Paul Johnson

Professor of Social Work, University of Southern Maine

Chapter Member: Maine SSN

Areas of Expertise:

Children & Families

Connect with Paul

(207) 780-4438

Faculty Page

About Paul

Johnson has taught in the School of Social Work for the past 25 years. His teaching experience includes the areas of social work practice, social welfare policy, research, fieldwork, and groupwork. Johnson has co-authored three books, Empowering Children Through Art and Expression, Contemporary Field Social Work, and Collective Trauma and Human Suffering. He has also published over 60 articles and presented at numerous national and international conferences. He has been a member of IASWG since 1998 and for the past 13 years been a member of the editorial board of Groupwork.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | Member Spotlight | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Critical Thinking

Commentary, February 2025

In the News

Opinion: "UMaine System Unified Accreditation: The Big Myth," Paul Johnson (with Lisa M. Botshon), Perspectives, MEA, December 21, 2022.

Publications

Collective Trauma and Human Suffering: Energizing Systematic Change through Collective Healing Action (with Bruce St. Thomas and Marie Sheffield). (Cognella Publishers, 2024).

Provides readers with a compassionate and research based framework for collective healing in an increasingly fragmented world. Acknowledges how the traumatic uprising of colonization and industrial civilizations has subverted our foundational, social, and cultural knowledge of being human in favor of political, military and materialistic needs for control and supremacy.

"Community/Social Action Groupwork in Indigenous and Rural Communities Zimbabwe Summer 2019" Groupwork 29, no. 3 (2021): 96-102.

Describes the author's experiences attending the IASWG Symposium in South Africa in 2018 and later visiting Zimbabwe in 2019. Discusses the impactful work of the IMVELO organization in supporting three rural schools in Hwange National Park. Highlights the positive effects of groupwork in these communities, including cooperation, sustainability, and empowerment.

"The Kindness Group" (with Kim Lamothe). Groupwork 29, no. 3 (2021): 86-95.

Discusses a BSW student's Capstone Project at the University of Southern Maine. Highlights the development of the "Kindness Group", which included activities like designing posters, Twin and Triplets Day, and a Tulip Project dedicated to mental health awareness. The project aimed to foster empathy and inclusivity among students.

Contemporary Field Social Work: Integrating Field and Classroom Experience (with Mark Doel and Steven M. Shardlow). (Sage Publishing, 2010).

Offers learning activities that can be used in both classroom and field settings. Topics include ethical dilemmas, multicultural practice, evidence and knowledge, making assessments in partnership, making priorities in interventions, working in and with groups, and law informed practice.

Empowering Children through Art and Expression Culturally Sensitive Ways of Healing Trauma and Grief (with Bruce St. Thomas). (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2007).

Equips the reader with knowledge of the theory behind the use of different media, including play, storytelling, drama, art and sculpture, and is grounded in the author's experience of practice, running peer support groups and outreach programs for children. Includes case examples drawn from daily practice, including children's own writing and drawing.