Girasol strives to help Texas immigrant children and families to heal from trauma through support, education, and connection. Girasol is housed in the Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing and works with community partners to educate service providers and students on migration and trauma, support immigrants by providing services to women and children both during and post-detention, and connect community members with resources.

Join Girasol for a Teach-In to learn how social work and immigration connect. Please RVSP here. Speakers include:

• Dora González, BSW ’16
• Ana Hernández, MSSW ’18
• Anayeli Marcos, master’s student
• Monica Faulkner, research associate professor, Steve Hicks School of Social Work
• Laurie Cook Heffron, assistant professor, St. Edward’s University
• Elissa Steglich, clinical professor, UT Austin School of Law

Pizza will be provided to all who RSVP.

Jane Maxwell, PhD

Substance abuse trends in Texas, 2018

Unlike past years, cocaine has made a come-back in 2018, with more deaths in Texas than methamphetamine or heroin. Maxwell’s latest study also shows the changing characteristics of individuals using synthetic cannabinoids (Spice, K-2) and early findings on the use of cannabis oils and edible preparations in Texas.

About the speaker: Jane Carlisle Maxwell, Ph.D., is a research professor with the Addiction Research Institute at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. She has been a member of SAMHSA’s National Advisory Council, a consultant to the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control, a Fulbright Senior Specialist, a member of the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Community Epidemiology Work Group and NIDA’s National Drug Early Warning System. She has over 45 years experience monitoring changes in drug use patterns in Texas, the United States and internationally.

Join us for the Steve Hicks School of Social Work’s Fall commencement ceremony at the LBJ Auditorium on Saturday, December 8, 2018.

The Sue Fairbanks Psychoanalytic Research Collaboration presents

Defense Mechanisms Explained

We’ve all heard of “denial”…and it’s definitely not a river in Egypt! In this session, we will dive deeply into these dark waters, hopefully shining a light on how a number of common defenses both protect and harm their owners. You must RSVP to attend. A light lunch and CEUs will be provided

Questions? Tina Adkins at Tina.Adkins@austin.utexas.edu
Lunch & Learns are sponsored by the Fairbanks Psychoanalytic Research Collaboration, which has funded the study of the Family Minds intervention for foster parents. To read more about this study and intervention visit our project page.