Graduate Training

The Dual Diagnosis Clinical Residency Training Program for Social Work Students commenced during the Fall 2000 Semester at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (MSASS) with funding from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and the Woodruff Foundation. The Mandel School is among the first professional schools of social work in the country to offer a specialized master’s-level program in dual disorders and integrated treatment. The Program awards stipends for eight to 10 students per year.

The Clinical Residency Program is an innovation in teaching that addresses the need to systematically educate social work students about effective interventions for persons with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. Students who are enrolled in the mental health or the alcohol-and-other-drugs concentration within the Mandel School’s two-year Master of Social Science Administration program may apply to the Clinical Residency Program. The program incorporates classroom experiences with field placements, field seminars, and professional-training workshops. The program prepares students to become practitioners who are capable of working effectively with individuals who have dual disorders. It also prepares them to acquire leadership roles in their agencies, especially as more agencies begin to adapt integrated service models. Needs assessment surveys have revealed that few agencies are currently equipped to implement integrated treatment. The Clinical Residency Program addresses this need. It builds upon almost 30 years of research and teaching by Mandel School faculty on issues related to mental health and substance abuse services.