Catherine P. (Katy) Papell — (1916 – 2013): Social Group Worker, Educator, Group Work Advocate and Author
Photo: NASW Foundation
Pioneering Contributions: Papell was a significant force in the development of social work with groups beginning in 1950. Building on her early experiences working and directing settlement houses during and immediately following World War II, Dr. Papell became a skilled practitioner and strong advocate for social group work and its place in the social work profession. In 1966, in collaboration with her colleague, Beulah Rothman, Papell wrote an influential paper “Social Group Work Models: Possession and Heritage.” It was an effort to integrate the several emerging individual psychologies being recognized by group work theorists and group work’s deep commitment to social reform, as well as the increasing knowledge of how groups grow and function as their members seek to bring them into existence — group process as a very human process. In 1978, also with Rothman, Papell launched and co-edited the journal Social Work with Groups: A Journal of Clinical and Community Practice published by Haworth Press. Papell and Rothman continued as co-editors until 1991 when Beulah Rothman died. Perhaps Papell’s greatest accomplishment was her efforts to restore social group work’s identity. By 1979, Katy Papell and other group work educators recognized that Social Group Work was becoming invisible in the professional social work curriculum. At the CSWE Annual Meeting in Boston, three group workers, Papell, Rothman and Ruth Middleman put up a sign inviting attendees interested in social group work to attend a small meeting. So many educators responded it was necessary to open another room. Following this, in October 1979 the first annual Group Work Symposium was held at Case Western Reserve University where Grace Coyle had first taught Group Work as a part of the MSW curriculum. This in turn gave rise to the creation of the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, (Now the International Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups) a professional organization with Chapters, Affiliates and a Journal. Papell is a founding life member.
Career Highlights: Papell was professor and director of the Practice Division, Adelphi University’s School of Social Work, where she served on the social work faculty for more than 30 years. While teaching group work, casework, family practice and community and human development she designed the Integrative Curriculum, or what later came to be known as “Foundation Social Work Practice.” In 1975 Dr. Papell led a collaborative effort involving Adelphi University, Nassau County Commission on Drug and Alcohol Addiction, and the Long Island Council on Alcoholism that initially led to an introductory day to educate Adelphi faculty, then a first and annual Conference on Alcohol and Substance Abuse for Long Island, and finally a course in Adelphi’s Doctoral Program and development of a post MSW Addiction Specialist Certificate Program.
Biographic Data: Papell was born on November 12, 1916. She received her BA from the University of Michigan in 1937 and in 1938 her MA in teaching from Columbia University, specializing in student personnel and guidance. In 1950 she received her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania. Papell received her DSW from Yeshiva University in 1979. In 2002, Dr. Papell wrote the following statement which sums up her vision for social group work as an integral part of the social work profession.
“A group represents human togetherness. It is not that the group creates the togetherness for the members. Rather it is the other way around — its members must create the group, and if they are unable to do this there is nothing but a collection of individuals striving helplessly for the unknown. Humane human relationship is group membership successfully created. When people —even just two- try to create a group and fail, the search for relationship —for togetherness — becomes tension, frustration, unfulfillment, anger, conflict, failure and even violence. Fulfillment in relationship does not come automatically to us humans. We each bring our very selves to the process, each of us with the complexity of our ever emerging needs. The human process of “grouping” constantly calls upon us to participate in meeting the needs of others in their yearning for connectedness. Of course grouping is difficult, and always will be, as it will always be a fundamental human process that can be misused or fail…”
Significant Achievements and Awards: Dr. Papell was named Social Worker of the Year in 1984 by the NY State NASW. She was a co-founder and lifetime member of the Long Island chapter of the AASWG. She served on committees and commissions for both CSWE and NASW. At age 90 she shared her thoughts on aging at Adelphi. Dr. Papell was also an NASW Social Work Pioneer.
Significant Publications
“Youth Service Agencies,” in Encyclopedia of Social Work, New York: NASW, 7th Edition, 1987.
“The Reflective Practitioner: A Contemporary Paradigm’s Relevance for Social Work Education” With Louise Skolnik. Journal of Education for Social Work, 1992.
“Holistic Designs for Field Instruction in the Contemporary Social Work Curriculum.” With Louise Skolnik. Journal of Education for Social Work. Vol. 30 (1), 1994.
Republished from: NASW Foundation
How to Cite this Article (APA Format): NASW Foundation. (2016). Catherine P. (Katy) Papell (1916 – 2013): Social group worker, educator, group work advocate and author. Social Welfare History Project. Retrieved [date accessed] from https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/social-work/papell-catherine-p/
One Reply to “Papell, Catherine P.”
Comments for this site have been disabled. Please use our contact form for any research questions.
Katy was a beautiful human being. She was an impactful mentor to me. I first met her at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Flushing, New York, where she had created an MSW internship program. She gave me my first opportunity to be a Social Work supervisor and then an adjunct instructor at Adelphi’s Graduate School of Social Work. She was a brilliant woman, who touched many lives. I will always remember the contribution she made to our profession and to my own professional growth.