Sheila P. Vakharia
Assistant Professor
Social Work
Long Island University
United States of America
Biography
Sheila Vakharia earned her doctorate at Florida International University’s School of Social Work. She received her Master’s in Social Work from Binghamton University and a Post-Master’s Certificate in the Addictions from New York University. She was most recently employed as a social worker at a grassroots HIV/AIDS and homelessness advocacy organization in Manhattan, where she provided harm reduction-based substance use counseling, facilitated harm reduction support groups, and conducted quality assurance activities. She was also a SIFI certified field instructor for B.S.W. students from New York University at that time. Prior to that, she worked at an OASAS-licensed rural outpatient substance use treatment facility where she conducted diagnostic assessments, made level-of-care treatment determinations, and facilitated aftercare groups for individuals with co-occurring disorders.
Research Interest
Substance use; Ethical issues in the treatment of substance “abuse”; Harm reduction interventions; Drug user stigma; Overdose prevention, Social work education; Drug policy; The disease construction of addiction
Publications
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Sexual violence in the context of drug use among young adult nonmedical users of prescription opioids in New York City
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Improving internet searches for community resources by persons diagnosed with mental disorders.
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Starting where the client is: Harm reduction guidelines for clinical social work practice.
