Introduction
To celebrate Black History Month, we asked African American social workers to talk to us about their career.
Kasey Phillips Brown, LCSW
Clinical Supervisor, Speical Service for Groups/
Occupational Therapy Training Program
Private Practitioner, New Perspectives
Founder, Hip Hop Scholars
Long Beach, California
Q. Where did you earn your social work degree, where do you work, and what is your area of expertise?
I am Kasey Phillips Brown, LCSW and “Day by day in every way, I’m getting better and better.” This phrase was told to me by a professor while I was in my second year as a social work student. I continue to use it as a foundation as I assist others in planting seeds of change in their lives. I have been providing mental health services for over 15 years.
I earned both my BA in Mass Communication and Masters of Social Work from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. While interning in school I provided services in two homeless shelters and oversaw a grant for homeless children. Upon returning to my home town of Los Angeles, CA, I have worked in the foster care system, in group home settings and have provided individual, group and family psychotherapy to at-risk-youth and their families. I am now a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who is certified to provide Continuing Education Units to other mental health professionals through the Board of Behavioral Sciences.
I have been a parenting class instructor and have been certified as a sexual assault crisis volunteer through the YWCA. I have experience as an examination coach and as a consultant to other licensed clinicians. I am currently a clinical supervisor at the Special Service for Groups/Occupational Therapy Training Program who provides individual and group clinical supervision to Associate Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapist Interns, and clinical students. I am also currently a part-time lecturer for the School of Social Work at Cal State Long Beach and I have a private practice, New Perspectives in Lakewood, CA.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I LOVE being a social worker and I am eternally grateful for my grandpa’s response when I got my BA in Mass Communication – Radio/T.V/Film. He said, “You know you need something to fall back on.” I quickly opened the CAU course catalog picked what I thought was the easiest thing to get into; the Master of Social Work program and I have never looked back. Now my grandma had a totally different response. She said,” Why would you want to be a social worker? You already had your SAD little life. Now you want to sit and listen to these SAD people, tell you their SAD stories? Why would you want to do that? You’ve had enough sadness.” Well this is the first time my grandma was wrong. I go to work everyday with a smile on my face whether I’m off to supervise clinicians and offer them assistance as they work with their clients or I’m teaching 1st year social work students how to do this difficult work. I smile when I’m working with my beautiful group home boys who have had life kick them in the teeth yet they are still grinning from ear to ear. I wouldn’t trade this career for anything else. If I won the lottery I would remain in this field (I would not work full-time and my office would be located on some tropical island some where but I would still do this work.)
Q. If you were able to make one lasting impact on the world, what would it be and what would be your strategy for achieving it?
If I were able to make one lasting impact on the world it would be to inform as many people as possible of how precious and important the lives of our children are. There are so many economic and social decisions that are made that negatively affect our children each day. Our children are faced with poverty, a lack of resources, poor education, high unemployment, parental abandonment resulting from substance abuse, incarceration and mental illness and often these children act out their depression through oppositional behavior and criminal activity. These children are then viewed by society as “bad kids”. I want the world to know that children are not just “born bad”. I believe that if you sat that “bad kid” down in an office and had he or she tell you about their life, you would most likely find that it is a wounded child that is just trying to survive. Our children are beautiful and resilient and I challenge those that disagree to walk a mile in their shoes.
The way I attempt to inform the world is by actively working in a field that advocates for children. I am constantly educating others about the plight of our children and I am active in community service organizations that attempt to meet the needs of children in low income areas.
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