Grace Lincoln ’25MSW is a psychotherapist at Collaborative Insight Counseling Associates (CICA), a mental health group practice in Boston. She works with both adolescents and adults who are seeking support for anxiety, depression, ADHD, and life transitions. In addition, she uses a range of treatment approaches to help clients process and heal from trauma and other distressing experiences.
“My hope is to provide a supportive space for my clients to reach their personal goals and be their most authentic selves,” Lincoln says.
Choosing the Simmons MSW Program
While majoring in psychology as an undergraduate at Simmons, Lincoln recalls, “I kept hearing how great the social work program was.”
Encouraged by her professors, she applied and enrolled in the Simmons MSW program after graduation.
“Simmons is so supportive and welcoming. I was very interested in staying within the community,” she says.
With plans to enter the mental health field, Lincoln was especially drawn to the program’s rigorous fieldwork requirements and vast network of practicum sites. The opportunity to begin hands-on training in her first year, she explains, “offered an immediate path to making a difference.”
Preparing for a Social Work Career at Simmons
Lincoln, who enrolled in the MSW Trauma Practice certificate program, praises the classroom experience at Simmons.
“My professors were great teachers and leaders,” she says. “They taught with integrity, passion, and care, and social justice was always at the forefront.”
By integrating real-world experience into coursework, she adds, faculty exemplified “how different practitioners might approach the same scenarios and how social work isn’t one size fits all.”
For her first practicum, Lincoln joined the Town of Lexington Human Services Department. There, she developed knowledge of macro policy, community mental health, and program development. She worked with residents one-on-one, conducted home visits, and facilitated support groups.
In her second year, Lincoln interned at Collaborative Insight Counseling Associates, where she counseled individuals and supervised peers. Additionally, she initiated a research project on problematic sibling/stepsibling sexual behaviors that resulted in educational presentations at CICA and further academic study at Simmons[AP1].
“I gained diverse experience and ultimately was hired after graduation,” she says.
Why Social Work is Meaningful
“I enjoy being in a role where I can foster healing on the deepest level,” Lincoln says. “It’s rewarding to build that trust and to work with clients over the long term to see transformation and recovery.”