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News & Events

News & Events

Eddie Daniels Visiting Simmons College

Mr. Eddie Daniels will be giving a talk at Simmons Tuesday, October 4th, from 4:00-5:00 in M-501.

Mr. Daniels was imprisoned on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela for 15 years. He will be sharing stories of his life in South Africa, living through racial oppression (and working as a whaler and a miner).

Please click here for the event flier.

Dawn Belkin-Martinez and Hugo Kamya presented at the 19th Annual Multicultural Family Institute Conference

Assistant Professor & Co-Director, Urban Leadership Program Dawn Belkin-Martinez and Professor Hugo Kamya presented at the 19th Annual Multicultural Family Institute Conference in Piscataway, NJ on April 16. The title was "A dialogue about dialogue: It's strengths and limitations when there are real differences in power between the parties and when it becomes a substitute for social change action."

2010 School of Social Work Student Award Ceremony

Each year Simmons School of Social Work confers awards to students who have made a significant contribution to the SSW community, to their agency or to the larger field of social work. The 2010 Student Award Winners are:

• Shirley Saks Greenberg Award: Maura Simpson
• Iris McCrae Award: Amy Wong
• Written Scholarship Award: Sarah Holly Ambler
• Faculty Leadership Award: Christina Rimelspach
• Achievement in Political Action and Social Justice: Kecia Lopes
• Outstanding Competence in Multicultural Practice: Heather Bowden and Laura Myerberg
• Priscilla Mullen Riley Award: Cynthia Salsman and Emma Thomas
• Community Service Award: Michelle Putnam’s Tuesday Social Policy Class

Assistant Professor Gary Bailey presided at the awards ceremony on April 7th, which was a festive and moving occasion. In their acceptance remarks, student winners talked about their accomplishments and expressed their gratitude to professors, advisors and field instructors who provided inspiration and guidance. The Pricilla Mullen Riley award, named in honor of the former Director of Field Education, was awarded for the first time. Professor Riley’s family was on hand to congratulate the winners. The audience also included family and friends of students, agency supervisors and directors, SSW students and faculty.

SSW Advisor Elaine Mittell and with advisee Christina Rimelspach, winner of the 2010 Faculty Leadership Award

 

Kecia Lopes,  winner of the Achievement in Political Action and Social Justice award, with her SSW Advisor Kenna Liatsos.

Simmons School of Social Work Student is 2009-2010 Boston Schweitzer Fellow

Amy Wong, Simmons School of Social Work

Year I placement: Bancroft Elementary School, Andover Public Schools
Year II placement: Trinity Boston Counseling Center, Boston

The Boston Schweitzer Fellows Program is a one-year interdisciplinary fellowship program focused on community service and leadership development.  It is a competitive program open to students obtaining professional degrees in health related fields, including degrees in social work.  Fellows meet regularly during the academic year to discuss their health-related leadership projects, which require 200 community-service hours during the project.  Fellows also learn how to address the impact of health disparities and health policies on local communities.

For her project Amy developed a meditation program at Maritime Apprentice Program (MAP) and at Street Potential, both of which are life skills/vocational programs for DYS-committed young men . Her project's aim is to help youth in these at-risk communities to develop awareness skills, recognize their strengths, and build their self-esteem. This approach arrives out of current research, which indicates that individuals who meditate can draw on their own mental health resources at difficult times with a regular practice. 

School of Social Work Hosts Exhibit of Artwork from Children of Darfur

The fourth floor of the SSW was the site of a recent exhibit of drawings by children from Darfur living in a refugee camp in Chad. The exhibit is sponsored by the UK based human rights organization, “Waging Peace”, which campaigns against abuse and genocide in Africa, with a primary emphasis on Darfur. The drawings were collected and brought back from Darfur by a member of a sister organization, Article 1 ("All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights") and depict the violence witnessed by the children. The Simmons SSW showing was organized by Assistant Professor Thom Harrigan.

 

 

Alumna and Filmmaker Sarah Entine shows film at SSW

Sarah Entine, '02SW spoke to SSW students and faculty at a recent showing of her new film, Read Me Differently. In the film, Entine exposes unrecognized learning disabilities that bridge three generations in her family. The filmmaker's discovery of her own dyslexia at the age of 29-and her subsequent search for answers - ultimately leads her to surprising revelations between those closest to her Entine, especially her grandmother and mother.

