Alumni Insights: Reflections and Inspiration
Pauline Walfisch, LCSW, '01
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How did your time at SSW shape your path into the work you’re doing today?
Pursuing a social work education at Stony Brook shaped every part of my professional journey. The diverse curriculum and its emphasis on the many dimensions of social work gave me the confidence to explore roles within the field and build a meaningful career aligned with my values.
Can you share a pivotal moment or lesson from your time as a social work student that still sticks with you?
When I was exploring internship options, I received a piece of advice that I still pass along to students today: “Try something different.” This is the one time you truly get to “play in the sandbox.” The skills you gain will be transferable, but stepping outside your comfort zone might lead you toward a path you didn’t know you needed. That mindset helped me discover the breadth of what social work has to offer.
What kind of work are you currently doing, and what excites you about it?
Today, I’m fortunate to do a little bit of everything I love- combining micro, macro and mezzo social work practice. I’m the proud owner of Helping Hands Psychotherapy (HHP), a group practice with two locations on Long Island and providing telehealth services across New York State. At HHP I’m an EMDR-certified perinatal therapist in addition to my role as Clinical Director.
We are also a NYS-approved provider of continuing education for licensed clinicians and have built a robust training program for interns. I volunteer to serve on the Executive Advisory Board for the Nassau County Department of Health’s Perinatal Services Network and chair the county-wide maternal mental health work group. In addition, I am a field liaison for the SSW which gives me the opportunity to stay grounded in my social work roots.
It’s exciting, isn’t it? I’ve been able to build a career that integrates therapy, mentorship, teaching, entrepreneurship, and community leadership. The fact that I can do all of this—and still make time for friends, family, and self-care—is the dream I’ve worked hard to bring to life.
Are there skills or perspectives you gained at SSW that you didn’t fully appreciate until you were in the profession?
Absolutely. I don’t think I realized at the time how essential my social work skills would be in running a business. Understanding human behavior in the social environment makes me a better therapist, a stronger leader, and a more thoughtful entrepreneur. That perspective helps me develop sustainable, values-driven business plans that serve both clients and clinicians.
If you could go back and give your student self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Just keep swimming. You’ll keep learning and evolving—and that’s a gift. It might not always work out the way you thought it would, but try it anyway.
What would you say to current students just beginning their journey?
This world is full of both opportunity and need. Without intention and mindfulness, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the weight and responsibility of all that we’re witnessing and living through.
Take care of yourself. Listen to your body. Nourish your mind, body and spirit with choices that support your well-being.
You can’t do it all—but you can do something. You can’t control everything around you—but you can choose how you respond.
Year of Graduation & Program
MSW, Class of 2001
Standout Professors
I’ll always remember the leadership of Dean Brisbane and the Paradoxical Commandments she gave us at graduation. I still try to live by them. Give the world the best you have anyway.
Here is the original version of The Paradoxical Commandments by Kent M. Keith, written in 1968 when he was a 19-year-old Harvard student:
The Paradoxical Commandments
(by Kent M. Keith)
- People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
- If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
- If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
- The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
- Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
- The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
- People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
- What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
- People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
- Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
