Certificate in Sport Social Work | Combined Lifespan Track

Summary

Understanding and supporting athletes and their overall health and welfare has been a prominent specialty service area that social workers have formally and informally navigated for decades. And today, the need for sports social workers with advanced training has never been more requested across sport settings (youth, collegiate, professional, and geriatric). Research currently suggests that: (1) athletes engage in sport across the lifespan to foster a greater sense of belonging and social connection; (2) athlete mental health needs are increasing and licensed, mental health providers are needed to meet this growing demand; and (3) athletes are using their platform to address social injustices and bring awareness to longstanding disparities across our country. As established agents of change, social workers uphold the profession's mission and core values, while having an expansive scope of practice to improve outcomes for individuals, communities, and the larger society.

In addition to the live schedule, program includes 30 hours of recorded lectures:

- Overview: History of Sport Social Work
- Impact of Current Culture on Adolescent Mental Health
- Adjustment/Transition into College Athletics
- Integrated Health in Sports Settings
- Adolescent Mental Health & Wellness
- Sports & Body Image: Identifying Risks and Recommendations for Clinical Intervention
- Subclinical Eating Disorders
- Body Image and Perfectionism
- Grief and Loss Support
- Psychopharmacology and Navigating USADA & WADA, Drug Testing
- Multidisciplinary Eating Disorders Team
- Impact of Sport Specialization on Development and Injury
- Parent-Coach-Player Dynamics
- Safe Sport
- Conflict Resolution and Mediation
- Bullying and Harassment Prevention
- Understanding Racial Diversity and Social Justice in Sports
- Team Building and Leadership Development
- Injury: Loss of Identity
- Ensuring Healthy Development for Youth through Sport and Recreation
- Behavior Activation
- Intro to Sport Psychology
- Sport Psychology: Basic Skills, Preparatory Skills, Performance Skills
- ADHD vs. Anxiety: Neuropsychology and Attentional Interference in Athletics
- Sleep and Sport
- Differences Between Coaching and Support
- Performance Anxiety
- LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in Sports
- Athletes Connected: Developing Community-Based Programming
- Everybody Gets an Opportunity: Ability
- Critical Research Perspectives for Contemporary Sport Culture
- Post Concussion Care
- Transitioning Out of Sport
- Sports in Older Adults: Once an Athlete, Always an Athlete
- Navigating the Media's Response to an Athlete's Game
- Macro Social Work Practice in Collegiate Sport

