Newsletter, The Clinician

Helen Hinckley-Krackow, MSW, LCSW, BCD – Committee Chair // Ivy Miller – Clinician Editor

A Clinical Career: From Self-Discovery to Profound Impact

By Karen Kaufman, PH.D., LCSW-R

The 55th Annual Education Conference sponsored by the NYSSCSW and the ACE Foundation, Vicissitudes of a Clinical Career: From Self-Discovery to Profound Impact, was another resounding success. The informal reviews that immediately followed were quite positive and appreciative of the opportunity to learn from the four expert presenters. The topics were relevant to clinicians at all stages of practice. They covered phases in the clinician’s career, work, and identity, and helping family and friends of trauma survivors, adding a forensic component that brings another dimension of help to the treatment process. The presenters were highly informed in their areas of expertise and included their personal experiences and history to highlight their thinking on these topics. [See reviews in this issue.]

While the focus in our clinical work is on the patient’s life stages, realistic and achievable changes and goals, it is critical to reflect on the parallels in our own lives and their impact on practice. This goes beyond transference and countertransference. How we deal with our own aging process, with changes in our physical selves, health vs. illness, expanded thinking from years of experience and training, subtle changes in management of our practices, or the changes brought by remote work after in-person treatment—all impact the patients and how they relate to us. Their process is our primary focus, but it is necessary to reflect on how they may be experiencing changes in us, whether or not these are obvious or directly disclosed and discussed.

I am pleased to report some Society updates. We were delighted to welcome the addition of the Rochester Chapter in January, with Pete Navratil, LCSW-R, ACSW, serving as president. We will launch a statewide membership campaign in the months ahead with the goals of expanding our presence throughout the state and reviving dormant chapters, along with creating chapters in new locations.

After the long-awaited website upgrade is complete, our enhanced online presence will play an important role in the membership campaign. The site will be kept up to date with the input of our chapter presidents, committee chairs, and other contributors who will inform TMS of upcoming programs and events.

This edition of honors the 2024 student scholars whose papers won distinction in their schools of social work. In addition to receiving a scholarship from the Society, they received a free one-year membership. Prior to the pandemic, we honored student scholars with festive celebrations, but Covid restrictions necessitated change to video events. Now, with their bios, photos, and synopses of their papers featured in the newsletter, we can all learn about our newest members and their aspirations in the field of clinical social work. We congratulate them and look forward to their participation in our community and to their future success.

Among the many benefits of Society membership is vigorous legislative work in Albany. Currently, two lobbyists are campaigning on our behalf along with our long-time Legislative Chair, Marsha Wineburgh, DSW, LCSW-R. Their work is more important than ever.

Our license is constantly under threat even now, after the many years it took to achieve this status. One important issue for all clinicians to stay current on is the proposed national licensing compact. While it may appear beneficial, the levels of credentialing vary widely across the country, and vastly different state laws can lead to serious ethical and accountability issues. As of now, more is unknown than is known about the compact.

As always, I invite you to get involved in our vibrant clinical community at the chapter or state level. Contribute whatever time you can, share your expertise and talents in a CE program with the ACE Foundation, or work with us in the area of leadership development to nurture future generations of leaders in our organization. 

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