Episode Five: Research-Informed Social Work Practice

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How does research at the Garland School of Social Work transform social work education and practice? 

Step into a conversation with Holly Oxhandler, PhD, LMSW, Associate Dean for Research at The Diana R. Garland School of Social Work at Baylor University. Dr. Oxhandler shares insights into faculty-led research projects addressing critical issues like mental health, trauma-informed care, and child welfare. She also discusses her book The Soul of The Helper and the vital role of integrating faith and mental health in social work practice. Plus, hear about student involvement in cutting-edge research and how it prepares them for service and leadership worldwide. 

Join us to hear how GSSW research is impacting communities and shaping the future of social work.

Transcript

SPEAKERS

Curtis Isozaki, Holly Oxhandler

Curtis Isozaki  00:00

Hello, Dr Holly Oxhandler! Thank you so much for taking the time to be on The Garland School of Social Work Podcast. How's everything going? 

Holly Oxhandler  00:09

Hey, Curtis! Everything is going well. It is so good to see you. It's good to chat with you, and I'm honored to get to be here with you today. Thanks for having me!

Curtis Isozaki  00:19

Fantastic! Well, we're really excited that you're willing to be able to share a little bit about what research looks like here at The Diana R. Garland School of Social Work at Baylor University, and its influence on social work education. I can't wait to hear about all the faculty-led research projects that are really shaping the field of social work, and I know that they're important topics near and dear to our hearts as it relates to this profession, and excited to dive into them. Before we do so, would you be able to introduce yourself, and from there jump into some rapid fire questions!

Holly Oxhandler  00:59

Yeah, that sounds great! So as you mentioned, my name is Dr. Holly Oxhandler. I serve as our Associate Dean for research here in The Garland School of Social Work. I have been on faculty since 2014 and stepped in as Associate Dean in the fall of 2017, I believe. So not too, too long after joining the school. I studied the intersection of Faith and Mental Health and the degree to which clients want to talk about their faith as it relates to their mental health treatment. I study the degree to which we are training and equipping Mental Health care providers and social work, psychology, marriage and family therapy, and counseling when it comes to training them to talk about their clients, religion or spirituality, whatever it is they believe in. I have some other niche areas that I'm interested in, especially around the area of like, self-care and ensuring that social workers, especially are taking really good care of themselves as they serve others. So those are a few little little things about me. My husband and I [have] been married since 2012 - Sorry! Just Kidding! 2000 or 2011 [laughs], and we have two kiddos who are both younger, and we love being in Waco. We're really, really thankful to be here and to be connected with Baylor.

Curtis Isozaki  02:33

Since you're introducing yourself, you have to tell us about your book, "The Soul of The Helper."

Holly Oxhandler  02:40

Oh, well, thank you. Yes, thank you for asking about that! So, [I] had this book come out just a couple of years ago, but the title is "The Soul Of The Helper, Seven Stages To Seeing The Sacred Within Yourself So You Can See It In Others." It is really this outpouring of the research that I've done over the years in recognition that this research is not just for mental health care providers, but it is for everyday helpers. So, teachers and therapists, faith leaders, volunteers, anyone who is serving others in some capacity. This book is this, this deep recognition that we've got to be paying close attention to what is happening within us, within our own inner landscape, as we go out and serve others. 

Curtis Isozaki  03:04

That's incredible! I'm excited for students getting the opportunity to get to know you throughout their time here at The Garland School. And so diving into some rapid-fire question, what is one word to describe where you're currently living, in Waco?

Holly Oxhandler  03:33

So, just so a little bit of that, but it does talk about the research that I've done, and then, transparently, you know, Baylor. I know we talk about transformational education, but the reality is, our research transforms us too. And so that really is what happened for me, that as I did more of this research on faith and mental health, I got to a point at which I was like it. I can't just keep looking at the data. I have to, like, embody it and live into this and then right from that lived experience. So, that really is where that that book kind of came from. So thanks for asking about it. Well, the first word that comes to mind is just home. I love, I love the home that I have my husband and I have cultivated with our kids. It is, it is very calming, [and] relaxing. It is a safe space. Those who read the book will recognize that has not always been a part of my journey, but I'm very, very thankful for the hominess that we have here. We live out in the Woodway area, but the home is the word that I would use.

