School of Social Work

Education

• Ph.D., Social Work, Smith College School for Social Work, 2011
• MSW, New York University Ehrenkranz School of Social Work, 2004
• BA, History and French, Duke University, 1999

Certifications

• LMSW
• Infant-Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist Endorsement (IECMH®)
  
• Infant-Early Childhood Mental Health Mentor -Research/Faculty Endorsement (IECMH®)

Biography

Sarah Shea, PhD, LMSW, IECMH-E® is a professor in the School of Social Work and is an Endorsed Infant and Early Childhood Mentor-Research/Faculty and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist. Sarah’s research interests include the impacts and use of reflective supervision consultation, training for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents, trauma-informed training, infant mental health practice, and practice with children in foster care.  Sarah is trained in reflective supervision consultation and supports the translation of this professional development strategy in a variety of settings. Prior to joining the School of Social Work faculty, Sarah worked in community mental health settings providing outpatient and home-based psychotherapy, with a focus on infant and early childhood mental health. 

Publications

• Shea, S. E. (2024). The repair of being still. In K. Wilson & C. C. Barron, (Eds.), Honoring voices within infant and early childhood settings. ZERO TO THREE Press.
• Meuwissen, A., Shea, S.E., Eaves, T., Parker, A., Barron, C.C., Paradis, N. (2024). Reflective Supervision: The state of the field and future directions. In: Osofsky, J.D., Fitzgerald, H.E., Keren, M., Puura, K. (Eds.) WAIMH handbook of infant and early childhood mental health. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48631-9_25
• Shea, S. E., Sipotz, K., McCormick, A., Paradis, N. & Fox, B. (2022). The implementation of a multi-level reflective consultation model in a statewide infant and early childcare professional development system: Evaluation of a Pilot. Infant Mental Health Journal. 43(2), 266-286. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21973
• Shea, S.E., Jester, J. Huth-Bocks, A., Weatherston, D. J., Muzik, M., Rosenblum, K., Michigan Collaborative for Infant Mental Health Research (2020). Infant mental health home visiting therapists’ reflective supervision self‐efficacy in community practice settings. Infant Mental Health Journal, 41(2), 191-205.
• Shea, S. E. (2019). Engaging Social Work Interns in Reflective Practice: Evaluation of a training series for field instructors.  Journal of Social Work Education. 56(1), 193-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2019.1633973
• Shea, S. E. (2019). Reflective supervision for social work field instructors: Lessons learned from infant mental health. Clinical Social Work Journal, 42(2), 61-71.
• Shea, S. E., Goldberg, S., & Weatherston, D. J. (2016). A community mental health professional development model for the expansion of reflective practice and supervision: Evaluation of a pilot training series for infant mental health professionals. Infant Mental Health Journal, 37(6), 653-662.
• Shea, S.E. & Goldberg, S. (2016). Training in Reflective Supervision: Building Relationships between Supervisors and Infant Mental Health Specialists. ZERO TO THREE, 37(2), 54-62.
• Shea, S. E.  (2014). Finding parallels: The experiences of clinical social workers providing attachment-based treatment to children in foster care. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43(1), 62-76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-014-0488-z
• Miller Shea, S. (2012). The permanency plan game show: An intersubjective case study of a foster care child and her caregivers. Psychoanalytic Social Work, 19(1-2), 54-69.
• Miller, S.E. (2011).  Fostering attachment in the face of systemic disruption: Clinical treatment with children in foster care and the Adoption and Safe Families Act.  Smith College Studies in Social Work, 81(1), 62-80.
• Rosenthal Gelman, C., Fernandez, Hausman, N., Miller, S., & Weiner, M. (2007). Challenging endings: First year MSW interns’ experiences with forced termination and discussion points for supervisory guidance. Clinical Social Work Journal, 35(2), 79-90.

Courses

• SWRK 408 Social Work Practice with Individuals & Families
• SWKE 666 Impact of Trauma on Infants, Toddlers & Young Children
• SWKE 667 Introduction to Infant Mental Health

Professional

Grants, Contracts, & Selected Internal Awards

• Reflective Supervision Consultation in Early Childcare (Primary Investigator, September 2023-current; funded by the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health, $31,973)
• Trauma Training for Public Library Staff: A Pilot (Primary Investigator, 2023-2024; EMU Faculty Research Fellowship)
• Research-based Pre-Service Foster, Adoptive, & Kinship Parent Project (Shea (Primary Investigator); Farley & Kellman Fritz (Co-Investigators); May 2019-December 2023; funded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, $1,418,086)
• Group Reflective Consultation Evaluation for PA Key & the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health (Primary Investigator, May 2021-current, funded by the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health, $31,314)
• Reflective Supervision Consultation Pilot for PA Key Early Intervention Programs (Primary Investigator March 2019-June 2020; funded by the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health, $46,989)
• Supporting the Health and Mental Health of Infants and Toddlers in Foster Care (Primary Investigator May 2018-December 2019; funded by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund Community Health Impact Program, $100,000)
• Evaluation of Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health’s Core Curriculum Training Series (Primary Investigator 2016-2017; Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health, funded by the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan and the Gerstacker Foundation; $57,000)
• Engaging Social Work Students in Reflective Practice: Evaluation of a Training Series for Field Instructors (Primary Investigator 2016-2017; EMU Faculty Research Fellowship)
• Building and expanding reflective practice in infant mental health programs: An 8-10 month follow-up evaluation of a community mental health professional development model (Primary Investigator 2014-15; Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health, funded by Ethel & James Flinn Foundation; $10,000)
• Expanding the availability of an advanced, competency-based, professional development training model for infant mental health clinicians (Primary Investigator 2014; Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health, funded by the Ethel & James Flinn Foundation; $8500)
• Building and expanding reflective practice in infant mental health programs: Evaluation of a community mental health professional development model (Co-Primary Investigator 2013; funded by the Ethel & James Flinn Foundation)

Selected Awards

• Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Faculty Research 1 Award (2017-18), Eastern Michigan University
• Everett L. Marshall Award for Scholarly/Creative Activity Excellence (2018), Eastern Michigan University College of Health and Human Services
• Hiram Fitzgerald Emerging Scholar/Researcher Award (2017), Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health

Professional Memberships

• Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health
• American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work
• National Association of Social Workers
• Council of Social Work Education (CSWE)