March Alumnus Spotlight - Myrna Orenstein, PhD
Class of 1992: PhD program in clinical social work
Current Residence: Evanston, IL
"Dr. Myrna Orenstein is a private practitioner working in Evanston, Illinois. At this time, she is consulting and teaching but limiting her practice to current patients. Over the years she has presented at schools, mental health and learning disability organizations and also at meetings and in classes of several universities about the post traumatic effects of living with diagnosed and undiagnosed learning disabilities. She had several interviews on television about her book “Smart but Stuck” which was originally published in 2000, was translated into Chinese and is now in its 3rd edition. At the present time she is teaching and supervising students in China through the Chinese American Psychoanalytic Alliance.
Dr. Orenstein worked for a time as a hypnotherapist, but in 1988 felt there was so much more to learn about psychodynamic psychotherapy. So, with the encouragement of her mentor and supervisor, Joe Palombo, she enrolled at the Institute for Clinical Social Work in 1982 as a member of ICSW’s fifth PhD cohort and received her doctorate in 1992.
Attending ICSW, with its psychodynamic orientation, opened a new world for her. Memories from meaningful supervisors like Joe Palombo, Connie Goldberg, and Patrick Curtiss, coupled with wonderful classes like “The philosophy of theory” taught by Carolyn Saari, provided the opportunity for professional growth that continues to influence her current work.
Dr. Orenstein is also grateful to ICSW for giving her the opportunity to embark on a dissertation process that enhanced her professional life. Because she has learning disabilities herself, she decided to explore people’s experiences growing up with undiagnosed learning gaps/disabilities. Through the dissertation process, she uncovered a world of smart, successful, resilient people who live with self-esteem issues due to the post -traumatic stress caused by impossible educational demands. What she found surprised her. For example, one in five children in this country are neurodivergent. So, one can imagine how many adults struggle with this divergence. Feeling great at memorizing multiplication tables but blindsided by being unable to read a simple sentence is confusing and demoralizing and can lead to the shame of hitting a brick wall with no seeming solution in sight.
What was also astounding was the gap in the literature, which addressed the mechanics of learning disabilities but not the psychological consequences. Being encouraged by her study participants and mentors, “Smart but Stuck” was born. Dr. Orenstein’s website, smartbutstuck.com, provides a vehicle for individuals from other countries as well as here in the United States for communicating and sharing their stories with her. There is hardly anything more gratifying than hearing from people who can finally make sense of these traumatic experiences and can forge an informed path forward.
Dr. Orenstein would encourage any prospective student who is interested in learning within a safe, supportive environment to contact ICSW because it could expand their professional lives in new endeavors not otherwise possible."