Curtis Isozaki  04:56

I love that. Then, here in Waco, what is your go-to order at your favorite coffee shop?

Holly Oxhandler  05:06

So my favorite coffee shop is Starbucks, and that is because I worked at Starbucks for five years during my undergrad years. I actually don't drink coffee. I haven't for about six or seven months now. So the honey, citrus mint tea that Starbucks has, that is my go-to. That is my favorite, favorite drink.

Curtis Isozaki  05:32

Awesome! And then you and I share a similar love for our work bags, our bags. Shameless plug! 

Holly Oxhandler  05:40

Yes!

Curtis Isozaki  05:40

What is the most practical item that you have in your work bag?

Holly Oxhandler  05:45

Yeah, I would say, besides my computer, which is kind of the feels like that's the catch-all, it's my paper planner. I like, I absolutely live by my paper planner. So, I use passion planners, and I love everything that the company stands for and what they advocate for, and I have to have it. It's how I survive with all of the different hats that I juggle. So, yeah,

Curtis Isozaki  06:12

Love a good planner. Love a good planner. So without any further ado, diving into some questions, we've been asking everyone on the podcast this question. How have you seen The Garland School of Social Work prepare social workers for worldwide service and leadership? 

Holly Oxhandler  06:30

Yeah, that's an amazing question, and I love that you're asking everyone because I can't wait to listen to what all my colleagues have to say with this question. I would say in particular that I have watched in awe of the ways that my colleagues are wholeheartedly serving, caring, for equipping, [and] empowering our students, for the work that our Students are called, equipped, and wired to do. So, whether that is continuing to work in Waco or across Texas or across the country or around the world, I have been in awe of the ways that I am watching my colleagues equip our students. [By teaching them] how to be critically appraising research that's available. How to be evaluating their practice. How to have the skills that they need to work with individuals and families and communities and all of the diverse settings that they are serving and their clients or communities. Then I think the thing that is most important about what I've noticed within The Garland School is that there is this holistic attention to the social worker and making sure that they are again caring for themselves well as they go out and serve others. So that they can practice with a sense of humility and with integrity and with confidence, and so many of the things that we value within the social work profession, but also within The Garland School of Social Work,

Curtis Isozaki  08:08

Amazing! With that being said, How does research at GSSW shape the field of social work and influence professional practices in our field? 

Holly Oxhandler  08:17

Yeah, yeah. I'm so proud of the research that we're doing here in the school. So the research that's happening within The Garland School of Social Work is cutting edge. It is innovative. It is tackling complex and big and difficult issues and struggles with creative approaches in which we engage in working with other disciplines. Through interdisciplinary research, we are trying to pay attention to what is the most current best practices when it comes to research, but also social work practice. And again, it was coming out of this place of this desire to serve, like our faculty, the work that they do with their research. It is not ego-driven research. It is not 'look at the work that I'm doing and focus on me!' It is from this posture of service, and this desire to help and serve others and research.  I mean, I really do believe that research is just another social work skill. You know, just like we teach our students about cognitive behavioral therapy or EMDR or different community engagement practices, research is another skill set by which we can serve individuals and families, and communities. So we see, we see research from our school that is helping kids within, within Well, yeah, within school systems. We've seen our research helping folks who struggle with addiction. We've seen our research helping folks who are wanting to work in congregation settings and work with communities, within congregations, with birth mothers, and I mean, there's so there's such a wide variety of research topics. It's, it's remarkable to see it actually having an impact within the community and profession. 

Curtis Isozaki  10:25

So here at The Diana R. Garland School of Social Work at Baylor with the designation of a Carnegie-one, research-one institution, You know, as you mentioned, research is so important to us, and it pairs so so deeply with our level of academic excellence. You know, as someone who works here that we pride ourselves in our school to be incredibly high touch and working with students, and students being able to work with faculty and various led, faculty-led research projects. So with that being said, what role do faculty-led projects play in addressing critical issues like mental health, child welfare, or trauma-informed care? 

