MSW
Howard University School of Social Work
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Faculty
Faculty
Janice Edwards
Chair
Department/Office
- Direct Practice Concentration, Social Work
School/College
- School of Social Work
Biography
Janice Edwards, Ph.D. is a clinical social worker. She received her MSW degree from Howard University School of Social Work and her PhD from the National Catholic School of Social Work, Catholic University. Edwards has served as an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Howard University since 2011.
She is the principal investigator of a Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) million dollar plus grant training Social Work students in Behavioral Health and OUD/SUD disorders in medically underserved communities. Edwards maintains a private practice where she provides clinical social work psychodynamic and psychoanalytic oriented treatment. Her range of experiences extends from providing clinical services to inpatient psychiatrically hospitalized children, adolescents and adults to outpatient psychotherapy to individuals, couples and families.
Prior to entering Academia, she was the Clinical Director of the Emergency Psychiatric Response Team at the Federal Bureau of Investigation for ten years. In her position she was responsible for the assessment, intervention and treatment of crisis cases where she provided trauma treatment in a wide range of clinical scenarios. Previous governmental involvement was in her position as a policy analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Office of the Assistant Director for Policy Evaluation. She currently serves on the Board of the Washington School of Psychiatry in Washington, D.C., and the American Association of Psychoanalytic Clinical Social Work. She has previously served on the Board of the Montgomery County Mental Health Association. Edwards has served as a clinical consultant to numerous agencies in Washington, D.C. She has extensive experience in clinical social work practice and has numerous publications in the areas clinical social work practice and social work education. She is an active member of the National Association of Social Workers, The Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work, the Clinical Social Work Association, and the American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work.
Education & Expertise
Education
Ph.D.
Catholic University of America
Publications and Presentations
Publications and Presentations
Opioid crisis meets COVID-19: a school of social work response
The growing opioid epidemic and the crises associated with COVID-19 have called for a workforce of mental health providers, specifically social workers, to be prepared to provide comprehensive human service delivery and practice interventions to assist consumers with opioid and substance addictions. This article presents how one school of social work responds to addressing this workforce deficit by developing future social work practitioners to work with this vulnerable population. This response is an attempt to bridge the existing gaps between mental health and substance abuse service provision.
Why People Lead and Others Follow: The Black Perspective
There are differences between Black and White leadership. Black leaders have overcome many obstacles simply to be given the opportunity to lead, often without the same tools and opportunities as their White counterparts. The evolution of Black leaders, whether called colored, Negro, Afro-American, Black, or BIPOC (Blacks, Indigenous, and People of Color) or Other speaks to how language and people have evolved to coalesce around issues of equality, equity, oppression, and polarization. This essay presents some leadership styles and provides some background on types of Black leaders and how they lead. From political leaders, to thought leaders, to religious leaders, the essay offers some reasons for Blacks’ psychological thirst for healing and relief from the cumulative effects over time of persistently experiencing racism, and the retriggering of psychological trauma of slavery.
COVID-19 and Training of Future Social Work Providers of Care from the Lens of "The Black Perspective."
The coronavirus's global pandemic, COVID-19, has a substantial disruptive impact on society, posing significant challenges to the provision of physical and mental health services in a time of crisis. This crisis is carrying an increased burden on both physical and mental healthcare. The psychological reactions, as well as behavioral and mental health challenges, may translate into a spectrum of psychiatric symptomatology. The symptoms manifesting are noted in anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and the exacerbation of underlying psychiatric disorders that may have been dormant until triggered by the trauma associated with the crisis (Pfefferbaum, & North, 2020). This emerging psychological distress triggered by feelings of alarm, fear, loss (both personal and economic), social and emotional isolation, as well as insecurity manifests in individuals and communities. These psychological symptoms are well known risk factors for the emergence of psychiatric disorders.
Slavery’s Long Shadow: Its Effects Upon Self and Culture
The Intrapsychic Psychological Binds of Poverty and Race: The Intersection of Mind and Milieu
Race and poverty are poignant factors in how individuals and communities experience the world. The reality is that more people of color than White people live in poverty (Milner, 2013). How these inequalities intersect with the mind and environment is of compelling importance. The experiences of race and living in poverty are riddled with innumerable stressors and barriers, and as a result are subject to the experience of a range of mental health issues. Those that live the experience of trauma related to race and poverty suffer disproportionately from a host of hardships that contribute to psychological distress that can have a profound effect on mental health and serve as intrapsychic binds. These internalized weights require therapeutic supports to alleviate the internal oppressive circumstances by those that are immersed in the experience on a daily basis. This article explores the intersection of these psychological binds and their effect on human behavior.