Prof. McLaughlin Shares Support Group Strategies at Loyola University & Aspire Health Alliance
When she’s not teaching and advising MSW students at Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW), Prof. Donna McLaughlin can often be found sharing her expertise with the broader social work community. This month, she led sessions at the Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work and Aspire Health Alliance, drawing from her extensive experience in social work with groups, behavioral health, and trauma.
On Oct. 6, McLaughlin presented at Aspire Health Alliance, a non-profit behavioral health agency in Braintree, Mass., to train a multi-disciplinary group of mental and behavioral health workers in group practice in agency settings. The training highlighted the importance of group practice and the foundations of group facilitation, including best practices in agency settings, recruiting group members, stumbling blocks, co-leadership, and special populations.
The following week, on Oct. 14, McLaughlin explored group practice through a more particular scope at Loyola University. The interactive session, entitled “Facilitating Loss in Grief Groups with a Special Focus on Pandemic-Related Losses,” responded to the devastating magnitude of loss during the COVID-19 pandemic and focused on strategies for practitioners to support clients through their resulting grief. The session covered best practices and interventions for grief and loss groups and explored the scope of pandemic-related losses.
Prof. McLaughlin presents on group work practice and supervision nationally and internationally. She is a trainer and advisory board member with the American Parkinson Disease Association, and a facilitator, member of the international board of directors, and treasurer for the International Association for Social Work with Groups (IASWG). At BUSSW, McLaughlin is a clinical associate professor, advisor, and co-coordinator of the foundation year clinical practice courses and serves on the Faculty and University Council and various committees. She is a 1994 graduate of the School’s Master of Social Work program and 2019 recipient of BUSSW’s alumni award for Outstanding Contributions to the School of Social Work.