Shipra Parikh, LCSW, is an Associate Instructional Professor at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice.
"My work centers on relational attachment in youth and families, expecially as it pertains to intergenerational trauma, community violence, the practice of adultism, and abuse. I am also interested in social work across international settings. In particular I am interested in experiences of the South Asian diaspora, and within India itself, as a prime example of social work needing to apply intersectionality to religion, caste, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and ethnic diversity. I am interested in many things to build our field, including training future social workers, providing and engaging in responsible clinical consultation, and creating linkages at the macro level to create more spaces where we can learn from each other professionally.
I bring these clinical experiences as a community-based social worker to my academic teaching philosophy as well. I believe in the power of participatory process as a way to dismantle adultism, white supremacy, and classism (and other isms) which is a fundamental organizing concept. I also try to create space in the classroom for intersectional self-study as well as group process. We have to know all parts of ourselves and practice self-awareness in order to work effectively as social workers. I also believe in transparency and try to facilitate honest classroom discussions where individual honesty is balanced with power in the larger group."
Job experience
Provides Bilingual (Spanish/English) psychotherapeutic outpatient services focusing on developmentally, culturally appropriate, and systemic abuse-focused treatment of youth and their families
Serves as the clinical supervisor of school based mental health services at Enlace, a community based, grassroots organization in the Little Village community of Chicago
Experience doing clinical social work in community based agencies and hospice centers abroad
Interest in community based research from a participatory framework
Clinical consultant and trainer, serving a variety of arts and social service organizations to pursue a more anti-oppressive client-based and responsive staff agenda
Fields of Special Interest
- Complex, developmental trauma experiences in youth and adulthood
- Cross-cultural and global social work models
- Culturally humble, participatory research methods
- Sexual and relational violence, community violence
- Issues related to parenting and parent needs
- Insight-oriented and relational clinical supervision and mentoring
