InDepth SMITH COLLEGE SCHOOL FOR SO CIAL WORK
FALL 2019
I N THI S I SSUE SEX THERAPY CHANGING LANDSCAPES PURSUING POLITICS
Dana Joud, A ’20, engaged in classroom discussion during summer 2019. Photo by Shana Sureck.
InDepth is published by the Smith College School for Social Work. Its goal is to connect our School community, celebrate recent accomplishments and capture the research and scholarship at the School for Social Work.
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Trans visibility continues to grow at the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference.
EDITORS
Laura Noel Janice Beetle DESIGN
Lilly Pereira Maureen Scanlon Murre Creative CONTRIBUTORS
Dawn Faucher Laurie Loisel Tynan Power Faye S. Wolfe Megan Rubiner Zinn PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Shana Sureck
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR AND ALUMNI UPDATES CAN BE SENT TO:
InDepth Managing Editor Smith College School for Social Work Lilly Hall Northampton, MA 01063 413-585-7950 indepth@smith.edu ©2019
InDepth SMI TH COLLEGE SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK
FALL 2019
F EATU RE S
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From Clinic to Campaign Trail
Politics informed by social work
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On the Frontlines FO LLOW US O N:
Facebook facebook.com/ smithcollegessw Twitter twitter.com/ smithcollegessw Instagram instagram.com/ smithcollegessw YouTube bit.ly/SSWYouTube
School placements offer changing landscape and growing edge for SSW interns
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Let’s Talk about Sex Shining a (night) light on psychotherapy and the erotic
DE P A RT M E NTS
02 From the Dean A note from Marianne Yoshioka
03 SSWorks School News + Updates Faculty Notes
31 Alumni News Alumni Desk Day-Garrett Winners Alumni Tribute
36 Post Script An End Note
O N T H E COV ER Davis Chandler, M.S.W. ’11, LICSW, and Shannon Sennott, M.S.W. ’08, LICSW, cofounded the Center for Psychotherapy and Social Justice with Madeline Nussbaum, M.S.W. ’11, LICSW.
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M ARIAN NE R .M . Y OSH IOK A, M .S.W., PH .D .
Informing our Future We are so fortunate to be able to draw upon the legacy of Professor Emeritus Gerald Schamess and others who have come before, as we plan and work for our future.
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Another academic year has drawn to a close, and our 102nd year begins. The rhythm of the School is always asking us to draw upon what has come before as we launch ever forward. In the last few months, we received the news of Professor Emeritus Gerald Schamess’ passing. Gerry played a vital role in our School’s journey. I continue to meet alumni around the country who say their way of thinking and practicing was deeply influenced by Gerry. His contributions, along with those from many others, have shaped our School in profound and important ways. We are so fortunate to be able to draw upon the legacy of Professor Emeritus Schamess and others who have come before, as we plan and work for our future. Our path forward over the next three to five years will be guided by two important strategic planning documents. The first, developed by the faculty, has at its core the advancement of our leadership, and visibility as a leading clinical social work education program in the country and, perhaps, the world. With the explosion of online programs and the demand for field placements around the country, this is no easy task. Despite this challenge, we have committed to theoretically-grounded, research-informed curricula, extended field requirements in the M.S.W. program and a strong clinical and practice research focus in our Ph.D. program. The second strategic plan, developed by staff and administrators at the School, has
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at its core our continuous skill development and increased collaboration across departments to ensure that the School operates as effectively as possible. Both plans affirm our commitment to anti-racism and gender competence. We are excited to have developed a shared vision of the work we need to do—informed by the past—to move forward. This June, our School celebrated a significant milestone. Our new Office of Professional Education, through which we offer continuing education, professional development and technical assistance programs, hosted its first-ever annual clinical conference. Folks from the Northeast and across the country attended, reporting that it was an energizing way to deepen their skills, expand their practices and reconnect with others. Programs like this allow us new ways to shape and support excellent clinical practice. The ultimate way our School demonstrates leadership in clinical social work education is through our faculty and alumni. I am so grateful to work with a faculty of immense talent and creativity. Their research and scholarship are making a difference in communities, federal and state programs, schools, families and in individual lives. I am likewise thankful for our alumni for all of their individual and collective work, demonstrating every day what great clinical practice and research looks like. Our faculty and alumni are guiding us into a strong future. ◆
SSWorks News from Lilly Hall
IN THIS SECTION
SCHOOL NEWS FACULTY NOTES
Christopher Futty, A ’20, pondered a classmate’s perspective during group discussion. Photo by Shana Sureck.
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Raising her Voice in Song Professional Ed conference focused on healing and resilience
It’s not often that a social work keynote begins and ends with full-throated singing. Perhaps that should change. To the surprise and delight of attendees, before speaking a word, Thema Bryant-Davis opened her talk at the Deepening Clinical Practice Conference by belting out “Woke up this Morning (with My Mind Stayed on Freedom.)” Bryant-Davis, professor of psychology at Pepperdine University, licensed clinical psychologist, ordained minister, playwright and dancer, is an expert in the field of trauma and healing. She also holds her own as a gospel singer, using song to illustrate a key point: There can and should be joy in therapy. “When people come into the room with their trauma, with their violations, they are wondering, ‘Can it get any better than this?’” she said. The answer should always be yes. “The miraculous can happen,” she said. Bryant-Davis’ talk touched on themes of clinician self-care, using cultural
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The miraculous can happen. —THEMA BRYANT-DAVIS
Thema Bryant-Davis, Ph.D., opened her keynote presentation, Thriving in the Wake of Trauma: Cultural Considerations.
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traditions in healing and strengths-based therapy. The goal of therapy should never settle for cessation of symptoms. “I am on the planet for so much more than healing from whatever my perpetrator did to me,” said Bryant-Davis, to murmurs from the hall. The conference drew 170 people to the campus June 28 and offered 15 breakout sessions on a range of topics, including cultural humility, spirituality and anti-oppressive approaches in therapy. Mary Curtin, M.S.W. ’00, manager of professional education at SSW, said in planning the first conference offered jointly by the School’s professional education and field departments, trauma and resilience rose to the top as the theme. “We’re seeing rising rates of trauma, suicide, anxiety and depression,” she said. “We wanted to change the conversation around fixing a problem to building up strengths and skills.” Keshia Williams, LCSW, faculty field advisor from California, said she was deeply moved by the keynote. “The importance of opening with song and the use of her voice in a different way felt really important and really disruptive to the academic way we are all socialized to use our voices,” said Williams. “It opened up possibilities for me about the multitude of ways we can use our voice in academic spaces.” Noelle Dimitri, LICSW, CCTSW, also faculty field advisor, said it helped her think more deeply as a white person about “how to be an ally and an advocate for different populations: There isn’t just one method that fits all groups.” A doctoral student and social worker at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, she intends to think more deeply about that. “So often we try to fit clients into treatment models that can be outdated and not culturally relevant,” she said. On that topic, Bryant-Davis urged clinicians to embrace culture in the therapy room. “We have to create space for the beauty, the laughter, the strength and the rich heritage people walk in with,” she said. “Who said healing can only happen in 50-minute increments?” She urged therapists to ask clients about experiences of oppression. “To own that there is an impact of oppression is to re-center our humanity,” she said. “It’s not either-or. Are we victims, or are we strong? They co-exist, our strengths and our vulnerabilities.” She ended as she began, in song, the room full of clinicians, joining in.—Laurie Loisel 1. Michael Rowan, M.S.W., LICSW, shares during “Supporting Families in Transition,” presented by Acey Mercer, LMSW. 2. Jean Clarke-Mitchell, M.S.W., Ph.D., LICSW, and Laverne Marks, LCSW, applaud the keynote presentation. 3. Alex J. Kim, M.S.W. ’12, makes a comment during “Community Resilience Practice for Trans Living,” presented by Davey Shlasko, M.Ed., and Tobias K. Davis, A.B. ’03, M.Ed. 4. Davey Shlasko, M.Ed., and Margaret Shlasko, LICSW, share an embrace.
