Jeffrey Steen

Jeffrey Steen, PhD, MSW, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work. He is a graduate of New York University’s Silver School of Social Work, during which he was a predoctoral fellow in the Behavioral Sciences Training program in Drug Abuse Research, a T32 training award funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Most of his practice experiences have been in the areas of harm reduction, addictions, recovery, and behavioral health. He has held clinical, training, supervisory, and administrative roles with intensive outpatient and supportive housing programs that provide services for individuals with histories of substance and mental health problems. These professional practice experiences meaningfully inform his approaches to teaching, and for two decades he has instructed undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level social work courses at several institutions. Dr. Steen is passionate about supporting MSW and PhD students’ successes in the classroom and in the workforce and especially values opportunities to be a mentor for their academic and professional development.

Area of Expertise

Dr. Steen’s clinical practice, teaching, and research focus on substance use, harm reduction-informed approaches, and behavioral health services. He also studies the professional and lived experiences of service providers and students in the helping professions. 

Education

PhD, Social Work, New York University, New York, New York

MSW, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada

BA, Social Work, Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio

License/ Certifications

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Courses

SW 422: Substance Use and Social Work (onground and online)

SW 441: Social Work Research (onground and online)

Community Engagement

Dr. Steen is a Disaster Mental Health volunteer with the Greater Boston chapter of the Red Cross. As part of his involvement with this organization, he provides free behavioral health services, locally and nationally, for people who have survived disasters, such as fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and acts of violence.

Research/ Special Projects

Most of Dr. Steen’s research explores substance use, addictions treatment, and the experiences of service providers and students involved in this practice area. For instance, through his recent work as an Associate Research Scientist at New York University he was a contributing investigator on a study of over 6,000 licensed social workers in the United States, exploring the ways in which substance use, mental health, physical problems,, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and other factors have influenced their work. He was recently an investigator with a qualitative study that explored how COVID-19 and the shift to online 12-Step meetings influenced recovery experiences. 

Committed to behavioral health and harm reduction-focused scholarship, he is currently conducting a grant-funded qualitative study; anticipating the state’s establishment of supervised consumption sites, this project is assessing provider readiness and recommendations of people who use drugs to understand how their experiences can influence the development and implementation of this model of care in the substance use and HIV services ecosystems. Additionally, he is currently engaging in a content analysis of historical records, examining how social workers have approached the delivery of substance use services through time. 

Current Grant Funding

2024-2025: Principal Investigator. Preparing to establish an overdose prevention center: Exploring the perspectives of HIV and substance use service providers and people who use drugs in Worcester, Massachusetts. A subaward through New York University, funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse. Award amount: $25,000

2024-2025: Project Director. HaRT Scholars Program. Funded by RIZE Massachusetts. Award amount: $85,000 
 

Publications/Presentations

Select Recent Peer-Reviewed Publications

Steen, J. T. & Monteiro, C. B. (under review). Envisioning the evolution of substance use services: Social work and the establishment of overdose prevention centers.

Steen, J. T., Chanan, D., Kravitz, T., Straussner, S. L. A., & Senreich, E. (under review). Exploring physical health problems among licensed social workers: Qualitative findings from a multistate study. 

Downing, M., Steen, J. T., Ramos, S. R., & Benoit, E. (under review). Formative sexual experience appraisals among Black and Latino sexual minority men. 

Downing, M., Benoit, E., & Steen, J. T. (2024). Understand Black and Latino sexual minority men’s perspectives on assessment of sexual history in diverse healthcare settings. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001662

Steen, J. T., Straussner, S. L. A., Senreich, E., Dempsey, A., Huang, F., & Willoughby, M. (2023). Behavioral health service use among licensed social workers: A qualitative inquiry. Social Work in Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2023.2254752

Downing, M. J., Benoit, E., Coe, L., Brown, D., & Steen, J. T. (2023). Examining cultural competence and sexual abuse training needs among service providers working with Black and Latino sexual minority men. Journal of Social Service Research, 49(1), 79-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2022.2157524

Senreich, E., Steen, J. T., & Straussner, S. L. A. (2022). Utilization of mental health and substance use disorder services by social workers in 13 U.S. states. Social Work in Mental Health, 20(6), 682-701. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332985.2022.2053028

Senreich, E., Saint-Louis, N., Steen, J. T., & Cooper, C. (2022). The experiences of 12-Step program attendees transitioning to online meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 39(4), 500-517. https://doi.org/10.1080/07347324.2022.2102456

Steen, J. T., Straussner, S. L. A., & Senreich, E. (2021). Adverse Childhood Experiences and career-related issues among licensed social workers: A qualitative study. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 91(3), 216-233. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377317.2021.1887790

Steen, J. T., Senreich, E., & Straussner, S. L. A. (2021). Adverse Childhood Experiences among licensed social workers. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 102(2), 182-193. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044389420929618

Senreich, E., Straussner, S. L. A., & Steen, J.T. (2020). The work experiences of social workers: Factors impacting compassion satisfaction and workplace stress. Journal of Social Service Research, 46(1), 93 109. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2018.1528491

