Psychotherapy Finances

A new report on salaries for social workers published on Huffington Post has the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) – and the profession in general – riled up.

The data was presented under the title, The WORST-PAYING college degrees, and was based on an analysis by PayScale.

“The quest for social welfare doesn’t pay much, even if you commit to it for the long haul,” Huffington Post said. “Average starting salary is just over $33,000, and the average mid-career salary barely tops $40,000.”

The NASW responded that PayScale “limited its data collection to social workers with bachelor’s degrees…” and added: “Those median salary levels are below those in a new National Association of Social Workers Compensation Study, which includes data from social workers with master’s degrees. That study puts the median annual salary for all social workers at $55,000 a year.

“Social workers with less than five years experience earn a median annual salary of $43,700; those with 10- 19 years of experience earn a median annual salary of $52,000; and those with 20 -29 years of experience earn a median annual salary of $60,000, according to the NASW study.”

An Adobe Acrobat (PDF) summary of the study is available by clicking here.

One writer on Huffington Post responded to the PayScale report: “This article is 100% correct. SW are the worst paid professionals. Many in the field continue to maintain this fixed delusion system they operate on re: salaries. Please spare me the BS!

“Why doesn’t the NASW send out a mass mailing questionnaire as to how many SW/LCSW are stressed/burned out because: 1) they can barely meet living expenses, 2) pay their NASW dues, 3) declare or on the verge of bankruptcy, 4) barely pay (if that) student loans, 5) drive 10 yr old cars that are barely maintained, 6) share living accommodations with others or 7) work 2 jobs cause they can’t manage a family with their SW salary. Why? NASW represents 155K SW and not once have they addressed this with all their members.”

On the Social Workers Facebook page, the topic drew 43 comments. A few samples:

* “I went into the field knowing I would not make millions. I wanted to make a difference.”

* “[Social workers] with licsws need to be paid and considered at the same status level as doctors.”

* “The Huffington Post article was a little odd to me. I assume the starting salaries for BA’s in sociology or psychology are also not very high. I think psychology, sociology and social work are the kind of majors you go into knowing that grad school is in your future.”

More kids than ever are taking prescription medications on a regular basis, while the use of behavioral drug treatments is skyrocketing in young adults, according to a report released this week by Medco Health Solutions, a pharmaceutical benefits manager.

Overall prescription drug spending for children jumped 10.8% in 2009, a figure that includes both higher utilization and higher prices. It was four times the rise seen in the general population.

One in four insured children and 30% of adolescents took at least one medication to treat a chronic condition last year.

The most substantial increases were seen in the use of antipsychotic, diabetes and asthma drugs over the past nine years, Medco said in a news release on Thursday.

“While H1N1 caused a spike in antiviral use among children last year, the far more alarming trend since the beginning of the decade is the increasing use of medications taken by children on a regular basis and in some cases, for conditions that we don’t often associate with youth, such as type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Robert Epstein, Medco’s chief medical officer and president of the Medco Research Institute.

“The fact that one-in-three adolescents are being treated for a chronic condition points to the need for additional health education and lifestyle changes that can address the obesity issue that is likely a driving force behind such conditions as type 2 diabetes and even asthma.”

Behavioral drug treatments continued to rise in children, with 13.2% of drug benefit dollars spent on medication for ADHD. But young adults age 20-34 saw the biggest jump — 21.2% in the use of behavioral medications.

“Atypical antipsychotics are extremely powerful drugs that are being used far too commonly - especially in children - given their safety issues and side effects,” said Dr. David Muzina, a specialist in mood disorders and national practice leader of the Medco Therapeutic Resource Center for Neuroscience.

“We’re seeing them prescribed for a number of different conditions including depression and anxiety for which there is not good evidence that they are an effective treatment and yet we’re exposing children to the possibility of extreme weight gain that could lead to a host of health problems including diabetes.”

To download the full version of the 2010 Drug Trend Report, click here.

People with mental illness are increasingly turning to support groups to help them deal with their issues – and it often works, The Chicago Tribune.

The newspaper describes a group that meets at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Ill. and calls it: “ a sign of a new direction in the treatment of mental illness. Those who suffer from it are increasingly being recognized as the best authorities on how to overcome it.”

The group was organized by the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The organization’s Pat Doyle told the Tribune: “For those who have the lived experience, it empowers them to really be the driving force for change. Where those voices were silenced in the past, they’re now being heard.”

It’s interesting to note that psychologists and other professionals aren’t steering the work that goes on within the groups. They are more or less independent, talking about issues among themselves and helping each other to cope.

One member, Jim Bina, said: “A doctor can read about it but he doesn’t know it firsthand. Here, they get it. You’re preaching to the choir. They know exactly what you’re talking about.”

NAMI promised to radically expand its support group program to all 50 states by 2009, and the organization has followed through.

The program is called NAMI C.A.R.E. (Consumers Advocating Recovery through Empowerment) and they entail weekly 90 minute meetings.

Originally established to help people with substance abuse issues, peer support groups are now popping up to address a wide variety of mental health problems like depression, anxiety and even bipolar disorder, according to an article by Mayo Clinic .

In the midst of a high-profile controversy over a same-sex marriage ban in California, the American Psychological Association is front-loading its upcoming annual meeting agenda in San Diego with seminars and workshops on gay rights issues.

Some of the topics include: Intersection of Law, Policy and Scholarship in the Gay Rights Debate; In Their Own Voices — Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Activists on Marriage and Gay Rights; Opposing Discriminatory Legislation and Initiatives; and APA’s Role in the Battle for Marriage Equality — Bringing the Research to the Courts.

There’s also an Invited Address on Freedom to Marry, and a Presidential Program: Marriage Equality for Same-Sex Couples: Science and the Legal Debate Part I.

The 118th APA convention is set for August 12-15 at the San Diego Convention Center.

San Diego is a new location for the APA. The 2011 convention will be in Washington, DC, and the 2012 meeting is slated for Orlando, FL.

Same-sex-marriage advocates and opponents in California have been volleying back and forth for years over the issue.

A ban on gay marriage in California won approval in the 2008 election, overturning a state Supreme Court ruling. Last month, gay rights activists were unsuccessful in placing a new measure on the November ballot repealing the ban.

The group, Restore Equality 2010, needed 695,000 signatures but fell short. Group leaders said they would try again in 2012. Meanwhile, a lawsuit to repeal Proposition 8 – the measure passed by voters in 2008 – is still ongoing.

The APA has joined other professional associations, including the American Psychiatric Association and the National Association of Social Workers, in supporting the legal challenge to Proposition 8.

After a four-year decline, the number of medical school graduates going into psychiatry inched up this year, although the overall percentage of grads remained the same, according to the April 16 issue of Psychiatric News.

The number – 670 – topped last year’s 656 under the National Resident Matching Program.

The publication said 1,075 psychiatry slots were filled overall, including international graduates.

More medical specialists are attracted to the field by studies showing a solid mind-body connection to behavioral therapies, experts speculated.

Another surprising statistic reported by the NRMP: a 9 percent rise in the number of students matching into primary care medicine. Health care experts around the country have been sounding the alarm about the lack of primary care physicians headed into the field, and reports of others planning to quit their practice. The situtaion was expected to be aggravated by passage of the health care reform law.

In 2005, 653 graduates opted for psychiatry, a number that shrank to 595 in 2008.