Social Work News
Training students in effective trauma treatment using EMDR Therapy
“Once you start working in trauma, you see it everywhere,” says Tracey Musarra Marchese, MSW, LCSW-R, social work professor of practice in Syracuse University’s Falk College and a practitioner in the community working with individuals and families. “Because of the amount of trauma out there, we need to have more people trained in treating it.”
And Marchese is doing just that.
Students in her classes on trauma treatment for children, adolescents and adults are learning from her first-hand training experiences in the practical application and benefits of an integrative psychotherapy approach proven effective for trauma treatment. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR Therapy, helps people of all ages relieve many types of psychological distress, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other psychiatric disorders, mental health problems, and somatic symptoms. From September – December 2014, Marchese, along with Sandra Kaplan, LCSW, a clinical professor at Upstate Medical University, provided a 14-week EMDR Therapy Basic Training (40 hours of training and 10 hours of case consultation) for psychiatry residents, community practitioners, and interested Syracuse University MSW students.
“Because EMDR is an integrative therapy, it appeals to many clinicians who are trained in other types of therapies,” says Marchese. “Additionally, it offers students and clinicians the opportunity to develop more advanced skills that are specific to treating trauma.”
EMDR targets past experience, current triggers, and future potential challenges. This therapy helps clients decrease or eliminate the distress from a disturbing memory while improving the client’s view of the self and creating coping mechanisms to resolve present and future anticipated triggers. EMDR is designated as an effective treatment by the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and many other international health agencies. According to the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA), this powerful psychotherapy approach has helped over an estimated two million people of all ages relieve many types of psychological distress.
Marchese was exposed to EMDR Therapy early during her career working as a psychotherapist/clinical social worker helping clients with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. “The person I worked for mentioned EMDR as a therapy technique that was having very positive results for her clients.” Marchese completed her EMDR training in 1998 and has been using it ever since in private practice and is now educating students about it in her classroom. She is currently an EMDRIA-certified therapist and an EMDRIA-approved consultant, which means she has completed EMDR training, engaged in over 300 EMDR clinical sessions and 20 hours of consultation with an EMDRIA-approved consultant, and attended numerous continuing education workshops on advanced applications of EMDR Therapy. She has recently become an EMDRIA-approved EMDR Basic Trainer, which is currently a role held by approximately only 100 clinicians worldwide.
“EMDR is one of the most amazing therapy techniques I’ve ever used,” notes Marchese. “It can—and does—produce very successful results. From my students, I hear repeatedly that EMDR Therapy reinforces for them that people who have experienced even the worst traumas can get better.” Marchese currently serves as a co-coordinator of a regional network of EMDR professionals by providing events and regular training sessions. Her long-term goal was to become an EMDR trainer. “I am pleased to have achieved a high level of practice and expertise in using this therapy. More importantly, I now have the skills to help other clinicians learn how to help their clients achieve goals that they may not have thought possible,” she says.
“It is so rewarding to help people relieve emotional pain,” notes Marchese. “I love to see people transform their lives because they transform the way they think and feel thanks to EMDR.”
Attend a course on EMDR Therapy:
Understanding EMDR Therapy and Its Applications: Treatment for Trauma
Date: Thursday, May 28th
Time: 3:00-4:30pm
Location: Peck Hall, 601 East Genesee St.
Register to attend
School of Social Work honors faculty, staff for excellence
The School of Social Work honored faculty and staff for excellence with the following 2014-15 awards:
Nancy Mudrick, Faculty Member of the Year
Yvonne Smith, Faculty Member of the Year
Tracey Marchese, Teaching Faculty Member of the Year
Bette Thoreck, Administrative Faculty Member of the Year
Tracy Walker, Field Faculty Member of the Year
Kim Carlson, Staff Member of the Year
view event photos (courtesy of Professor Alejandro Garcia)
March is National Social Work Month
SU School of Social Work’s activities include annual Soup Day, field instructors’ workshop, preparation for NYC Social Welfare History Tour
As the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) began its annual commemoration of National Professional Social Work Month on March 1, the School of Social Work in the Falk College has planned a series of activities as part of its month-long national celebration.