Holly Oxhandler  11:10

Yeah, yeah! Well, first I love that you elevated the role in which students have a role in faculty projects! I love whenever our faculty are able to write in a student research assistant position, or when they get to mentor students with research projects. That was how I fell in love with research and opened my door to learn more about research, and so, any which way we can bring students on board, I love that welcome, celebrate that, and continue to encourage that. To your question around, and I would -Yeah, I would say that kind of across the board, we have some undergrad students engaged in research, but mostly at the Masters and PhD level is where we see that student involvement.  So with regard to, like, what role do faculty-led research projects play in addressing these critical issues? I mean, again, we are seeing - I mean, I'm thinking about like Carrie Arroyo's work with the bear project, and how we have students, MSW, students right now who are being trained to work within school systems, to best help and equip and work alongside students and teachers, in terms of it being trauma-informed care. Making sure that teachers are equipped to be sensitive to the trauma that many students are caring as they're going through their days within the school systems. I think about, Becky, Dr Becky Scott's research with integrated behavioral health and like, how do we ensure that the primary care providers have access to a social worker who can assess for and treat and walk alongside patients, who may be coming in with physical ailments, but really it's an emotional or trauma related struggle that's underneath what's going on.  Then with with child welfare, especially, I think of Dr. Lisa Madden and her work with the child welfare system, and in particular, with birth mothers and adoption caseworkers. She's done a remarkable job equipping and empowering master students and doctoral students in this area and giving them the skills and tools that they need to be leaders in this area. Um, I know I can speak specifically from my area of research, where Dr. Clay Paulson and I had worked on a project, three-year project funded by the Templeton Foundation, making sure that we were able - Well, what we did was we assessed faculty views and behaviors around training students to ethically integrate their clients spirituality into mental health treatment. So doing that survey work helped gave us a snapshot to see like, what are educators in psychology, counseling, marriage and family therapy, and social work, what are they doing to equip these students who are going to be working with clients? How are they making sure that clients, religion, and spirituality is an included part of their culture, so that it is woven in to their treatment plan? Because we know that clients often want to talk about it, and they want the provider to be the one to bring it up. So we wanted to get a sense of like, what's happening more at the macro level, in terms of educators equipping their students in this area.  So this, again, this, this is rolled out to include training programs across each of these projects that I'm talking about. You know, there are training programs that are being done. There are several manuscripts being written, workshops, you know, I was up at, Bringum Young [University] in the late fall to talk about this, and I will get asked to speak at many different universities to talk about, like, how do we pay attention to spirituality in mental health training. So, it's really neat to see, like, the tangible impact it's having with these educators, with practitioners, with clients. You know, again, this, this work, we do it in The Garland School, not just so that we, you know, have these manuscripts published and that's it. But like, how do we actually get it to the people who we are seeking to serve? How do we translate this research in a way that actually helps those who are seeking to serve? So anyways, so those are probably a little bit of a long-winded answer to your question, but hopefully that helps a little bit.

Curtis Isozaki  15:53

That's wonderful. Can you provide an example of a specific research project that has had a tangible impact on the field of social work, or its community?

Holly Oxhandler  16:02

Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, the one again, that Dr. Paulson and I just did surveying these, these educators. It's amazing the number of emails that I got from faculty just doing that survey where they were like, "I never even thought about teaching my students about this topic, because I never took a class on it, and I certainly never was equipped, and how do I teach students about it?" So that self reflection then has that impact, you know, not only with the academic community, but then as they continue to go out and teach their students. Also, going back to Carrie Arroyo's project with The Bear Project, and seeing the ways that the funding from the Department of Education is not only equipping and supporting our MSW students through these internship opportunities but also it's ensuring these students, like our master students, are then working so closely alongside students within Waco ISD and surrounding school districts for them to get some of the care that they may not otherwise receive. So again, it's immediate impact, but then as we write up the results of our research, it's remarkable to see the ways that our research is then inspiring others work outside of social work or within social work in other settings, for them to adopt things that we are learning from our research into their settings. So, yeah. 

Curtis Isozaki  17:37

That is just so vast and so impactful. As you've kind of alluded to, if we can kind of go a little bit deeper, how does The Garland School of Social Work integrate research opportunities for students and what benefits do they gain from these experiences? 

