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SaraKay Smullens, MSW,
LCSW, BCD, CFLE, CGP
is a
licensed diplomate in clinical social work and a trained family
therapist and educator.
She has been certified as a group psychotherapist by the American
Group Psychotherapy Association and as a certified family life
educator by the National Council on Family Relations.
A
recipient of a lifetime achievement award by the Pennsylvania
chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, SaraKay is
the best selling author of “Whoever Said Life is Fair?: A Guide to
Growing Through Life’s Injustices” and “Setting YourSelf Free:
Breaking the Cycle of Emotional Abuse in Family, Friendship,
Love and Work.”
Two
of her major peer reviewed papers, “Achieving An Emotional Sense of
Direction” and “The Codification and Treatment of Emotional Abuse in
Time Structured Group Therapy” can be found on this website.
SaraKay is a frequent guest columnist in area
publications and has appeared on Oprah, as well as numerous radio
and television interview programs.
She blogs with regularity for Huffington Post, the Broad
Street Review, and Your Tango.
Considered an activist in the
prevention of emotional abuse and domestic violence, SaraKay has dedicated
her professional life to advocacy and helping people develop the attitudes and
skills they need to build their confidence and potential. She was
one of the first people to advocate that clergy must speak out
vehemently against emotional, physical and sexual abuse, describing
this direct involvement as "the missing link." In written word,
workshops, and lectures she has stressed that “clergy are usually
the first place people turn when they are hurting and overwhelmed.”
(See
Sabbath of Domestic
Peace, below.)
SaraKay has taught at Temple University, Hahnemann
Medical University and the Philadelphia College of the Arts and has
been on a counselor on the staffs of the Philadelphia Society to
Protect Children and the Philadelphia Psychiatric Hospital, as well
as a family counselor and Director of Family Life Education at
Jewish Family Services of Philadelphia.
She has had a private practice of individual,
marital, family and group psychotherapy for more than thirty years
and has maintained a pro bono practice, where she has worked with
some of Philadelphia’s most abused and vulnerable population. The
heart of her preferred clinical approach for all clients is time
limited, focused group therapy, supplemented by family life
education and individual, couple, and family therapy, as indicated.
In her pro bono practice, with her client's permission and input,
she consults and maintains contact with every social service agency,
court, disciplinary resource, attorney, teacher and school counselor
in the life of each client; and in this way there is coordination of
caring and involvement.
During her years as a
single parent and the early years of her second marriage, SaraKay
was a columnist and writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer,
addressing relationship challenges, social issues, and public policy
in her columns. Since that time she has
continued to
write op-eds, columns and articles for
various newspapers, applying psychological insights to social and
political issues, always cushioning stark realities with optimism,
and often with humor to make her points.
In recent years she has begun to blog regularly for
Huffington Post, Your Tango, and the Broad Street Review.
Through the years she has also appeared on numerous national and
local radio and television programs and is invited to
present
at conferences and public venues on a regular basis.
In 1994, after
identifying clergy as “the missing link” in preventing and
addressing domestic violence, SaraKay
founded the
Sabbath of Domestic Peace,
a coalition to address the often ignored epidemic
of domestic violence. The coalition, interdisciplinary
and interfaith in scope, included clergy of all faiths,
representatives from the domestic violence community, social
workers, psychotherapists, physicians, and representatives from law
enforcement. It has concentrated its efforts on preventing domestic
violence by raising awareness and providing education and resource
materials. Since its
founding, most faith communities and houses of worship have begun
programs for the abused within their own communities.
SaraKay's professional papers are divided between the Archives of the
University of Pennsylvania and Goucher College. Materials relating
to her first place of employment following college, the Democratic
National Committee, are divided between the University of
Pennsylvania Archives and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
and Museum.
The mother of four, and
the grandmother of six, SaraKay
and her husband, a physician, live and work in Philadelphia.
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