March is National Professional Social Work Month! To honor our #SocialWorkers and to help shed light on their important work, we’re bringing you their stories each week. #LMSW #PeopleofPeoples #BehavioralHealth
Our first feature is on Ana Serratos, a Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW) in the Integrative Behavioral Health department at People’s Community Clinic. Ana, like our 10 other social workers, counsels patients who are experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), grief, and trauma. Ana also provides support to the Pain Management Program, a multidisciplinary approach to reducing opioid use and treating patients with complex chronic pain.
In fact, counseling is one of the many non-pharmaceutical options recommended by the Center for Disease Control for alleviating pain. Patients will talk with Ana about their chronic pain issues—which are often unexplained and difficult to treat—and say things like, “I feel like you’re really listening to me,” or “I feel like you understand me.” (Ana says it’s moments like these that make her job as a social worker awesome!)
Ana also coordinates other “wrap-around” services like acupuncture, nutrition counseling, exercise, and medical-legal intervention to help patients with their symptoms.
Thank you, Ana, and thanks to the team of social workers that provide such great care for People’s patients!