Identify three essential skills to why coaches are a key part to student athlete outcomes
Define next steps in sport social work and the emerging need in the sport industry.
Describe the benefits of experiential learning opportunities within sport.
Identify major historical steps in the development of sport social work.
Describe current mental health programs and their missions and structures.
Name two instrumental social justice moments in sport that contributed to global changes.
Outline gaps in sport social work research and growth trends for the field.
Describe the unique mental health and performance needs of LGBTQ+ athletes.
Describe the impact of community/teams on inclusion of LGBTQ+ athletes.
Describe considerations for building an integrated health team to effectively address an athlete’s medical needs.
Describe pathways to leadership in sport for social workers.
Describe how to use behavior activation to improve an athlete's outcomes.
Identify considerations for responding to the demand and need for clinical services after implementing outreach and education programs.
Use culturally-responsive language and engagement strategies for addressing body image and perfectionism in sport.
Associate physiological and psychological aspects of sports performance.
Describe the impact of concussion management on athletes, coaches, team, and other support staff.
Evaluate an athlete's transition out of sport, considering the impact on identity, and stages of grief and loss.
Describe how aging impacts older adults’ experience of being a sports participant or fan.
Identify three interventions that can reconnect older adults with involvement in sports.
Describe strategies to identify and address eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors across the spectrum of care.
Identify risk factors and assess for potential disordered eating in athletes, encouraging athletes to get help proactively.
Identify the diagnostic criteria, symptoms, and course of treatment for insomnia/delayed sleep-wake disorders.
Outline drug testing protocols and banned substances, and identify resources to help athletes mitigate risk around banned substances.
Describe the role of sport psychologists and identify common issues sport psychologists help athletes address.
Outline best practices on working in multidisciplinary eating disorder teams.
Describe the relationships between ADHD and student-athlete functioning
Outline three different phases of mental skills training.
Implement best practice mental health crisis intervention assessment and intervention models within an organization.
Describe a framework for eliminating self-defeating attitudes.
Describe strategies for helping athletes navigate developmental changes from adolescence to adulthood.
Complete a biopsychosocial history using the Bronfenbrenner's ecological model from an athletic perspective.
Describe how a sports medicine team works closely together to improve student-athlete outcomes.
Identify three ways to support and enhance skills to work with adolescents and youth experiencing grief and loss in their lives.
Identify subclinical factors for eating disorders and disordered eating in athletes.
Describe effective communication and conflict resolution strategies for managing relationships among parents, coaches, and young athletes.
Describe the process to report abuse through the identified national organization for minor athletes.
Describe three strategies for recognizing and responding to bullying and harassment.
Describe three ways to effectively increase team cohesion, peer relationships, and understanding of individual differences in order to produce results and a healthy environment.
Describe how social media impacts youth social, emotional, and developmental interaction with the world around them.
Describe three strategies to help parents and athletes in finding balance outside of sport culture.
Describe ways in which the role of coaching and support systems can work together to produce improved outcomes.
Identify ways that mental health manifests in athletes differently from the non-athlete population.
Distinguish between a performance and mental health intake and what is important to capture when working with athletes on performance enhancement.
Describe positive and negative mental and physical impacts of sport on youth, and the effect coaches have on youth athlete development in and out of sport.
Apply theories of identity development, resources, and treatment options to assist with transition management and adjustment disorders.
Identify three key issues related to athletes are specializing in sports at a younger ages.
Describe two effective strategies for implementing sport performance work geared towards youth.
Identify three keys difference mental performance coaching in youth athletes vs young adult/adult athletes.
Identify two inclusive and accepting sports environment for LGBTQ+ youth and addressing related challenges.
Describe the history of the LGBTQ+ culture in sports over the past 4 decades, changes that have enhanced inclusion, as well as national organizations available to help support LGBTQ+ athletes in the United States.
Describe two ways in which athletes can utilize substances.
Describe why there is an increase in substance use among athletes.
Identify signs of substance abuse in youth athletes.
Describe intervention techniques for substance use and the process of referral to appropriate treatment programs.
Differentiate between adolescent athletes' and adult athletes' mental health needs.
Identify tools to help youth athletes cope with loss.
Describe trends within sport regarding signs and symptoms of abuse.
Describe two ways in which conflict arises within teams, between players and coaches, as well as parents, players and coaches.
Apply conflict resolution skills to help manage disputes within teams and between athletes.
Identify methods for fostering teamwork leadership skills and positive peer relationships among athletes.
Identify three key understandings in working with athletes of different abilities and how to effectively build trust and enhance support within these populations.
Describe two strategies for helping athletes navigate technology and social media.

Agenda

Date	Time	Description
June 26, 2024	3:00pm - 4:00pm	Intro to the Sports Social Work Certificate Program
June 26, 2024	4:00pm - 5:00pm	Understanding Athlete Health Needs
July 10, 2024	3:00pm - 5:00pm	Treatment Needs: Managing Mental Health Crises with Athletes
July 17, 2024	3:00pm - 4:00pm	Self Defeating Attitudes and Behaviors
July 17, 2024	4:00pm - 5:00pm	Developing Healthy Relationships
July 24, 2024	3:00pm - 5:00pm	Alcohol and Athletics: Two Things that Do Not Mix
July 31, 2024	3:00pm - 4:00pm	Lessons Learned from a Interprofessional Team in Sports Medicine
July 31, 2024	4:00pm - 5:00pm	Working in Collaboration with Coaches
August 7, 2024	3:00pm - 4:00pm	Importance of Internships and Fellowships within Sport
August 7, 2024	4:00pm - 5:00pm	Future of Sports Social Work
August 8, 2024	4:00pm - 5:00pm	Future of Sports Social Work

Date

Time

Description

June 26, 2024

3:00pm - 4:00pm

Intro to the Sports Social Work Certificate Program

June 26, 2024

4:00pm - 5:00pm

Understanding Athlete Health Needs

July 10, 2024

3:00pm - 5:00pm

Treatment Needs: Managing Mental Health Crises with Athletes