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Posts Tagged ‘
lesbian ’
Introduction
To honor LGBT Pride Month we asked Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and to describe the unique challenges facing their community.
Caitlin Ryan, PhD, ACSW
Director, Family Acceptance Projectâ„¢
Marian Wright Edelman Institute, San Francisco State University
San Francisco, California
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| Dr. Ryan |
Q. Dr. Ryan, where did you earn your social work degree? What is your area of expertise and where are you currently employed?
I received my MSW from Smith College School for Social Work. My undergraduate work focused on human sexuality and my doctorate is in public policy with a focus on health policy.
I have worked on health and mental health issues for lesbians and gay men and LGBT adolescents for the past 35 years. My work started in the lesbian and gay health movement before AIDS where I worked to develop early networks of lesbian and gay health providers across the country.
I initiated the National Lesbian Care Survey to define lesbian health needs in the late 1970s, developed community-based AIDS services at the beginning of the epidemic, and have worked to implement quality care for LGBT adolescents since the early 1990s.
In 2002, I started the Family Acceptance Projectâ„¢ (FAP), a research, intervention, education and policy initiative that promotes family support and healthy futures for LGBT children and adolescents. I am based at the Marian Wright Edelman Institute and am affiliated with the César E. Chávez Institute at San Francisco State University.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
Social work chose me. I found a home in social work for my passion for social justice, interest in working with systems and on multiple levels and commitment to positive social change. I had been trying to find a profession that would enable me to make a difference and that's what social work gave me.
Q. What are the greatest challenges facing the LGBT community today and how can social workers help?
One of the greatest challenges facing LGBT youth and adults has been longstanding – lack of accurate information about sexual orientation and gender identity – among providers, families and policymakers.
Many providers and so many families wrongly believe that heterosexual identity is innate and that homosexuality is only acquired later in life. But research shows that children – gay and straight – become aware of sexual attraction, on average, at about age 10. Until accurate education on sexuality and human development is included in schools and professional training, basic misconceptions about human development will continue to restrict the humanity, life chances and civil rights of LGBT people.
Social workers need to self-educate and learn research literacy skills so they can:
- accurately interpret and critique research and science;
- help clients, families, communities and policymakers understand basic human development;
- understand advances in our knowledge of sexuality and gender identity development and the connection between oppression, disease and well-being; and
- continue to incorporate this information into practice, education, advocacy and policy work.
Dr. Ryan's Community Professional Acknowledgments include;
- Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, American Psychological Association, Division 44
- Day Garrett Award, Smith College School for Social Work
- Researcher of the Year, Lesbian Health & Research Center, University of California, San Francisco
- NASW Social Worker of the Year
- Jane Addams-Howard Brown Lifetime Achievement Award, National Lesbian and Gay Health Foundation
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To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: bisexual, Caitlin Ryan, gay, Gay Pride Month, gay social worker, lesbian, LGBT social worker, social work, social worker, transgender
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Introduction
To honor LGBT Pride Month we asked Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and to describe the unique challenges facing their community.
Kyrsten Sinema, MSW, JD
Arizona House of Representatives (D-15)
Assistant Leader
House Democratic Caucus in Arizona
Member
President Obama’s Task Force on Healthcare
Washington, DC
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Ms. Sinema
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Q. Rep. Sinema, where did you earn your social work degree? What is your area of expertise and where are you employed?
I have a master of social work degree from Arizona State University, where I now serve as adjunct faculty. I am the Assistant Leader to the House Democratic Caucus in Arizona and I have been a state representative for five years.
I also teach at the Center for Progressive Leadership, a nonprofit organization that trains political leaders. In addition, I am a political consultant, focusing on ballot initiatives and referenda, electoral and legislative work, and coalition building. I am also an attorney and practice criminal defense, election law, and immigration law.
Q. Why did you choose social work for your profession?
I was born a social worker – I love to organize and teach and bring diverse groups of people together to work for social justice. A master of social work teaches you to do all of these things, and gives you the skills to work in diverse settings throughout your career.
