March is National Social Work Month, and here at the Hogg Foundation, we see firsthand the major role social workers play in the upkeep of mental health. We are joined today by Catherine Wilsnack, a doctoral candidate in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin. Catherine earned her B.S. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her M.S.W. from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice. Prior to pursuing social work, she worked as a mental health clinician. She discusses the unique perspective that social workers have on mental health and the collaboration between academic researchers and practitioners at the heart of the field.

Related Links:

Social Work in a Time of Division

Children in 2021: Grief and Loss

Understanding Mental Health in Older Adults

Love is a profound and multifaceted concept that has fascinated people for centuries. But do we really understand it? This question is at the center of our most recent episode of Into the Fold, which features an archived recording of the Hogg Foundation radio show, The Human Condition, with commentary by present day staff members, Mary Capps, Elizabeth Stauber, and Darrell Wiggins.

Produced and hosted by former Hogg Foundation program officer, Bert Kruger Smith, The Human Condition aired from 1971 to 1983. This episode featured Dr. Leo Buscaglia, professor, motivational speaker, and bestselling author of several books focusing on love and human relationships.

Related Links

• The Loneliness Epidemic

This is Part 2 of the conversation we began with last month's Episode 169, Navigating Systemic Shifts: Policy Changes That Impact Mental Health Care. We want to know, from those doing the work, what feels different about doing mental health policy in 2025. For this episode, we bring back our guests Mandi Zapata of Texas Civil Rights Project, Noah Jones of Texas Counseling Association, and Maia Volk of Disability Rights Texas. This time we’re focusing more on the personal stakes of doing policy work in a challenging environment.

In a bonus segment, we revisit a conversation from 2023, about Girls Empowerment Network and what their experience has to teach us about the future of public policy.

Episode 169 - Navigating Systemic Shifts: Policy Changes That Impact Mental Health Care

Related links:

• https://hogg.utexas.edu/texas-mental-health-guide
• https://hogg.utexas.edu/the-purpose-of-policy-work-in-a-divisive-time
• https://hogg.utexas.edu/the-future-of-recovery
• https://hogg.utexas.edu/2-million-awarded-to-train-mental-health-policy-fellows-in-texas
• https://hogg.utexas.edu/mental-health-goes-back-to-school
• https://hogg.utexas.edu/hogg-foundation-statement-on-migrant-mental-health