Welcome to the web page of the Metropolitan Chapter of the New York State Society for Clinical Social Work. The Metropolitan Chapter covers New York, Brooklyn and Bronx Counties.

The Metropolitan Chapter Board convenes in Manhattan on Friday evenings of alternate months from September through May to review and plan Chapter events as well as to stimulate interest among members in volunteering to work on one of the Chapter’s committees.  In December the chapter hosts a holiday party that is open to all chapter members. In addition to educational opportunities sponsored by a number of committees, the Membership Committee sponsors three intervening smaller social/networking events for prospective, new and current members. 

The Chapter has a number of committees which are the bulwark of the structure of the Chapter.  Some of the committees help carry out Chapter functions (Membership Committee, Public Relations and Mentorship/Peer Consultation Committee ). Other committees are practice committees which bring together members who are interested in particular areas of clinical social work practice Addictions, Group Practice, Trauma Studies and Treatment Committee (TST), The Committee on the Aging Issues,  Family Practice Committee, and Psychoanalysis Committee and the Committee on Gender & Sexuality .

If you have any questions about a committee or wish to join a committee, you may contact the committee’s chairperson listed below.  You may check the Metropolitan Chapter Calendar for information about committee meetings and programs.

Since 2006, the Chapter has had a listserv. Our listserv enables Metropolitan Chapter members to learn about various educational activities sponsored by the Chapter and the Society, as well as having an interactive function that allows chapter members to interact and network directly with one another regarding referrals, office space rentals, managed care and insurance concerns, practice issues, educational activities sponsored by other organizations, and other issues of interest to our members. This members-only listserv has proven to be an invaluable resource to our chapter, creating a supportive, networked professional community. All new members are added to the listserv upon joining the Met Chapter. The Society recently introduced the Community Bulletin Board where members can post non-clinical material.  The CE credits are handled through the Advance Clinical Education Foundation.  All other education programs are handled through the practice committee.  

We welcome you to attend our Board meetings, educational programs and other activities, to learn about the Society and the Metropolitan Chapter, to join with us and to participate actively in Metropolitan Chapter activities. Please contact the Chapter President to explore issues of concern, current or future goals, and suggestions for new committees. With respect to an interest in or suggestions to fill vacant board positions, please contact the Met Chapter President.

Chapter Leadership

President: Helen Hinckley Krackow, LCSW-R
(212) 683-1780
[email protected]

Secretary: Harvey Weissman, LCSW, CSAT 
917-406-7254
[email protected] 

Treasurer: Susan Birenbaum, LCSW
917-743-6764
[email protected]om

Member-at-Large

Jane Gold, MSW, LCSW
(718) 601-9892
[email protected]

 Chapter Committees

Membership Committee

The Membership Committee welcomes new members to the Society and acts as a conduit for sharing interests and needs of members with the board and other committees of the Chapter. The Committee plans, coordinates and implements various activities which provide opportunities for networking among Chapter members. You may check the Metropolitan Chapter Calendar for information about these programs. For further information about the Membership Committee or to volunteer to serve on this committee, you may contact the committee chair.

Helen Hinckley Krackow, LCSW-R
(212) 683-1780
[email protected]

Mentorship/Peer Consultation Committee

The Mentorship/Peer Consultation Committee provides opportunities for MSW students, recent MSW graduates and MSW members who are early in their clinical social work careers, to partake in mentorship groups where they can network, discuss topics pertinent to their development as clinical social workers and can receive guidance, support, nurturance and advice to further their professional development as clinical social workers.  The Committee also provides opportunities for more advanced clinical social work practitioners to come together in a supportive, sharing and collaborative environment to network, discuss clinical practice issues and to obtain consultation from their peers.  For further information about the Mentorship/Peer Consultation Committee, to join a mentorship or peer consultation group, or to volunteer to serve on this committee, lead a mentorship group or to form a peer consultation group, you may contact the committee chair.

Chris Ann Farhood, MSW, LCSW
(212) 582-7326
[email protected]

Chapter Practice Committees

Group Practice Committee
The Group Practice Committee covers formation and development of therapy groups and provides programs and consultation on the subject of group practice.