Holly Oxhandler  17:54

Yeah, I love that question. I mean, again, it is, it is by having remarkable mentors who opened the door and empowered me to be a part of research that invited me to to see the possibilities. So again, I and so many of our faculty here on at The Garland School create those open doors and opportunities for our students. Whether that's through research assistant opportunities, [or] whether that's through mentoring opportunities, where our students are meant or matched to be mentored by a faculty member, amd sometimes those can grow into research opportunities. Sometimes they're just, "hey, tell me more about the work that you do as I think about what I want to do, post MSW or post BSW," but, but those mentoring opportunities are really important.  Then certainly our PhD program, that is really where the heart of research opportunities, I feel like are, a lot are created for our students. So we have our doctoral students will, you know, if they have mentors through their PhD program, and they have a chair and committee members for their dissertation. They also have opportunities to work alongside with a small stipend that they can apply for to work alongside a faculty member's research. Then there are certainly opportunities in which students can do electives or classes where they are kind of doing like an independent study that's related to research. We see those as well. So again, I really see research, you know, I don't think folks always think of it this way, but there is so much creativity in research, and that extends to the opportunities with which students can engage in research.  So there's, there there are, really are so many unique opportunities that students can learn from. The one thing I would say, just to add to that, is if there is anyone who is considering our program or currently enrolled in our program, who is even remotely thinking maybe research one day. I really, really want to encourage you to use this time during your program at The GSSW to seize these opportunities to learn from faculty and to fumble through the learning process around research. This is the time for you to learn, and so I would really want to encourage and empower folks to do that.

Curtis Isozaki  20:30

So as we kind of conclude and reflecting on so many different PhD students who have applied to be PhD students here at The Garland School, as well as MSW students and BSW students that we just received their applications from. As you reflect on these different students, what advice would you give prospective students exploring their career in social work and research in social work practice at The Garland School? 

Holly Oxhandler  21:01

Oh, well, first, I would just extend my deepest gratitude for these prospective students and current students for their interest in The Garland School. I love, love, love, love being a part of this community, and it is very special in a way that I have not seen in any other school of social work that I have interacted with, that I have colleagues who are on faculty at. There is something very special about this school that I really want to start with, a deep gratitude for those who are interested in our program. I think the advice that I would give is one that certainly you, the more you are able to pour into it with curiosity and this posture of humility, the more you will get out of the program. So utilizing this time as this remarkable opportunity to learn from some of the brightest scholars in our field, I would really just use this time to be a sponge and learn and soak up as much as you can.  Then the other thing that whenever you know, for each of my classes, I always start the semester inviting my students to create a selfcare plan like that would probably be one of the biggest pieces of advice that I would offer to those who are considering social work, or who are currently enrolled in our program, creating some kind of selfcare plan. Which, again, is not just like, you know, Mani-Pedis and bubble baths, but really and truly, like making sure that you're getting enough sleep each night. Making sure that you are paying attention to, you know, the things that you consume, whether that's digitally or food or drink. You know, making sure you're drinking enough water, [and] moving your body in whatever way you can throughout the day. You know, I give a long list of thoughts and recommendations, but like really practicing selfcare, because you, you are, you're worth taking care of yourself in all of the ways that we are training you to care for others, but also because, you know, you cannot draw water from an empty well. So if you are continuing to pour out and pour out but not refilling.  You know, I just, I really, really want our students to be taking care of themselves because, because they are, they do have that inherent worth. In the same way that we talk in social work about our clients having inherent worth and dignity is the same is true for our students. So practicing that self care now before you're graduated is really important.

Curtis Isozaki  23:41

Well, thank you so much. Dr. Oxhandler! I really appreciate the time and the very thoughtful words and your heartfelt love for The Garland School is so felt in this time together, but also just your, your passion, your excellence and of the work that you're doing here. When it comes to forwarding research around social work practice is so, so important to feel that helps so many people on a macro, meso and micro level. So thank you so much for your contribution. We're looking forward to more opportunities to get to know you here at The Garland School of Social Work, thanks for taking the time.

Holly Oxhandler  24:23

Awesome! Thanks so much for having me, Curtis! It was a pleasure to get to be here with you. Thank you!