared a national emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In accordance with public health guidelines, social work programs rapidly decided whether students could continue, modify, or suspend their field placements. The current study (N = 1,522) describes these events from the perspective of Bachelor of Socia...

The social work profession is grounded in social justice, and yet, social work education can perpetuate dynamics of oppression and privilege present in the larger society. As a result, students may experience microaggressions during their training. In this national survey of BSW students (N = 795), 24.9% witnessed a microaggression by a social work...

This survey of BSW students (N=909) reports on their experiences with microaggressions in their social work education. About one third (31.8%) of participants reported experiencing a microaggression committed by a social work faculty member. A relationship was found between experiencing a microaggression and participants’ social identities, specifi...

Social work students from marginalized backgrounds commonly experience microaggressions in social work education. This qualitative study explored how BSW students and recent graduates from diverse backgrounds perceived microaggressions in social work classrooms. Through semi-structured interviews, participants (N=20) responded to five vignettes of...

In 2012, the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention recommended more education in suicide prevention for mental health professionals. This study of social work instructors (N = 225) explored attitudes, beliefs, and feelings toward teaching suicide content in practice courses; the content covered; barriers to teaching about suicide; and desired su...

While doctoral education is growing in the United States, attrition from doctoral programs is high; 40-60% of students who begin doctoral programs do not complete them. Previous research has explored reasons for attrition, but little research has examined persistence, and none have looked at persistence for women during and after pregnancy. This qu...

Aim/Purpose: This study explored the experiences of women doctoral students and their perceptions of the impact of this experience on their academic careers. Background: While more women than men graduate from doctoral programs in all non-STEM fields, women are more likely to take non-tenure positions or positions at less prestigious programs such...

In the United States, suicide rates have risen 30% from 1999 to 2016. To decrease suicide rates, mental health professionals must use best practices to assess, manage, and intervene with clients with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. This qualitative research study (N = 60) interviewed participants of a one-day continuing education training titled S...

As Internet usage has increased, web-based technologies such as Skype and Face Time have become more common alternatives for qualitative interviewing, especially for research participants who are geographically distant from the researchers. Challenges to the use of these tools have been identified, but as technology is currently changing at a rapid...

Mentorship is an important component of doctoral program success, providing socialization to the profession and academia, professional development, and psychosocial support. For women in particular, mentoring increases feelings of preparedness, self-esteem, and rates of program completion. Within a gendered institution like academia, which does not...

Female doctoral students with children face significant barriers to successful program completion, leaving programs at higher rates than students without children. This qualitative study (N=28) explored female doctoral students’ experiences with institutional and programmatic supports during their pregnancy and transition to parenthood within socia...

This teaching note describes the use of anonymous, online, graded, peer review in an undergraduate social work human behavior in the social environment writing-intensive course. Students (N=37) provided written feedback describing their learning from writing and receiving peer reviews. Students identified learning from receiving the peer reviews, i...

This descriptive study used a mixed-methods approach to explore social work dissertation committee chairs’ (N = 150) conceptualizations of their role including their understanding of successful relationships, perceptions, and experiences with the scope of the role. Most chairs had no formal training and learned through their own experiences as stud...

This descriptive study used a mixed-methods approach to explore social work dissertation committee chairs’ (N = 150) conceptualizations of their role including their understanding of successful relationships, perceptions, and experiences with the scope of the role. Most chairs had no formal training and learned through their own experiences as stud...

Suicide is a major public health issue in the United States. The National Strategy for Suicide Prevention recommended increased education for individuals who work directly with at-risk populations, such as clients in child welfare programs, programs that serve older adults, and those working with adjudicated youths. Many BSW graduates enter direct...

While more doctoral students are pregnant and/or parenting in their doctoral programs than previously, little research has focused on their experiences. This qualitative study (N 1⁄4 28) explored the experiences of female doctoral students who were pregnant during their doctoral program (in a health-care field) and their decision-making about caree...

p>In professional disciplines like social work, students are expected to be able to understand and apply basic statistical concepts. Graduate programs differ in how they expect students to develop this ability; some require a full-credit statistics course as a prerequisite to admission, and others incorporate statistics into social work research co...

p>The field of social work has increasingly focused on improving the quantity and rigor of its research. For many social work doctoral students, their first independent research experience begins with their dissertation, and yet, little is known about the factors that facilitate students’ success during this process. Sample recruitment is one step...

