“I was raised by a hippie and a feminist,” says Grant Pike ’18MSW ’24DSW. “Understanding that empowered women are necessary agents of change has been a part of my life.”
Given this background, it’s no surprise that Pike chose to pursue an Online Master of Social Work at Simmons, followed by the Online Doctorate of Social Work.
“At Simmons everything aligned,” says Pike. “The [University] has historical roots in Boston as a women’s-centered institution. It’s important to have this academic sanctuary to empower young women to be leaders.”
From Spirituality to Social Justice
Pike’s parents (the aforementioned hippie and feminist) attuned them to nature from a young age by practicing Forest spirituality, which Pike describes as a Wiccan earth religion.
“[As a teenager] I used to read divination cards, and a friend suggested that I become a counselor.” While the idea held some appeal, they were unsure how that career path would take shape.
“The lightbulb moment came later,” says Pike. “The point was social justice. I grew up concerned with women’s rights and ecological rights. I knew I wanted to be in service and advocate for what I believed in. Social work resonated with my core values.”
As an online student, creating a connection with faculty was particularly important. “I met Professor Johnnie Hamilton-Mason as an online student,” says Pike. “She’s amazing. I know that, at Simmons, I would have well-rounded and highly experienced professors.”
Pike was also drawn to the clinical focus of the online master’s degree. “I wanted to be in direct service and counseling. Social justice and anti-racism are embedded in the MSW program at Simmons.” Support from their professors was also pivotal. “Dr. Jacqueline Dyer [Associate Professor of Practice and DSW Director] believes in me. Her collaboration has increased my confidence.”
Working with Dr. Dyer is what brought Pike back for the doctoral program.
“I love being in the field, but I wanted more. I didn’t know what that meant until Dr. Dyer created the DEIPAR framework for the doctoral program.”
The DEIPAR (diversity, equity, inclusion, intersectionality, power analysis, anti-racist) framework, Pike says, “has been instrumental to further my understanding of social work,” noting that every paper and discussion is inspected through the DEIPAR lens. “It has made me reflect on how my own power dynamics are showing up in the classroom, and how I can de-center that power structure to engage with others more holistically. It’s a cornerstone of a very unique doctoral program.”
The Power of Engaging with Nature
Pike has also integrated his roots in nature-based spirituality with his present work. For 23 years, Pike has offered workshops on finding spirituality in nature. The approach is especially helpful when paired with LGBTQ rights and advocacy.
“I share my life experience to help others be more compassionate,” says Pike, who has worked with the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth (BAGLY). Pike brings personal spirituality and identity to social work: both private practice and scholarship.
In 2023, Pike was invited to present “Incorporating Nature-based Wisdom into Social Work Practice,” at the University of Albany School of Social Work. Also that year, Pike presented “Queering Nature: Use of Forest Therapy as a Radical Act of LGBTQ+ Existence” at the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Annual Program Meeting.
“I explored my love of nature and use of forest therapy as a radical act of LGBTQ existence,” says Pike. “Being visibly queer and trans in public is an affront to those trying to destroy queer life and our bodily autonomy. Who gets to have access to nature? I wanted to explore that.”
Pike’s article, “Queers Going Wild: Expressing Queerness Through Nature,” was published in Options Magazine, 2023. In the article, Pike explores both the feminine and masculine energies present in the forest, stating, “In the wild, one is free to simply be a gender-expansive being who doesn’t have to explain oneself to the forest.”
In an effort to share the power of nature with a mainstream audience, Pike’s DSW Capstone project is a nonfiction manuscript titled Earth Centered Theory.
“I’m interested in combining queer-centered theory with ecological theory,” says Pike. “The earth is subjugated; there are links to the oppression of women and the oppression of the earth. When you can so easily subjugate the land, it’s easy to create mechanisms of oppression. There is an idea of centering the earth, to be more in tune with each other and other species.”
Accessible Nature Spirituality
“When I say that we are going into nature, [many people] assume that nature is something separate from us,” notes Pike. “Nature is ‘other.’ And if you’re not going into the woods, you’re not doing it right. But I like looking out of the window. If you don’t have access [to green space] all the time, have a houseplant. You are still engaging with nature.”
The mindfulness at the core of Pike’s spirituality can be especially transformative for transgender people. “When we are present in the body, we are more aware of our surroundings, more present with them.”
Pike cites Vanessa Robinson-Dooley, Professor and Director of the Social Work PhD Program, as another inspiration. “She encouraged her class to take 20 minutes to be in nature. We don’t need to go to a park, just sit under a tree. Twenty minutes reduces the production of cortisol, and decreases heart rate.” In Japan this is called shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing.”
“Taking in the atmosphere of the forest for just 20 minutes a day induces our bodies to create oxytocin, the bonding and love hormone. Our bodies are hard-wired to want to be in nature.” Pike cites poet Audre Lorde, who wrote in A Burst of Light (Firebrand Books, 1988) “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
“Particularly for queer folk,” Pike adds, “saying that you want to rest is a form of resistance.”