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Role Modeling
Sitting on trans panel allowed alum to share knowledge and experience
Early on in the process of understanding his gender, Kelly Wise, M.S.W. ’05, Ph.D., attended what was then known as the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference in 2006. “It was so exciting, overwhelming, scary,” he said. Now called the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference, the gathering is the largest, free, trans-specific conference in the world with a mission to
empower trans individuals on issues of health and well-being. Wise, who identifies as a trans man, was certainly empowered. “That conference had a major impact on my transitioning,” he said. Wise is a psychotherapist, sex therapist and sex therapy supervisor with a private group practice in New York City. (Learn more about him
and sex therapy on page 26.) At the Trans Wellness Conference this summer, he sat on a panel to discuss “Sex, Sexuality, and Trans Identities: Clinical Guidance for Psychotherapists and Counselors.” He was invited to take part after presenting at the Trans Sexuality Conference at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy in 2016 and subsequently contributing a chapter to a book called Sex, Sexuality, and Trans Identities: Clinical Guidance for Psychotherapists and Counselors. “I like being a role model for others who are trying to figure themselves out,” Wise said. “To help people understand that there are many people who came before you, and if we can be who we are, so can you.” Wise discussed topics that ranged from listening to and rethinking the body to holding patience, redefining sex and disclosing truths about sexuality. He also made note of how he discloses his own surgery process with clients, when relevant. In addition to familiar faces in the audience, Wise also had the opportunity to visit with alumni from SSW. “We talked about many things, such as how to give back to Smith College, how to improve the Smith experience for future students, invest in the diversity of the curriculum, and the many wonderful experiences people had in classes,” he said. —Janice Beetle
I love watching the faces of the young trans people who have never been to the conference before—the way they light up with hope and recognition. —TOBIAS DAVIS Top: Kelly Wise, M.S.W. ’05, Ph.D., converses with a conference attendee. At left: Tobias K. Davis, A.B. ’03, M.Ed., assistant director of admission.
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SPOKEN WORD
“ In each of the roles I have
had, and the activities I have taken on, the roots of who I am as a social worker and educator were nurtured here, in this very place.” —NINA ROVINELLI HELLER, 2019 Day-Garrett Award Recipient
High Ranking Earned In its latest survey, U.S. News & World Report ranked SSW among the top six percent of M.S.W. social work programs in the country. Out of 262 programs, Smith came in at number 17, tied with Rutgers and the University of Denver. The competition was stiff: the top 20 includes the University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago and Columbia University. All are in good standing and fully accredited. The rankings are based on the assessment of deans, directors and faculty at peer institutions. Schools of social work within large universities tend to get higher ratings because they have greater resources and higher visibility, due in part to greater research capacity. “That a small school like ours is in the mix is astounding,” said Dean Marianne R.M. Yoshioka, M.S.W., Ph.D. “We are not a big research center, but the quality of our educational program and faculty research and scholarship is recognized and valued.” Yoshioka said doing one thing, and doing it well, is how SSW achieved such a high ranking. “When it comes to offering an education in clinical social work, we stand out. It’s a long-lasting, ‘handmade’ education,” she said. “Our graduates spend 27 months M.S.W. PROGRAMS learning in classes and in placements. They’re deeply involved. And there is nothing anonymous about our program; you are known and seen here. Our students emerge deeply trained and with a level of confidence that serves them well over a lifetime.” In reflecting on what makes a school of social work outstanding, Yoshioka referenced a thank-you letter she received from a client of an SSW student during the student’s placement. Initially, the individual had been skeptical of receiving clinical services. The experience turned out to be “extraordinary, a game-changer,” said Yoshioka. “They wrote that our student’s knowledge, skills and attunement were unparalleled. They felt so helped, so supported, so seen.” That’s a different kind of visibility—perhaps the most meaningful. —Faye S. Wolfe
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Mapping a Strategic Plan This spring, SSW unveiled its new strategic plan that sets both academic and organizational priorities and lays out a road map to pursue them. According to Dean Marianne R.M. Yoshioka, M.S.W., Ph.D., the plan is meant to take the School through the next three to five years to ensure ongoing attention to the School’s course and its leadership in social work education. Since 2016, SSW has been actively working to achieve an institutional shift toward greater equity, transparency and accountability. The new strategic plan delineates ways to get there. Its diverse set of initiatives includes developing recruitment and retention plans to ensure a vibrant, diverse faculty and student body; increasing financial assistance to all students; finding ways to make the signature low-residency program more accessible to both students and instructors; revising the School curricula to improve its alignment with SSW’s anti-racism commitment; creating an office of professional education to provide technical and continuing education; ensuring SSW staff continuously grow in their jobs; and more thoroughly integrating technologyassisted processes throughout the administrative work of the School. “It’s been 10 years since the last strategic plan was produced. It’s been good to set priorities and take stock of our assets,” said Yoshioka. Two highly qualified consultants, Ann Zanzig and Jim Gray, have been involved in conversations on what works well at SSW and what needs to be revised or discontinued. Over the course of a week in June, the two conducted confidential interviews, reviewed documents, including the strategic plan, and learned about what makes SSW tick. “We wanted to get a broad spectrum of perspectives,” said Zanzig. “We talked to over 100 people: students, alumni, current and former staff and faculty. We were really pleased—thrilled, frankly—by the sheer number of people who volunteered, who were willing to take time to meet with us.” The central topic discussed was the integration of the anti-racism commitment across the programs and the workplace, the strengths and weaknesses, the impact of the commitment in the classroom and on campus, how, in general, SSW could “live its anti-racism commitment in clear, obvious and consistent ways.” “People were very open,” said Zanzig. “We had nice conversations, and, of course, some harder conversations.” Implementing the strategic plan will no doubt present multifaceted challenges and call for multifaceted solutions. It will take time and must be an “inclusive and welcoming process,” in the words of Yoshioka. She is optimistic about how things will go. —Faye S. Wolfe
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Gerry Schamess’ Mark Beloved mentor remembered as approachable and generous
For more than three decades, Gerald Schamess was a beloved teacher, mentor, advisor, consultant and friend to generations of SSW students. In these hundreds of relationships, on campus and off, as well as through his scholarly writing and clinical practice, Schamess left an indelible mark on the field of social work. Known to many as Gerry, he died June 28 at the age of 85. Colleagues and former students remembered him as a teacher and clinician who was exceedingly generous with his time, compassionate, empathetic, and curious about people, and humble and funny with an ironic wit. “He worked closely with the students, and he was revered by them,”
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said Katherine Gabel, A.B. ’59, M.S.W., Ph.D., J.D., dean of the School from 1976 to 1985. “He was very down-toearth, and he was a good storyteller. He was approachable.” During her tenure as dean, Gabel said she and Schamess and Associate Dean Dorcas Bowles, M.S.W. ’60, ran the School as an administrative team, with Schamess serving as clinician in chief. At a time when the School had a near exclusive focus on the clinical side of the profession with little attention given to social policy, “Gerry had a foot in both,” she said. He joined the faculty in 1960, and, over the years, held numerous positions. He edited the “Smith College Studies in Social Work” for 13 years,