The NASW designated March as National Social Work Month in the 1960s to provide recognition and voice for social workers who represent one of the largest professions in the country. The Syracuse University School of Social Work, which has educated generations of social workers for more than 50 years, offers a bachelor of science in social work and a master of social work. It has been recognized nationally for community organization and activism, clinical training in family systems, gerontology, and concentrations in health and occupational social work.
Members of the NASW New York State Central Division and Falk College will co-sponsor lunch or dinner for social work students, which includes a meal of soup and bread to remind students of the profession’s history of advocacy and to emphasize that many families share only the humblest of meals each day. This year’s Soup Day will take place Tuesday, March 24, from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. as well as later that day from 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Location is the second floor of the new Falk Complex, just outside of the Student Lounge (Room 216).
A workshop for field instructors entitled, “Refilling the Cup: Self-Care for You and Your Intern,” will focus on the importance of effective communication, readiness for field work and balance. Students and faculty will spend time in March preparing for the annual New York City Social Welfare History Tour sponsored by the Alan B. and Barbara Mirken Foundation. During the field learning experience that will take place April 1-3, students will study the development of U.S. social welfare touring sites important to social work history and contemporary practice, including: Goddard Riverside Community Center, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Mount Sinai Hospital and The Center.
Tatiana Williams ’16 named Senior Class Marshal
Tatiana Williams, a social work major with a minor in psychology, was announced as one of two Syracuse University Senior Class Marshalls who will represent the Class of 2016. Williams, a native of Rochester, N.Y is a Renée Crown University Honors student whose senior thesis and honors capstone is focused on integrating social work theory and practice into the legal setting. She has earned dean’s list honors and is a member of the Phi Alpha National Social Work Honor Society. Senior Class Marshals have excelled during their time on campus and exemplify the spirit of the senior class. The selection committee assesses the nominees on scholarship, academic honors, student organization involvement and campus and community service.
Read more
Falk College announces classes for 2015 summer sessions
Beginning with Maymester and spanning Summer Session I and II, Falk College will offer numerous courses for students on campus, as well as some online. In addition, Falk College will offer a series of one week courses during the summer in its Marriage and Family Therapy and Social Work programs. A list of Falk 2015 summer courses is available here, although students should consult Myslice for up-to-date information on course offerings and cancellations, as well as detailed course descriptions.
Garcia recognized for outstanding service
Dr. Alejandro Garcia recently received recognition for his outstanding service during his three-year term in office as Vice Chair/Secretary of the Council on Social Work Education, the accrediting association for baccalaureate and master social work programs in the United States. With Dr. Garcia were Dr. Carmen Ortiz Hendricks, the Dean of the Yeshiva School of Social Work and a CSWE board member who presented the award, and Dr. Barbara Shank, the chair of the board of directors.
Because Social Security is a legacy for all generations
A sign outside of Professor of Social Work Eric Kingson’s campus office reads, hands off our children & grandchildren’s Social Security, which is one of several key messages found in the book he recently co-authored with attorney, author and long-time colleague Nancy Altman entitled, “Social Security Works! Why Social Security Isn’t Going Broke and How Expanding It Will Help Us All.”
With the book’s release on January 21, the two continue to champion our Social Security system on the national agenda, noting its extraordinary public support across all demographic and political groups. The right answer to risks facing working Americans and their families, its popularity, they write, also has to do with its congruence with widely-held religious, moral and civic values – responsibility to care for parents, children, family, neighbors and selves; hard work and a fair return to such work; and human dignity.
With more than a combined seven decades of experience studying, educating, researching and advocating for Social Security, the book by Altman and Kingson illustrates that Social Security works efficiently and effectively. With an introduction by David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist and Distinguished Visiting Lecturer at Syracuse University, the book’s chapters detail what’s at stake in the current policy discussion and what is to be gained for present and future generations if Social Security is expanded. The book covers Social Security’s history and debunks common myths, explaining why expanding Social Security—from increasing current benefits and adding new ones—makes sense, and why the world’s largest economy can afford to pay for expansion and do so in an equitable manner.
