Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Social Work is expanding its mental health offerings – including a new undergraduate minor and a graduate certificate – to propel students and professionals as demand for services grows.

“The idea is to help people be more prepared to work in the mental health field,” said Cassie DeSena-Jacobs, D.S.W., assistant professor and licensed clinical social worker. “Our whole goal was to really think about these classes [as though] if we were going to go back, what do we wish we had learned before working in the field.”

DeSena-Jacobs, who is also director of mental health initiatives, and her colleagues have worked over the past 18 months to expand the school’s mental health initiatives, introducing new courses, workforce development opportunities and expanded programming. This fall, the school will launch a graduate certificate in mental health practice as well as an undergraduate minor in mental health, featuring new courses on mental health practice, serious mental illness and trauma.

While social workers are the largest group of mental health professionals in the nation, not every social worker is in the mental health field, DeSena-Jacobs noted. “But if you are someone who goes into social work and you want to work in mental health or do trauma-based work, this is a certificate or a minor that is really for you.”

The new programs emphasize the practitioner’s perspective, as opposed to a strictly academic focus, and were built with current students and professionals in mind.

“We surveyed students at the School of Social Work about what subjects they felt they needed to learn more about,” DeSena-Jacobs said. “They felt they weren’t learning enough about the serious mental illness category and how to work with individuals who have [diagnoses such as] bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.”

In addition to the courses, the school has brought in professionals to talk to students about the experience of working in areas of mental health. DeSena-Jacobs and her colleagues work with students to determine which areas of the field they most want to hear from, bringing in individuals who can offer real-world insight.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled with what we’ve put together so far, including our mental health clinical lecture series, clinical supervision training, mental health speed mentoring, mental health first aid and our enhanced mental health curriculum,” said Gary Cuddeback, Ph.D., dean and professor at the School of Social Work. “We look forward to continuing to innovate our program to meet the needs of our students, first and foremost, as well as the demands of the profession, and are eager to expand collaborations with our university and community partners.”