Military and Veterans Social Work Specialization

The Military and Veterans Specialization is designed for students whose clinical practice focuses on working with members of the military or veterans. The specialization emphasizes the clinical application of psychodynamic practice principles and theory, critical thinking, and cutting-edge research, and is delivered in a distance-learning format using a combination of live video conferencing and on-site classes.

The course of study includes courses that address the specific climate of military and veterans social workers, including Case Conferences, History of War Neurosis, and other electives selected by the student cohort. Students in the specialization will be expected to pursue dissertation topics relevant to military and veterans social work.

Overview

As we have gotten to know our students who work in military and veteran settings, we have developed a deep appreciation for the unique clinical challenges they face, and we developed this specialization with the help of active duty social workers. ICSW’s Distance Learning Program allows students working in military and veteran settings off-site to engage in the clinical, theoretical, and research training that we offer with the same rigor and attention as our on-site courses.

Wars are responsible for a wide variety of mental health issues. And we see it as our responsibility to ensure that ICSW students are poised to make significant contributions to the clinical treatment and body of research surrounding these issues. To learn more about ICSW’s Military and Veterans Social Work Specialization, please contact Dr. Dennis Shelby, director of doctoral studies, at (312) 935-4232 or rdshelby@icsw.edu.

Student Testimonials

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Bobbie Davis, LCSW
Second-Year Student

Bobbie works with active duty soldiers at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. As a member of our Distance Learning Program, Bobbie has developed a deeper understanding of the burdens and vulnerabilities these soldiers carry with them.

“The Institute for Clinical Social Work has given me the ability to understand the profound depth of the impact that combat has on a person’s life. Prior to obtaining all this new knowledge in my courses, I felt that I was not getting to the root of the problems that stem from the reality of death — that is, fear of losing one’s own life or of watching others die. ICSW has been supportive as I continue providing therapy to active duty soldiers. ICSW has assisted in my growth as a therapist to better comprehend this complex and intense client population, as well as helping me to understand my own response to working with this population.”

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Michael Miller, LCSW
Fourth-Year Student

Michael has taken his ICSW psychoanalytic psychotherapeutic training into his clinic in White City, Oregon. And the results, he says, have been incredibly gratifying — for himself and for the population he serves.

“I work at the VA Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics in White City, Oregon, where I provide mental health intensive case management to veterans who have chronic persistent mental illness. I am also the clinical lead for approximately 12 social workers and registered nurses in the homeless-based programs of our facility. ICSW has taught me to approach veterans from the perspective as ‘objects to be understood not as objects to change.’ This creates a therapeutic exchange based on ‘benevolent curiosity’ — the more curious I become about the veteran’s psychology, the more the veteran becomes curious about him or herself as well. The psychodynamic principles I have learned from ICSW’s incredible instructors have greatly influenced and deepened my work with the staff and veterans that I serve.”

Courses

First Year
Fall
Case Conference I
Clinical Process and Technique I
Psychodynamic Theory I
Research I

Spring
Case Conference II
Disorders of Adulthood I
Psychodynamic Theory II
Research II

Second Year
Fall
Military/Veterans Case Conference III
Clinical Process and Technique II
Psychodynamic Theory III
Research III

Spring
Military/Veterans Case Conference IV
Difference in Clinical Practice Diversity
Psychodynamic Theory IV
Research IV

Third Year
Fall
Case Conference V
Clinical Process and Technique III—Clinical Engagement in Military and Veterans Settings
History of War Neurosis/War Trauma I
Epistemology I

Spring
Case Conference VI
Disorders of Adulthood II
History of War Neurosis/War Trauma II—Contemporary Perspectives
Epistemology II
Clinical Elective

Fourth Year
Fall
Research V
Development III
Psychodynamic Theory V
Theory Elective
Clinical Elective

Spring
Research VI
Development IV
Psychodynamic Theory VI
Clinical Elective
Research Elective
Electives are chosen by the students

Clinical Practicum

12 Case Studies and 4 Case Consultations drawn from multiple cases within practice setting.

Research Practicum

4 Independent Studies, Dissertation Proposal, Research and Defense. Topic to be relevant to the practice or theory of interventions with members of the military or veterans.