Altman and Kingson founded Social Security Works in 2010, a Washington, DC-based organization focused on safeguarding the economic security of families and individuals by maintaining and improving Social Security’s insurance against wages lost in retirement, disability or death. The co-chairs of the Strengthen Social Security Coalition made up of more than 300 national and state organizations representing over 50 million Americans, Altman and Kingson served together as staff advisors to the 1982 National Commission on Social Security Reform and were founding board members of the National Academy of Social Insurance.
The book’s release in January is significant in that 2015 marks the 80th anniversary of the Social Security Act. Altman and Kingson continue speaking about the book and its messages across the country. In the week of the book’s release, the pair spoke to standing-room only audiences at a workshop of the National Academy of Social Insurance held at the National Press Club and a program sponsored by AFL-CIO secretary treasurer, Liz Shuler with national media interviews continuing daily that have aired on National Public Radio and Sirius XM Radio and published nationally, including Huffington Post, among many others.
According to the Strengthen Social Security Coalition, in addition to protecting the middle class, it lifts 20 million out of poverty and is the nation’s largest children’s program. “It is for all generations, now and in the future, for whom we and many others work to expand Social Security,” the authors’ acknowledgements note.
A book signing and short presentation, with question and answer session, will be held at Barnes and Noble, Erie Blvd. location, on Thursday, March 19 at 7:00 p.m.
Order the book
Falk College Community Meet-and-Greet with Dean Murphy
Dear Falk Undergraduate and Grad. Students,
Please join Falk College Dean, Diane Lyden Murphy, and your classmates for a Falk Student Community Meet-and-Greet. A date will be scheduled after Spring Break. Dean Murphy is interested in hearing your ideas about student needs in our new building. What would you like to see in the student lounge? What makes your study space ideal? Hear about renovations in-the-works, including space for student services, food services, and collaborative learning.
Pizza, salad and soda will be served!
Share your suggestions via email.
Majoring in social work, child and family studies, or other human services programs? Study Abroad Spring 2016 in Strasbourg
Falk College’s School of Social Work and SUAbroad are offering a new opportunity in Strasbourg, France for SU undergraduates and students at other colleges and universities. The 16-credit hour Strasbourg Spring 2016 Semester allows for enrollment in five courses and includes a brief optional internship opportunity abroad. In addition to bringing students face-to-face with human service delivery in other nations and enhancing cross-cultural understanding and competencies, program highlights include:
Strasbourg is a beautiful and charming city, smaller than Paris and very manageable. The program itinerary includes Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne during the semester. Students will visit major cities and historical sites, meeting government leaders, educators, and activists. Located in a city with several major European institutions and in the center of Western Europe, this program offers special learning opportunities for students in the city and regionally.
Strasbourg offers unique learning and internship opportunities because the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, and the European Court of Human Rights are located in close proximity to the SUAbroad campus. Students will benefit from on-going collaborative partnerships between the School of Social Work and French, German and Swiss institutions of higher education in social work and social pedagogy, a field of study in Europe focused on children and families.
Courses meet requirements in social work and child and family studies, address liberal arts and sciences requirements, and offer collaborative courses with the French social work and social pedagogy programs.
Please note: While applications for this program will be available later in the spring, students interested in this and other study abroad programs should work with their advisors during registration to manage their schedules to make a semester abroad possible.
Moments in time make history
The Post-Standard and InterFaith Works of CNY coordinates a regular feature for its audiences entitled, Daily Inspiration. Dr. Keith Alford, associate professor of social work and member of the InterFaith Works Board of Directors, authored several inspirations in February, including a feature on February 8 where he reflects on stories of survival, hard times, triumph, happiness, and achievement through the pictures and captions in his family’s albums. Alford says, “we honor the diversity of our nation in recognizing February as Black History Month,” and references poet laureate Maya Angelou’s insights on the importance of knowing and making history.
Page 26 of 31