The Direct Practice in Health specialty provides advanced social work students with information, skills, and expertise relevant to social work practice in healthcare settings. Students specializing in Health focus on working with individuals and families facing acute, chronic, and terminal health conditions. Students learn how to help patients, families, and caregivers understand illness and various treatment options, intervene in crisis situations, and serve as patient advocates. In addition, students focus on promoting health and wellness at the individual and community levels. The Direct Practice in Health specialty is offered at the Arlington campus with most courses offered only in-person.
Students graduating from the Direct Practice in Health specialty facilitate change for individuals and families within a medical setting. They partner with individuals, families, other healthcare professionals and communities to improve lives by:
If you are interested in joining the Direct Practice in Health specialty, here are a few quick things to keep in mind:
Do you have questions about registering for Direct Practice in Health courses? Admitted and current students can schedule an appointment with their Academic Advisor today!
My time as a health-focused MSW student successfully prepared me for a rewarding career where I get to work with talented and dedicated professionals in an interdisciplinary team in a healthcare setting. Our focus is to create the best outcomes for our patients and their families. I am able to make a difference in their lives because my education helped give me the tools I needed to succeed.
By graduation, students specializing in Health will achieve the foundation objectives and the following advanced specialization objectives:
Health students successfully find a variety of field placement and post-graduation jobs. Many of our students are placed in leading organizations for their internship and find job opportunities at the same organization directly after graduation. These organizations run from local to national, government to nonprofit, and much more.
Research Interests: Suicide Prevention Research; Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs); Adolescent Substance Use Behaviors; Social Determinants of Health and Mental Health; Barriers to Health Service Utilization; International Social Work Research
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Personal Pronouns: He/Him
Research Interests: Lived experience of tension, Live music performance in hospice-based settings, Sex and intimacy at end-of-life, Bucket lists and end-of-life dreams, Psilocybin and existential distress
DSW Program Director (project lead for creating new program)
Associate Professor of Practice
Research Interests: Aging, mental health, health promotion, long-term care, hospice, dementia, sustainability, environmental justice
Research Interests: Health and Mental Health of Vulnerable Populations; Refugee and Immigrant Health and wellness
Research Interests:: Health Equity, Community Based Participatory Research, Immigration, Policy Advocacy
Director of Interprofessional Education
Associate Professor of Practice
Personal Pronouns: She/Her
Research Interests: Health Interventions, Health Disparities, Health Literacy and the Impact of Interprofessional Education on Health Students
Research Interests: Adolescent social problems , Reproductive health , National and International social policy, Population, Community Planning, Demographic Techniques, Zambia, Social Policy, Reproductive rights, Development
Associate Dean for Academic & Student Affairs
Professor
Personal Pronouns: She/Her
Research Interests: Trauma, Suicide, Maternal Well-being, Suicide Bereavement, Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis (QIMS), and Social Work Education
Assistant Professor of Practice
Personal Pronouns: She/Her
Research Interests: Sexual subjectivity, Latinas, and Women of Color and Pleasure after Violence
Research Interests: Military social work; psychosocial and psychophysiological effects of war trauma and disaster; digital health interventions; heart rate variability biofeedback; social work education; systematic review methodology
Research Interests: International Social Work, The Intersection of HIV and Contextual Social Norms, Adolescent Risk Behaviors, Comparative Social Policy
MSW Program Director
Associate Professor of Practice
Research Interests: Maternal incarceration, stress theory and non-normative family stress, couple and marriage dynamics in African American families, and mental health.
Research Interests: Health Equity, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Social Drivers of Health, Healthcare System Solutions
PhD Program Director and Associate Professor
Personal Pronouns: She/Her
IPVE Taskforce Development Subcommittee Chair
Research Interests: Violence Against Women, Trauma and Mental Health, Convergence of Poverty and Interpersonal Trauma, Violence Against Women in Diverse Educational Settings; Interpersonal Violence Prevention and Intervention
Brianna Gibbs
Academic Recruiter
Primarily Graduate Admissions
Email: brianna.gibbs@uta.edu
Phone:817-272-2551
Office: SWSH 203O
Dolores Bevins
Admissions Counselor II
Email: doloresbevins@uta.edu
Phone: 817-272-1044
Office: SWSH 203Q
Darlene Santee
Manager for Recruiting and Admissions
Email: santeed@uta.edu
Office: SWSH 203U
Antwan C. Williams, J.D.
Assistant Dean of Communications, Marketing, and Recruitment
Email: antwan.williams@uta.edu
Office: SWSH 203S