Q. What are the greatest challenges facing the LGBT community and how can social workers help?
I think our greatest challenge is overcoming our community's victimhood mentality. For decades, we have seen ourselves as "other" – somehow different and separate from those around us. Oppressors and institutionalized forms of oppression have supported this mentality. However, a worldview of "otherness" prevents us from forming meaning coalitions with people who are different from us – in terms of orientation or identity – but who are similar to us as well. We share so much more in common with those around us – when we can learn to emphasize that shared experience instead of our "differentness", then I believe we can work with the community at large to achieve social justice and equality.
Ms. Sinema’s honors:
- Named one of the Arizona Technology Council’s “Tech Ten” Legislators of 2008.
- 21st Century Democrats – 21st Century Leader Award
- Border Action Network – 2008 Human Rights Champion Award
- Gold Key International Honour Society – ASU Chapter Induction
- 2007 BALLIE Award
- Arizona Hispanic Community Forum – “Friend of Hispanic Community Recognition Award”
- 2007 Planned Parenthood Advocates Choice Award
- YWCA – 2007 Emerging Leader Award
- Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence 2007 Legislator of the Year
- 2007 and 2008 Friends of Cities and Towns Award
- 2006 National Association of Social Workers (AZ Chapter) “Public Elected Official of the Year”
- 2006 Arizona Public Health Association “Policy Maker of the Year”
- Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Chapter’s, 2006 “Most Valuable Player” Award
- Arizona League of Conservation Voters “Legislative Hero” Award in 2006
- 2006 Planned Parenthood “Legislative Choice” Award
- 2006 Reader’s Choice Award from ECHO Magazine for “Distinguished Service by a Woman”
- 2005 Leadership Award for Distinguished Service from the AZ Stonewall Democrats
- 2005 ECHO Magazine’s “Woman of the Year”
Ms. Sinema is the author of:
In July 2009 MSNBC News interviewed by Sinema. Please click here to see the interview.
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To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: bisexual, gay, gay social worker, Kyrsten Sinema, lesbian, LGBT social worker, social work, social worker, transgender
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Introduction
To honor LGBT Pride Month we asked Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and to describe the unique challenges facing their community.
James J. Kelly, PhD, MSSW
President
Menlo College
Atherton, California
President
National Association of Social Workers
Washington, DC
 President Kelly Q. Where did you earn your social work degree? What is your area of expertise and where are you currently employed?
I received my MSSW from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and my doctorate in social work from Brandeis University. My specialty areas are gerontology, social policy, and higher education administration. I am the Executive Vice President and Provost of Menlo College, Atherton, California, and the President of the National Association of Social Workers.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
As a child, I had learning disabilities and was labeled slow. I knew that I had capabilities, but I didn't understand that the processing issues I had were standing in my way in communicating with others. Out of this feeling of being labeled as "different" grew my desire to help others by thinking creatively and using all of the available resources for changing perceptions, policies, and opportunities for the underserved.
Q. What are the greatest challenges facing the LGBT community today and how can social workers help?
I wish we could say that the world has evolved past gender discrimination, but my personal experience and that of those less fortunate than I speak otherwise. The LGBT community must continue to educate others assertively, but compassionately. It is not easy for people to accept what is unfamiliar, what they have always been taught is wrong, and what they fundamentally do not understand. We must continue to educate others about HIV-AIDS, which is still thought by many to be a gay-caused disease.
Social workers can lead by example in facilitating efforts to increase communication between disparate groups, and to be educators, community activists, and neighborhood and government leaders. Shifting opinion often results from one story at a time. A neighbor is LGBT, a friend is LGBT, a coworker is LGBT. Once we realize that people we happily interact with are LBGT, then the wall of prejudice starts to crumble.
Dr. Kelly’s memberships and honors include:
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To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: bisexual, gay, gay social worker, James Kelly, Jim Kelly, lesbian, LGBT social worker, social work, social worker, transgender
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Introduction
To honor LGBT Pride Month we asked Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and to describe the unique challenges facing their community.