Joseph A. Zagame, LCSW-R, CGP - Co-Chair
(917) 524-9062
[email protected]

Committee on Substance Use Disorders 

The purpose of our committee is to build a community of clinicians trained to treat individuals with substance abuse problems through educational programs and ongoing peer support. We encourage members with interest to get in touch with either Betsy or Liz.

Trauma Studies and Treatment Committee (TST)

This Committee will focus on current issues pertinent to treating traumatized individuals/populations, as well as offer a discussion group with evolving themes relevant to treatment issues, countertransference, and special concerns pertinent to doing trauma work, i.e. secondary traumatization and the therapist’s self-care. We will also be following case vignettes including working with veterans having PTSD and addiction problems as well as the impact of witnessing a traumatic event on the individual.  In addition, we will be geared to respond to acute situations (like Hurricane Sandy), by hosting meetings related to disaster and shared trauma for our membership.  An eclectic approach (different theoretical orientations) in attending to traumatized clients will be encouraged.

Joseph A. Zagame, LCSW-R, CGP - Co-Chair
(917) 524-9062
[email protected]

Aging Issues Committee

The Committee will address transference and  countertransference issues as they relate to work with older patients as well as the impact of the aging clinician’s health or retirement on the treatment  Other topics will include stereotypes, and helping patients face multiple losses including physical health, family, friends and other support networks. In addition,  the possibility of accomplishing unfinished goals will be explored. Starting in the fall of 2012 programs will include study groups and Sunday brunch presentations with speakers discussing work on topics relevant to aging.

Helen Hinckley Krackow, LCSW (Co-Chair)
(212) 683-1780
[email protected]

Henni Fisher, LCSW (Co-Chair)
(718) 646-7001
[email protected]

Family Practice Committee
The Family Practice Committee brings together clinical social workers who are interested in learning more about family and couples therapy to discuss and explore issues, theories, literature and case presentations, and attend lectures and workshops by various experts. The agenda for the year is planned at our June meeting for the following year. These periodic education programs are free. You may check the Metropolitan Chapter Calendar for information about committee meetings and educational programs. For further information about the Family Practice Committee or to participate in that committee you may contact the committee chairperson.

This committee is temporarily inactive. For more information please contact: Helen Hinckley Krackow, LCSW 
(212) 683-1780
[email protected]

Committee on Psychoanalysis
The Committee on Psychoanalysis brings together clinical social workers interested in psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy.  In the past few years, a major activity of the committee has been holding Movie Night.  We screen and discuss a film with psychoanalytic themes, led by a discussant with expertise in the film's themes (e.g., loss, sibling issues, etc.).  We have recently begun a series of psychoanalytic salons, which are held in members' apartments, discussing vignettes of psychoanalytic interest in an informal, relaxed setting. This year we are initiating psychoanalytic presentations with case presentations, concentrating on concepts such as Transference/Countertransference. Our efforts are to provide offerings that benefit both our newer and our most experienced colleagues. We are also considering reading groups on the psychoanalytic literature of the day. 

For further information about the Committee on Psychoanalysis or to participate as a committee member (we are actively seeking new members), please contact the committee chairpersons.

Committee on Gender and Sexuality

The NYSSCSW Committee on Sexuality and Gender provides awareness, training and advocacy to the clinical social work society in support for affirmative services to those with gender fluidity, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning individuals.  The committee focus is on the issues of sexuality, gender and other issues of intersectionality.  Intersectionality relates to the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination, disadvantage, privilege and dominance.

For further information about this Committee on Sexuality and Gender, or to volunteer to serve on the committee contact the Chairperson:

Kathryn Sedgewick, LCSW
(917)-751-0403
[email protected]

Racial Equity Committee 

Racial Equity is a Committee that addresses our Society's need to understand the rich diversity of our clients ethnic and racial backgrounds and how they can play themselves out in psychotherapy. The Chapter has developed a newsletter on topics to inform and educate our members. It is published on our listserve. We have formed reading groups as the interest arises as well as a BIPOC affinity group. This group provides support for our members who are Black, indgenous, and people of color. The RE Committee also develops educational programming covering aspects of racism, cultural information, and clinical material. Continuing education credits are provided for these workshops.

Helen Hinckley Krackow, LCSW-R
(212) 683-1780
[email protected]

Jane Gold, MSW, LCSW
(718) 601-9892
[email protected]