Professor Megan Berthold was a clinical social worker in California, working with survivors of torture from many countries including those who survived the Cambodian genocide, when a judge in federal immigration court reached the limit of endurance.
Berthold had psychologically evaluated a genocide survivor from Cambodia who was seeking asylum in the United States, and had prepared a detailed report on the torture and other traumas the person had suffered, as well as the psychological impact of those experiences. But when Berthold took the stand to testify as an expert witness, the judge said she didn’t want to hear any more about the trauma: she had read the report, and that was enough.
But the judge did have a question for Berthold: How was she able to do her job without breaking?
Dr. Lynne Healy was recently inducted into the NASW Social Work Pioneers program for her prolific career in international social work. She has written extensively on international social work and has consistently held leadership positions in NASW, the Council on Social Work Education, and the International Association of Schools of Social Work. She is the founding director of the SSW’s Center for International Social Work Studies and a board of trustees distinguished professor.