Michelle George, MSW, LCSW, BCD

I have a passion for community outreach. I facilitate the Social Work department’s participation in the Project Homeless Connect event during the fall semester of each year. Students work as ambassadors along with community partners from the south central Pennsylvania area to assist hundreds of individuals who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless to access necessary benefits and resources. I have an interest in international social work and have worked to develop international senior placement opportunities for students. I have more than a 20 year history of clinical social work having served in a variety of mental health settings in various capacities. I have a strong interest both in the research and practice of faith integration in social work practice. I engage in faith integrated social work practice and continue to pursue research related to this topic.

• Masters of Social Work (5/1994) Temple University, Harrisburg, PA
• Bachelor of Arts, Psychology (5/1988) Messiah College, Grantham. PA
• Licensed Social Worker (8/94-2000)
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (2000-present)
• Board Certified Diplomat (2000-present)   

• SOWK 120 Introduction to Social work,
• SOWK 250 Helping Processes 1-Working with Individuals
• SOWK 251 Field Experience with Individuals
• SOWK 360 Helping processes 2-Working with Families
• SOWK 361 Field Experience with Families
• SOWK 485 Senior Seminar   

I serve as the Social Work Field Coordinator for the Social Work Department. My responsibilities include teaching practice courses, facilitating social work field placements both domestically and internationally and developing field sites. I also teach and advise students throughout all four years in the program. I serve as the BESS representative to the Education Technology Committee. Additionally I am member of the ETC subcommittee for Classroom Technology. I serve as a faculty representative on the ISDS committee. I am on the Library Committee as a faculty representative and will begin a new term next year as well. I was elected to serve on the Senate with a term to begin Fall 2015. I am a representative to the Social Work Community Advisory Board, a member of the application to the major subcommittee, and actively participate in department and school meetings.

As a Clinical Social Worker, I maintain an active clinical practice with New Life Counseling Services.  My client case load averages approximately 20-30 clients.

I maintain membership in CSWE (Council on Social Work Education), NACSW (North American Association of Christians in Social Work), BCD (American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work), ACSWA (American Clinical Social Work Association), and my LCSW (License in Clinical Social Work) for the state of Pennsylvania. I met the CAQH reattestment requirements to maintained my participation on panels with most of the primary insurance companies in the region and I am a provider for several employee assistance programs.  

In 2014 my colleague and I engaged in research which analyzed the results of  two surveys that we developed and conducted regarding spiritually informed practice which were distributed to members of the North American Association of Christians in Social Work (NACSW) and the National Association of Social Workers Pennsylvania Chapter (NASW-PA) early in the fall.  The results of the research which was conducted with the assistance of four social work students became the basis for presentations throughout this year. I presented along with my colleague “Ethical practice when personal convictions conflict with client values” at the NASW-PA annual conference in Valley Forge PA.  We also presented “Navigating differing viewpoints on controversial issues within NACSW: Identifying commonalities and working through the challenges” in Annapolis MD. Additionally I presented “Teaching spiritual competencies: Complexities, challenges and ethical issues at the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) annual meeting in Tampa, Florida. I also presented “Professor’s Perspective: Math Anxiety” in coordination with Carol Buckley from the Education Department to students at Covenant Christian Academy in Harrisburg. I was a panel participant at an Agape Center sponsored Alternate Chapel regarding Poverty. I presented “Careers in Social Work” to students at Shalom Christian Academy. I presented “Pedagogical Impact of Service Learning” at the Agape Center 2015 Community Partner Luncheon. Additionally, I engaged in research regarding Millennial students in social work education. I am set to present at the NASW of Pennsylvania Conference for  Fall 2016. Another proposal for presenting at the annual meeting of The Association of  Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors (PBD) is pending.