Contributor

SaraKay Smullens

I am a social worker, family therapist, and writer.

SaraKay Smullens, MSW, LCSW, ACSW, BCD, DCSW, CGP, CFLE, whose private and pro bono clinical social work practice is in Philadelphia, is a certified group psychotherapist and family life educator. She is a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from NASW-PA, which recognized her longstanding community organization, advocacy, and activism, as well as the codification of patterns of emotional abuse and the development of a therapeutic model to address it. SaraKay is the founder of the Philadelphia initiative, the Sabbath of Domestic Peace, which identified clergy as a “missing link” in addressing domestic violence, devoting itself to clergy involvement and education that prayer alone would not save lives, and couples in distress, due to abuse and violence, could not be seen together. SaraKay has published in peer-reviewed journals and is the best-selling author of Whoever Said Life Is Fair?: A Guide to Growing Through Life’s Injustices; Setting YourSelf Free: Breaking the Cycle of Emotional Abuse in Family, Friendships, Work, and Love; and Burnout and Self-Care in Social Work: A Guide for Students and those in Mental Health and Related Professions. Her professional papers and memorabilia are divided between the Archives of the University Pennsylvania, Goucher College, and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. SaraKay’s professional life continues to be devoted to highlighting destructive societal forces through education, advocacy, and activism.