SaraKay Smullens (MSW, LCSW, BCD,CGP, CFLE) is a Philadelphia-based clinician, writer, and advocate devoted to promoting the contributions of social work to the public. Her best-selling book, Burnout and Self-Care in Social Work, Edition 2 (NASW Press, 2021), grew from her award winning article in The New Social Worker, “What I Wish I Had Known: Burnout and Self-Care in Social Work.” SaraKay's research centers on invisible patterns of emotional abuse that impede mature development; the arenas where burnout is found, its causation and differences from depression, and strategies to prevent it; and the importance of an “emotional sense of direction” to navigate the slippery slopes of life. This concentration led to identifying “societal burnout.” During the 19-year term of Philadelphia DA Lynne Abraham, carefully selected cases involving first offenders in domestic violence were referred to SaraKay for intensive psychotherapy, rather than jail. Read more about her work at SaraKaySmullens.com.