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co-chaired the Ph.D. program, taught countless courses, served as faculty field advisor and Associate Dean and published extensively. SSW Professor of Social Work Kathryn Basham, Ph.D., LICSW, who has been on the faculty for 27 years, said Schamess was a primary teacher, mentor and advisor when she was a Ph.D. student in the late ’80s and instrumental in her move to the faculty in 1992. She said he was known for drawing deeply from his extensive clinical work in his scholarly research as well as in his teaching. “He’s been a leader in the field of social work. He was a practitioner-scholar whose scholarship was grounded in his work with individuals,
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He was a practitioner-scholar whose scholarship was grounded in his work with individuals, families and communities. He serves as an excellent role model for all of us who recognize the central importance of the field as a place for growth and change. —PROFESSOR KATHRYN BASHAM
families and communities,” said Basham. “He serves as an excellent role model for all of us who recognize the central importance of the field as a place for growth and change.” She said much of his writing focused on ways to harmonize psychodynamic theories with an anti-racism commitment. Basham noted what she described as a false dichotomy at times in the field around the role of social worker as one who helps individuals heal and the role of working on changing systems that support racism and other forms of oppression. Schamess firmly believed that “both were equally important,” she said. “His steady focus was to synthesize rather than dichotomize those perspectives— no small feat!”
Christopher Vaughan, SSW faculty field advisor and adjunct assistant professor, worked closely with Schamess as a Ph.D. student. He was struck by his mentor’s empathy, compassion and humility. “The more he learned, the more he saw what he didn’t know and the more comfortable he was in not knowing,” said Vaughan, who earned his Ph.D. in 2006. “He lived and breathed a clinician’s mind. He observed the world and experienced the world with a sense of curiosity and, as much as anyone can, in a non-judgmental way,” said Vaughan, who came to know his teacher as a colleague in later years. “He will be missed but his legacy lives on through so many clinicians that it soothes the pain of the loss.” —Laurie Loisel
Professor Emeritus Gerald Schamess, M.S.W., receives an accolade from Professor Kathryn Basham, Ph.D., LICSW, at the 50th anniversary of the doctoral program.
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Faculty Notes Recent news and accomplishments
Rooting Out Inequities
The role implicit bias plays in the public realm is finally being grounded in research, data and science. SSW Professor Ora Nakash, M.A., Ph.D., aims to bring that understanding to a decidedly more private realm: the offices of mental health clinicians. Nakash, chair of the Human Behavior in the Social Environment sequence, has researched mental health disparities among racial and ethnic minority groups for 15 years with a goal of improving access to and quality of care for people from marginalized communities. Her work explores the role of
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unconscious provider bias in quality of care and treatment outcomes. Her findings suggest that clinicians make assumptions about clients based on their social identity, leading them to miss vital information that would provide a more accurate understanding of the issues bringing clients into the office. “We find that socially advantaged clinicians have more misdiagnoses with minority clients compared to socially advantaged clients,” said Nakash. This failure to collect adequate information can have a ripple effect, signaling to the client that
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the provider lacks an understanding, which in turn makes the client more reticent and less likely to engage, exacerbating potential misunderstandings. Multiple factors come into play when it comes to inequities in mental health care for members of minority groups, including structural ones such as cost, accessibility and language barriers. Nakash is trying to more fully understand the subjective factors brought in by providers themselves; these include implicit biases among providers, language and cultural barriers and “cultural disfluency,” when
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/ MORE / For complete bios of our outstanding faculty visit ssw.smith.edu/faculty
Be explicit. Ask, ask ask. This is what most clients want you to do. Clients really want to feel understood. If they have a provider who treats them with respect and asks more direct questions, they feel better understood and more connected to the provider. — O RA N A KAS H
published by Indiana University Press. “This is very politically charged,” she said. She has incorporated her research findings into her own clinical practice as well as into trainings for clinicians to explore the role cultural disfluency and power differentials might play in their work. “I’m an optimist, and, in my research, I try to focus on what’s going well and strengthen it,” she said. —Laurie Loisel Prolific Researcher
providers “just don’t understand the cultural code” of their clients, she said. That absence of a shared cultural code—and possibly more importantly, the failure to acknowledge the role power differentials play in a therapeutic relationship—means clinicians unintentionally inhibit clients from painting a fuller picture. “They assume things,” said Nakash. She acknowledges that assessments are tricky: therapists must balance the task of collecting information
with the need to build a relationship with the client. But carefully drawing out a client’s story not only provides important information, it strengthens the relationship. In relaying findings to clinicians, she reminds them that their most important role is to make a connection with the client. “Be explicit. Ask, ask ask. This is what most clients want you to do,” she said. “Clients really want to feel understood. If they have a provider who treats them with respect and asks more direct questions, they feel better understood and more connected to the provider.” Nakash has teamed up with Assistant Professor Benjamin Capistrant, Sc.D., on research looking at elderly LGBTQ people of color, a population about whom there is little research, but concerning trends. “We really want to try to understand their mental health needs. Why are there increased levels of depression, suicidality and opioid use?” said Nakash. Also in recent months, Nakash finished work on a book project looking at mental health issues among Palestinian citizens in Israel,
Professor Jim Drisko, M.S.W. ’77, Ph.D., is both a teacher and researcher. Drisko was elected to the National Academies of Practice in Social Work in 2008 and was named a first cohort Fellow of the Society for Social Work and Research in 2014. He was awarded Best Conceptual Article of 2015 by the Journal of Social Work Education for his work on assessing educational outcomes. While serving as the Chair of the M.S.W. Research Sequence at Smith, Drisko has completed two projects. The first took him 12 years to read, digest and fully understand. His article, “Qualitative research synthesis: An appreciative and critical introduction,” was published in May 2019 by Qualitative Social Work journal. The article provides an overview for researchers who want to explore a topic in depth and combine the results of multiple qualitative studies. “Done well, qualitative synthesis can guide practice and policy and help ensure many different voices are represented,” said Drisko. Drisko’s second area of current work is focused on reviewing the effectiveness of play therapy. As a clinician, Drisko wondered if research actually supported this widely used and often taught model of treatment. He teamed up with former SSW Ph.D. students Perri Corvino, Lisa Kelly and
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out in June. He also had a presentation accepted for CSWE in Denver with Professor Carol Tosone, Ph.D., LCSW, of New York University on distinguishing a developmental and progressive model of educational competencies for clinical social workers at M.S.W., D.S.W. and Ph.D. levels. Helping Children by Helping Families
The second edition of Drisko’s book Evidence-based Practice in Clinical Social Work, co-authored with Melissa Grady M.S.W. ’96, Ph.D. ’04, came out in June.
