The Social Work DEI Team wants to recognize the breadth of diversity, equity, and inclusion work being done in our Department and the larger MSU Denver community as well as amplify the voices of those from historically silenced communities. Have a story you want to share with us for a chance to be featured on our website? Submit it today!
MSU Denver Department of Social Work has embarked on a journey to provide the necessary supports and resources to the department to ensure that we create a culturally responsive professional and academic learning environment truly rooted in an anti-oppressive social work practice. We invite the Department, students, and partnering agencies to actively engage in and create spaces for critical reflexivity, self-awareness, and discussions around the dismantling of oppressive systems.
The social work profession is built upon a set of core values that recognize the “dignity and worth of the person,” “the importance of human relationships,” and “social justice” (NASW, 2021, preamble). MSU Denver strongly believes that social work education is based on belief that reform is necessary within most social systems, whereby the social work curriculum is uniquely situated to provide the basic understanding and implementation of incremental and significant changes across the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Understanding how discrimination characterizes and shapes the human experience and development of identity, diversity, equity, and inclusion work must be recognized as foundational to the social work education experience.
Please join the Department as we hold brave spaces to embrace intersectional identifies and confront oppressive systems.
To provide the necessary supports and resources to the department to ensure that we create a culturally responsive professional and academic learning environment truly rooted in an anti-oppressive social practice.
MSU Denver Social Work Department strives to practice, promote, and educate the Council on Social Work Education’s competencies regarding diversity and social justice. Specifically, to engage diversity and difference in practice and advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice.
Use affirmative language with yourself, i.e. (I am doing my best, I am beautiful, I am capable, It is okay to need help.)
Sound can be healing. Emotional responses can be stimulated or relaxed through music. Music can be soothing and restorative. Make yourself a playlist and permit yourself to sound out!
Seek counseling or therapy. Everyone has mental health, and it is OKAY to take care of yourself.
Rest your body. It is okay to relax.
Move your body. Exercise and body movement can support increased energy and sleep. You don’t have to know Yoga to try it. YouTube videos, Books, or Classes can all be good methods for all levels.
Try to increase your hydration and decrease your alcohol consumption. Alcohol can be a depressant.
A break from school (fall, winter, spring, or summer) may be the perfect time to see a medical provider. Taking care of your physical well-being is essential. We have a medical center on campus.
Don’t shame yourself for feeling whatever you feel.
Unplug. Take a break from technology and social media sites. Remember, it is OKAY to unfollow people and pages that make you feel bad about yourself.
Spend time in an environment that supports the uplifting, soothing, and relaxing of your soul.
We are all individuals on a journey hoping to live our best lives while helping others along the way. We are having a human experience. Having a human experience can be fabulous and challenging. Many of us are passionate about social work because we want to pour our compassion and care into individuals, families, groups, and communities. Remember–You are important too. It isn’t always easy to show the same kindness and empathy toward oneself that flows so easily to others. With some intentional practice, your self-compassion and self-care can grow.
Social Work Department DEI Coordinator, Faculty Mentoring, OSWSS and Field Liaison, Courageous Conversations
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Faculty, Staff, and Student Programming Coordinator
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Spanish-Speaking Faculty and Student Coordinator
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Student Cultural Humility Development and Student Courageous Conversations Facilitator
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Student Cultural Humility Development and Student Courageous Conversations Facilitator
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Communications Coordinator, B-IPOC, Neurodiverse, and Disabilities
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Trauma-Informed Teaching and Learning Coordinator, Facilitator of Listening and Learning Spaces
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LLS are peer-supported, voluntary, virtual group spaces that are offered once a month to Department of Social Work staff and instructors to connect, listen, support, and learn with each other. We gather in this peer space to be collectively witnessed, thoughtfully supported, and compassionately challenged as we navigate tender relational dynamics, the successes and the struggles.
If you have any DEI related questions, concerns, curiosities, or if you are in need of a consultation please reach out or submit a contact form!
Social Work DEI Contact FormOffice Location:
Central Classroom Building, Suite 201
Email:
[email protected]
Mailing Address:
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Department of Social Work
PO Box 173362 CB 70
Denver, CO 80217-3362
