The Journal of Groups in Addiction and Recovery wishes to honor the legacy and rich contributions to the field of social work made by Dr. Catherine P. Papell, who died on Thursday November 14, 2013, at 97 years of age. Papell (who went by Katy), active in social work and humanitarian causes since the 1940s, made numerous unparalleled contributions to the field, especially as related to group work.
She received her master's of social work in 1950 from the University of Pennsylvania and her doctorate in social work in 1979 from Yeshiva University. In 1957, she joined the faculty of the Adelphi University School of Social Work where she taught for 40 years (National Association of Social Workers, Citation2014). In addition to academic pursuits, Papell cofounded the journal Social Work With Groups in 1978 and the Association for the Advancement of Social Work With Groups in 1979 (Cicchetti, Citation2008). These efforts were instrumental in helping to revitalize group work within the social work profession.
Social Work With Groups developed in large part in a parallel process to group psychotherapy in the United States (Cicchetti, Citation2009). In an effort to explore the commonalities and divergences of group approaches, Papell, along with her colleague Dr. Beulah Rothman, wrote a seminal paper entitled “Relating the Mainstream Model of Social Work With Groups to Group Psychotherapy and the Structured Group Approach” in 1980.
At the heart of all Papell's academic and professional pursuits was a deep and a profound love for people and a sense of personal responsibility to help make the world a better place (Cicchetti, Citation2008). To learn more about Dr. Papell's contributions to group work, visit Social Welfare History.com at http://www.socialwelfarehistory.com /contributors /papell-catherine; NASW Foundation.org at http://www.naswfoundation.org /pioneers /p /Catherine Papell.htm; and the International Association for the Advancement of Social Work With Groups at http://www.iaswg.org/cpapell. Also, please note that to honor Dr. Papell further, Taylor and Francis is offering free access to several of her articles, which are available at the following link: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/access/Top-WSWG-2014.pdf
REFERENCES
- Cicchetti, A. (2008, January 10). A conversation with Katy Papell. Mutual Aid Based Group Work.com. Retrieved from http://mutualaidbasedgroupwork.blogspot.com.br/2007/11/conversation-with-katy-papell.html
- Cicchetti, A. (2009). Mutual aid processes in treatment groups for people with substance use disorders: A survey of group practitioners (Doctoral dissertation). . Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (No. 3344694).
- National Association of Social Workers. (2014). NASW social work pioneers, a note from Catherine Papell's family. . Retrieved from http://www.naswfoundation.org/pioneers/p/AnotefromCatherinePapellsfamily.htm
- Papell, C., & Rothman, B. (1980). Relating the mainstream model of social work with groups to group psychotherapy and the structured group approach. Social Work with Groups, 3(2), 5–22.