Introduction:
Institutional Overview

O1

The Institute for Clinical Social work was founded by a group of senior clinical social workers who recognized the need for advanced clinical, theoretical, and research training for and by social workers. At that time master’s level social workers seeking advanced training would often obtain a Ph.D. in social work, then enroll in a clinical institute. The goal was to create an educational institution where social workers could achieve their educational and training needs in one integrated program.

In 1979 the founding faculty began meeting to discuss the creation of ICSW. In 1981 the articles of incorporation were established and an application made for operating authority to the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Operating authority was granted in 1983 and degree granting authority was received in 1986. Candidacy status was granted by the North Central Association in 1988. Two students were awarded the Ph.D. in clinical social work when ICSW held its first graduation ceremony in 1990. ICSW became a member of the North Central Association in 1995.

ICSW has grown steadily in the size of its faculty, students, graduates, and influence locally and nationally. We have 112 graduates serving on the faculties of schools of social work, clinical institutes, and medical training centers. They are leading agencies and national organizations and practicing clinically with wide and diverse populations. Eight books and numerous scholarly articles have been published by our graduates. Our graduates are strongly represented in jury selected presentations at national clinical social work conferences. ICSW graduates have also volunteered at the front lines of disaster: the South Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and in New York following the attack on the World Trade Centers.

ICSW is a private, not-for-profit institution. We are located in an office building in downtown Chicago, Illinois. We are proud to be the first and the only independent, accredited clinical social work Ph.D. program in the United States. Our mission and vision statements convey our distinctive features: a focus on doctoral level clinical social work education and a commitment to the psychodynamic social work tradition.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Institute for Clinical Social Work is to prepare scholars and practitioners to: advance knowledge in the field of clinical social work; advance the quality of clinical social work practice; and to serve a diverse community through professional and academic contributions.

Vision Statement

The Institute for Clinical Social Work (ICSW) is envisioned as a unique and specialized program to meet the educational needs of practicing clinical social workers and allied professionals throughout the country who want to advance their clinical skills and earn their doctorate. ICSW is distinctive in its application of psychodynamic theory to a broad range of clinical settings and in its research approach which is grounded in clinical practice and highly useful in furthering understanding of human beings in many contexts. ICSW features a supportive, yet rigorous, academic community, characterized by a commitment to relationships between faculty and students to facilitate learning and promote excellence. As an independent institution, innovative practices are the norm.

ICSW will prepare for the future in its exploration of technologies to offer increased access to academic resources and to promote distance learning. An endowment fund will be expanded to assure the viability of ICSW into the future. Scholarship funds will provide more opportunities for clinicians from diverse backgrounds to earn their doctorate and provide much needed leadership in the field. The curriculum will continue to respond to changes in the educational needs of practicing clinicians, while maintaining a firm commitment to the intellectual tradition of psychodynamic social work practice. The faculty will continue to develop its non-traditional format creating a large pool of devoted, expert faculty as a resource for students. Alumni will have opportunities to continue their involvement with and support of ICSW. ICSW will grow as the board assumes a stronger role in guiding and directing the institution and its leaders.

O2

ICSW offers one degree, the Ph.D. in clinical social work. Students may specialize in adults, children and adolescents, or school social work. For students who desire advanced clinical training, but have no interest in the intensive research requirements, we offer an Advanced Practice Certificate. The distinctive features of our program are four years of classes, individual clinical tutorials, individual research tutorials, and a research-based dissertation. The Student-at-Large program allows students who are not yet clinically licensed, or are not yet ready to commit to the Ph.D. program, the opportunity to take classes that can later be transferred to the degree or certificate programs.

O3

Our student base is primarily licensed clinical social workers. We also admit professionals with master’s degrees in counseling psychology and pastoral counseling. To be admitted to the Ph.D. program, applicants must have an independent license to practice their profession and be in active clinical practice. The ICSW class schedule is designed to accommodate employed practicing clinicians. Our student body is comprised of adult learners, with a range of two to 20-plus years since obtaining their master’s degree. ICSW has consistently attracted commuting students. Over the past 25 years, approximately 29 percent of our students have commuted to ICSW from out of state or more than 100 miles from Chicago. The addition of a blended distance learning program that uses on-site and online classes has attracted students eager for the education we offer, but who live in areas that make commuting on a regular basis impossible. Approximately 30% of our students require financial aid.

Student Base 2007–2008 Academic Year

Full Time 28
Part time 9
Distance 4
Advanced (ABD) 34
Advanced Clinical Practice Program (certificate) 4
Students-at-Large 5

O4

We have collaborative agreements with several clinical institutes and traditional academic institutions in the Chicago area. We have a matriculation agreement with the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis in which students may obtain credit for their program for classes taught at ICSW by graduate psychoanalysts. We are negotiating a matriculation agreement with the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. We are negotiating a resource sharing collaboration with Robert Morris College. We collaborate with Loyola University School of Social Work in an annual clinical lecture series. We also have informal collaborations with the Illinois Society for Clinical Social Work and the American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work.

O5

The Dean and Director of Doctoral programs are full time positions. The remaining 40 faculty are part time. A distinctive aspect of ICSW is that all faculty are voting members in areas of curriculum and academic policy. Visiting lecturers teach on an as needed basis. Visiting professors are distinguished in the field and have varying commitments. We have a core base of three full-time staff each having major areas of responsibility and authority. We utilize part-time staff to fulfill specific functions and to support operations.

Faculty and Staff Base 2007–2008 Academic Year

Administration 2
Core Faculty 11
Faculty 30
Visiting Lecturer 3
Visiting Professor 9
Staff 3.5

O6

Our campus is located in a downtown Chicago office building where we occupy approximately 1/5th of a floor. We have distinctive use of space that has offices for full-time staff, three classrooms, and a library. Clinical and research tutorials tend to occur off-site, with classes rotating through classrooms. Due to our location within a full-service office building, security, facility management, and maintenance are provided as part of our lease. As a 501–C3 nonprofit organization, all governance requirements related to this status are met. As a provider of Title IV financial aid, all federal requirements related to management and provision of financial aid governs our processes. All health, workplace, and safety requirements of the City of Chicago, State of Illinois, and the federal government are met. The technology to meet the needs of students who either commute to ICSW or partially fulfill their requirements at a distance is contracted from a service provider. The technology to support institutional operations has grown considerably in scope and sophistication, yet is minimal compared to larger educational institutions.

O7

There are several university-based doctoral programs for social work in the Chicago area. These programs tend to not compete with ICSW since they are not clinically focused. At the doctoral level students tend to gravitate to one program or another based on clinical practice and educational and professional goals. Nationally, the number of university-based doctoral programs continues to decline. We do have some competition from the Professional Schools of Psychology locally and nationally. There is also some competition from local and national psychoanalytic training institutes.

O8

We have opportunities to:

  • Expand our model of non-university based, accredited, clinical social work doctoral education
  • Expand via our blended program of distance and on-site classes
  • Develop our premier status as a clinically focused research institution
  • To collaborate with other institutions to broaden our base of resources, educational offering, faculty, and students
  • Demonstrate our application of the psychodynamic social work tradition to clinical work and research and to disseminate this model via alumni, faculty publications, university- and institution-based teaching, and professional presentations nationally and globally
  • We have the opportunity to grow and to develop more effective processes organizationally and educationally

Our major vulnerability:

  • Our size and single degree status and the limited resources to fund growth and development as an institution

Our minor vulnerability:

  • A lack of expertise in the field of higher education business leadership

O9

Organizational Chart (click to enlarge)