Jane Nielson. Together, they reviewed 5,485 publications, narrowed down to just 17 high-quality outcome studies on play therapy. The team found varied results, but overall play therapy met standards as an “empirically supported therapy” with generally good impact across several common child concerns. To share these results, the team prepared
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an article that was published in June 2019 in Research on Social Work Practice. The team will also present on this topic at the Council on Social Work Education [CSWE] conference to be held in Denver in October 2019. The second edition of Drisko’s book Evidence-based Practice in Clinical Social Work, co-authored with Melissa Grady, M.S.W. ’96, Ph.D. ’04, came
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Marsha Kline Pruett believes the most effective way to support children is to strengthen the family constellations around them. That is the underlying motivation for all of her current research projects. “My ultimate goal is to improve the world for children by promoting their well-being,” said Kline Pruett, associate dean of academic affairs and Maconda Brown O’Connor Professor. “I’m interested in the ways in which families and the organizations they are involved in function well—or don’t.” Kline Pruett, M.S.L., Ph.D., ABPP, is involved in at least four research projects focused on that topic with colleagues both on and off campus. Working with a team, she is analyzing data collected since 2004 for the Supporting Father Involvement program, an evidence-based intervention that aims to reduce child abuse and family violence. With qualitative and quantitative data and video recordings from over 1,500 families, there are many different directional deep dives the research can take. The program has been launched with groups of men in homeless shelters, among prison populations and is in use in California and Massachusetts, as well as other countries, including Malta, England and Canada. “Our goal is to train people to implement it in a variety of contexts and have them take it as their own and shape it,” Kline Pruett said. The program can be adapted to be sensitive and responsive to a local community’s culture and needs, and, by maintaining fidelity to certain parameters, also remain evidence-based. With a background in family law and policy, another project has Kline Pruett consulting with and evaluating
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the Family Resolutions Specialty Court in Northampton. The alternative dispute resolution program draws in probate judges, lawyers, mediators and family consultants to work collaboratively to settle family court issues in non-adversarial ways at virtually no cost to families. That effort is heavily modeled after a program Kline Pruett and other team members helped create in Colorado, and though not strictly evidencebased, it is evidence-informed. Meanwhile, another project she has her hand in involves evaluation of the online parenting tool Our Family Wizard (OFW), in use by several hundred thousand families around North America. OFW is a parenting app that serves as a tool to support communication and cooperation among high-conflict separated or divorced families. The app helps co-parents communicate more effectively, leading to conflict reductions by tracking schedules, even triggering warnings when emails
My ultimate goal is to improve the world for children by promoting their well-being. I’m interested in the ways in which families and the organizations they are involved in function well—or don’t. — MA RS H A KL I N E PRU ET T
contain certain words or phrases that might provoke or exacerbate disagreement between co-parents. Kline Pruett believes this type of tool has the potential to be a cutting-edge resource in the world of family law. Kline Pruett and SSW Assistant Professor Benjamin Capistrant, Sc.D.,
are evaluating how the tool works and its success by looking at data from 5,500 families. “All of my work has to have a pragmatic significance in the real world,” she said. “I’m not interested in doing research that nobody reads or uses.” —Laurie Loisel
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FROM CLINIC TO CAMPAIGN TRAIL Politics informed by social work
BY MEGAN RUBINER ZINN PHOTOS BY SHANA SURECK
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degree in social work is an obvious launching point for many careers, among them psychotherapy, social services, community organizing, nonprofit management. And surprisingly, even politics. While not expected, it’s another natural fit. Social workers bring to the political sphere a passion for working on behalf of communities in need, thorough knowledge of the way people think and behave and a keen understanding of the complex ways that policies impact communities and individuals. “You’d be surprised to find how many people in the legislature are social workers,” observed Jo Comerford, Massachusetts state senator and long-time Smith College School for Social Work adjunct faculty member. “There’s a band of people who know each other as social workers and give a little nod to each other.” Previous page: Massachusetts State Senator Jo Comerford, M.S.W., tours ServiceNet’s Prospect Meadow Farm in Hatfield, MA, which employs more than 70 people with intellectual disabilities or autism while providing them with an education focused on agriculture.
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Below: Councilwoman Angelia Washington, M.S.W. ’03. Right: Tracye Polson, Ph.D. ’05, and friend Geoffrey Locke, M.S.W. ’98, Ph.D. ’11, on the campaign trail.
Comerford is among a number of SSW-related social workers whose career paths have led them to politics and public service. While Comerford holds a full-time political position, Jim Wayne, M.S.W. ’78, Angelia Washington, M.S.W. ’03, and Tracye Polson, Ph.D. ’05, have all continued in their primary occupations while pursuing or serving in office. Before running for office, Wayne built a large employee assistance program and a private psychotherapy practice in Louisville, Kentucky. After a life steeped in politics, Wayne decided to run for a seat in the Kentucky General Assembly to have an influence on the way policies affect individuals and communities. With a legislature that only meets part time, he was able to serve from 1991 to 2019 while still maintaining his practices. During his tenure in the House, Wayne’s priorities included creating more stringent requirements for university crime reporting, preventing child sexual abuse and improving protections for survivors, developing an affordable housing trust and encouraging tax reform. In recent years, Wayne has built, with the help of Smith associates, the Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy at Bellarmine University to bring SSW-level quality social work training to Louisville. Washington, who also holds degrees in nursing and education, has run a health science program for the Department of Defense at Camp LeJeune High School in her hometown of Jacksonville, North Carolina, since 2010. Soon after resettling in Jacksonville, a group of people encouraged her to run for the city council, drawn by her professional credentials and past
experience living in larger metropolitan areas. Inspired to stand up for people in her community, she ran successfully in 2011 and has served on the council ever since. In her second year on the council, Washington joined the National League of Cities, an organization of elected officials that makes
recommendations on national policies and lobbies legislators. She began by serving on the NLC’s committee on Human Development and its Council on Youth, Education, and Families. After one year, she became vice chair of the Human Development Committee, and last year was elected to the NLC’s board of directors.