Sarah Entine, '02SW and
Associate Professor Denise Humm-Delgado, M.S.W., Ph.D.

Following the showing there was a lively discussion about the film during which relevant implications for clinical social workers were explored. Entine also described how she sees filmmaking as an extension of her social work training. Entine is showing the film at various college campuses across the country and to professional groups, with the goal of raising awareness about the complex issues confronted by families and individuals dealing with learning disabilities.

Learn more about the film at www.readmedifferently.com

Clinical Social Work Careers in the Air Force

Dave Weller, MSW, a social worker with the rank of captain met with SSW Students on April 14th to discuss his career in the military and the role of clinical social workers in providing mental health, addiction and family support services to enlisted men and their families. Captain Weller is posted at the Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. There, he will be starting a new position as a family advocacy program manager where he will focus on providing clinical services to families needing help with issues related to family violence and child maltreatment.

Professor Peter Maramaldi and Captain Dave Weller, USAF

Captain Weller described career opportunities for clinical social workers in the USAF and answered questions for students interested in careers in the military. There are currently 284 social workers in the USAF. Social Workers enter the Air Force as Officers and are thus required to attend Officer Training School. As is the case with other enlistees, social workers need to meet rigorous physical fitness requirements to be accepted. Assignments are mostly in the United States, but USAF clinical social workers can also expect to be deployed overseas including to active war zones. Combat stress, trauma and anger management are a common focus for clinical interventions when working with the military in overseas locations. Skills in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and knowledge of current evidence based practices are essential. Overall, Captain Weller was very enthusiastic about the career opportunities for clinical social workers in the USAF.

Alumni and Professional Development Day 2010

This year Alumni Day will be on Saturday, May 8, 2010. Keynote speaker will be Shawn Christopher Shea, M.D., Director of the Training Institute for Suicide Assessment and Clinical Interviewing and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Dartmouth School of Medicine.

Additionally, there will be 6 different workshops. Please download the brochure for workshop descriptions and other information.

Registration is limited, please register by April 16! Registration fee: $45. To register online please visit alumnet.simmons.edu. To register by phone, please call the Office of Alumnae/i Relations & Annual Giving at 800/831-4284. Event attendees are eligible for 3.0 CEUs.

SSW Fall 2009 Orientation Slideshow

SSW Student Wins National Award

Natalie Hill SW09 is a winner of the 2009 Judith Holm Memorial Award. A National panel of educators and advanced practitioners select each year’s winners for the award which is sponsored by the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work (ABE). The award is given to second year master’s students who demonstrate excellence in preparation for clinical social work practice. This very prestigious annual award is given to only five students nation-wide. Competitors must submit papers based on clinical work done in field placement. Natalie’s award winning paper is titled “Helping Clients Navigate the Coming Out Process: A Person in Environment Approach". Her two field placements at Simmons SSW were : Big Sister Association of Boston and The Wentworth Institute of Technology Counseling Center.

Gary Bailey Appointed to the Mass Educational Financing Authority

Gary Bailey has been appointed a member of the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority by Governor Patrick. Gary's appointment is effective immediately. We know that Gary will be an effective advocate for the needs of students and institutions of higher education in his new role.

Helen Reinherz & the SSW Longitudinal Study Featured in Boston Globe on April 27, 2009

Helen Reinherz and the Simmons SSW Longitudinal Study were prominently featured in the Boston Globe on April 27, 2009. The article titled "A lingering cloud: A study that began more than 30 years ago in Quincy shows that family arguing leaves a long-lasting imprint on children" summarizes the project's most recent article published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry "...focused on family arguments and physical violence. It looked at the effects of parents fighting with each other, and with their children." Read the article.

