This presentation highlights the final capstone project of Jack W. Wheeler in completion of his Doctor of Social Work degree at University of Kentucky.

Higher education is meant to be an environment that enriches the lives of individuals and of societies. Unfortunately, college campuses have become places for languishing as students, staff, and faculty report growing concerns related to mental health, loneliness, and poor coping behaviors. In contrast, campuses that promote well-being support the sustainability and health of future societies, stronger communities, and flourishing people.

Jack’s presentation begins with an understanding of the current issues impacting well-being on college campuses. He then explores the concept of campus-wide well-being from a socio-ecological perspective and how campuses have recently attempted to address these concerns through clinical interventions.

Next, Jack describes three papers that supported his exploration, understanding, and application of campus-wide well-being initiatives. First, a systematic literature review guides the framing of terms, theories, and processes that universities have studied to address campus-wide well-being. Jack shares the review process that he conducted and the findings from across the studies. The second paper highlights the Okanagan Charter as an international framework that is guiding campus-wide well-being efforts. Jack describes the Okanagan Charter and highlights how it is being applied around the globe. The final paper provides a case study for how one university has attempted to apply principles of the Okanagan Charter using a collective impact model. Jack reflects on the lessons learned from this case study for future application of the Okanagan Charter within and across institutions.

It is no secret, anxiety is running rampant in our world today. In particular, reactivity fueled by religious beliefs has created some of the most intense conflicts in society today; whether it be Christian Nationalism fueling the attacks on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, or the ongoing flashpoints in Israel and Palestine leading to both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, or the restriction of reproductive care and LGBTQ+ rights in the name of Christian values. However, mental health clinicians often find themselves at a loss with how to work with clients and families who have been torn apart by such beliefs, either due to their own biases or general lack of education regarding religion and spirituality. In this presentation, Bowen Family Systems Theory, an evidence-based framework of human behavior, will be introduced specifically with regards to working with family systems enmeshed in religious reactivity. A conceptualization of this framework will be presented, followed by a case study demonstrating its effectiveness.

“Why did I never learn this?” “I have been in therapy for years; why did my therapist never teach me this?” These were questions I was asked too often during my time as a clinician for an adult partial hospitalization program. My clients were referencing the concrete therapeutic skills they had learned during Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills groups. Unfortunately, many social workers are never taught how to implement clinical evidence-based practices, such as DBT skills, during their graduate education. This inadequate clinical education leads to unprepared and unconfident mental health providers. This presentation will explore how evidence-based practices are currently taught in clinical social work education and identify the deficits of these teaching methods. Then, a conceptualization for using experiential learning techniques within the social work classroom will be explored. Finally, a DBT skills group-informed design that uses experiential learning techniques for teaching various clinical evidence-based practices will be discussed.

Race and social justice issues continue to play a significant role in the achievability of the American Dream for Black Americans. Drawing on parallels from W. E. B. DuBois' Souls of Black Folk, this capstone presentation will provide a systemic overview of how the color line contributes to the ever-widening achievement gap in America. Compounding historical and current-day trauma has adverse permeative effects on Blacks' emotional well-being. This capstone is concerned with promoting well-being and equity, drawing upon the empowerment theory of practice. Moreover, this capstone highlights how a critical race framework for empowerment theory in social work practice can positively impact Black Americans. This presentation highlights how community organizations can be conduits to infuse equity into Black communities. As such, it can be concluded that community settings can support empowerment directly by enhancing individual strengths or resources or indirectly by mitigating oppression. Utilizing community organizations provide a unique opportunity for social work leadership to apply racial equity strategic planning to catalyze individual and systemic change at the root level.

