On Tuesday, May 6, 2015, seven interns from Ackerman Institute’s Social Work and Diversity Program presented their clinical experience in the program to the Ackerman faculty, students, and their families and friends. This annual presentation gives each intern an opportunity to share the meaning of their training experience, and celebrates the completion of the year-long internship.
Social Work and Diversity Program strives to increase the number of professionals of color in the family therapy profession who will be able to provide culturally relevant services to the diverse communities of New York City. During the one-year internship, the trainees take part in live supervision, family treatment, and foundational classes in family therapy.
This year’s class included: Amanda Cartagena, Bavani Pillai, Carlos Benitez, Darrell Salina, Edgar Galvis and Kristina Garcia, and Elisa Casinader. Each presented on their clinical work, while also expressing the life-altering experience of completing the program. The interns brought themselves into their clinical work by sharing their own social location with the families they treated, by creating bonds with them, and deepening their understandings of the presenting problems in the therapy room. Graduate Darrell Salina had this to say about his training in the program, “This experience has truly been a reflection of my own personal growth professionally into the field of social work.”
The Social Work and Diversity Program is co-directed by faculty members, Sippio Small and Laurie Kaplan, and it is made possible by private support from individuals and family foundations. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.