Courses
- 32700 Human Behavior in the Social Environment
- 41712 Clinical Assessment in Abusive Family Systems
- 45822 A Systems Approach to Prevention, Assessment, and Advocacy Work with At Risk Children and Families
Job experience
- Owner - Melinda Gronen Counseling and Caped Crusader Consulting, LLC
- Adjunct Lecturer - Jane Addams College of Social Work/UIC
- Child Therapist – Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute (Barr Harris Children’s Grief Center & Englewood Project)
- Law Enforcement Instructor – North East Multi-Regional Training and Law and Justice Commission
- Social Work Clinical Coordinator (Protective Services Team) - Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
- Program Coordinator/Therapist, The Youth Campus Residential Treatment Facility
- Residential Case Manager, Jewish Children’s Bureau
Fields of Special Interest
- Trauma informed practice with children and families
- School based clinical interventions
- Multi-disciplinary collaboration
- Child maltreatment assessment and intervention
- Sexual trauma
- Pediatric Medical Social Work
o Protective Services
o Emergency Department
o Chronic Illness
o Intensive Care - Forensic Social Work Assessments
Publications or presentations
- Gronen, Melinda, and Sarah Power. Pediatric Healthcare Social Work Practice. Social Work Practice in Healthcare: Advanced Approaches and Emerging Trends. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2016. 315-356. Print.
- Child Abuse Investigations: Accident or Abuse? Law and Justice Commission (MTU 8) Normal, Illinois (May 10-11, 2018)
- Understanding and Supporting Childhood Grief: A Developmental Perspective. Jewish Child and Family Community Services Professional Training Institute, Wilmette, Illinois (May 8, 2018)
- Every Kid Needs a Champion: Understanding the Impact of Trauma on Student Behaviors. Monee Education Center staff training, Monee, Illinois (May 2, 2018)
- Every Kid Needs a Champion: Understanding Implicit Bias & Creating Inclusive Classrooms. Evergreen Park Community High School, Evergreen Park, Illinois (April 24, 2018)
- The Missing Piece: Understanding the Impact of Trauma on Families. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Oak Park, Illinois (April 22, 2018)
- Interpreting Medical Information in Child Abuse Investigations. North East Multi Regional Training, Schaumburg, IL (March 29-30, 2018)
- Creating an Inclusive Community: Understanding Implicit Bias and Its Impact. Evergreen Park Community High School all school assembly, Evergreen Park, Illinois (March 26, 2018)
- Trauma Informed and Culturally Attuned Student Interventions. South Suburban School Social Workers Association, Oak Lawn High School, Oak Lawn, Illinois (January 26, 2018)
- Police and At-Risk Communities: Building Bridges in Unexpected Ways. Illinois National Association of Social Workers Conference, Wheeling, IL (October 25, 2017)
- Conversations in Black, White, and Blue: Getting Real About Implicit Bias. Illinois National Association of Social Workers Conference, Wheeling, IL (October 25, 2017)
- Examining Child Sexuality: Normative Development, Problematic Behaviors, and Assessment of Child Abuse. Modern Sex Therapy Institute, Chicago, IL (February 18, 2017)