New to Grow
I was raised in a working class family of five children in New Jersey where the 4th of the five of us was adopted. I am the oldest of the five. I retire May 2026 as the Grace F. Brody Professor of Parent-Child Studies at the Mandel School (Social Work), Case Western Reserve University. I have been an educator since 1987 and practice with families, mostly office based starting in 1988, then home based, and with the new technologies I have been working virtually. I am a licensed social worker in Ohio. I was previously licensed in Iowa. I have worked in residential treatment for children and outpatient mental health for adolescents and adults. Since 1991 I have been involved in various child welfare technical assistance, research and training projects in the US (Oklahoma, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland), Romania, India, Ukraine, Guatemala and Ethiopia. In addition to my Master's of Social Work, I have a Doctorate in Sociology and Honorary Doctorate from the West University of Timisoara, Romania.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
The first session is to get to know each other. I would want to know who is in your family and for you to tell me about your family-your strengths, what you do for fun, your interests and your adoption story. I want you to feel free to ask me questions about my work and how I might work with you. I would ask that you give the process 30 days and then we evaluate whether my approach is the right approach to you.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
Being raised in a family where one of us entered through adoption is a unique experience that I bring to my work with families. I connect to the issue of loss, differences, and navigating difficult situations in family life. I teach structural family therapy to master level social work students because the evidence is strong for this approach. I also realize that not every approach works for every family. I rely of families to let me know that is work and what is not working. We are a team. I use information that I have garnered from my practices experiences and my research to help families. I am not afraid to accept any family with challenges.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I have practice with adoptive families for over 30 years. I had extensive experiences in other countries (Romania, Ukraine, India, Guatemala) so understand conditions affecting children adopted from these countries. I also have extensive experience with children adopted from child welfare systems as well as issues encountered with infant adoptees who are struggling during their development. I understand the adoptive family life cycle and adopted person development in the context of an adoptive family.
Structural Family Therapy
All families have strengths and problematic areas. Changing the way a family operates can change how problems function in the family. It is about giving information, normalizing experiences, changing the way families react, and finding new ways to operate together.