2022 Champions for Change MSSW/MSCFT Student Spotlight: Zoe Schaver
by Diandre Glover Thomas
Zoe Schaver is from Louisville and in her second and final year of graduate school. She was originally interested in journalism; however, that interest led her to pursue dual degrees in Social Work and Couple and Family Therapy. “I grew up very passionate about journalism and wanting to be a journalist (my parents both were journalists once upon a time). I’ve always been very interested in people of all varieties and walks of life. However, my experiences in journalism only made me want to be able to get to know and connect with people on a much deeper level.” Zoe says the dual-degree program was the right choice for her because she had been positively impacted by therapy, and has always been inspired by the fight for social justice.
Zoe attends a non-denominational church and in her spare time she enjoys listening to podcasts, including but not limited to: Dateline, My Favorite Murder, Very Bad Therapy, Trashy Divorces, Sounds Like a Cult, L.A. Not So Confidential, and anything true crime, psychology, criminology, or therapy-related. She also likes to make earrings, clean obsessively, and go to Barre3 exercise classes. However, her school schedule keeps her very busy. Zoe says all of her social work and couple and family therapy classes have been interesting in many different ways. “I really enjoyed the Contemporary Issues in CFT course, because a speaker from the field was brought in nearly every week to talk about their specialty, whether that be substance use treatment, play therapy, grief counseling, sex education, therapy with adolescents, or something else. It was a fantastic opportunity to get to see what clinicians are doing in the field and to see how many different perspectives there are within social work and therapy. I still use a lot of the therapy techniques I learned from those speakers, such as a grief art therapy activity and a set of play therapy techniques. It also really helped me to think broadly about what I could do with my education and to make connections with other Louisville clinicians.”
Schaver has a broad range of interests and hasn’t decided which path to take her career after graduation yet. “Right now, I would like to work with multiple populations: children, adolescents, adults, the elderly — doing individual, group, couple, and family therapy. I can’t narrow it down! My niche interests are in substance use disorder, incarceration and its aftermath, the foster care system, racial trauma, and the LGBTQ population. I would like to somehow work in art, somatic techniques like yoga, mindfulness, EMDR therapy, IFS therapy, EFT, play therapy, and expressive techniques.”
When asked if she had any advice for students considering studying social work or family therapy, Zoe said, “My best advice is to connect with people who are working in the field and talk to them about their experiences. The worlds of social work and therapy are so huge, they’re nearly infinite, and there is so much you can do with these degrees. The best way to figure out what you want to do, other than through practicum, is talking to people in the field. Not only will that help you get some direction and networking connections, but it will get you really excited about your education and its potential.”
Become a Champion for Change!
We are challenging all our Kent School community of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends to make a gift of $19.36 in support of a Kent scholarship fund of their choice to honor our school’s rich and accomplished history, while supporting the educational pursuits of future social workers and therapists for years to come! Make a gift today! https://louisville.scalefunder.com/gday/giving-day/52028