Photo credit: Alamy/LaPresse
by Erlene Grise-Owens, EdD, LCSW, MSW, MRE, & Justin “Jay” Miller, PhD, MSW, CSW
“I don’t know if I’m changing the game, but I’m changing the game for myself.”
—Alysa Liu, 2026 Olympic Gold Medalist
Happy March Social Work Month! The National Association of Social Workers’ (NASW) 2026 theme for Social Work Month is Uplift. Defend. Transform.
Social Workers Are Human
In the description of the theme, NASW reminds us that social work’s primary mission is to “enhance human well-being, meet the basic human needs of all people, and [attend to] the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.” This mission is typically directed outward toward clients, causes, and communities served by our profession. This month and every month: Let’s promote this mission and celebrate those who activate it.
Likewise, let’s look inward. Specifically, let’s consider that we, as individual social workers, are humans with basic needs whose well-being matters. We are part of “all people.” In this era, we are particularly vulnerable and oppressed—as practitioners and as a profession. Too many of us struggle with substandard wages and inadequate organizational and structural supports. Many of us work in toxic environments. Thus, this mission applies to us, as practitioners and human beings, as well.
Self-Care Is Essential
In this context, self-care is even more essential. Whilst still needing much more serious attention, in recent years, the profession has begun recognizing the exponential importance of self-care and the need to take it seriously. Professional organizations, such as NASW and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), have asserted that self-care is “paramount for competent and ethical social work practice.”
As we consider how to uplift, defend, and transform, as a profession, we must be intentional and diligent in asking: How does the profession promote that practitioners are uplifted, defended, and transformed? How do organizations support and advocate for a culture in which self-care is normative, rather than optional? How do those professionals we celebrate in social work model self-care? These should be central considerations in all situations and scenarios. And, these considerations must be core aims, during Social Work Month and beyond.
However, we must not “wait” for the profession to change. Emphatically, we must diligently pursue systemic change within our profession. However, passively “waiting”—which leaves change largely up to external forces—leads to disempowerment, decreased well-being, and dehumanization.
Let’s Change the Game for Ourselves
As the quote at the top of this post conveys: We must learn to make changes for ourselves. Alysa Liu, the 2026 Olympic Gold Medalist, mesmerized audiences with her beautiful ice-skating artistry. She inspired with her resilient and exuberant joy, both on and off the ice. Ms. Liu has quite a complicated journey, including “burning out” of ice-skating. Her return to it—with such passion and excellence—is a model for reclaiming and prioritizing self-care. Let’s take her example to consider how we can uplift, defend, and transform through our self-care.
Uplift.
How do/can you uplift your self? Maybe it’s in small ways, such as having a morning routine that centers you. Maybe it’s in significant ways, such as seeking out professional development, which improves both your sense and skills of competence and makes you more marketable. Maybe it’s emulating Ms. Liu, who took time to reflect and plan for how to bring joy back into the arduous arena of her chosen profession.
Defend.
How do/can you defend your self? Ms. Liu defended her boundaries and identity. When she realized that she was—to use a terrible metaphor 😊—skating on thin ice, she stepped away. Sometimes we need to quit—a job, a role, an external or internal expectation—or at least step back to consider how we can change the “game.” Ms. Liu commented that she now selects her own music, programs, and costumes. In what ways can you take back some power in your own “music, program, costumes” and so forth, as it applies to your situation?
Transform.
How do/can you transform life for your self? Ms. Liu transformed ice-skating—for herself—by changing her mindset. She determined that the medals, external approval, and unrealistic expectations would not have so much power over her. Instead, she brought a mindset that her “job” was to contribute her artistry and journey, whilst centering her own well-being. What medals, external approval, and unrealistic expectations can you reject in order to transform your contribution and journey? How can you re-center your own well-being?
None of these aspects—uplift, defend, transform—are easy or simple. Yet, we can start in this month, in this moment, to enact them for our selves, through intentional, integrated, and individualized self-care.
As we know from the systems approach, change in one part of the system has reciprocal and exponential effects throughout the system. Let’s change the “game,” i.e., the culture of social work, starting with our own self-care.
Uplift. Defend. Transform.
Erlene Grise-Owens, EdD, LCSW, MSW, MRE, is a Partner in The Wellness Group, ETC. This LLC provides evaluation, training, and consultation for organizational wellness and practitioner well-being. Dr. Grise-Owens is lead editor of The A-to-Z Self-Care Handbook for Social Workers and Other Helping Professionals. As a former faculty member and graduate program director, she and a small (but mighty!) group of colleagues implemented an initiative to promote self-care as part of the social work education curriculum. Previously, she served in clinical and administrative roles. She has experience with navigating toxicity and dysfunction, up-close and personal! Likewise, as an educator, she saw students enter the field and quickly burn out. As a dedicated social worker, she believes the well-being of practitioners is a matter of social justice and human rights. Thus, she is on a mission to promote self-care and wellness!
Dr. Justin “Jay” Miller, PhD, MSW, CSW, is the Dean, Dorothy A. Miller Research Professor in Social Work Education, and Director of the Self-Care Lab in the College of Social Work at the University of Kentucky. You can follow his work via Twitter @DrJayMiller1.