Straussner, S. L. A., Senreich, E., & Steen, J. T. (2018). Wounded healers: A multistate study of social workers’ behavioral health problems. Social Work, 63(2), 125-133. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swy012

Downing Jr, M., Brown, D., Steen, J.T., & Benoit, E. (2018). Understanding the impact of abuse on men's risk behavior: Protocol for a mixed methods study. JMIR Research Protocols, 72(2), e62. https://doi.org/10.2196/resprot.9071

Other Publications in Peer-Reviewed Journals 

Steen, J. T. (2023). Review of The urge: Our history of addiction by Carl Erik Fisher. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 23(3), 256-257. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533256X.2023.2199594

Steen, J. T. (2023). Review of Risk management in the behavioral health professions: A practice guide to preventing malpractice and licensing-board complaints by Frederic G. Reamer. International Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 20(2), 13. https://doi.org/10.55521/10-020-200

Steen, J. T., & Kravitz, T. (2023). Social workers and physical health: Imperative medical issues and COVID-19. Health & Social Work, 48(1), 75-78. https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/hlac034

Steen, J. T., & Cooper, C. (2022). “I had to fix me”: Social workers and substance misuse. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 22(4), 344-349. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533256X.2022.2084276

Steen, J. T., Kravitz, T., & Straussner, S. L. A. (2018). Lessons learned from a web-based study of mental health and alcohol and other drug problems among social workers in the USA. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 16(4), 975-980. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-017-9820-5

Books

With Dr. Shulamith Lala Ashenberg Straussner, Dr. Steen will be co-editor and chapter author of the 4th edition of the book, Clinical Practice with Clients with Substance Use Disorders. This book will be published in 2026.

Publications in Popular Press

Steen, J. T. (2023). Reversing the war on drugs, one overdose at a time. CommonWealth Beacon. https://commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/reversing-the-war-on-drugs-one-overdose-at-a-time/ 

Steen, J. T.  (2021). What recovery from meth addiction taught me about harm reduction. Filter.  https://filtermag.org/meth-recovery-harm-reduction/ 
 

Recent Presentations at Professional Conferences

Steen, J. T. (upcoming, 2024). Supervised consumption sites: Emerging settings for social work practice with people who use drugs. Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, Kansas City, MO.

Steen, J. T., Tedrow, T., Chanan, D., & Johnson, E. (upcoming, 2024). Exploring and supporting social work students’ experiences with group chats: An interactive workshop. Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, Kansas City, MO.

Steen, J. T. (2024). Exploring the professional impact of social workers’ own substance misuse and treatment experiences. Boston Medical Center, Together for Hope: Boston Addiction Conference 2024, Boston, MA.

Steen, J. T., Senreich, E., & Cooper, C. (2023). 12-Step participants’ experiences transitioning to online meetings during the onset of COVID-19. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Rural Drug Addiction Research Center, Symposium on Substance Use Research, online.

Steen, J. T., & Chanan, D. (2023). Call for action: The scope and impact of social workers’ physical health problems.Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, Atlanta, GA.

Daniels, D., Tedrow, T., Chanan, D., Steen, J. T. (2023). Transforming educational experiences: Social work students and group chats. International Association of Social Work with Groups, Annual Symposium, online.

Steen, J. T., Cooper, C., & Ramos, S. N. (2022). Critical conversations: What we know about substance misuse among social workers. Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting, Anaheim, CA.

Downing, M. J., Benoit, E., & Steen, J. T. (2022). Understanding Black and Latino sexual minority men’s perspectives on assessment of sexual history in diverse healthcare settings. National LGBTQ Health Conference, Chicago, IL

Steen, J. T. (2022). The work experiences of social workers: Workplace stress, compassion satisfaction, and implications for the future of the profession. The Network for Social Work Management’s 2nd Annual Forward Thinking Summit, online.

Gibson, S., Tatarsky, A., & Steen, J. T. (2021). Antiracist addiction treatment requires decriminalization and harm reduction.History of the Racist War on Drugs and Proposed Policy Solutions. NASW New Jersey and Drug Policy Alliance, online.

Professional Affiliations and Memberships

2024-current: Faculty Affiliate. Simmons University, School of Social Work: Center for Innovation in Behavioral Health Education and Research (CIBER).

2024-current: Addictions Track Co-Chair. Council on Social Work Education, Annual Program Meeting.

2017-current: Affiliated Investigator. New York University, School of Global Public Health, Center of HIV Research.

2021-current: Review Board Member. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions.

2021-current: Peer Reviewer. Harm Reduction Journal, Families in Society, and Clinical Social Work Journal. 

2000-current: Member. National Association of Social Workers.
 

Awards

• 2024: Red Cross, Disaster Mental Health, 10 Years of Voluntary Service.
• 2024: Simmons University, Hazel Dick Leonard Faculty Fellowship. 
• 2023-2024: American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, Academy Mentor Match Program.Dr. Diana DiNitto, University of Texas at Austin.