The Center for Deployment Psychology’s Pathways to Military Behavioral Health Careers program is aimed at graduate clinical social work students and early-career social workers not yet licensed who are considering joining the U.S. military. It runs concurrently with a similar program for clinical and counseling psychology doctoral students. The program is intended to prepare social workers for military service while also being a valued training source.
Application Requirements:
● Students must complete an application
● Be a U.S. citizen
● Enrolled in or have completed a CSWE-accredited MSW program
Program Goals:
This training is designed to raise awareness of what it would be like to serve as a military social worker, providing first-hand knowledge of military culture and the work of social workers serving in uniform. Participants cultivate valuable military insights that increase their competitiveness toward being selected for military service. The program provides participants with the opportunity to:
● Gain knowledge about military social workers’ clinical activities, roles and responsibilities
● Learn about presenting problems most common among military personnel and evidence-based strategies to treat them
● Develop skills for working with military clients consistent with evidence-based practice and conceptualizing cases through a cognitive-behavioral framework
● Discover how military life affects not only the service member but also the family system
Curriculum Highlights:
● Didactics on military values and military- and deployment-related topics
● Interactive panels with military social work leaders and presentations from military social workers in different phases of their careers
● Discussions about ethics, assessment, and clinical practice unique to military providers
● Networking opportunities with peers from across the U.S. pursuing a military behavioral health career
Questions can be emailed to Hakimah Campbell at hakimah.campbell.ctr@usuhs.edu.