Master's Degree - Specialization in BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

The Behavioral Health specialization combines theory and skill development to enable MSW graduates to promote behavioral and mental health in multiple domains, including co-occurring substance abuse and trauma, with a special focus on the current opioid overdose crisis and other public health concerns in various community-based settings. Students learn to advance health equity as members of interdisciplinary teams and prepare for professional leadership to assure behavioral health systems address social determinants of health, as well as the needs of specific individuals, families, and communities. Program graduates enter the workforce understanding the unique role of social work to enhance addiction prevention and intervention with racial/ethnic and economically diverse populations facing multiple challenges in an ever-changing practice environment. The specialization emphasizes a broad definition of behavioral health, including physical, emotional, psychological, environmental, and other social dimensions, not just the absence of injury or disease, and seeks to reinforce core social work values including social justice, human dignity, and respect for and empowerment of individuals and communities.