Mental health has undeniably been a taboo topic of discussion for many people to engage in across all races and ethnicities. Reasonably, due to the lack of knowledge, misunderstanding of terminology, stigma, as well as shame, society continues to be dissuaded from seeking treatment when mental health challenges arise. However, within the Black community, the percentage of utilization of mental health services is devastatingly low and is negatively impacting the well-being of Black children and families. Since Black people have been plagued with compounding contributing causes to their reluctance to seeking help, which also includes ongoing racism, systemic oppression, a variety of urban environmental factors (i.e., poor healthcare options, subpar education, and socio-economic inequalities), gender discrimination, and lack of equitable policies and laws, it is evident that there is a grave need to bridge the gap between the Black community and mental health. By bridging this gap, a valuable opportunity to change the narrative of mental health and by leaning in on the resilience that the Black community has had to possess in order to overcome slavery, this capstone confirms an essential need for improving the Black community’s overall health. Furthermore, social workers at all levels, but especially within the macro- and leadership-level, have the fiduciary duty to advocate against social injustices inflicted upon marginalized communities, such as the Black community, and need to begin thinking of more innovative ways to provide not only mental health awareness, but also enhanced mental health services to this community. By eradicating stigma, addressing systemic barriers, empowering different decision-making abilities, and reimagining mental health programs, as well as policies and laws; together, we can work towards healing the Black community and improving the overall wellness of Black children and families.

Trauma is a public health issue that affects individuals, families, and communities. Children who enter child welfare face a substantial risk of re-traumatization secondary to multiple factors including but not limited to failed reunification, disruption of foster care placements, or a lack of child welfare serving agencies (CWSA) that incorporate trauma-informed care (TIC) as an expectation in their organization. Historically marginalized communities face a higher risk due to the overrepresentation of these communities in child welfare.

Child welfare serving agencies are in a unique position to not only treat trauma but to mitigate the risk of trauma by incorporating trauma-informed approaches to the program design and evaluation of their programs. This presentation begins with an examination of a systematic literature review on trauma-informed care in program design and evaluation. This presentation identifies methods agencies may take to apply trauma-informed approaches to program design and evaluation including the use of technology and the conceptualization of Relational Cultural Theory (RCT); a theory traditionally used in direct practice, and its adaptability to mezzo and macro social work practice.

Have you heard the conversations and encouragement for females to enter STEM; what about for males to enter health, education, administration, and linguistic (HEAL) fields?

Join the presenter as he explores how “masculine mystique, the mask that men wear psychologically which prevents them from experiencing aspects of themselves associated with femininity and helps them maintain distance and power over others,” contributes to occupational segregation (Kahn, 2009, p. 283). Research has found that hypermasculinity and hegemonic masculinity keep men in high-risk male-dominated occupations. In addition, data reveals that male-dominated occupations have higher rates of physical injuries, depression, and anxiety due to the demands to be physically tough, fearless, and emotionally isolated in the face of risk and danger.

Next, work-life spillover and how that impacts individuals holistically will be brought forward while recognizing that men’s mental health, often affected by work, has ramifications for all. Austin will discuss theories, childhood, gendered language, and the research that suggests they influence males not to enter female-dominated occupations. Hear how this project evolved into a conceptualization through an intersectional lens to find that female-dominated occupations are more often female-majority and male-dominated. New theories to best understand this ideology and concepts, such as the glass escalator and the gender wage gap, will be acknowledged.

Furthermore, receive how this is a social work education issue and an identified grand challenge in social work, as it aligns with the dignity and worth of all individuals. Austin is taking action by applying what Hampton (1969) said, “theory’s cool, but theory with no practice ain’t shit” (as cited in Malloy, 2017, p. 9). Lastly, the presenter will discuss how these practices can be evaluated, future research ideas, and provide an opportunity for Q&A. Join as Austin presents HEAL (HIMM) health, illness, men, and masculinities to promote systemic change.

This capstone presentation focuses on implementing in-home therapy for the Medicaid population in New York state. This project aims to explore why and how in-home mental health services should be an option for Medicaid recipients and to provide a systematic, evidence-based approach to rendering services.