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Dr. Lebolt
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Q. Where did you earn your social work degree? What is your area of expertise and where are you employed?
I earned my MSW at Hunter College and my PhD in clinical social work at The Union Institute. I specialize in recovery from depression and addictive behaviors; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender concerns; cultural issues; life transitions (career, separation, loss); and spirituality. I am in solo private practice:
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I chose social work as a profession because I had a therapist as a young adult during a very difficult period. I felt as if he saved my life, and I wanted to help others the way he had helped me. He was a social worker, and I decided to return to school to become one myself.
Q. What are the greatest challenges in the LGBT community and how can social workers help?
The LGBT community is struggling to achieve basic civil rights on a national basis, including the rights to marry, receive protection under hate crimes laws, adopt and share custody of children, and serve in the military. Social workers can help by raising colleagues’ and communities’ consciousness about these issues, and by advocating change through government representatives.
###To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: bisexual, gay, gay social worker, Jonathan Lebolt, lesbian, LGBT social worker, social work, social worker, transgender
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Introduction
To honor LGBT Pride Month we asked Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and to describe the unique challenges facing their community.
Jane Kornbluth, MSW, LCSW
Psychotherapist and Psychoanalyst
www.JaneKornbluthLCSW.com
New York, New York
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Ms. Kornbluth
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Q. Ms. Kornbluth, where did you earn your social work degree?
I received my MSW from New York University.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I worked to pursue a social work degree following a career as an artist. My abundant and life-long curiosity and fascination with human behavior and respect for psychotherapy motivated me to expand and continue my education and personal growth.
Identity struggle, without access to or knowledge of resources and services is painful, alienating and finally a hindrance to growth and development. I want to be able to offer that which I felt was unavailable.
Following social work school, I further trained as a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst. I believe that practicing clinical treatment with a foundation that makes me ever-aware of the important influence of the social environment, has allowed me a more holistic perspective. Through my clinical work, I am better able to promote self-esteem and strengthen and develop skills for people to manage and navigate life.
Q. What are the greatest challenges in the LGBT community and how can social workers help?
The LGBTQ community has historically existed among the vanguard of social movements. It served the necessary function of blurring the personal and political. Retaining this lead may unfortunately keep the LGBTQ community a few steps ahead of supports, resources or services it may need.
I believe it is the function of far-seeing social leaders and workers to be constantly vigilant in their work to anticipate these needs, and be available without judgment or expectation.
###To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: bisexual, gay, gay social worker, Jane Kornbluth, lesbian, LGBT social worker, social work, social worker, transgender
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Introduction
To honor LGBT Pride Month we asked Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and to describe the unique challenges facing their community.
Josephine Tittsworth, LMSW, BSW, AA
Transgender Educator
and
University of Houston Graduate
College of Social Work PhD Student
Houston, Texas
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Ms. Tittsworth
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Q. Ms. Tittsworth, where did you earn your social work degree? What is your area of expertise and where are you employed?
I earned my undergrad social work degree at the University of Houston-Clear Lake and my masters of social work degree at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. I am a transgender educator. I am a regularly invited guest speaker at business, institutions, nonprofits, universities, and community groups to discuss transgender issues. I am a published researcher on transgender issues. I only do volunteer work within my profession. I am a lobbyist in Austin,TX and Washington, DC for transgender rights. I am an advocate to change nondiscrimination statements in institutions and universities.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I am retired from IBM after 30 years of service. I chose to enter the field of social work in order to follow my passion for helping transgenders. My entire focus is on issues related to transgenders which include employment, education, foster care, adoption, social accessibility, community action, and clinical work (individual and group).
Q. What are the greatest challenges in the LGBT community and how can social workers help?
The greatest challenge to the Transgender community is employment. Currently research suggests unemployment within the transgender community is somewhere around 25 percent to 65 percent depending on which research article you read. Unemployment is a method of suppressing an oppressed group so as to disallow them access to power. Social Workers in organizations, businesses, and nonprofits need to hire transgenders based on their qualifications and not their presentation. The work starts where we are now, we are the change.
