This month’s I Am Social Work campaign features Tenise M. Wall, PhD, LMSW, CASACT, Mental Health Clinician
I learned early on that social workers had an image problem, and even now, we are still fighting to overcome the stigma of mental health and misconceptions associated with social work. I do my very best to educate others and represent the profession in such a way that others are drawn to the work that we do. We are not limited to any role and the paths we can pursue are limitless.
I have had the opportunity to work in various scopes of practice, and each one has enhanced my knowledge and skills to work with the next population. For 11 years, I worked as a school social worker and was able to provide direct services to more than 1,000 students during my tenure, as well as assisting with writing protocols, advocating for special education services, providing professional development district-wide to educators, and creating and implementing school-wide programs that supported pro-social behaviors.
Beyond that, I have also traveled the paths of community counseling social work, forensic social work, and currently, I maintain a private practice offering speaker’s resources and consultation services. Since earning my PhD in 2016, I have had some wonderful opportunities where I am able to provide professional development at conferences/workshops to professionals and parents across the states. Next stop is Los Angeles in January 2018 where I am a confirmed speaker for the Young Child Expo’s National Conference. I will talk to educators about Conduct Disorder and my Doctoral research findings on the topic of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). I have also written a book in which I share my research findings on, “Experience in Seeking Treatment for their Child Diagnosed with ADHD.”
My passion is fueled by seeing the needs of others and seeing how best within my role as a social worker I can help meet those needs. I don’t think we, as social workers, grasp just how powerful we are. We are the “boots on the ground” in the most desperate of situations, trying of times, and the most painful parts of a person’s life. And we actually sign up for this!
With all that I have been blessed to do in the field, I am still not finished. My future plans are to open a center where I will be able to educate others through professional development, parent workshops, and internships, while providing my community with the quality mental health care they so deserve. I’ll be able to rest once I get to retirement, but until then — I will continue to seek the next treatment technique and skills to learn, the next individual and family to help, the next dream to dream…
Because #IAmSocialWork.
Tenise M. Wall, PhD, LMSW, CASACT
Mental Health Clinician
The I Am Social Work Campaign is a visual campaign to showcase the profession of social work and the people who dedicate their lives to it. By highlighting the innumerable ways social workers enhance their communities and workplaces, and by showing off the vibrant, dedicated personalities of social workers, we are hoping to foster a broader understanding of who social workers are and what they do.
To learn more about the I Am Social Work campaign and other featured social workers, visit https://naswnys.org/iamsocialwork
Author: Amelia Lochner Malavé
NASW-NYS