“ In social work we learn that first and foremost, you do no harm. You don’t go in with your own personal agenda at the expense of your citizens.” —ANGELIA WASH IN GTO N
Polson is a clinical social worker in private practice in Jacksonville, Florida. After the 2016 presidential election, she became increasingly interested in politics, particularly knowing the impact of policy on communities and individuals. Distressed that no Democrat had run for her district’s State House seat for six years, she decided to throw her hat in the ring in 2018. While Polson did not win that election, she lost by an extremely narrow margin. She may decide to run again, but meanwhile, she continues her clinical practice and advocates for issues like public education, while supporting women running for state offices. Although Comerford worked in mental health early in her career, she has spent most of it in community organizing and nonprofit management, most recently as a campaign director for MoveOn. She also served
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Jo Comerford greets Mindy Domb, State Representative, 3rd Hampshire District, at Amherst City Hall.
as a SSW practicum advisor and taught in the Agency and Community Practice sequence until 2016. In most of her positions, Comerford worked closely with elected officials and had long considered running for office. In 2018, when the Senate seat for the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester regions of Massachusetts became available, Comerford mounted a write-in campaign, won the Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election. Since taking office in January 2019,
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Comerford’s priorities have included constituent casework, public school funding, healthcare reform, environmental protection and expanding public transit and revenue.
GRASPING THE BIG PICTURE
Social workers like Wayne, Washington, Polson and Comerford bring particular skills and perspectives to the public sector. From years of experience in clinical settings and advocacy work, they understand the challenges that individuals face and the effects of social policy on individuals. “We deal with larger contexts, the individual or the family system, the social network and the culture that we
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live in,” Wayne said. “We know that policy is important in shaping individual lives and promoting mental and societal health.” Comerford particularly sees how this perspective affects her constituent work. “If someone comes to our team with the story of being treated badly by a landlord, for example, we all go at that problem,” she explained. “But the team also has the bigger picture— housing analysis or the shortage of affordable housing.” Social workers’ education in community organizing also benefits politicians, both in their ability to campaign and to enact change. Right after taking office, Wayne helped constituents successfully organize for fair
“ Organizing is about relationships. It’s about building a shared vision, a shared goal and a shared stake in the outcome.” —J O CO MERFO RD
compensation when a Louisville airport expansion threatened their property values. “That was the community organizing that I learned at Smith in the social policy sequences,” he said. Experience in community organizing is also a foundation for coalition building among politicians. “Organiz ing is about relationships. It’s about building a shared vision, a shared goal and a shared stake in the outcome,” Comerford explained.
BRINGING SOCIAL WORK SKILLS TO PUBLIC INTERACTIONS
With years of clinical experience, these public servants are also able to read people and connect more easily with them. According to Wayne, understanding his colleagues’ personalities and needs helped him approach them around legislative issues and know what arguments or perspectives would be effective. Social workers’ training helps them keep their personal feelings out of interactions, to avoid judgment and to show compassion. In Polson’s words, her social work training taught her about “holding open a particular space in my mind to be able to meet people where they are… to hold on to my own humanity and the humanity of people that I meet.” She recalled an interaction with a voter who asserted (regarding immigration) that the military should “shoot any man, woman or child coming into our country.” She was able to respond without anger but express her strong disagreement. “I wanted him to understand that I heard him, but in a very thoughtful, respectful way, be clear that I was not in alignment with that,” she said.
For Washington, keeping her own needs out of the process is a crucial part of the ethics of public service. “In social work we learn that first and foremost, you do no harm. You don’t go in with your own personal agenda at the expense of your citizens.”
MODELING HOW TO SPEAK UP
Being in the public eye has challenges for those in politics who continue their clinical work. Wayne and Polson, in particular, maintained clear boundaries between their practices and their public role so that it didn’t contaminate the therapy.
Polson, however, discovered a positive outcome among her patients as the result of her campaign. Seeing her use her voice in a public way inspired some to be more willing to use theirs. “They started talking about their voice and the ways in which they have felt silenced and not wanting to be quiet or to be careful, to take more risks,” she explained. “I think, watching me do it, there was an awareness they could start to apply to their own lives.” For any social worker, the political sphere gives them the opportunity to do the work they love, on a much grander scale, impacting far more people than they can individually. “I can help so many different people in so many genres of life, on many different playing fields. I’m impacting people’s lives locally and at state and federal levels,” Washington said. “But my ultimate goal is to be able to take my skills and impact the lives of people on a global level.” ◆
Representative Jim Wayne M.S.W. ’78 engages an audience.
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ON THE School placements offer changing landscape and growing edge for SSW interns
BY LAURIE LOISEL PHOTOS BY SHANA SURECK
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School placements offer changing landscape, growing edge for SSW interns
FRONTLINES BY LAURIE LOISEL PHOTOS BY SHANA SURECK
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NO
doubt about it, schools are a microcosm of the most pressing social issues in society— which makes them a crucible for the issues facing social workers. Schools are seeing skyrocketing rates of serious mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and suicidality among students. Those mental health challenges are exacerbated by stressors that include bullying, social media, the threat of school violence, and, in some schools, fear of family separations caused by immigration issues. Meanwhile, startling research showing the impact of trauma on learning and brain development means more schools are searching for more effective ways to respond to the variety of traumas students bring into the classroom. Previous page: Maggie Foster, A ’20, leads students in an activity about helping someone who is being bullied or harassed.
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Facing page: SSW Senior Lecturer Megan Harding, M.S.W. (second from left) and Elise Boland, M.S.W. ’19 (second from right), meet with students and teachers at Amherst Pelham Regional High School as part of the BRYT (Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition) program.
“Schools can no longer say it’s none of our business,” said Megan Harding, M.S.W., senior lecturer and chair of the SSW policy sequence. “Schools need to address the whole child now—while responding to the realities of their home and community contexts.” All of these factors make schoolbased placements rich and unparalleled opportunities for Smith College School for Social Work students. Emerging social workers can hone skills in individual and family work while also navigating highly complex family and school systems.
RESPONDING TO SERIOUS CHALLENGES
Social work placements of the past tended to focus on working with identified students who often were on individualized education plans, consulting with teachers and minimal family work. Much of the clinical focus was on behavior management. Those days are long gone. Schools— and, increasingly, social work interns within the schools—respond to serious mental health challenges in students and complex family problems. Students serve both as clinical individual and family therapists as well as case managers. “Schools are the primary place where children are receiving mental health treatment in this country,” said SSW Director of Field Education Katelin Lewis-Kulin. “There aren’t those services available for families, so the school needs to meet the needs.” SSW alumna are seeing the increased stressors firsthand. Nichole Wofford, LMFT, LCSW, Ph.D. ’19, manages a centralized student support system in a large K-12 school district in Sacramento. She provides training and consultation to school social workers and manages a suicide risk assessment team.
