This was a busy week with my conducting seven one-on-one sessions, having two intakes, making a presentation to two women groups, as well as attending a seminar on the role of social workers in within the oncology and palliative care arena. In terms of the individual sessions, two of the seven appointments were with new […]
Social Work Career Advice from a Dean: MSW to PhD Journey
Social work career advice from Dean Nancy Smyth, PhD: her path from MSW to Dean, why MSW is just the beginning, 10+ essential clinical competencies for private practice (substance abuse screening, mental health assessment, domestic violence, trauma, dissociation, CBT, MI, record-keeping), women in academia challenges, virtual reality therapy applications, and trauma-informed care integration.
Social Work Internship: 7th Week
To give an update, since my last post, I’ve started conducting one or two intake interviews per week as part of my regular clinical work. An intake interview essentially involves asking a prospective client various questions to find out who referred the client (self, inpatient psychiatry unit, emergency psychiatry unit), what is the client’s main […]
Integrating Theory With Practice
Since my last post, I have been essentially settling into the routine of seeing between 8 and 9 patients a week at my placement in addition to the twice weekly group sessions, the weekly social work seminar and the other routine fixed weekly items on my agenda. The work that I am finding the most […]
Social Work in Advocacy and Public Policy
Are you interested in pursuing a career in advocacy or public policy? Melinda Lewis advises you to: “Choose an organization that you’re excited about not, just a job description that sounds good… also an understanding of how policy systems work, how to build organizational strength, and how change happens.” This week, I had the honor of interviewing […]