The presentation will cover the three completed papers:

A systematic literature review (SLR): The first part of the presentation will cover the findings of an SLR, which was conducted to identify and synthesize relevant research on in-home therapy for low-income groups. The results of this review provide an evidence-based foundation for integrating in-home therapy into social work.

A conceptual paper: The second part of the presentation will focus on the systems theory of social work, which provides a practical framework for the transition to in-home therapy and highlights its benefits. The presentation will highlight the core mission of social work as defined by the National Association of Social Workers and how the systems theory aligns with this mission. This part of the presentation will demonstrate how a holistic approach that considers all aspects of the individual, including their cumulative identities and experiences, is necessary to address mental health in the Medicaid population.

A practice application paper: The final part of the presentation will provide insight into the logistical aspects of developing a mobile practice. This section will include obtaining funding, a case study, training, privacy and confidentiality, and burnout. 

This presentation aims to demonstrate the importance of in-home therapy for the Medicaid population and provide a functional, evidence-based plan to support this approach.

Due to the significant impact that drugs often have in society, substance use is one of the grand challenges today. As we know, substance use is a major health risk that factors in all ages. In addition, causing further social and economic strain. In parallel, it is interesting to assess correlating factors surrounding comorbid mental health issues. Curiosity has raised questions surrounding the gaps faced within both populations. What are the leading causes that continues to promote disparities, and hinders access to substance use or those comorbid with mental health issues? Because both substance use and mental health issues have made lasting impression on society, exploring the gaps within treatment and accessibility can explain the causes of disparities. This presentation overview aims to uncover the root of the issue that promotes disparities and creates barriers against accessing to substance use treatment, while providing possible solution to the issue.

The presentation will focus on what autisim is and how can use critical disability theory to assess women better, leading to higher rates of identification, and ways to treat and support. We will learn why this population is being left out of social topics and reform around langauge and diagnosing. Afterward, we will talk about ways to educate ourselves and listen to women when presenting their stories. Next, we will discuss the framework of CDT and the intersection of autism and how this helps us see autism as a difference of abilities, not a disability lens. We then will talk about the implementation of psychoeducation around this topic and how we can dispute it throughout school and health care settings. Possibly leading to changes in social work education, testing, and continuing education around autism and its symptomologies for women and away from the disability viewpoint.

The experience of poor outcomes continues to maintain a position as an undesired rite of passage for foster youth preparing to leave foster care. If experiencing crime, homelessness, poverty, victimization, unemployment, or poor health (Rome & Raskin, 2019) isn’t enough, the encountered outcomes can be exacerbated for foster youth in various subpopulations with unique needs. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2021) now records data in their AFCARS Report reflective of overarching outcomes for foster youth after age eighteen. Additionally, John F. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program continues expansion of funding independent living services to prepare foster youth to successfully age out of care (Chor et al., 2018). Despite the data and funding, improvements to the provision of preparatory independent living programming lacks. This article identifies pregnant and parenting teen, youth with non-traditional western religious and spiritual practices, and foster youth with disabilities subpopulations with additional unique secondary and tertiary needs that compound barriers to successful adulthood. Provided the compounded difficulties, the author answers how service providers, clinicians, and key stakeholders can intervene to improve outcomes for subpopulations facing compounded barriers to aging out of foster care.

This presentation takes a look at why homeless still exists through the lens of unused resources. The research dives into the current methods that are being used, a model that is currently working, and how certain changes being implemented can improve the problem. This project is comprised of three papers that examine the underutilization of homeless resources. Each paper scrutinizes the topic using a different lens. The first of the papers is the Systematic Literature Review unbiasedly reviewed the literature to determine which resources were being used and their effectiveness. The second paper is the Conceptual Paper that shined a light on holes in the existing research. The last paper is the Practice Application paper which allowed the author to provide a solution based on the research completed. Researching homeless resources from different viewpoints allowed for a conclusion to be made on why homeless resources are underutilized and homelessness still exists.