Happy 90th Birthday Social Security
Written by Bev Caruso Today as I watched the news I swelled with pride, lately an unheard-of event, as an MSNBC commentator sang the praises of Frances Perkins, the social worker who created and established the Social Security Act., the law which profoundly changed the economic well-being of our nation. They even played a clip […]
Serving the Caregiver: Jack’s Caregiver Coalition
Kyle Woody can recall a time when he had no idea what a caregiver was. That time is in the distant past, before he cofounded Jack’s Caregiver Coalition, a nonprofit serving caregivers. Today he patiently recites the definition twice so I can get it on paper. “A caregiver is someone who has taken responsibility […]
The Enduring Relevance of Psychoanalysis
Written by Kathleen Fargione I have loved psychoanalysis all my adult life. Not every social worker shares my feelings. Many have serious concerns about the validity and effectiveness of psychoanalysis. They question some of Freud’s ideas and flatly reject others. They fault him for his patriarchy, or for his emphasis on the aggressive and libidinal […]
Continuum of Gun Access Interventions for Social Workers
Article written by Kathleen Anderson Social workers have long been on the front lines of gun violence and play a critical role in gun violence prevention. Despite the surge in gun sales, shootings, homicides, and firearm suicides, the profession has been slow to respond, hindered by research and funding bans due to the politicization of […]
Teacher, Clinician, Volunteer, Community Leader: Where a Social Work Career Can Take You!
Written by Bev Caruso, Co-President of MSCSW Is 50 or 60 years a sufficient number of years to be devoted to serving social justice, clients, clinicians, students, and your community? Not for Carol Schreier, who is in her 63rd year and going strong. After graduating from Creighton University (1962), Omaha Nebraska, working at Merrick Community […]
Legislative Committee Update, May 2025
Written by James Stolz It’s been a hectic, busy, unprecedented legislative session. Your society has been very active in advocating for the concerns of licensed clinical social workers on many levels. As legislative chair, I have been active with the Mental Health Legislative Network and the Coalition of Licensed Social Workers and both groups have […]
A Memoriam for Hilde Gasiorowicz
Written and Submitted by Tamara Kaiser Personal Life Hilde Gasiorowicz was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 1931. On Kristallnacht (The Night of the Broken Glass), a series of violent anti-Jewish pogroms throughout Germany on November 9 and 10, 1938, her father, a lawyer, was among the thousands of Jewish men who were arrested and sent […]
Book Review: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
This is a book review formerly written for the MPSI Psychotherapy Center newsletter. We think you might find it amusing. Submitted by Bev Caruso Many years ago I read, The Words to Say it, by Marie Cardinal, a novel in which she frees her patient to a fuller and better life by helping her […]
Violent Offenders and their Victims: Restorative Justice Through Mediation
In honor of Chad’s many contributions to our field we decided to reprint our review of his book on research with offenders. This work was a culmination of his Ph. D. research as well as his many years studying psychoanalytic therapy. In addition to the research, the work contains a useful presentation of that therapy. […]
Remembering Chad Breckenridge (1948-2024)
Written by Anne R Gearity, PhD, LICSW I first met Chad at the MSCSW board meetings. We bonded over our shared commitment to, or obsession with, Hill Street Blues (NBC, Thursdays at 9 PM). It was crucial that we both get home in time— this was before streaming or even recording VCRs. Chad loved being […]