Wofford said in the eight years in her position, she has never experienced the frequency of calls for student suicide risk assessments, nor has she seen the complexities of the problems facing the families of the students in need of services. “We used to get single-issue referrals and now, every referral is multi-layered and complex,” she said. As staff, she noted, they work hard to meet the family’s needs because they see that as the very best way to support their students. “If we stabilize and support the parents and families, they, in turn, are going to be in a better position to support their children.” Melba Tatum, M.S.W. ’75, works at a school-based, independent clinic in
a Houston public school system. She also reports increasingly high levels of serious mental health diagnoses among students seen by social workers in the nine clinics based in schools across the city. School-based clinicians, Tatum said, are working with much more intense caseloads than ever before, leading to the creation of navigator positions, whose role is to help families get their basic needs met. This allows Tatum and others in positions like hers to see students for individual psychotherapy, offer group therapy and develop relationships with families. Both Tatum and Wofford said the issues facing parents and caregivers—which trickle down to impact
“ Schools need to address the whole child now—while responding to the realities of their home and community contexts.” — MEG A N H A RD I N G
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their children—include economic stressors caused by unemployment, lack of health insurance and housing insecurity. In recent months, parents who are not documented have also faced very real threats of deportation. Another factor adding to the complexity of needs students exhibit today is technology, according to Wofford. “Social media has really changed the landscape and students are being bombarded with information 24/7, without the ability to process much of it.” Online engagement has raised the stakes in bullying situations, increasing the damage done to students who are targeted and causing hurt to the harm-doer. “Kids are
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being brutalized online and in person,” said Wofford.
GROWING INTEREST, DIVERSITY IN SCHOOL PLACEMENTS
Among SSW students, there is a growing interest in school-based placements, with a corresponding expansion in the number and variety of placements. “Schools are really at the forefront of developing and providing preventative services and crisis services, so really all levels of care to keep students living in their communities, in their homes and in schools,” said Lewis-Kulin. “Embedded in the role is case management, advocacy, group theory and anti-racism work.”
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These are all central tenets of a SSW education. This fall, 37 percent of first-year students are in school placements, compared to a rate of about 20 percent 10 years ago, according to data from the SSW Field Education Department. At the same time, a small but growing group of second-year students are asking to be placed in schools. This fall, 6 percent of the second-year class will be placed in school settings. School-based placements are all over the country, in nine different states, including California, Colorado, Vermont and Massachusetts. Erin Matthews, M.S.W. ’05, has worked as a school social worker in Chicago public schools for 12 years.
At left: Maggie Foster, A ’20, is hugged by students on the last day of her internship. At right: Director of Field Education Katelin LewisKulin, M.S.W. ’00.
She believes her education at Smith and her school-based field placements fully prepared her for the work she is doing today in schools with student populations with high needs. “I feel very fortunate to have that trauma lens that I came out of Smith with because if I didn’t have that, I wouldn’t understand there’s more underneath, driving the issues,” she said. “I’ve learned from being in the field that many people don’t have that lens, leading to misdiagnoses.” Another lesson from Matthews’ time at Smith is seeing her students within their life context—and then advocating for systems change that might help them. Understanding the role that race, trauma, marginalization
and microaggressions play in the lives of students gives a more accurate picture of the issues at play. When it comes to systems-level work, Lewis-Kulin and Harding say school settings are full of learning opportunities, given that there are so many overlapping systems within a school district. Historically, school systems have not always been inviting of family engagement for a variety of complicated reasons. Social workers, with training in group dynamics and family systems, can work to help change those systems. “Social workers are the key piece to that partnership. They have the family system training, and families don’t always feel welcome (in school),” said Lewis-Kulin. “I see social workers as a really key bridge.” “It’s an incredible place to work on micro, mezzo and macro levels,” said Harding. “It takes a lot of skill to be a good school social worker.” Meanwhile, Maggie Foster, A ’20, has every intention of being a school social worker after she graduates. At 22, she spent last year in a field placement at a charter school in Rhode Island, where she did individual therapy, group therapy and other interventions such as psychoeducational group work. “I loved every minute of it,” she said. “Even when it’s really hard it feels really rewarding and important.” And because of the increased levels of mental health issues among students, she maintains that the role of a school social worker is more important than ever. “We’re seeing a movement in the field toward trauma-informed schools and education that has a lot to do with social workers in the schools,” said Foster. “I think what makes school social work so wonderful is the entwined nature of case management and clinical work.” She intends to be a part of it. ◆
“ Social workers are the key piece to that partnership. They have the family system training, and families don’t always feel welcome (in school). I see social workers as a really key bridge.” — KAT EL I N L EWI S - KU LIN
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L
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L A K T A S B ’ O T E
Shining a (night) light on psychotherapy and the erotic STORY BY TYNAN POWER PHOTOS BY SHANA SURECK
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S
ex therapy can trace its roots back to ancient civilizations and the first documented attempts to improve, or alter, human sexual behavior. The most well-known example of these efforts may be the Kama Sutra, but similar explorations of sexuality are evident from Europe to China. Yet despite these ancient roots, contemporary sex therapy only emerged in the mid-20th century and is sometimes erroneously conflated in popular culture with sexual surrogacy. The place of sex therapy within clinical social work has not always been clear—something a number of Smith College School for Social Work alumni are helping to change. “I think that the erotic in the context of psychotherapy has always been a siloed and separate exploration, as it is in a larger cultural sense in the U.S.,” said Shannon Sennott, M.S.W. ’08, LCSW, a SSW adjunct instructor and co-author of Sex Therapy with Erotically Marginalized Clients: Nine Principles of Clinical Support (Routledge, 2019). “The most we have seen in psychotherapy training is the investigation of erotic transference and countertransference. Actually working with clients around sexuality, sexual practices, erotic fantasies and internal landscapes should all be part of a therapist’s clinical training. However,
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that is not what we regularly see in clinical programs.”
BREAKING NEW GROUND
In 2017, Sennott and Assistant Professor Rory Crath, M.A., Ph.D., began offering the course A Sex Primer for Clinical Social Work in SSW’s HBSE track. Since then, Sennott has taught the course each year and hopes to expand it to two sections in the future. “At the time we created the class, it was the first course specifically teaching sex therapy theory and practice in a social work program,” said Sennott.
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At right: Kelly Wise, M.S.W. ’05, Ph.D., believes listening to a client is one important aspect of working in sex therapy.
“It is important because intimacy and sexual practice and identity are a huge part of clients’ internal and external landscapes.” Along with Davis Chandler, M.S.W. ’11, LICSW, and Madeline Nussbaum, M.S.W. ’11, LICSW, Sennott founded the Center for Psychotherapy and Social Justice in downtown Northampton. Chandler, also a coauthor of Sex Therapy with Erotically Marginalized Clients, said, “I was surprised and disappointed to not only not be able to access any sex therapy training in my graduate education, but felt like sex and bodies were left almost entirely out of my education. I feel envious of current Smith students who are able to access Sennott’s class.”