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Ms. Tittsworth is a member of the following committees:
To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: bisexual, gay, gay social worker, J P Tittsworth, Josephine Paulette Tittsworth, lesbian, LGBT social worker, social work, social worker, transgender
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Introduction
To honor LGBT Pride Month we asked Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and to describe the unique challenges facing their community.
Sandra Stacey Lucas, MSW, LMSW, CASAC
Private Practitioner
New York, New York
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Ms. Lucas
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Q. Ms. Lucas, where did you earn your social work degree? What is your area of expertise and where are you working?
I received my social work degree from Hunter College School of Social Work in the One-Year Residence(OYR) program on a scholarship in January 2001.
The area of expertise that I use in my present position is chemical dependency (I am also a Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor), and my ability to work with Mentally Ill / Chemically Addicted individuals.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I chose social work as a profession as it has the widest application to all of the populations that I work with, have worked with, and will work with (i.e., chemical dependency, homeless, HIV/AIDS, women, MICA, and others).
Q. What are the greatest challenges in the LBGT community and how can social workers help?
I see that some of the greatest challenges in the LGBT community are understanding that there is wide variation of life choices in our community. I also see a lack of sensitivity to transgender individuals (Pre and Post Operation and those who don’t wish to have surgery). I also see a need to teach those who may have other degrees or credentials the sensitivity needed to work with our communities.
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To find a social social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: bisexual, gay, gay social worker, lesbian, LGBT social worker, Sandra Stacey Lucas, social work, social worker, transgender
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Introduction
To honor LGBT Pride Month we asked Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and to describe the unique challenges facing their community.
Darren L. Debo, MSW, LCSW
North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services
Central Regional Hospital Raleigh Campus
and
Private Practitioner
Raleigh, North Carolina
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Mr. Debo
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Q. Where did you earn your social work degree? What is your area of expertise and where are you employed?
I earned my MSW at Florida International University, Miami in 1997 focusing on children and family. Currently I am employed with the state of North Carolina at Central Regional Hospital’s Raleigh Campus (formerly Dorothea Dix Hospital) and I have a private practice.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
Having grown up in a very chaotic home as a child surrounded by domestic violence, substance abuse, physical and emotional abuse, I learned how effective therapy could be for the individual and the family. In a few short years, I saw dramatic, positive changes in my own family which continue today – we are closer than ever now.
Initially, I entered college set on a career in Broadcast Journalism. It was in that environment that I felt the freedom to come out of the closet for the first time in my life. The process was very difficult at first so I sought therapy to assist me in coping with it. Once again, a great therapist helped me learn to love and accept myself for the person I was. It was during that process that I began to develop a passion for mental health.
I switched majors to psychology and graduated with my BA in psych from Florida Atlantic University in Palm Beach in 1994. I was lucky enough to get a job in the field working with victims of domestic violence and found myself surrounded by social workers. I was amazed at the diversity of professions held by social workers – particularly those in the counseling arena. I made a switch in universities and entered my graduate program in social work. I have never regretted that decision.
Q. What are the greatest challenges in the LGBT community and how can social workers help?
I believe the coming out process is the greatest challenge we face individually and finding acceptance in a world with such rigid beliefs (often hostile) is the challenge we face as a community. I believe we have a long way to go but there is hope today that I never believed I would see in my lifetime. I hope, as a social worker and as a member of the LGBT community, I can be part of that hope.
Currently, the Raleigh LGBT community is in the infant stages of founding a Community Center. I have been attending meetings and offered my services to provide group and individual counseling, free of charge, to anyone who is in need at the center when it is up and running. I am also out and open at work. I don’t hide any longer. We will only find acceptance if we are visible. (I believe that, anyway).
###To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: bisexual, Darren Debo, gay, gay social worker, lesbian, LGBT social worker, social work, social worker, transgender
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Introduction
To honor LGBT Pride Month we asked Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and to describe the unique challenges facing their community.
