As we honor Black History Month this February, we encourage you to check out Seattle University's Office of Diversity and Inclusion's dedicated webpage. You will find information about the recent racial equity summit, upcoming events, resources, and much more.
March is Social Work Month and the National Association of Social Workers has all of your resources for celebrating the social work profession. This year's theme is The Time is Right for Social Work.
We are still accepting applications for 2022 summer and fall start terms! Ignite change in your community by starting your application today. Our final deadline is February 20, 2022.
We have a new, weekly, employment alert subscription available for students, alumni and anyone else who may be seeking a job in social work. Jobs are compiled each week and are sent out in one email each Tuesday.
Employers, please send employment opportunities to SocialWorkJobs@SeattleU.edu.
Our most recent student blog features guest writer, D.M. Millay (2022 MSW Advanced Standing Student) who writes about the experience of being an Advanced Standing MSW student.
Thursday, March 3, 2022
6:00pm-7:00pm (PST)
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
12:00pm-1:00pm (PST)
Recipient of Behavioral Health Workforce Development Initiative Scholarship
Recipient of Behavioral Health Workforce Development Initiative Scholarship
Recipient of Etnyre-Scheingold Clinical Social Work Endowed Scholarship
Recipient of Etnyre-Scheingold Clinical Social Work Endowed Scholarship
Are you involved in any on campus groups, clubs, or activities?
No, I am not currently involved in any groups, clubs or activities on campus. I was a bit hesitant to take part in any, given my official introduction to campus was during the first autumn of the current pandemic.
Have you gotten any awards or scholarships? We want the details!
Yes, I did in fact receive a scholarship I so humbly accepted. I am a recipient of the Behavioral Health Workforce Development Initiative program in it’s inaugural year. I am both honored to be a recipient and appreciative of the opportunity to deliver mental and behavioral health here in Washington State post completion of degree.
Where did you get your undergraduate degree and what was it in?
I received my undergraduate degree from SUNY Albany in Human Biology. I had the intention of attending and pursing a degree in physical therapy. However, the longer I say with the idea of going into physical therapy, the more I realized it was not the career path for me.
What inspired you to go into social work?
What inspired me to go into social work was a seed of an idea planted in my head by a good fried during my undergraduate career who was going for her BSW at the time. I did not fully understand what social work entailed, as there are so many different areas and I felt slightly overwhelmed, so I brushed it off for several years. In fact, it was not until I started working on my physical therapy school applications that I realized it was the community-based groups and organizations I was a part of that meant so much to me, and that wanted to do more for people at large. I still think very highly of the physical therapy career because those providers do work with physically vulnerable populations. However, I wanted to pursue a more holistic education, followed by career, focused on the full human experiences that also involved my interests of community and group work.
What are your plans for after graduation? or what do you hope to do within social work after graduation?
I am still trying to figure out what my plans after graduation will entail. I know I want to work with youths and their caregiving unit, at a community setting or within a school.
What is your practicum this year, what is your job there, and with what population?
This year, my practicum is taking place at Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic. I am working with youths and families at a primary care facility that offers mental, dental, and behavioral health services. My position is as a behavioral health provider, and I am thoroughly enjoying the challenges it presents as well as the opportunities to learn from a diverse behavioral health team that consists of psychologist, psychiatrists, and social workers.
Do you volunteer or do any social work activities outside of school?
I found it quite challenging to not be a part of some form of volunteer work, especially given my last opportunity of volunteering, with NYPresb, ended abruptly due to the current pandemic. If my introduction to Seattle U or the city of Seattle was not during the midst of a pandemic, I think I would be taking part in some activities outside of school. However, I do not think it’s too late for me to take part in volunteer work once I get settled into the winter quarter of classes.
What has been the most rewarding or exciting part of your time in the MSW program?
I think the most exciting part of my time so far in SU’s MSW program centers around finally getting a greater understanding of theory. Coming from a natural science background, the theory was always provided prior to conducting any work. Now it almost feels as though my mind is doing some restructuring to not think this concretely. However, finally grasping how different theories can be applied to the same situation or how one theory, over another, may offer additional insight of our understanding of a person’s situation offers both and excitement and comfort for me.
Are you involved in any on campus groups, clubs, or activities?
I’m currently serving on the Re-Mixed (Multiracial Student Association) board. I’ve had such a great experience as a member of the club with other multiracial students and it’s very rewarding to give back to the community by serving as treasurer.
Have you gotten any awards or scholarships?
I am incredibly fortunate to have been selected as a Naef Scholar this year. I’m very humbled by the other students in the group and feel privileged to be considered a social justice leader on campus.
What year are you graduating?
I will be graduating this spring in 2022.
What inspired you to go into social work?
I’ve always felt drawn toward a career in counseling but felt very limited by other fields’ emphasis on diagnosing clients. What drew me to social work was its focus on larger systems and their impact on individual wellbeing. I am very passionate about centering a client within the larger context of the systems and structures that impact their mental, physical, and emotional health. I believe people are more than a diagnosis or pathology, and my courses at Seattle U have shown me that social work is a field that allows me to situate the client in their own experiences.
What are your plans after graduation? Or what do you hope to do within social work after graduation?
