Raise Your Voice Blog | Nicole Clark Consulting

4 Aug, 2014

Sound Off: Is This The Next Hobby Lobby?

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:17:22-04:00August 4th, 2014|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: reproductive justice|0 Comments

A July 2014 article on MSNBC, “This Is The Next Hobby Lobby” details the stories of Notre Dame graduate students Laura Grieneisen and Liz Miller and their ability to access birth control.

While both Grieneisen and Miller are biology students studying the effects of bacteria on baboons in Kenya, that’s where the similarities end.

Both are in need of contraception access, and both are interested in getting an intrauterine device (IUD) inserted. Grieneisen, age 26, is able to stay on her parents health insurance plan and get her IUD paid for under the Affordable Care Act. Miller, on the other hand, is 29, has health insurance covered through Norte Dame, and due to the university’s adherence to Catholic teaching against contraception, is not able to get her IUD costs covered.

While this sounds like a setback, the Affordable Care Act has a plan in place to allow women like Miller to have more expensive forms of contraception covered, while also allowing religious institutions like Norte Dame to opt-out. However, over 100 academic institutions, along with Norte Dame, are suing The Obama Administration, claiming that this opting out allows religiously-affiliated nonprofits to certify their objection to covering expensive forms of birth control still violates their religious liberty.

Why? Because despite their objections, contraception will still be dispensed.

What are some Norte Dame students saying?

Kalya O’Conner, a rising junior says:

“I understand that Notre Dame is a Catholic institution and that birth control is not part of their Catholic beliefs, but not all the people who work for them are Catholic, and they don’t share the same beliefs…There’s this mentality that Notre Dame students aren’t having sex, and that’s not true. It’s a total lie. I think because there isn’t easy access to contraceptives, they aren’t having safe sex.”

Graduate Lindsey Marugg, who was on birth control pills after she ruptured two ovarian cysts, wrote to the campus newspaper in 2012:

“Even though I had chosen to wait until marriage to have sex, my birth control prescription earned me judgment from friends and nurses on campus.

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1 Aug, 2014

Self Care Corner: Mindful Eating

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:18:55-04:00August 1st, 2014|Categories: Self & Community Care|Tags: Self Care Corner|0 Comments

In order to raise your voice for others, you have to take care of yourself first. That’s where self care comes in. If you like this tip, be sure to sign up for the Raise Your Voice newsletter to receive your copy of The Revolution Starts with Me! self care zine for more tips and self care resources.

Back in 2012, The New York Times posted an article about “mindful eating” as a way of being present to help cope with unhealthy eating problems, including binging, anorexia, and bulimia.

Dr. Susan Albers of Eating Mindfully expands more on mindful eating, noting that mindful eating “is being more aware of your eating habits, the sensations, you experience when you eat, and thoughts and emotions you have around food”.

Eating mindfully is different than being mindful of what you eat. When we’re being mindful of what we eat, we’re often focusing more on calories. When we eat mindfully, we extend our thoughts to being present and noting the emotions that come from enjoying what we’re eating.

Take a look at Dr. Albers’ Mindful Eating Plate. It mirrors the MyPlate from Choose My Plate, but instead of focusing on what’s on your plate (such as fruits, protein, dairy, etc.), Dr. Albers focuses on observation, savoring, awareness, non-judgment, and being in-the-moment. Eating mindfully is an act of self care because it encourages us to slow down and be in tune with ourselves and our feelings. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Download the “Mindful Eating” plate

RAISE YOUR VOICE: What you think about this week’s exercise? Share your insights in the comments section below. Do you have a self care resource or exercise you want to share? Contact me to have it featured in an upcoming Self Care Corner post.

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30 Jul, 2014

Advice for the Introverted Facilitator

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2023-02-08T22:08:31-05:00July 30th, 2014|Categories: Speaking & Facilitation|Tags: Facilitation, Workshop|0 Comments

In a few weeks, I will be in Washington, DC, to facilitate my workshop “ ’Good Girls Don’t Have Sex’: How Do Religion and the Media Influence Young Women’s Sexuality?” during the annual Woodhull Sexual Freedom Summit. I’ve facilitated this workshop several times in the past, and as I started to prep for Summit this week (completely out of character for someone who loves to procrastinate), I began thinking of the usual: workshop flow and how to improve my workshop based on past feedback. But I also started to think about me as a workshop facilitator, how I relate to my workshop participants, and my personality in general.

