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SOCIAL WORK + JEWISH IDEALS = A COMMITMENT TO TIKKUN OLAM Isaac, a resident of the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged, is 105. During his regular sessions last year with Heather Cohen Dynner, a second-year social work student, he loved talking about all things Jewish. Reminiscing about his youth at the cheder and yeshiva in Lithuania, Isaac (not his real name), an avid reader and a self-taught man, sat up straight. "He got so excited, exchanging ideas about Jewish history and Hebrew literature," says Dynner. "He'd say, 'bless you, thank you!' He especially wanted to know about my studies. All the residents felt they could share their religious and cultural experiences with me because I'm Jewish."
The belief in tzedakah, righteous giving, and tikkun olam, repairing the world, are familiar concepts to those searching for meaning in a service profession. Now in its third year, the program evolved from discussions initiated in the late 1990s by Dr. Ruth B. Smith, social worker, Hebrew College alumna and board member. Smith convened a group of professional social workers involved in the Hebrew College community—alumnae and board members Adena Geller and Ruth Wolf, Me'ah graduate and board member Enid Shapiro, and Sonia Michelson—all of whom expressed a strong desire to incorporate Jewish values in their professional careers and to find a way to train new social workers in the field. Spearheaded by Dr. Barry Mesch, Hebrew College Provost, the idea for a joint program between Hebrew College and an area social work school developed. Dean Joseph Regan and Dr. Carol Swenson at Simmons ultimately came on board to formalize the collaboration. The curriculum comprises six courses—two serve as electives for the Simmons MSW, and four additional courses are offered at Hebrew College. At least one of the students' two year-long direct-practice internships occurs in a Jewish agency and/or with Jewish clients. Following two academic years, plus one to two summers of study, students receive a Simmons MSW and Hebrew College certificate. In the classroom and in practice, integrating the worlds of Judaism and social work is both gratifying and challenging, according to Dr. Katherine Jungreis, Associate Professor at Simmons GSSW, who teaches the ongoing monthly Integrative Seminar in Jewish Communal and Clinical Social Work. "For students with a strong Jewish background, the program allows them to make a link with social work—acquiring a social work identity and bringing cultural competency and clinical expertise to the job. If you are of it, you have the advantage of getting it in your soul—but you have the disadvantage of overidentification. While Jewish social workers can resonate with their Jewish clients, they must also learn to step back and not make assumptions." Alternatively, non-Jewish social workers or those with little Jewish education connect with traditional Jewish values. The belief in tzedakah, righteous giving, and tikkun olam, repairing the world, are familiar concepts to those searching for meaning in a service profession. "Exposure to Jewish studies helps students enrich their own fullness in the way they work, their awareness of spirituality and understanding a community within a value structure—whether working with Jewish or non-Jewish clients," says Dr. Kathleen Millstein, Simmons professor and coordinator of the social work component of the collaborative. Graduates will bring new skills to established social work agencies and constituencies, such as mental health centers and elder services, helping individuals and families dealing with issues such as adoption, intermarriage, conversion, divorce and death, as well as the psychiatric and health-related problems that social workers frequently encounter in the community. "For any family confronting grief, for example," says Jungreis, "social workers trained in our program may help them to recognize new ways of coping. Our mainstream culture often tells us to 'get over it,' whereas Jews have ongoing mourning rituals that honor a process." Within the Jewish community, underserved populations will benefit from the services of these social work specialists. "Orthodox women victims of domestic violence didn't seek help from battered women's shelters," says Smith, who now teaches in the program, "because the shelters weren't equipped or aware of the need for a kosher kitchen or a place for religious observance. This is slowly changing." Social workers with specialized Jewish training can now better serve Jewish clients with substance abuse problems, typically kept secret in the culture. In addition, reproductive counseling programs may employ these specialists to work with infertile Jewish couples who are struggling with guilt and sadness around continuity and family survival. Among the many agencies that serve as field placement sites, a growing number of Jewish organizations are participating in the program, with an eye toward possible future employment. "Synagogues, day schools, Hillels, summer camps and other Jewish organizations now recognize the need to hire clinically trained social workers with a Jewish specialty," says Mesch. "Our graduates have a unique capacity to work sensitively with individuals and families facing problems that might not otherwise be addressed by traditionally trained social workers." "The need is out there," says Millstein. "We're fielding many inquiries from interested students eager to combine social work and Jewish values in their clinical social work careers. Through this collaborative program—and with increased support and creativity—we are finally able to bring both worlds together." |
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Last June, Dynner was the first to graduate from the Joint