New Publications by Hugo Kamya. Hugo and Tien Ung Recieved a New Research Grant

Associate Professor Hugo Kamya recently published works in several professional publications. “Mama Jaja: The stresses and strengths of HIV-affected Ugandan grandmothers” appeared in the fall issue of    Social Work in Public Health. The chapter “Healing from Refugee Trauma: The Significance of Spiritual Beliefs, Faith Community, and Faith-based Services,” was published in Spiritual Resources in Family Therapy, 2nd edition (Guilford Press, 2008). And the chapter “Working with Immigrant and Refugee Families” was published in Revisioning Family Therapy: Race, culture and gender in clinical practice, 2nd edition (Guilford Press, 2008). Kamya and Assistant Professor Tien Ung have received a Simmons Presidential Fund for Research grant to address community- based services for African immigrants and refugees. They will study the roles of social, human, and cultural capital in defining family functioning and well-being of these populations.

Johnnie Hamilton-Mason Article Published In Smith College Studies in Social Work

Professor Johnnie Hamilton-Masonco-authored "When the Floods of Compassion are not Enough: A Nation’s and a City's Response to the Evacuees of Hurricane Katrina" in the Smith College Studies in Social Work (Vol. 78, Issue: 4, 2008). The article is based on a research project by Hamilton-Mason and her colleagues, sponsored by the University of Texas at Austin Center for Social Work Research Hurricane Recovery Research Collaborative.

Denise Humm-Delgado has Co-Authored a New Book on Our Nation's Prisons

Associate Professor Denise Humm-Delgadoco-authored Health and Health Care in the Nation's Prisons: Issues, Challenges, and Policies (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2009). In addition to providing an overview of the most common prison health care problems, the book offers an assessment of the needs of largely overlooked prison populations, including women, people of color, and older adults.

Peter Maramaldi has Co-published a New Article on Oncology Social Work

Associate Professor Peter Maramaldi recently co-published “Oncology social worker competencies and implications for education and training” in Social Work in Health Care, volume 47(4). He also presented a paper on “Evidence- Based Psychosocial Interventions with Cancer Patients and Families” at the 61st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Geontological Society of America in Washington, D.C., in November.

Michael Melendez New Publication and Activities

At the Society on Social Work Research conference in New Orleans Jan. 18,  Associate Professor Michael Melendez served as moderator of the panel “Preparing the next generation: Are we teaching them what they need to know?” and presented “Describing the Impact of Required Diversity Courses on Beginning Social Work Students Developing Multicultural Competence.” He also served as intervention director on a research team for the Institute on Urban Health Research at Northeastern University and co-authored its findings, Spiritual  Self Schema Therapy: Pilot Study Final Report. Two of Melendez’s works also have been accepted for publication. “Facilitating difficult conversations in the classroom,” co-authored with Professor Ann Fleck-Henderson will be published in the Journal of Teaching in Social Work, and the chapter “Crisis Intervention and Counseling” will be published in Social Services and Social  Action in the HIV Pandemic: Principles, Methods, Populations (Wiley, 2009).

Dawn Belkin-Martinez Has Written a Book Chapter Just Published

Assistant Professor Dawn Belkin-Martinez wrote a book chapter entitled “Community Social Work with Latinos” Fruma, R & Negi  eds. Social work practice with Latinos: Key issues and emerging themes. Chicago: Lyceum books, Spring 2009.

Michelle Putnam Recent Publications

Assistant Professor Michelle Putnamrecently authored several publications. She co-published “Indicators of Long-term Care Planning and Preparation Among Persons with Multiple Sclerosis” in Home Health Care Services Quarterly,27(2) and “Exploring Effects of Institutional Characteristics on Saving Outcome: The Case of the Cash and Counseling Program” in the Journal of Policy Practice, 7(4). Putnam published the chapter “Long-term Care Policy as an Investment in Baby Boomers and Future Generations,” in Boomer Bust? (Praeger Publishing Company, 2008). She also presented “Long-term Care as Investment Policy: Widening the Lens of Social Work in Aging” at The Council on Social Work Education National Center for Gerontological Social Work Education track meeting Nov. 1 in Philadelphia.

Social Work Hearing: Gary Bailey

Gary Bailey, Associate Professor at the Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work, testified at an Education and Labor Committee Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee hearing concerning the state of social work in America on July 29, 2008.

SSW Faculty & Students in the News

Learn More About the School of Social Work

Attend an SSW Information Session and learn about all of our diverse programs. View session dates here.