by Chris Hilburn-Trenkle
Practicum education is an integral part of every unlicensed social worker’s training, placing students in a work environment with professional caregivers and advocates. Each student pursuing a master’s degree in social work first takes on a generalized practicum assignment, and later chooses a practicum assignment specific to their area of interest — either in direct practice care (micro care) or community, management, and policy practice (macro care).
Since 2022, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work has partnered with Radical Healing Collaborative in Durham, N.C., to provide MSW students an opportunity to work as unlicensed social workers in the field.
We spoke with Dr. Marvice D. Marcus, director of training and internships for Radical Healing Collaborative, to learn more about the partnership between his agency and School of Social Work students.
What is the mission of Radical Healing Collaborative and the work that you do?
The mission of Radical Healing Collaborative is to provide high quality and socially accessible care to members of the Durham community and surrounding areas. Radical Healing Collaborative is committed to developing and stewarding diverse wellness resources, including psychotherapeutic and psychiatric services that bolster resilience and joy for those who are so often pushed to the periphery of society. Part of our mission is that we’re a radically inclusive organization that centers the unique experiences and needs of Black and Brown people, fully recognizing that working toward this valued end is imperfect and sometimes tedious. Part of our mission is that we’re proudly queer, both in identity and collective action.
Can you walk me through a typical day for a UNC practicum student at Radical Healing Collaborative?
It can sometimes depend on what the intern is focused on here at the practice because we have two training tracks: we have individual psychotherapy, or clinical track, and we also have a systems track.
If the student is in the clinical track, the focus is on providing individual therapy. Most of the student’s time is spent providing care to community members in the form of therapy. That intern may arrive on Radical Healing’s campus and will review paperwork in preparation for their clinical meetings. They’ll possibly meet with their individual supervisor or consult with another live professional here in the office, such as a medication provider or an abiding worker who they perhaps share a patient with, and they want to do some wrap-around care. There might be a training-related activity that I orchestrate for them, or they might choose to congregate in one of the group spaces where other providers spend time and do administrative tasks in a group context, which makes it easier for everybody.
For students on the other track, they do less psychotherapy, but they still are very much involved in that kind of work, but there’s usually some kind of programmatic project that they’re working on to help with our organizational processes, or to help refine them in some way, or to develop some kind of program to offer to the local community.
How have you seen the work and care exemplified by UNC students with your agency?
The UNC School of Social Work students come prepared to learn. They seem to be exposed to various clinical and organizational theories that aid in their development during the training year. In our short partnership I’ve appreciated the students’ interest in anti-oppressive pedagogy and multi-cultural education, which I believe really helps them with their clinical work and identity as emerging mental health professionals.
In terms of the care they exemplify, students are really serious about their clinical growth and really come motivated to learn as much as they can during the very short (academic) year. The students offer sliding scale, or pro bono services, to members of the local community. That makes such a difference to the change that we’re able to impact here in Durham in the Lakewood area.
What would you like people to know about Radical Healing or your partnership with UNC?
We’re a young group practice, so there’s opportunities to shape organizational culture and health in various ways here, whether it be in the form of programming or infrastructure building. I think something like that can really appeal to early career professionals … We are working to build more infrastructure to increase the number of trainees that we accept in future cohorts. The demand for services in our community is really robust, so we really want to avail ourselves to people in need.
Next year we are hoping to have a placement for a social work student who is interested in macro-level social work. I think that would really complement other social work students who are more focused in clinical work. What we know is that social workers receive the kind of education where they can do so many different things. It’s a really good degree to have … Karon Johnson and Andrea Murray-Lichtman are wonderful champions of students and have made our partnership really a pleasure to have.
Alumni and friends: Help us think creatively about creating great practicum placement opportunities. That can include everything from building business and entrepreneurial skills to working in schools and health clinics.
Interim Associate Dean for MSW Education Andrea Murray-Lichtman (ajmurray@email.unc.edu) and Interim Director of Practicum Education Amy Levine (amylevine@unc.edu) would love to brainstorm with you about how our graduate students might help your practice or organization. Andrea and Amy can also help advise you about the makings of a great practicum placement opportunity. We look forward to hearing from you!
