Bassima Schbley

MSW, Ph.D., BSW, Assistant Professor

Bassima Schbley, MSW, Ph.D., was born in Beirut, Lebanon. She is the mother of two children, Sean and Oliver. Dr. Schbley joined the Social Work Department at Washburn University after serving as a visiting assistant professor of Social Work at Wichita State University. Dr. Schbley was the first director of the GoZones! program at Inter-Faith Ministries in Wichita, an after-school program for children living in at-risk neighborhoods. She was also the VISTA supervisor at Communities In Schools (CIS), which connects students in schools with community resources and helps students successfully learn and prepare for life. Bassima holds masters' degrees in Gerontology and Social Work, and her undergraduate degree is in social work. Bassima received her Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Utah.

Dr. Schbley is a member of the Governor's Executive Committee on the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and a 1^st Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve. She is also the Vice President, Phi Beta Delta, honor society for international scholars and international faculty members.  Her scholarly and research interests include women's and children's issues. She has made four international, four national/regional, and 50 state/local professional presentations in the past five years.

Dr. Schbley provides workshops to foster parents and staff at The Farm, Inc. (TFI). The workshops include how to care for children with PTSD, children in foster care, suicide prevention, and family-centered and culturally competent care. TFI Family Services, Inc., is a private, nonprofit organization that is dedicated to doing what makes sense for children and families through a diverse range of behavioral healthcare, child welfare and community-based services.  

Some of Dr. Schbley's publications include:

• Socioeconomic factors in hormone replacement therapy. Journal of Women and Aging, 21.
• Schbley, B. (2008). Women and civil rights: Religious authority and female oppression. Saarbrucken, Germany: VDM Verlag Dr. Muller. (Reprint of Attitudes toward women in religious resurgency: The effects of Islamic resurgence on Muslim Lebanese women's freedom. Doctoral dissertation, University of Utah, 2004).
• Schbley, B., & Kaufman, M. (2006/07). Social work practice with Arab Muslim women living in Western societies. Journal of Practice Teaching & Learning, 7, 25-38.

Dr. Schbley just completed a quantitative study (Attitudes Toward Lebanese Women in Religious Resurgence: A study of 284 university students). She is hoping to publish it in The Journal of Religion and Politics.  In addition, she reviews various books for the Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic.  Dr. Schbley's  life goal is to change lives through her teaching and her practice of social work in the community.