Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Doctor of Social Work (DSW)

School

Social Work

Advisor

Savvas Georgiades

Abstract

AbstractThis study is centered on a long-standing professional identity dilemma that poses potential problems for the future of the field of social work. Current literature points to specific shortcomings in the field that threaten the future of the profession. Some researchers also suggest that the reemergence of the Doctorate of Social Work (DSW) may be used to solve some of the identity concerns with the profession. The study further asserts that practicing licensed clinical social workers (LCSW) have not been a part of the conversation regarding the identity issues or the remedies that the field is considering. Using both a systems theory and relational frame theory as a framework, this study explores the history of social work, the present challenges, and future possibilities by engaging practicing licensed social workers using the focus group technique for data collection. Working from Zoom format recordings, both overt and latent themes emerged from the focus group conversations. Participants considered their roles as stakeholders in outcomes with the addition of the DSW, the relative value of the present-day push in the field toward a medical model, how the DSW might further define its micro, messo, and macro mandates in mission, value, and goals, how the profession might support current LCSWs in pursuing the degree of DSW, and lastly, what a DSW curriculum might look like in order to support its goals. As the field of social work continues to define itself as a profession, expanding the conversation to include practicing social workers, particularly practitioners who share a common community, offers the potential for positive social change through fruitful and meaningful suggestions for the field to consider.

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