Although statistics and research are key components of social work education, students are often described as reluctant consumers and users of statistics. Self-efficacy theory has been used to understand students’ engagement with the statistical knowledge needed for practice. This quantitative study explores the relationship between self-efficacy,...

A dissertation demonstrates a doctoral candidate’s knowledge of a content area, mastery of research methodology, and readiness for future scholarship. Doctoral candidates, social work programs, and the profession as a whole are invested in ensuring that candidates successfully complete dissertations and enter academic, research, and leadership posi...

In the United States, the current epidemic of opioid use disorders impacts many parents and their children. Historically, interventions for parents with substance use disorders have focused on two separate areas, achieving and maintaining abstinence and learning parenting skills. These interventions do not address the parent/child relationship, and...

Parents with substance use disorders (SUD) require treatment and support in order to provide children with appropriate care and protection. Using the 2012 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), this paper analysed 464 313 substantiated child maltreatment reports to determine (i) the proportion and characteristics of reports involvin...

Student incivility, dissent, and resistance are common challenges for university instructors. Instructors are often not well trained in the prevention and management of these types of behaviors and both new and seasoned instructors frequently struggle to effectively respond to challenging student behaviors in the classroom. These behaviors disrupt...

Historically, graduate training programs have not taught suicide assessment and intervention skills in depth; therefore, the development of effective continuing education offerings is relevant and necessary for practicing social workers. Although the ability to increase knowledge and confidence is critical, a focus on competency-based education dem...

This article describes a pedagogical strategy that provides an opportunity for BSW students to think critically about their interpretations of child protection clients and begin to engage with a strengths perspective. This teaching strategy uses reactance theory to introduce a nonpathologizing approach to client resistance. By reframing client resi...

Group learning activities are commonly used in undergraduate social work programs. There are high numbers of nontraditional students (i.e., students over 25 years old) in BSW programs, particularly in part- time programs, but the empirical research literature has not examined the experience of group learning activities for this specific group of st...

Three white female social work instructors reflect on our privilege and its manifestations in the classroom. Using examples from our teaching, we describe the limiting effects of our privilege, including making assumptions about our students’ experiences, displaying bias in our choice of teaching materials, and not meeting student learning needs. W...

Many social work students feel anxious when taking a statistics course. Their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors after learning statistics are less known. However, such information could help instructors support students’ ongoing development of statistical knowledge. With a sample of MSW students (N = 101) in one program, this study examined student...

This study examined the impact of a 1-day continuing education training for mental health professionals on knowledge and confidence around suicide assessment and intervention. Data on knowledge, confidence and the utility of information were collected through pretests and posttests at 12 trainings at local community agencies. Findings indicate that...

There is an ongoing debate in the social work profession about the value of faculty with practice experience. Many doctoral students begin teaching with significant practice experience but limited preparation for teaching. Schön’s reflective practice paradigm describes how new instructors can trust their existing social work skills and values, as w...

Parents frequently do not engage in child welfare services. A lack of engagement can lead to significant negative consequences for families. A relationship between psychological reactance and engagement in the context of child welfare work has been theorized but not examined empirically. This paper presents the results of a preliminary descriptive...

Although research with hard-to-reach populations is necessary to deepen the social work knowledge base and improve services to these groups, recruiting members of hard-to-reach populations for research projects is often a challenging process. Frequently, non-probability sampling is used to obtain participants. However, the difficulties and limitati...

Child protective service agencies have been criticized for not responding to mothers who are experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) in ways which are always supportive or responsive to their needs. Many agencies have begun collaborations with community IPV service providers but many mothers continue to experience child protection intervention...

A strengths-based, family-centered perspective is considered a best practice in child welfare. However, many frontline workers still do not use this perspective to guide their work, or they apply it either inconsistently or incorrectly. This article discusses the emphasis on compliance in child welfare practice, including the common use of complian...

Effectively engaging parents has been a continuing challenge for child protection workers. A lack of engagement can lead to significant negative consequences for families. This preliminary study explored the ability of family factors (e.g.; legal involvement, history with child protective services, substance abuse, child placement, intimate partner...

Many parents express resistance to child welfare services and can experience severe consequences as a result. This article defines the concept of psychological reactance and explores how this concept can be used to normalize child welfare parents' resistant behaviors in a way that does not blame the client. Examples of reactance responses in this p...