Amanda McNab graduated with her Bachelor of Psychology in 2003 from The College of New Jersey and Master of Social Work in 2006 from Widener University. She is currently a social work doctoral candidate at the University of Kentucky. While pursuing this degree, Mrs. McNab is working full time as the Quality Improvement and Training Manager for Community Crisis Intervention and Support Services at Huntsman Mental Health Institute in Utah. She has had the privilege of co-authoring two journal articles, “Improving perinatal mental health care for women Veterans: Description of a quality improvement program” and “Efficacy of sexual trauma treatment in a substance abuse residential program for women.”
Throughout Mrs. McNab’s career, she has been focused on substance use, the treatment of trauma, crisis intervention, and suicide prevention. To assist in meeting the needs of the populations she has worked with, Mrs. McNab became trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 2016. Recently, her focus has shifted from treatment to investigating how to mitigate the factors that may lead to negative responses in individuals after being exposed to a distressing event.
DSW Showcase Student Presentation
Amanda McNab
MSW
Preparing MSW Students for the Hard Times
Concentration - Social Work Education
- Monday, April 28, 2025 -
- 1:00 pm
Abstract
MSW programs are designed to prepare future social workers to manage the multitude of situations they will come across in their careers. At times, these situations will include adverse events that have negative emotional and psychological effects on those involved. Although social workers are told to use self-care and build distress tolerance skills, not everyone knows how to apply them for themselves. By providing mandatory education around self-care and distress tolerance skills during MSW programs, social workers will be more prepared to manage the impact of negative events in their own lives and improve the quality of their career.
This presentation will review research regarding current curriculum options being provided in the United States, as well as the findings regarding the effectiveness. Participants will be exposed to the theories and concepts curriculum should utilize to encourage the adoption of new skills and make them accessible across unique backgrounds. Ways to provide experiential experiences in the classroom without crossing the boundary into group therapy will be discussed.