Alumni in the Field
Eunice Miller, MSW
You might have known her as Eunice Miller when she was your classmate in the social work program or when she was on the Alumni Curriculum Committee with you, but now she is known as the “Plain Wrapper”- the host of a national radio show that is on the VoiceAmerica network.
The show is about Seduction and Function. It is about pioneering solutions for today’s sexual issues: the interplay of intimacy, sexuality, commitment and love. With her expert and celebrity guests, psychologists, social workers, authors, audience call ins, and emails, Eunice explores what is new and what works. Her guests say, “being on the show with Eunice is always fun.” Her listeners, who are multiplying as the word gets out, say, “I learn something every time and bring it back for dinner table discussion. Some of the topics are HOT so people pay attention to what I am reporting.”
How did an alumna from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work (the former name) train for this career? In an interview at the Inn at Penn, Eunice shared her enthusiasm about her career path, and said, “Penn trains you not just for your first job, but for your job way down the road. At Penn, I learned a way of understanding issues, whether in a person, a couple, a family, or in society.” She recounted how her career path began when she worked at what was then the Philadelphia Department of Welfare. There, she worked under the direction of Florence Silverblatt who was a Penn School of Social Work enthusiast. She endorsed Eunice attending Penn under a Fellowship plan.
Eunice, now the mother of three grown daughters, laughs when she recalls how that job required her to work with foster mothers around the children in their care. At that time, she knew nothing about the kind of effort it required to care for babies and she realized later that her expectations for people caring for five babies were totally unreasonable.
Eunice moved on to working with couples at Bucks County Family Service and started a family of her own three daughters in rapid succession. She found, however, there was a hole in her training: the accepted idea was that if there was a sexual problem it was a reflection of a relationship problem, and so you work on that. But as Eunice explains, “That’s like saying, ‘if your roof is leaking, call the electrician.’ I worked to fill in the gaps. I did some training with Masters and Johnson, joined the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists, and interned at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Center. I was able to balance family life with a career by being in private practice offering marriage, sex, and family therapy. I also got involved in public issues. I was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force on Divorce Reform and had the satisfaction of helping to get a No Fault Divorce Bill passed.”
Ruth Rovner, a local writer, dubbed Eunice “Dr. Sex” as she became known for some of her innovative ways of helping couples with their sexual issues. She tackled female lack of desire by reframing it as women trying to have sex the same way as men, and finding their bodies didn’t work in the same way, leading them to withdraw from sexual activity. She gave it the tongue in cheek diagnosis “Male Dominance Dysfunction.”
She used to be asked, “Does your husband know what you do?” She now can happily answer, “Yes, he is one of my most devoted listeners.”
To listen to Eunice Miller’s Plain Wrapper, tune into www.voiceamerica.com. The show is broadcast live on Thursdays at 1:00pm, and all shows can be heard on demand or at www.eunicemiller.com.
Eunice invites alumni and students to suggest ideas for shows, be a guest, call in questions, or join her chat room about the shows or social issues.