SEXUALITY A KEY PART OF WELL-BEING
The availability of sex therapy training in graduate programs is key because sexuality is a fundamental part of most social work clients’ lives and identities —and because coursework and specialized supervision are required for the certification by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT). Kelly Wise, M.S.W. ’05, Ph.D., covered the required coursework in his doctoral program in human sexuality. By contrast, Sennott found that AASECT certification—which is recommended but not required— meant three to five years of additional training. “Being AASECT-certified creates a professional structure and community that is critical to my work as a sex therapist,” said Sennott, who feels certification is especially important
for therapists who hold multiple identities of privilege. Wise, certified as both a sex therapist and a sex therapy supervisor, agrees. “Certification honors all the training a therapist has gone through and creates the standards for what is necessary to consider yourself a sex therapist,” said Wise.
EXPERIENCE, SPECIALIZED SUPERVISION ALSO USEFUL
Chandler, on the other hand, has opted to delay certification but includes sex therapy in their counseling work. “I am centering my clinical work on working primarily with trans/ nonbinary and queer folks and feel that I have completed enough training to feel comfortable incorporating a sex- and body-positive model into my work,” Chandler said. “I have weekly peer supervision with two therapists who are extensively trained in sex therapy, which helps bolster my work.”
“ I wanted to help people with their complex feelings on their own gender or sexuality. Through our work, the categories keep expanding, which people find quite freeing.” — KEL LY WI S E
ATTRACTED TO SEX THERAPY
In fact, it was their work with non binary, trans and queer clients that led Chandler to their interest in the field. “Being able to offer therapy to folks who are marginalized based on their identities or sexual or relationship practices has always been at the center of my passion and interests,” said Chandler. “As a nonbinary/transidentified therapist to nonbinary, trans and queer folks, it feels liberatory and critical to be able to welcome marginalized people as their fullest selves into my office.” Wise traces his interest in the field back to a SSW course on gender. “This was the first time I studied gender, and I wanted more,” said Wise, who followed his M.S.W. with doctoral studies in human sexuality at Widener University and eventually recognized and accepted that he was transgender. “From that point, I knew I wanted to help people with their complex feelings on their own gender or sexuality.
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own gender or sexuality. As a sex therapist, Wise sees clients who range in age from 18-82, with “every gender identity and sexual orientation imaginable.” “Through our work, the categories keep expanding, which people find quite freeing,” said Wise, who finds the unique ways people see their gender and sexuality fascinating and liberating.
WIDE RANGE OF GENDERS, ORIENTATIONS, RELATIONSHIP STRUCTURES
Sennott is particularly intrigued by the sexuality and sexual practices of people who may be sexually marginalized, such as people who identify as queer, poly, trans, nonbinary, people of size and people with visible or invisible disabilities. “I have a very wide range of clients, currently spanning age 3 to 72, people of all genders and all sexual orientations, all kinds of relationships and sexual practices,” said Sennott. “It is critical that people who are in poly or open configurations be able to access competent and supportive therapy. Having family therapy training and then using a social justice and transfeminist lens is the start to being able to work integrally with polyships and alternative family structures. Being able to locate oneself as a therapist is
“ I believe that sexual issues never exist in isolation—they are one facet of a person’s self and intersect with countless other issues a person is grappling with at any one time.” —DAV I S C H A N D L ER
crucial in working with polyships, but the process of learning how to do that cannot happen in a vacuum. Clinicians need to have training, support and peer networks to rely on.” Sennott sees a shift taking place in sex therapy that includes greater awareness of intersectional identities and oppression. “Intersecting theoretical practices —including a social justice lens, transfeminism, freedom paradigm, intersectionality and preemptive radical inclusion—are key to supporting clients effectively.” This intersectional lens is a fundamental part of Chandler’s approach. “I believe that sexual issues never exist in isolation—they are one facet of a person’s self and intersect with countless other issues a person is
grappling with at any one time,” said Chandler. “Additionally, I always want to make space for clients to bring their whole selves into the work, to talk about sex as openly and comfortably as possible, while holding contextually the fact that our culture is predominately sex-negative and steeped in shame and secrecy around sex, particularly sex involving erotically marginalized identities and bodies.” Wise also treats sexuality as part of the larger whole. “So much of sex therapy is getting people to communicate, be vulnerable, work through past hurts/traumas, so they are even interested in connecting with someone sexually,” said Wise. “Many people find me for regular therapy but want to make sure it’s a safe space to bring their entire self.” ◆
Consider your reasons.
“It’s important to think about why sex therapy is an interest of yours,” advised Kelly Wise. “What about your life and experiences is drawing you to the field?” Visit the AASECT website (aasect.org/aasect-certification) for up-to-date requirements for certification.
Take a Sexual Attitude Reassessment (SAR) seminar.
Certification requires a 10-hour, structured group training that is AASECT sponsored or approved.
Cultivate an open-minded, non-judgmental attitude— and communication style.
“It is so important to be able to listen to a client and not do further harm to them about their own feelings and shame about their sexual desires or gender understanding,” said Wise.
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Breaking into work as a sex therapist
From the experts
Alumni News I N TH IS S ECTION
ALUMNI DESK DAY-GARRETT WINNERS ALUMNI TRIBUTE
Adrianne Smith, M.S.W. ’19, is greeted by her “Uncle Leo” at the conclusion of commencement.
/ Alumni Desk /
DAWN M. FAUCHER Alumni Relations & Development Director
Deeper Alliances Supporting a strong, inclusive alumni community
We want to create opportunities to connect alumni to one another for both social and professional growth and engagement.
I recently joined SSW Assistant Director of Admission Toby Davis, A.B. ’03, M.Ed., in attending the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference (PTW). Toby has participated for several years on behalf of the SSW Admission team. PTW is the largest free trans-specific conference in the world. Taking part was powerful. When I checked in, a Smith SSW alum who was working at registration greeted me enthusiastically. They told me that they were very proud to see that Smith was the only social work school to sponsor PTW. In that moment, I too felt incredible pride to be part of a community that is an agent for social change. While in Philly, we invited local alums and those attending the conference to join us for dinner, which we co-hosted with SSW Alumni Leadership Council LGBTQIA+ Representative Kelly Wise, M.S.W. ’05, Ph.D. Our conversation centered on growing a vibrant network of SSW LGBTQIA+ alumni. It’s one of the ways in which our office is striving to better support alumni. In May, we travelled to D.C. Along with Alumni Leadership Council Co-Chair
Dawn Faucher
Alumni Relations and Development Director Dawn M. Faucher and Assistant Director of Admission Tobias Davis, A.B. ’03, M.Ed., share a smile while representing SSW at the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference in July.
