Dr. Patricia Flaherty-Fischette is an Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) researcher, teacher, and licensed clinical social worker. She is the Clinical Director of Carousel Connections (an organization supporting young adults with intellectual disabilities), the Research Fellow for SoulPaws Recovery Project (the only outpatient Animal-Assisted Activity program for individuals struggling food and body image issues), and Research Associate & Lecturer at Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research (created/taught the first-ever class on Animal-Assisted Interventions exploring AAI and trauma). We spoke to Professor Flaherty-Fischette about her GSSWSR and social work journey.
I graduated from Haverford College with a strong interest in social justice, disability support, gender and sexuality studies, human rights, and victim/survivor support. After several internships with victim and disability support agencies, I pursued law school as a next step after Haverford. Through that experience, I was fortunate to work at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office in their Sexual Victim Unit (SVU) where most of my work focused on victim support. Through this experience, I was inspired by the bravery, resilience, and vulnerability of the victims, and it led to my entry into the social work field.
I started the GSSWSR eager and excited to learn about supporting individuals and understanding the systems, policies, and environments impacting their lives. I was intrigued by Bryn Mawr’s GSSWSR because of my connection to the Bi-Co and because of the conversations I had with the Bryn Mawr admissions team, who highlighted the foundational commitments of social and economic justice in the curriculum.
After graduating from Bryn Mawr’s GSSWSR with a master’s in Social Service and master’s in Law and Social Policy, I completed a post-graduate clinical fellowship at Swarthmore College in their Counseling and Psychological Services center. During this time, I was able to work with college students as well as receive intensive supervision from colleagues to strengthen my clinical skills. Additionally, I was able to collaborate across disciplines with my engagement in survivor/victim groups and a brief interim position supporting their Title IX and sexual violence initiatives. Through these experiences, I became curious about the healing power of animals since many clients were hesitant to trust other humans because of trauma, previous negative experiences, attachment vulnerabilities, and internalized schemas about self. After receiving my LCSW, I started the GSSWSR’s Ph.D. program part-time to pursue this clinical inquiry about animal-assisted interventions and a strong desire to learn more while also working full-time as a clinician in Swarthmore College’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) center. The Ph.D. program was appealing given the emphasis on clinical practice, social theory, and research; it was a multi-faceted program providing opportunities for growth and practice.
During the Ph.D. program, I transitioned back to clinical work with individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities (IDD). This was an opportunity to continue my clinical work, explore my interests in animal-assisted interventions through the Ph.D. program and facilitate a healthier work/life balance (having recently had my first baby after prelims and completion of my fellowship). After graduation from the Ph.D. program, I continued my clinical work with the IDD population and started to explore other opportunities for research, academic engagement, and non-profit work. I became a part of the non-profit, SoulPaws Recovery Project, Inc. (SoulPaws offers free clinician-led healing circles with licensed therapy animals to people with eating disorders or food and body struggles), and transitioned into the clinical director role in my work with adults with IDD. While actively engaged in animal-assisted interventions in both the eating disorder (ED) and IDD populations, I found myself drawn back to the classroom. I wanted to situate myself in the Bryn Mawr GSSWSR because I knew first-hand of the rigor, thoughtfulness, and engagement of the program. Additionally, I knew Bryn Mawr GSSWSR’s commitment to trauma-informed and responsive practice would be an effective environment to further explore animal-assisted interventions. I appreciated Dean Shapiro’s willingness to support my class on AAI and continue to support my critical inquiry on AAI and ED as both an instructor and research associate at GSSWSR.
Through the strong skills acquired from Bryn Mawr GSSWSR’s program, I continue to grow as a clinician and social work practitioner. Recently, and largely a testament to skills I learned at Bryn Mawr, we partnered with world-renowned clinician and researcher, Bruce Perry, M.D., PhD., and he has joined our work with SoulPaws Recovery Project (our work providing free AAI to individuals struggling with food and body issues). His work on trauma, neurobiology, and his collaboration with Oprah Winfrey in their co-authored book, What Happened to You?: Conservations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, helps us offer support on a wider scale to people with ED or food and body struggles.
I am extremely grateful for my experiences at GSSWSR and I’m very happy to be back in the role of instructor and research associate. During my free time, I enjoy running, spending time with my wonderful family (two children, Catherine and Joseph, a partner, Michael, and rescue senior dog, Cinderella), and vintage shopping. As a fun note, I dressed up as Santa in my neighborhood during the COVID years and would be “Running Santa” running through the community waving to kids in my Santa costume bringing some holiday cheer while socially distanced. My kids are still unsure if it was me or not, so please keep the secret. It was a fun holiday tradition.