Staff Perspective: Expanding the Pathways Program – Exploring a Career as a Military Social Worker
Since 2015, the Center for Deployment Psychology has been providing learning opportunities for doctoral students in clinical or counseling psychology interested in joining the military and serving military patients through a program called “Pathways to Preparing for a Psychology Career in the Military”. Initially created as an in-person, week-long training event, the Summer Institute is held each year during either June or July on the campus of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) in Bethesda, Maryland. This location is ideal as it provides participants with exposure to a military base as well as the USU campus.
In 2021, a second version of the program was created offering a three-day virtual option in early January. This Winter Institute extends many of the same components as the summer version but provides more flexibility by utilizing an online format and reducing the number of training days. Together the two training events present a unique opportunity for graduate students in psychology to explore components of a military psychology career prior to applying for an internship. Along the way, many students have successfully secured military, VA, and veteran-affiliated internships.
In 2024, the program will expand once again. For the first time, both the Summer and Winter Institutes will now be open to graduate students studying social work as well as psychology. Like past iterations, participants will be afforded the opportunity to interact with prior and current military behavioral health providers through didactics, panel presentations, and small group discussions. However, with the inclusion of social workers, participants will learn alongside students from other disciplines enhancing the breadth of the experience.
Given this latest expansion, the program has been renamed “Pathways to Military Behavioral Health Careers” and will be structured in such a way that some modules will be presented to the combined group of social work and psychology participants and others will be broken out by discipline. A highlight of the program will be for each group to hear from training directors or military leaders in their respective discipline offering insight into unique mental health career opportunities available in the US Army, Air Force, and Navy.
Didactic presentations will include:
- Introduction of military culture
- Unique assessments utilized within DoD settings
- Deployment cycle stress, family challenges, and clinical problems experienced by military members
- Ethical dilemmas faced by providers working with military patients
Winter Institute 2024
The Winter Institute will be held on 8-10 January and the program anticipates about 60 participants for this inaugural combined course. The application period is now closed.
Summer Institute 2024
The Summer Institute will run from 22-26 July. Applications will be accepted beginning in January 2024. For the in-person Summer Institute, the CDP covers hotel costs for students during the program, but attendees are responsible for all other travel and expenses. This summer there will be 40 slots for qualified students. Upon completion of the course, students will also be given a coupon so they can take one of CDP’s online EBPs for free.
There is no cost to apply to or attend either the Summer or Winter Institute. Ideal candidates are individuals seriously considering a career serving military clients as a uniformed provider.
For more information, visit the Pathways section of the CDP website.
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of Defense.
April Thompson, LCSW, is the Assistant Director of Special Projects for the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland. In that capacity, she is responsible for coordinating with stakeholders across the Department of Defense to develop trainings in response to identified needs.
Since 2015, the Center for Deployment Psychology has been providing learning opportunities for doctoral students in clinical or counseling psychology interested in joining the military and serving military patients through a program called “Pathways to Preparing for a Psychology Career in the Military”. Initially created as an in-person, week-long training event, the Summer Institute is held each year during either June or July on the campus of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) in Bethesda, Maryland. This location is ideal as it provides participants with exposure to a military base as well as the USU campus.
In 2021, a second version of the program was created offering a three-day virtual option in early January. This Winter Institute extends many of the same components as the summer version but provides more flexibility by utilizing an online format and reducing the number of training days. Together the two training events present a unique opportunity for graduate students in psychology to explore components of a military psychology career prior to applying for an internship. Along the way, many students have successfully secured military, VA, and veteran-affiliated internships.
In 2024, the program will expand once again. For the first time, both the Summer and Winter Institutes will now be open to graduate students studying social work as well as psychology. Like past iterations, participants will be afforded the opportunity to interact with prior and current military behavioral health providers through didactics, panel presentations, and small group discussions. However, with the inclusion of social workers, participants will learn alongside students from other disciplines enhancing the breadth of the experience.
Given this latest expansion, the program has been renamed “Pathways to Military Behavioral Health Careers” and will be structured in such a way that some modules will be presented to the combined group of social work and psychology participants and others will be broken out by discipline. A highlight of the program will be for each group to hear from training directors or military leaders in their respective discipline offering insight into unique mental health career opportunities available in the US Army, Air Force, and Navy.
Didactic presentations will include:
- Introduction of military culture
- Unique assessments utilized within DoD settings
- Deployment cycle stress, family challenges, and clinical problems experienced by military members
- Ethical dilemmas faced by providers working with military patients
Winter Institute 2024
The Winter Institute will be held on 8-10 January and the program anticipates about 60 participants for this inaugural combined course. The application period is now closed.
Summer Institute 2024
The Summer Institute will run from 22-26 July. Applications will be accepted beginning in January 2024. For the in-person Summer Institute, the CDP covers hotel costs for students during the program, but attendees are responsible for all other travel and expenses. This summer there will be 40 slots for qualified students. Upon completion of the course, students will also be given a coupon so they can take one of CDP’s online EBPs for free.
There is no cost to apply to or attend either the Summer or Winter Institute. Ideal candidates are individuals seriously considering a career serving military clients as a uniformed provider.
For more information, visit the Pathways section of the CDP website.
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of Defense.
April Thompson, LCSW, is the Assistant Director of Special Projects for the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland. In that capacity, she is responsible for coordinating with stakeholders across the Department of Defense to develop trainings in response to identified needs.