The psychosocial perspective serves as the primary guide in shaping the human behavior in the social environment (HBSE) curriculum.
Image
![A faculty member sits in a classroom in conversation with three students.](/sites/default/files/styles/body_media_image/public/images/2023-04/SMS_5695_final.jpg?itok=xc0_kGNm)
Courses focus on bodies of knowledge and theory that help to explain the intimate and extended contexts that shape human development and experience, explore the inner lives and psychological functioning of children and adults and explain the complex interactions between person and context.
Content on individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities, culture, social structure and political and economic forces—as well as on the relationships among various groupings—is all an integral part of the HBSE curriculum.
Sequence Chair and Faculty
![Peggy O'Neill headshot](/sites/default/files/styles/faculty_teaser_image/public/images/2023-02/P_Oneill-1355_0.jpg?h=5f8a0366&itok=T9xpjlRO)
Peggy O'Neill, Ph.D., LCSW
Associate Professor | Chair of HBSE Sequence
Peggy O’Neill, Ph.D., LICSW, LCSW (she/her) identifies as a white cisgender woman and is a resident faculty member at Smith SSW. O’Neill was a senior lecturer…
![Headshot of Erin Baer](/sites/default/files/styles/faculty_teaser_image/public/images/2024-05/Screenshot%202024-05-15%20at%203.53.21%20PM.png?h=0cb28902&itok=Ch7W3huc)
Erin Baer, M.S.W., LCSW
Adjunct Professor
Erin Baer is a licensed clinical social worker who holds an M.S.W. from Fordham University and a B.A. from NYU. Currently, she is a professor at Bank Street…
![Smith SSW monogram logo in brown reading Smith College SSW](/sites/default/files/styles/faculty_teaser_image/public/images/2023-03/bio_no_photo.png?h=be9c4f6d&itok=RJv6deKA)
Catherine Balletto, M.S.W., Ph.D.
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Catherine Balletto, M.S.W., Ph.D., earned her B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Starting off as an art therapist, she established a…
![Smith SSW monogram logo in brown reading Smith College SSW](/sites/default/files/styles/faculty_teaser_image/public/images/2023-03/bio_no_photo.png?h=be9c4f6d&itok=RJv6deKA)
Chelsey Branham, M.A.
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Chelsey Branham (she/they, Chickasaw/Cherokee/Pawnee) is the owner and CEO of One Whole Village Consulting, LLC. She specializes in transformational equity in…