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Public Discourse - End of Semester One

As I finish my Public Discourse class as a part of the DSW program at USC, I cannot believe the first semester is complete and I have only five more to go. The enthusiasm that I am sharing within my community is stirring up some interest among social workers.  Why?  Because although the MSW and LCSW were considered the terminal degree and licensure, the DSW adds an entirely new layer of canvas from which social workers can make a difference. I have learned so much from this course, beginning on day one.  I walked into the virtual classroom nervous about speaking in front of others, and always trying to find the right time to stand up for myself and others but I leave now feeling more confident, more experienced and more comfortable with causing a ruckus.   One of the tools that I learned from Public Discourse is that without discourse, nothing will change.  I am not okay with status quo because life is constantly evolving and there will always be a better way to live this journey.
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Psychological Abuse Abroad

Today I want to share with you facts and statistics about psychological abuse in the United States.  There has been a lot of coverage about physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect but what about psychological or emotional abuse?   As a child, I was born to a 35 year old woman who had been sexually abused as a child and received no support from her parents.  As a result, she had very low self-esteem and struggled to raise my sister and I with any sort of confidence.  She felt protective of my sister because she was born to a different father (who had left my mother after 8 years when he found out that she was pregnant).  My father was ecstatic about her pregnancy with me and asked her to marry him.  She has since told me that she resented me since the day I was born because once she saw him holding me, she felt that I had taken my father's love away from her.  She had a difficult time caring for me as an infant, which disrupted the bonding and attachment that are necessary fo
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Someone decided to create discourse...again!

Welcome to a blog about beautiful chaos from the perspective of a social worker gone mad. During this first post, I will briefly introduce myself and also share with you the discourse I plan to create in the world of social work. My name is Stephanie, I turned 42 years young last month, and I am a graduate student, again, at the University of Southern California.  This time around, I am working on a Doctor of Social Work degree.  I am a very blessed woman who has experienced way too much chaos in such a short lifetime ... and I cannot wait to see what the next 42 years will bring. I am married to my first real love and we have blended our children, to make a total of six!  We are fortunate enough to be expecting our second grandson this December.  Grandparenting has been very exciting for us because we are afforded the opportunity to have all of the fun without any of the responsibility when we are done running amok. I have worked in the area of medical social work, emergency r
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