I’m an introvert, and workshop facilitation (and other forms of public speaking) seems like an odd choice for someone who is more inclined to draw energy from within. Though I’m not really one to be in the spotlight when it comes to my personal life, when it’s time to raise my voice for women and girls of color in a professional or activist setting, I’m “on”.

“On” for me doesn’t mean I get this sudden burst of extroverted flair. It means that I’m well prepared and I know what I’m talking about. I utilize my ability to engage my participants while also knowing when to stop talking and get out of the way.

If you’re just starting out in workshop facilitation, or if you’ve facilitated before but feel your introversion hinders your ability to engage your participants, let me tell you this: With over 10 years of workshop facilitation experience behind me, I’ve discovered along the way that you can be an engaging facilitator, have fun while doing it, and keep your introversion in tact. Here is my advice on being an engaging, fun, and introverted workshop facilitator:

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18 Jun, 2014

Try This: The Teach Back Method

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2022-08-15T12:24:11-04:00June 18th, 2014|Categories: Program, Service, & Campaign Design|Tags: Try This, Workshops|0 Comments

There’s a lot to think about when planning a workshop, and along with making sure we’re as engaging as possible, we get caught up in how we’re delivering our message, that we don’t realize how it’s being received.

Outside of evaluating your workshop, there’s a great tool that’s been used by teachers, healthcare professionals, and social workers alike. It’s called the Teach Back method, and you’re going to start incorporating this into your workshops.

The Teach Back method (also known as the “show me method”, or “closing the loop” is a practice where the facilitator asks the workshop participants to explain a concept or skill based on the workshop topic, essentially taking on the role of facilitator. The Teach Back allows you to gauge your participants’ understanding of a topic or concept. The Teach Back also determines how effective you are at teaching or demonstrating a concept or skill within of your workshop. Merely standing in front of your participants and reciting information, even if you’re engaging them, doesn’t lead to a high increase of behavior change in the long run.

If your workshop participants are able to Teach Back, it means they most likely understand the material, especially since they’re tasked with teaching to their peers.

Along with retaining information, some of the benefits of the Teach Back method include:

Participants see themselves as experts, rather than relying solely on the expertise of the facilitator
Participants will most likely employ the behavior in real world situations
Participants are able to retain information when it’s recited in their own words

As the facilitator, you also benefit from the Teach Back method:

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4 Jun, 2014

Ask Nicole: Should Child Protective Services Get Involved When a Young Woman Seeks an Abortion?

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:19:52-04:00June 4th, 2014|Categories: Public Health & Social Work|Tags: Ask Nicole, Social Work|0 Comments

Do you have a question that other Raise Your Voice community members can benefit from? Contact me and I’ll answer it!

I recently received the following question from a social work graduate student, who recently completed her first-year graduate internship (known as a field placement in social work) at an urban reproductive healthcare clinic:

Hi Nicole!

I recently finished my first year in graduate school for social work. Coming into social work school, I had a big interest in being in clinical study and I’ve envisioned myself working one on one with adults. I was placed in a local clinic that deals with most healthcare needs, and I was placed in the reproductive health access department as an intern. After being in my placement, I’m starting to gain an awareness of how important access to reproductive healthcare needs are for young people and communities of color, and I’m starting to become more interested in doing community practice instead of working one on one in a clinical setting.

A few weeks ago, a few classmates and I were reflecting on our field placement experiences. When I mentioned the great experience I had at my placement, one of my classmates told me that it is unethical for social workers to assist in helping people obtain abortions and that we have a duty to report it to Child Protective Services, especially when the person wanting an abortion is a young girl who is being sexually abused. This is based on the NASW Code of Ethic, she says. My classmate said that social workers, above all things, should protect life, and that includes the life an unborn child.

While I enjoyed my field experience (and, by the way, I also assisted other healthcare needs besides abortion), I’m starting to wonder if my classmate is right. Being that you’re a social worker that has a lot of experience in reproductive rights, can you share your insights?

Thank you!

I was excited when this student allowed for me to share her question. There are several parts to her questions, but before I share my answers, here’s a little background on social workers and our roles in reproductive healthcare:

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Sound Off: Is This The Next Hobby Lobby?

Self Care Corner: Mindful Eating

RAISE YOUR VOICE: What you think about this week’s exercise? Share your insights in the comments section below. Do you have a self care resource or exercise you want to share? Contact me to have it featured in an upcoming Self Care Corner post.

Advice for the Introverted Facilitator

Try This: The Teach Back Method

Ask Nicole: Should Child Protective Services Get Involved When a Young Woman Seeks an Abortion?

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