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Gabrielle Holder, M.S.W. ’04, and Alumni of Color Representative Erin Matthews, M.S.W. ’05, we co-hosted a dinner for alumni and students of color. We hope that this will be the first of many events that will help us build a thriving network of alumni of color who develop and promote new ways to connect with and support one another, to support our students and to support the School as we strive to better live out our anti-racism commitment. We will be back in D.C. in 2020 for the SSWR Conference and are planning another event for alumni and students of color to coincide with the conference weekend. We want to create opportunities to connect alumni to one another for social and professional growth and engagement. We believe that a strong and engaged alumni network is inclusive and partners with the School to grow resources for SSW students and young alumni. I look forward to growing alliances, sharing strategies and solutions and building a more inclusive and equitable community. ◆
Toby Davis
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COMMENCEMENT
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1. Maura Kinney and Jen Moore smile for the camera. 2. Nichole Wofford delivered the Ph.D. address during commencement 2019. 3. Griselda Tomaino spoke on behalf of the 2019 M.S.W. graduates. 4. M.S.W. graduates process in to John M. Greene Hall. 5. Bradley Landon and Tessa Corcoran-Sayers pause for a quick photo before commencement. 6. Tatiana Lakalo smiles during commencement. 7. Fatima Amr dances across the stage to receive her degree. 8. Sukey Bernard embraces Hannah Ullman-Levine before commencement begins. 9. Left to right: Xajaah Williams-Flores, Grace Beah and Jalessa Townsend pose for a photo during commencement.
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/ Alumni News /
Day-Garrett Award Winners B Y ME G A N R U B IN E R Z IN N THE DAY-GARRETT AWARD, established in 1978, is presented annually to one or more individuals who have been outstanding contributors to professional social work and who have been significant members of the Smith College School for Social Work educational community. The award is to be given to those who, in the judgment of the Committee, have personified in their lives and service to the community the high purpose of professional service for which the School is renowned.
N I N A R O V IN E LL I H E L L E R
CATHERINE CLANCY
At the August commencement ceremony, SSW presented Day-Garrett Medals to Nina Rovinelli Heller and Catherine Clancy for their contributions to the School and the field of social work. Nina Rovinelli Heller, Ph.D. ’90, calls herself an “accidental academic” because she didn’t plan a career in higher education. After many years as a clinician at the Brattleboro Retreat in Vermont, she pursued a doctorate at SSW in order to better understand her clients. Although she continued her clinical work after earning her degree, Heller had discovered at Smith that she loved teaching, and, for many summers, she returned to the School as an adjunct professor. In 1994, the University of Connecticut (UConn) recruited Heller to its social work faculty to teach courses in casework, social work practice and theory and mental health. She also developed an expertise in suicide prevention, serving on the Connecticut Suicide Advisory and as lead author on a state initiative on suicide. In the course of her career, Heller has proven to be a talented leader as well as educator. Her colleagues call her a “powerhouse of a professional” and admire her ability to inspire and empower those around her. Heller now holds positions as dean of the UConn School of Social Work, co-director of the doctoral program and the Zachs Chair of Social Work. Catherine Clancy, Ph.D., LCSW, has contributed to every aspect of social work—as a clinician, supervisor, educator, administrator and regulator. Her colleagues speak of her warmth and humor, calling her a treasured leader. Yet, as colleague Miguel Ortega observed, in every role, she is first and foremost a teacher.
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As training director at Houston’s Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Clancy served as field instructor for eight social work schools, including Smith College, preparing generations of social workers. Clancy began teaching at Smith when she jumped in on short notice to lead a six-hour annual conference ethics course and has been part of the adjunct faculty since 1999. Clancy also significantly influenced the field of social work, co-writing the state’s rules for social work regulation as chair of Texas’ first Board of Social Worker Examiners and helping draft the first model social work law with the Association of Social Work Boards Examination Committee. SSW Professor Emerita Susan Donner, Ph.D., spoke for many when she said she’s “proud to be part of a profession that has Clancy in it.”
/ Alumni News /
Remembering Clara Genetos BY D AWN FAU CH ER
Adjunct Professor Jeana Hayes-Carrier, M.S.W. ’84, Ph.D. ’02, shares a heartfelt moment with Clara Genetos.
“ My annual financial gifts to the School are both an expression of ongoing gratitude and a means of making it possible for the School to provide similar opportunities to current students.” —CLARA GENETOS
In November 2005, then Dean Carolyn Jacobs, M.S.W., Ph.D., assembled a group of alumni to assess the fundraising needs of the School with a focus on increasing scholarship support. Clara Genetos, M.S.S. ’54, who at that point had already been volunteering and providing philanthropic support for 50 years, was one of the participants. Clara and a half dozen classmates began the important work of growing the resources necessary to ensure that a Smith College School for Social Work education could be accessible to future generations regardless of their ability to pay. Throughout her life and career, Clara remained thankful for the personal, emotional and intellectual development she received at SSW. “My annual financial gifts to the School are both an expression of ongoing gratitude and a means of making it possible for the School to provide similar opportunities to current students,” she once told us. Clara passed away in March at the age of 95. Her career was long and storied. She served as the director of Social Work in Psychiatry at Montefiore Hospital from 1961 until retiring in 1990, mentoring dozens of SSW students and alumni. She was beloved by all those who knew her. Clara was an active volunteer and School supporter for 60 years, serving as vice president of the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association, chair of the SSW 1918 Fellowship until 2016 and steward of the SSW Class of 1954 Scholarship Fund. Her legacy includes those she taught and those she supported through the SSW Class of 1954 Scholarship Fund and the Clara Genetos Scholarship Fund, established in 2014 in honor of Clara by her friend and colleague Irmgard Wessel, M.S.S. ’52. Clara was unable to attend our centennial celebration because of health concerns. She told friends it was a terrible personal loss. In true Clara fashion, her final wish was that gifts in her honor be made to SSW. I hope that you will join me in contributing in loving memory to a cause she held so dear. ◆
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/ Post Script /
Royal Recollection “That was a really special day! None of us knew how to interact with royalty, so we went to the library to learn what to do. You were not supposed to reach for the hand of the princess unless she reached out first. Of course, when she arrived, I was so nervous I instinctively reached out my hand, and she just met me in a handshake. “She was very warm and down-to-earth. I was glad for her visit because I hoped it would bring attention to the plight of homeless families with children and battered women with children.” Verona Middleton-Jeter, M.S.W. ’72, recently reflected on a historic meeting she had in 1989 with Diana, Princess of Wales, at The Urban Family Center of Henry Street Settlement.
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S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK
Calling all Alumni SSW Admission wants to hear from YOU! Your support of Admission can bring your SSW experience full circle.
Become an admission volunteer! Prospective students benefit from the expertise and advice of those who have gone before. As an alum you are uniquely positioned to share your experiences at the School and in the field and discuss how both have impacted your career.
Refer a student!
“I enjoyed talking about my student experience—it was like taking a little trip back in time. I’m happy to do something like this again.” Lisa Young, M.S.W. ’09
Identify tomorrow’s Smith students.
You may already be mentoring a potential candidate. Tell us about these candidates through our Refer-a-Student program and provide a recommendation on their behalf.
Start making connections today! sswadm@smith.edu
Lilly Hall Northampton, MA 01063 ssw.smith.edu
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
Smith College School for Social Work supports you throughout your career! You can view past lectures from our Public Lecture Series on our digital library, completely free. Get professionally recharged by inspiring thought agents. Visit ssw.smith.edu/public-lecture-series-archive to peruse our collection. Looking to earn continuing education credits? Our Professional Education online courses feature timely topics presented by social work instructors and practitioners. Learn more at ssw.smith.edu/onlinecourses.
