Anthany Beasley, MSW '15 shares about his practice working with LGBTQIA+ folks in Ypsilanti, Michigan
The Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Pathway focuses on total health and the connection between physical, mental and behavioral health. Integrated health care creates a comprehensive approach toward caring for people in need, resulting in both higher quality care and improved outcomes for each individual. Our pathway also encourages interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities and collaborations to prepare social workers to work as effective integrated health team members. This pathway prepares students to be practice-ready for interpersonal social work with individuals, families and groups in a broad range of health care settings.
Social workers in integrated health care work in clinics, agencies and health care systems, as well as on collaborative teams in health and behavior care sectors. The shift from segmented to integrated health care provides social workers the opportunity to not only contribute but also to lead health care teams. Social workers in integrated health care use their expertise to treat the whole person, rather than focusing on individual illnesses or behavioral health issues. Employment of mental health and substance abuse social workers is projected to grow 17 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Potential careers include:
In the MSW program, some of the most important learning occurs outside of the classroom. Field placement is a supervised internship at an organization that provides the hands-on, real-world training portion of the curriculum.
Field placements might include:
Please see course planning worksheets for a full list of courses associated with this pathway.
University of Michigan's School of Social Work (U-M SSW) is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation (COA), of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Accreditation is a system of recognizing educational programs as having a level of performance and quality that gain them the confidence of the educational community and the public. You can read more about the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards here.
At U-M SSW, each pathway has specialized competencies that describe the knowledge, values, skills, and cognitive and affective processes that comprise the competency in each pathway area.
Social workers demonstrate the ability to apply ethical social work principles and critical thinking to products and work produced. Social workers understand the role of emotional intelligence and professional resilience in professional and ethical practice. Social workers understand the role of other professionals when engaged in interprofessional teams within their areas of specialization. Social workers recognize the importance of life-long learning and ways that supervision and consultation can support continued development.
Social workers understand how diversity and difference characterize and shape the human experience and are critical to the formation of identity. The dimensions of diversity are understood as the intersectionality of multiple factors including but not limited to age, class, color, culture, disability and ability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, marital status, political ideology, race, religion/spirituality, sex, sexual orientation, and tribal sovereign status. Social workers understand that, as a consequence of difference, a person’s life experiences may include oppression, poverty, marginalization, and alienation as well as privilege, power, and acclaim. Social workers also understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination and recognize the extent to which a culture’s structures and values, including social, economic, political, and cultural exclusions, may oppress, marginalize, alienate, or create privilege and power.
Social workers apply their understanding of social, economic and environmental justice to advocate for the human right to have equal opportunity for optimal health and access to quality health care.
Social workers understand quantitative and qualitative research methods and their respective roles in advancing a science of social work and in evaluating their practice. Social workers know the principles of logic, scientific inquiry, and culturally informed and ethical approaches to building knowledge.
Social workers understand how to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, economic, and/or environmental justice through the application of critical thinking skills. Social workers are able to identify how current events are linked to policy issues, how to critically analyze and understand policy implications, and apply strategies to engage in policy practice that effect change and advocate for clients.
Social workers understand that engagement is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with, and on behalf of, diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers value the importance of human relationships. Social workers understand theories of human behavior and the social environment, and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge to facilitate engagement with clients and constituencies, including individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers understand strategies to engage diverse clients and constituencies to advance practice effectiveness.
Social workers understand that assessment is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with and on behalf of diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers understand the theories of human behavior and the social environment, and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge in the assessment of diverse clients and constituencies.
Social workers understand that intervention is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with, and on behalf of, diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers are knowledgeable about evidence-informed interventions to achieve the goals of clients and constituencies, including individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers understand theories of human behavior and the social environment, and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge to effectively intervene with clients and constituencies. Social workers understand methods of identifying, analyzing and implementing evidence-informed interventions to achieve client and constituency goals. Social workers value the importance of interprofessional teamwork and communication in interventions, recognizing that beneficial outcomes may require interdisciplinary, interprofessional, and inter-organizational collaboration.
