Laura Taylor

Contributing Faculty
College of Social and Behavioral Health
Barbara Solomon School of Social Work
Master of Social Work (MSW)

Dr. Laura C Taylor is a contributing faculty member at Walden University. She received her PhD in Clinical Social Work from The Institute for Clinical Social Work and a Master of Social Work Degree from Loyola University. In addition, she has an undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Taylor has 25 years of post-master practice experience and has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker since 2001.

Dr. Taylor is trained in psychodynamic therapy and has been in private practice since 2009. Her practice specializes in supporting the mental wellness of African-American women. Dr. Taylor also provides supervision (concentrating on deepening the understanding and practice of clinical processes and techniques) to social workers seeking clinical licensure. In addition, she is the Clinical Director of a maternal mental health agency. Lastly, Dr. Taylor has taught in higher education, specializing in advanced clinical practice and supervision courses since 2011.

Before relocating to Memphis, TN, she lived in Chicago, IL. Dr. Taylor spent a year with the Childcare Network of Evanston, two years with the Jane Addams Hull House Association, and eight years as a school social worker in Evanston/Skokie District 65.

Dr. Taylor’s research interests involve race-based mental health disparities, African-American infertility, and clinical supervision. Lastly, Dr. Taylor has nine published peer-reviewed articles and has been an invited speaker locally and nationally.

Courses Taught

SOCW 6111 - Advanced Clinical Practice I

SWLB 0652 - Social Work Skills Lab II

Education

BA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

MSW, Loyola University Chicago

PhD, The Institute for Clinical Social Work

Awards / Honors

2022 Field Educator Prize for Excellence in Field Education Scholarship, Simmons University, 2022

Junior Faculty Award, Council on Social Work Education, 2020

Publications

Simmons, L., Taylor, L. C., Anderson, K., Neely-Barnes, S. (2018). Comparative experiences of first generation and continuing generation social work students. Journal of Social Work Education

Delavega, E., Neely-Barnes, S., Elswick, S. E., Taylor, L. C., Pettet, F., Landry, M. (2019). Preparing social work students for interprofessional team practice in health care settings. Research on Social Work Practice

Zanskas, S., Brasfield, M., Landry, M., Taylor, L. C., Delavega, E., Neely-Barnes, S. (2022). Interprofessional training: Graduate counseling and social work student preparation for integrated behavioral healthcare settings. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work

Brasfield, M., Taylor, L. C., Pirkey, P., Neely-Barnes, S., Zanskas, S., Delavega, E., Landry, M. (2022). Reflective supervision training model: Impact on supervisory working alliance.. Field Educator

Taylor, L. C. (2018). The Experience of Infertility Among African American Couples. Journal of African American Studies

Taylor, L. C., Delavega, E., Jin, S., Neely-Barnes, S., Elswick, S. E. (2019). The prevalence and correlates of food insecurity among students at a multi-campus university. Journal of Poverty

Neely-Barnes, S., Kirk, B. G., Elswick, S. E., Taylor, L. C., Delavega, E., Pettet, F. L., Landry, M. (2019). Training second year MSW students to improve cultural and linguistic competence. Research on Social Work Practice

Elswick, S. E., Casey, L. B., Delgado, D. M., Crutchfield, J., Cuellar, M., Seemann, D., Taylor, L. C., Rudd, L., Simmons, L. (2021). Using a Multi-tiered systems of supports framework as the foundation for overlaying trauma-informed practices: A pilot study in one urban school district. School Social Work Journal

Presentations

Taylor, L. C. (2021). A Model of Social Work Supervision. University of Memphis School of Social Work

Taylor, L. C. (2022). Best Practices in Supervision: Recommendations for Enhancing The Supervisory Experience. NASW

Taylor, L. C. (2022). Telemental Health in Integrated Care Settings.