Smith College School for Social Work originated from an emergency course given in the
Summer of 1918-1919 to prepare social workers for service in military hospitals treating soldiers with "
shell shock" returning from the
First World War.
Civilian psychiatric hospitals were already using social workers to assist physicians in obtaining patients’ social histories. It was considered a necessary ingredient for sound diagnosis, and to aid the patients in their "social adjustment" back to their communities after release from care. F. Stuart Chapin, Smith College professor of sociology, was appointed the first director. Mary C. Jarrett, who was chief of social services at Boston Psychopathic Hospital, and one of the founders of the emergency trainings held in 1918, was appointed as the associate director. The SCSSW single focus is on clinical social work. == Studies in Clinical Social Work: Transforming Practice, Education and Research ==