After graduating, I’m hoping to attend graduate school for my MSW. My long-term goal is licensure, as I’ve always wanted to work individually with clients, but I also love doing research. For clinical work, I hope to work with families and young adults navigating transitions into adulthood, parenthood, and other transition points. I am particularly interested in working with multiracial families. Similarly, I’m very interested in racial studies research. I’m currently part of the interdepartmental honors cohort and am exploring the relationship between multiracial identities and feelings of belonging and inclusion. In the future, I would love to continue this research at a postgraduate level.
What is your practicum this year and with what population?
My practicum is at Comprehensive Life Resources, a nonprofit mental health facility in Tacoma. I’m specifically working on their first episode psychosis team, New Journeys. We work with clients aged 15-40 years old who have experienced their first episode of psychosis in the last two years. I’ve loved being able to observe collaboration between the case manager, family education specialist, supported employment and education specialist, psychiatrist, and others involved in creating an individual plan for each client.
Do you volunteer or do any social work activities outside of school?
Before the pandemic (and hopefully this winter), I volunteered with the Outdoors for All foundation. They provide seasonal adaptive recreation activities for people with physical and mental disabilities. Because I’m hopelessly unathletic, I’ve volunteered my time in more administrative ways with the foundation and have been able to build connection and community with families, participants, and instructors.
During the 2020 presidential election, I worked with Postcards to Swing States, an organization that sent postcards to encourage voter turnout in key swing states. I’ve also previously done work on several political campaigns, including a successful gubernatorial campaign in my home state of Illinois. Political work has inspired me to look at the way policy truly impacts access to resources and opportunities for marginalized populations, which has motivated me to work for legislative change to break down barriers to access.
What has been the most rewarding or exciting part of your time in the BSW program?
I have been genuinely inspired by my cohort and the faculty in the BSW program. Everyone I’ve had the pleasure to work with has been supportive of my growth as a social worker and as a person. It was very exciting to have my values and skills developed in person with my cohort and professors, but it has been beautiful to see how we’ve all been able to adapt and continue supporting each other during the pandemic. I feel grateful to be surrounded by driven, compassionate, and encouraging people in the BSW program.
Follow us in a three-part series where we interview our social work faculty members about their clinical work in the social work field. This quarter, we interviewed Social Work Assistant Professor, Anne Farina, PhD.
Our faculty interview series continues this quarter with our conversation with Dr. Anne Farina, PhD, Assistant Professor in the SU Social Work Department.
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Where do you work outside of Seattle University and what is your position title?
I have been working at a small health and wellness center in Bellevue, Washington as a mental health provider. The center that I work at focuses on services that care for the whole person - "integrating physical, mental and social well-being."
How long have you worked there?
Since spring of 2020.
What are your main job duties?
I provide mental health services for individuals and families. The main areas of my practice include trauma, attachment, depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, grief and loss, and perinatal mental health. My main approach for working with people impacted by trauma and developmental wounds is Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. This approach helps clients reconnect with their bodies and find balance with the connection between mind and body. Other interventions and models used in my work include Structured Sensory Interventions, Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, Theraplay, Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment, Somatic Soothing and Play Therapy. I developed Somatic Soothing to help children regulate their bodies, thoughts, and emotions to function at home and at school. My work is guided by principles of anti-oppressive practice, acknowledging how complex issues such as power and oppression can impact our lives.
How did you start your career in this area of social work? What attracted you to social work?
Before coming to the Seattle area, I lived in St. Louis, Missouri. Most of my clinical social work experience was working with refugees and immigrants. I developed programming for children and adults that included after school programs, a performing arts group for refugee youth, and a mental health check-up model for assessment. Trauma and attachment have been my main areas of focus in both practice and research. I am constantly intrigued by the complexity of humans and our ability to adapt and change. It is also heartbreaking what our children and fellow humans experience - and I am constantly in search of ways to help support and make space for what our community members need space for - like their lived experiences, their hurt, pain, growth, wants, needs, and dreams.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of this work?
I love this work for so many reasons. Mostly because I learn so much from others - from their experiences, ideas, and beliefs about themselves and about the world around them.
What has been the hardest part of doing this work?
It is hard to say what is the hardest part about this work because it definitely is hard! This work requires me to be engaged in the present moment with others. And sometimes because of my own stuff going on, that can be hard. But I am constantly reminded that this work is important, and it really is a privilege to be a small part in people's journeys in this world.
For the students looking to follow your lead in clinical social work, what is your best piece of advice to them?
For students looking to go into clinical social work - my biggest piece of advice is to expose yourselves to many different ways of knowing. Knowledge doesn't just come from scholarly articles. It comes in all different ways. Be engaged with the world around you, with the people around you.
While browsing online seminars or other educational opportunities for social workers, you may have seen a number with CEU after it. CEU stands for Continuing Education Unit and these units are required by professional licensing boards in order to maintain licensure. The number of CEUs required by licensing boards can vary based on the state and the license that is being pursued or held. In Washington state for example, licensed associate social workers must complete 18 hours of continuing education credits in between initial licensure and their first renewal. After the social worker is fully licensed, they will have to show proof of 36 CEUs every two years to maintain licensure in Washington State. It’s important to continue referencing the written requirements on CEU’s because they may change and there are specific topics that the CEU must focus on according to which license one has. In Washington State, out of those 36 CEUs required, 6 of them must be focused on law and ethics then another 6 of them should be trainings in suicide assessment, treatment, and management. In addition to this, the CEUs must be completed through an approved agency. Some of the current approved agencies include: Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work, Washington Chapter of the NASW, Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care, National Association of Social Workers and institutions of higher learning that are accredited by a national or regional accrediting body recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation.