Bernie S. Newman

Associate Professor
Social Work
Office
1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave.

Biography

Dr. Bernie Newman has been active in the rape crisis, battered women’s movement and LGBT rights since the early 1980s. Dr. Newman attended one of the first national gay rights marches in Washington, D.C. in 1978 and has since participated in countless collective action demonstrations for LGBT and women’s rights, labor rights, and racial and social justice issues. She was co-chair of the Council on Social Work Education Commission for Lesbian Women and Gay Men from 1987 to 1992. She was an early leader in advocacy for inclusion of content on lesbian and gay issues in the national accrediting standards for schools of social work. Her early scholarship and research in the areas of social work education focused on sexual orientation, gender issues and effectiveness of services for lesbian, gay and transgender populations.

She has been an active full-time faculty member of the School of Social Work since 1989, having served in many administrative roles, including BSW director, MSW director and chair of the school. She has provided leadership in the school's curriculum development and particularly in the clinical practice and research content areas.

Her scholarship and research has also included publications on sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and collaboration among police and social workers in cases of sexual abuse. She is currently involved in evaluation of a human trafficking prevention and intervention project funded by the Department of Justice and is the evaluator of a free after-school program funded through Pennsylvania 21st Century Community Service Learning Projects.

She maintains an active clinical social work role in the community. She has provided sexual abuse and behavioral health therapy to children and adolescents through several Philadelphia programs. She served as clinical director in a group home for adjudicated dependent youth in North Philadelphia for three years. At present, she engages in trauma-focused clinical practice with children, youth and adults through the Survivor Support Services of the Joseph J. Peters Institute.

Education

  • PhD, Social Work, University of Pittsburgh 
  • MSW, Florida State University
  • BS, Elementary Education, University of Pennsylvania

Curriculum Vitae 

Courses Taught

Number

Name

Level

SSWG 5302

Critical Thinking for Societal Transformation

Graduate

SSWG 8101

Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups I

Graduate

SSWG 8102

Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups II

Graduate

SSWG 8205

Evaluation of Clinical Practice

Graduate

SSWG 8803

Emotional Disorders in Children and Adolescents

Graduate

SSWU 4396

Introduction to Social Research

Undergraduate

SSWU 4407

Evaluating Programs and Practice in Social Work

Undergraduate

Selected Publications

  • Levine, E.C., Martinez, O., Mattera, B., Wu, E., Arreola, S., Rutledge, S.E., Newman, B., Icard, L., Muñoz-Laboy, M., Hausmann-Stabile, C., Welles, S., Rhodes, S.D., Dodge, B.M., Alfonso, S., Fernandez, M.I., & Carballo-Diéguez, A. (2018). Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Mental Health, Sexual Risk Behaviors, and Drinking Patterns Among Latino Men Who Have Sex With Men. J Child Sex Abus, 27(3), pp. 237-253. United States. doi: 10.1080/10538712.2017.1343885

  • Chonody, J.M., Woodford, M.R., Brennan, D.J., Newman, B., & Wang, D. (2014). Erratum: Attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women among heterosexual social Work faculty (Journal of Social Work Education 50: 1 (136-152)). Journal of Social Work Education, 50(3), p. 579. doi: 10.1080/10437797.2014.929444

  • Newman, B.S., Passidomo, K., Gormley, K., & Manley, A. (2014). Use of Drop-In Clinic Versus Appointment-Based Care for LGBT Youth: Influences on the Likelihood to Access Different Health-Care Structures. LGBT Health, 1(2), pp. 140-146. United States. doi: 10.1089/lgbt.2013.0009

  • Chonody, J.M., Woodford, M.R., Brennan, D.J., Newman, B., & Wang, D. (2014). Attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women among heterosexual social work faculty. Journal of Social Work Education, 50(1), pp. 136-152. doi: 10.1080/10437797.2014.856239

  • Newman, B.S. (2014). Lesbians, gays and religion: Strategies for challenging belief systems. In Addressing Homophobia and Heterosexism on College Campuses (pp. 100-111). doi: 10.4324/9781315820576

  • Newman, B.S. & Campbell, C. (2011). Intimate partner violence among pregnant and parenting Latina adolescents. J Interpers Violence, 26(13), pp. 2635-2657. United States. doi: 10.1177/0886260510388281

  • Newman, B.S. (2007). College students' attitudes about lesbians: what difference does 16 years make? J Homosex, 52(3-4), pp. 249-265. United States. doi: 10.1300/J082v52n03_12

  • Newman, B.S., Dannenfelser, P.L., Clemmons, V., & Webster, S. (2007). Working to learn: Internships for today's social work students. Journal of Social Work Education, 43(3), pp. 513-528. doi: 10.5175/JSWE.2007.200500566

  • Newman, B.S., Clemmons, V., & Dannenfelser, P.L. (2007). The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders in graduate social work education: Then and now. Journal of Social Work Education, 43(2), pp. 297-308. doi: 10.5175/JSWE.2007.200600106

  • Newman, B.S., Dannenfelser, P.L., & Pendleton, D. (2005). Child abuse investigations: Reasons for using child advocacy centers and suggestions for improvement. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 22(2), pp. 165-181. doi: 10.1007/s10560-005-3416-9

  • Newman, B.S. & Dannenfelser, P.L. (2005). Children's protective services and law enforcement: fostering partnerships in investigations of child abuse. J Child Sex Abus, 14(2), pp. 97-111. United States. doi: 10.1300/J070v14n02_06

  • Newman, B.S., Dannenfelser, P.L., & Benishek, L. (2002). Assessing beginning social work and counseling students’ acceptance of lesbians and gay men. Journal of Social Work Education, 38(2), pp. 273-288. doi: 10.1080/10437797.2002.10779097

  • Gillman, R.R. & Newman, B.S. (1996). Psychosocial concerns and strengths of women with HIV infection: An empirical study. Families in Society, 77(3), pp. 131-141. doi: 10.1606/1044-3894.888

  • Newman, B.S. & Muzzonigro, P.G. (1993). The effects of traditional family values on the coming out process of gay male adolescents. Adolescence, 28(109), pp. 213-226. United States. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

  • Newman, B.S. (1989). The relative importance of gender role attitudes to male and female attitudes toward lesbians. Sex Roles, 21(7-8), pp. 451-465. doi: 10.1007/BF00289097

  • Parker, M.D. & Newman, B.S. (1989). Volunteerism and social work educators: Findings from a national survey. Journal of Social Work Education, 25(3), pp. 257-267. doi: 10.1080/10437797.1989.10671282

  • Newman, B.S. (1989). Including curriculum content on lesbian and gay issues. Journal of Social Work Education, 25(3), pp. 202-211. doi: 10.1080/10437797.1989.10671277