For Associate Professor of Practice in the School of Social Work (SSW) Emilé Baker, social work is the ideal confluence of her interdisciplinary interests.
“Back when I was an undergraduate, I was really fascinated by the brain and what shapes human beings, their behaviors, and how they exist in the world. I studied psychology, sociology, and women’s studies. And what I found is that the bio-psychosocial perspective, that is, the person in an environment perspective, just made so much more sense to me,” she recalls. This realization, and her engagement in student activism, led her to social work.
Baker has been practicing social work since the early 2000s. She has worked in a variety of settings, including hospitals and outpatient venues, with individuals experiencing homelessness and members of the HIV community.
In her private practice, Baker works with people from across the lifespan (young adults through nonagenarians). She helps them work toward emotional recovery from anxiety and depressive disorders, including food allergy anxiety and anaphylaxis trauma associated with allergic conditions.
One of the most rewarding aspects of Baker’s profession “is seeing my clients get better,” she says. “Seeing someone who has gone through an incredibly scary, traumatic experience that has shut down their life and then seeing them reclaim their lives on their terms is wonderful … Helping them get to a place where their decisions are coming from a balanced, decision-making logic rather than fear is wonderful to witness.”
Supporting Sufferers of Allergies
“I help counsel folks around anxiety, depression, trauma, and around anaphylaxis, and reclaiming their lives after they’ve been through a traumatic experience through eating food,” says Baker.
For years, Baker’s work focused on pregnant and postpartum women and parents with anxiety and depression, as well as individuals with AIDS who faced medical trauma and a stigmatized diagnosis.
While raising a child with food allergies, Baker noticed that individuals and families wrestling with food allergies did not have support services beyond the allergist’s office. She therefore started a psychosocial group for caregivers that incorporated many of the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques that she had used with her earlier clients, now addressing allergy anxiety from a trauma-informed, mindfulness-based CBT perspective. This eventually developed into a current specialty in allergies.
“There was such a need for it that my practice went from a few people to 90% of my practice now being food allergy-related,” Baker says. Many of her clients are working toward rebuilding their lives after anaphylaxis trauma.
“Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening reaction to food, medication, or bee stings that can be incredibly scary and traumatic for folks,” she says. Baker helps her clients slowly re-incorporate food back into their lives and build confidence in food introduction and in social situations after a traumatic allergic reaction.
Tackling Misformation about Food Allergies
One particular challenge that Baker encounters is an overwhelming amount of misinformation about food allergies circulating online.
“Since not all emergency room and general practitioners are up to date on issues related to food allergies, this creates a lot of mistrust and misinformation in the food allergy community,” she explains. Moreover, in November 2025, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy unfoundedly linked food allergies to vaccines, which generated more distrust within the food allergy community.
The new Dietary Guidelines released by the Department of Health and Human Services in January 2026 were met with mixed reactions in the food allergy community.
“In my work, I have observed relief that vaccine-related misinformation was excluded and appreciation for the expansion of early food introduction guidance beyond peanuts to include other allergenic foods, such as eggs, milk, shellfish, and sesame, to help reduce the risk of food allergies more broadly,” Baker says.
“However, I also see how guidelines like these are often misunderstood — particularly in the context of past misinformation and widespread mistrust in the medical community — leading some parents to distrust the recommendations, blame themselves for not introducing foods early enough, or feel overwhelmed by the added pressure,” Baker explains. This anxiety can ultimately result in inaction or avoidance.
“Additionally, the early introduction recommendations apply only to reducing the risk of IgE[immunoglobin]-mediated food allergies, a distinction that is not clearly stated in the document, leaving families affected by other food allergic conditions, such as FPIES [food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome], without guidance and understandably confused and frustrated,” she adds.
“Almost every single parent that I’ve ever met in my work has blamed themselves and has carried this guilt that is unhealthy and contributes to depression and anxiety, which really affects the whole family,” Baker notes. “In social work practice, we look at systems and consider the family as a system. When a parent or caregiver is really struggling with guilt that is overwhelming, it can really impact everything else,” she explains.
Baker encourages families to seek guidance directly from their allergist. “And if they are struggling with guilt, anxiety, depression, or feeling really stuck, ask for a referral to a mental health provider that has an understanding of food allergies to help them cope,” she says.
Forays into Advocacy
Beyond her clinical work, Baker also loves the social justice aspect of her field. She serves on the board of the New England chapter of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).
In her words, “AAFA New England supports patients and families in New England who cope with chronic health conditions of allergies and asthma. It provides different initiatives to decrease the medical, financial, and psychosocial burden on families. We provide financial support and linkages for research and community groups, such as the Food Allergy Buddies Program at Massachusetts General Hospital [AAFA supports and partners with the Buddies Program] and several food allergy and asthma studies to help improve patients’ lives.” Moreover, AAFA has created a resource guide for service providers and free educational webinars with experts.
Baker and her AAFA colleagues are also supporting legislation that would help protect people with severe allergies. “We disseminate information as well as go down to the State House and lobby for our representatives to listen and improve the lives of folks who have allergies and asthma in New England,” she says.
Helping Simmons Students Thrive
“I’ve been super fortunate with my classes and the students that I have been able to teach at Simmons,” Baker says.
One of Baker’s favorite Simmons courses to teach is “Social Work Practice” (SW 421A). This is a year-long course for first-year Master of Social Work (MSW) students.
“In this course, I get to meet students from day one when they start the [MSW] program. They are starting out fresh and learning everything for the first time,” Baker notes. “I get to see them progress throughout the entire year, which is so rewarding.”
Moreover, students in this class engage in simulation exercises in which actors come to class and portray a client. “Students practice their social work skills in front of the class and then critique each other and provide information back and forth. It is such an amazing learning environment,” she says.
In Baker’s words, “Simmons students are smart, hardworking, and compassionate. They also come from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences, which is another thing I love about teaching here … We get a variety of lived experiences and perspectives, which makes the classes so rich.”
Regarding words of advice to Simmons students, “I always refrain from giving direct advice because my personal perspective and privilege are different from other folks,” Baker says. “But one thing I do emphasize in my teaching is the need for regular self-care practice … We see, hear, and experience some really hard things [in this profession]. If you don’t take care of yourself, it’s a recipe for burnout. And if you are burned out, you really can’t care for other folks.”