School of Social Work launches new Integrated Healthcare Certificate Program The new Integrated Healthcare Certificate Program prepares graduate social work students specializing in direct practice with the knowledge and skills necessary to work with individuals, families, groups, and communities in a variety of institutional and community-based health-related settings. With a focus on leadership and advocacy, the goal of the certificate program is to increase the number of students focused on health and social work. Master’s level social work training (MSW), along with a Certificate in Integrated Healthcare, provides the knowledge and skills to work in a variety of integrated health care settings. Students completing the Integrated Healthcare Certificate Program will have a deeper understanding of the relationship between behavioral health (i.e., mental health, substance use) and physical health.  New opportunities abound in health care for social workers trained in an interdisciplinary approach who are prepared to bridge the gap between health care providers and patient needs within a coordinated system of care. “Health is more than the absence of disease or physical health status or psychological well-being; it is about how all of these parts fit together. An integrated health focus allows students to develop knowledge, skills, and training in the health, wellness, and illness of the entire human being, the whole person, and not just the individual parts which make them whole” said Valire Carr Copeland, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the School of Social Work. The Integrated Healthcare Certificate Program will be available beginning in fall 2014. To read more about it please visit the Integrated Health Certificate webpage.