Social workers understand that evaluation is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with, and on behalf of, diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers recognize the importance of evaluating processes and outcomes to advance practice, policy, and service delivery effectiveness. Social workers understand theories of human behavior and the social environment, and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge in evaluating outcomes.
The graduate courses listed below have been taken by previous MSW students or have been identified as being of possible interest to students in this pathway and can be taken to fulfill Pathway Required Electives. On the course planning worksheet, information regarding Pathway Required Electives is included.
There are many other courses not listed below that may be of interest and may also meet the elective requirement. If you identify a pathway-related course not listed below that you want to take to meet your Pathway Required Electives (rather than simply an elective), please contact the Technical Advisors ([email protected]) for approval.
Interest in courses numbered below 500 should be checked for graduate-level status since many are offered for undergraduate credit only. You can check this by contacting the department offering the course or contacting the SSW registrar ([email protected]).
In addition, some courses may be restricted, require prerequisites, not be open to social work students, and/or require instructor permission. If you encounter problems registering for these courses, please contact the department offering the course. The SSW registrar will not be able to assist with registration in outside courses because these courses are not offered by the SSW.
The courses listed below are offered in various semesters. To see if a course is offered in the term you are interested please check the SSW list of outside courses, the website of the department offering the course, or the Wolverine Access Class Search page.
If you want to use one of these non-School of Social Work courses to fulfill the Interpersonal Practice in Health, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Required Electives (SWrIP), you will need to fill out a course substitution to receive approval. In the "Rationale for Substitution" box you should reference this page.
"People told me as a kid that I should be a therapist," says Jazz McGinnis. "I was good at listening and making connections between people. It was that seed that led me to pursue social work as a career." After earning a BA in Sociology from the University of Oregon, Jazz worked in many community health settings, including a federally qualified health center in Portland, OR. "I've always had a passion for serving individuals from marginalized populations," Jazz says. "The last clinic I worked at provided care to people who were experiencing homelessness and/or were unstably housed. A large proportion of these folks were LGBTQ and people of color." He recalls of his clinical work, "I was a part of a primary care team that included doctors, nurse practitioners, naturopaths, social workers, medical assistants, and lab staff that delivered the holistic health care that our patients deserved. I knew that, if I wanted to be a part of a team like that as a behavioral health provider, I needed to get a social work education that taught me to be medical social worker on an interdisciplinary health care team."
Jazz chose the U-M School of Social Work for its Integrated Health Program. "I wanted the best education so that I could go out and provide the best patient care possible to the people who need it most. I was also drawn to U-M's emphasis on social workers becoming leaders within their field and who can bring an understanding of social justice and ethics to their work." Soon Jazz was doing all of this, as a U-M School of Social Work Integrated Health Scholar.
How did the School and the program work out for Jazz? "I love being here," he says. "My fellow Integrated Health Scholars are passionate about bringing our social work knowledge and perspectives to all facets of our lives. There are ten of us going through the program together. We've come to know and trust each other and care about each other's lives. We want to be change agents and empower our clients to achieve their best health and wellness. I'm thrilled my field placement is at the HIV/AIDS Treatment Program at the U-M Hospital. The social work team there ensures that patients living with HIV/AIDS know we are invested in their well-being, including feeling connected to and heard by every team member. They know they can come to us for whatever they need to stay well."
The Integrated Health Scholarship was critical to Jazz's experiences. "I would never have been able to afford coming to U-M and developing myself into a social worker without this scholarship," he says.
Jazz has a particular passion for LGBTQ health care and especially for trans health care, as he knows the hardships and marginalization that queer and trans people face as a trans man himself. "We need to work on all fronts," he says, "including housing, employment, health care and mental health-so trans people can achieve their optimal quality of life."
University of Michigan
School of Social Work
1080 South University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106