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

Biography

Sarah Shea’s interests include infant mental health research and practice, attachment based trauma, practice with children in foster care, and the parallel process experienced by clinicians providing services to children and families. Her certifications are Ph.D., MSW, LMSW and IMH-E® (IV-R/F). In terms of her practice experience, she worked in community mental health settings providing outpatient psychotherapy, with a focus on parent-infant psychotherapy for families at risk for attachment problems. Her scholarly work has been published in Clinical Social Work Journal, Psychoanalytic Social Work, and Smith College Studies in Social Work. In Winter, 2013, she received Eastern Michigan University’s Provost New Faculty Award for her research proposal, “Evaluation of the Effects of Specialized Reflective Practice Training on Infant Mental Health Practice and Supervision.”

Publications

• 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 Shea, S. (Spring 2012). Clearing the kitchen table: Home-based parent-infant psychotherapy. American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work Newsletter, 6–7, 15.
• Miller, S.E. (2011). Parallel experiences: Associations between providing attachment based treatment to children in foster care and clinical social workers’ sense of self- efficacy. Ph.D. dissertation abstracts. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 81 (4), 390.
• 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., and 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. 
• Miller, S. (2004). “Stay.” Social Work Perspectives, 15, an original poem regarding themes of poverty, child welfare, and social justice for San Francisco State University’s School of Social Work journal.
• 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, DOI: 10.1007/s10615-014-0188-z

Courses

• SWRK 315 Theoretical Bases of Social Work Practice
• SWRK 317 Interpersonal Foundation of SW Practice
• SWRK 318 Skills Integration Seminar
• SWRK 408 General SW Practice with Individuals & Family 
• SWRK 488 Field Experience I
• SWRK 489 Field Experience II
• SWRK 588 Field Professional Experience I
• SWRK 589 Field Professional Experience II
• SWRK 543 Practice with Children and Youth
• SWRK 591 Introduction to Infant Mental Health Practice
• SWRK 643 The Family and the Social Environment

Professional

Memberships

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