Janice L. Ricks, MSW, LISW, ACSW
Field Service Assistant Professor
University of Cincinnati School of Social Work
Cincinnati, Ohio
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Ms. Ricks
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Q. Ms. Ricks, where did you earn your social work degree? What is your area of expertise and where are you employed?
I earned my BSW in 1997 and my MSW in 1998 from the University of Central Florida. I am planning on beginning work on my PhD in the near future. My area of expertise is GLBT domestic violence and Transgender studies. I am also very focused on Women’s Issues and Domestic Violence in general. I am employed at the University of Cincinnati in the School of Social Work where I am a full time faculty member. I teach practice courses and specialty courses on GLBT issues and classes on Transgender issues.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
When I came to the realization that there was a profession that was exactly about the values and beliefs I held I knew where I was going. I realized that Social Work would allow me to pursue my dreams of changing the world. I also realized that teaching was my passion and teaching Social Work students was the ultimate way to creating change in the world.
Q. What are the greatest challenges facing the LGBT community today and how can social workers help?
I believe the greatest challenges continue to be oppression and discrimination. We have made some wonderful strides but we have a long way to go. First, education is key and is one of the greatest ways we can create change. Second, visibility is important for those of us who have the opportunity to be out. Not every GLBT person can be out. I am grateful to be in a position where I can be out and visible. The third thing that is paramount is unity. GLBT people are all discriminated against and our strength lies in our solidarity. Also Gays and Lesbians must embrace the Transgender community and we all must function as one. Ignorance and hate are alive and well and we as a minority people must remain united.
Social Work is key in the fight against discrimination and oppression of the GLBT community. Educating Social Work students about GLBT issues will create huge change in the future. I am especially proud to have the opportunity to teach BSW and MSW Students about GLBT issues and know that change will come because of it. I am proud to be a Lesbian and proud to be a Social Worker.
###To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: bisexual, gay, gay social worker, Janice Ricks, lesbian, LGBT social worker, social work, social worker, transgender, University of Cincinnati School of Social Work
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Introduction
To honor LGBT Pride Month we asked Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and to describe the unique challenges facing their community.
Patti Aldredge, MSSW, PhD
Clinical Associate Professor and Deputy Director
Department of Field Learning and Community Partnerships
Silver School of Social Work
New York University
New York, New York
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Dr. Aldredge
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Q. Dr. Aldredge, where did you earn your social work degree? What is your area of expertise and where are you currently employed?
I earned my MSSW from the University of Tennessee and my PhD from the University of Houston. I am currently the Deputy Director of Field Learning and Community Partnerships and Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Silver School of Social Work.
My research interests include social work pedagogy, field education, professional dissonance, theories of change, and the use of drama based interventions. Much of my work has focused on the LGBT community.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I was sidetracked on my way to earning a degree in English and Math. After a successful but tedious semester of sitting through Calculus III baffled by how I was going to change the world (my real ambition) with what I was learning, I met someone who was enrolled in the social work program at my school. AHA! I chose social work because I wanted to help people and I wanted to change the world. As trite as that sounds after all these years, I am proud of the fact that I still want to help people and I still want to change the world.
Q. What are the greatest challenges facing the LGBT community today and how can social workers help?
Primary challenges facing the GLBT community continue to be exclusion and hostility. Members of the GLBT community share the experience described by Bessie Delaney in Having Our Say, “We love our country but our country doesn't love us”. We are denied equal rights and we are denied the dignity of recognition. I think the biggest challenge of all in today's world is that this denial is accepted as okay. Allowances are made for those who desire to exclude us. Implicit and explicit mechanisms of oppression are thus supported, allowing for an environment in which the absence of rights, denial of dignity, and the propagation of hate are tolerated.
How can social workers help? We have to make GLBT oppression and discrimination "not okay". Social workers can help by acting as we are instructed by the NASW Code of Ethics.
Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully.
Social workers should act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of, and discrimination against any person, group, or class on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical disability.
Social workers must act. I guess I would say they must change the world.
###To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: bisexual, gay, gay social worker, lesbian, LGBT social worker, Patti Aldredge, social work, social worker, transgender
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