Our Podcast: inSocialWork®

For Tessa Bechtold-Brown, motivational interviewing began with a two-day introductory training. What stayed with her was not simply a new technique but a path for the way she already wanted to work alongside her clients.

In this episode, Bechtold-Brown describes how a career built through a series of authentic choices led her to recognize something missing in her region: a clinical space centered around celebrating and practicing motivational interviewing. So, she built one. Bechtold-Brown explains what it means to bring the spirit of MI beyond individual client sessions and into the relationships, supervision and culture of an organization.

Bechtold-Brown discusses how autonomy support can work with people mandated to treatment through drug court, mental health court and probation, what clients experience when practitioners move away from prescribing and advising, and why grief and loss may call for less guiding and more following. Throughout the conversation, Bechtold-Brown returns to a question that guides both her supervision and clinical practice: Who is this for?

Tessa Bechtold-Brown, LMHC, is a mental health counselor and the founder of Motivational Counseling, a Western New York clinical practice centered around motivational interviewing. Her work focuses on creating spaces where clients and clinicians can experience the principles of MI not simply as a clinical method but as a way of being with one another. Through her clinical practice and supervision, she explores how autonomy, listening and the spirit of MI can shape both therapeutic relationships and organizational culture.

It is an exciting time to be a social worker! Innovative technology has opened up new possibilities to better serve our clients. 

On inSocialWork®, you can discover how social workers are leveraging technology in creative ways to build upon client strengths and increase the impact of their agencies. Our episodes cover a wide range of technologies—from telehealth and apps to text messaging, social media and even video games.

Here at the UB School of Social Work, we integrate a trauma-informed and human rights perspective into all of our programs. inSocialWork® offers a variety of podcasts on trauma, trauma-informed care, human rights and social justice.

Social workers need a variety of skills and a strong knowledge base to successfully navigate the diverse landscape of our increasingly global world. The UB School of Social Work provides many opportunities to acquire the skills and knowledge needed for professional practice and global citizenship.

Self-care is an essential part of sustaining good social work practice.

At inSocialWork®, we encourage social workers to explore, develop and engage in good self-care to enrich both their lives and their profession.

From mental health to substance abuse, from ethics to cultural competence, you can explore a variety of topics with inSocialWork®.