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Mental Health & Well-Being

Behavioral Health Workforce Integration, Service and Education-Lifespan (BHWISE-Lifespan)

The BHWISE Lifespan program recruits and trains advanced-year MSW students to provide behavioral health services to clients of all ages who live in underserved communities. Additionally, the program has created new interprofessional courses in behavioral health across the health professions. BHWISE Fellows have been supported in their advanced practicum year with a stipend of $10,000 per student. (PIs: Paul Sacco & Michele Beaulieu)

Behavioral Health Workforce Integration, Service and Education-Lifespan (BHWISE-Lifespan)

The BHWISE Lifespan program recruits and trains advanced-year MSW students to provide behavioral health services to clients of all ages who live in underserved communities. Additionally, the program has created new interprofessional courses in behavioral health across the health professions. BHWISE Fellows have been supported in their advanced practicum year with a stipend of $10,000 per student. (PIs: Paul Sacco & Michele Beaulieu)

Financial Well-Being & Economic Justice

Mental Health & Well-Being

Get Involved with the Lab

Get Involved with the Lab

Mental Health & Well-Being

Mental Health & Well-Being

Mental Health & Well-Being

Addictive Behaviors

Click on the boxes to learn more about our affiliated programs and projects.

Addiction and Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Training Needs of the Social Work and Nursing Workforces

Scientific research is demonstrating the potential of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) to treat a range of mental health conditions, including addiction, major depressive disorder, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Public attitudes towards the use of psychedelics have also shifted in recent years, ushering in a wave of state-level psychedelic reform bills. However, is our healthcare workforce ready to respond to the increasing use of psychedelics in the general population and future demand for PAT? This study takes a first step toward understanding social workers’ and nurses’ current knowledge, attitudes, clinical practices and training needs related to psychedelics, as these two workforces will be essential players in the emerging psychedelic renaissance. (PI: Megan Meyer)

Innovations in Recovery through Infrastructure Support (IRIS)

We aim to fuel innovation and provide resources to develop infrastructure so evidence-based and emerging practices can be implemented widely. We believe in person-centered and recovery-oriented approaches that uplift the role of peer support. We are committed to a strong and collaborative partnership between academics and community providers, where research informs practice and practice informs research – where together we build sustainable resources for successful recovery. (PIs: Jay Unick & Michelle Tuten)

Operation PROSPER: Peer Reintegration and Other Services Promoting Employment in Recovery

Operation PROSPER is an interdisciplinary multi-phase project designed to systematically measure the barriers to employment in patients receiving Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder, and then develop, test, and systematize point-of-care interventions to increase work participation in this population. The research team is studying patients receiving MAT to identify employment status as well as real and potential barriers to being employed. This research-based project concentrates on defining the gap in critical soft skills among adults receiving MAT. (PIs: Jodi Frey & Marianne Cloeren)

Workplace PROSPER: Partnering to Reduce Opioid Stigma and Promote Employment in Recovery

The purpose of this project is to provide expertise that will help the State of Maryland develop a durable and sustainable set of resources to support employees and employers related to opioid use and recovery in the workplace. Workplace PROSPER will expand the team’s reach to include increased collaboration with employers, health and behavioral health providers, and worker advocates across the State, strengthening existing and building new partnerships that leverage the expertise and perspectives of the wide range of Stakeholders who care about this issue. These resources will specifically respond to the needs of employees and employers related to opioid use and recovery at work. The overall goals of this project are to improve workplace safety, prevent opioid overdoses, increase access to treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), and promote non-discriminatory work practices for employees recovering from OUD. (PIs: Marianne Cloeren & Jodi Frey)

Behavioral Health Workforce Integration, Service and Education (BHWISE)

The Behavioral Health Workforce Integration Service and Education (BHWISE) Fellowships are training programs for MSW students committed to a career providing behavioral health services to individuals, especially underserved communities. BHWISE Fellows will receive inter-professional educational opportunities, specialized training seminars, focused coursework, and an educational stipend while participating in the fellowship program. For information, please contact BHWISE@ssw.umaryland.edu

Developing and Testing a Brief Intervention for Problem Gambling in Credit Counseling

Problem gambling is a stigmatized problem that is often not adequately assessed and can contribute to significant financial distress and negative outcomes. This randomized control trial is testing the effectiveness of a unique brief intervention using motivational techniques and text messaging for individuals at-risk for problem gambling. The intervention is designed to help reduce gambling behavior and improve financial well-being among credit counseling clients who seek services within a national financial counseling organization, Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Maryland (CCCSMD). (PIs: Paul Sacco & Jodi Frey)

International Employee Assistance Digital Archive (EA Archive)

The International Employee Assistance Digital Archive (EA Archive), housed at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work and Health Sciences and Human Services Library is a free, open-access, global repository with mixed materials (research articles, white papers, historical documents and photos, webinars, dissertations, blogs and other multi-media) that focus on or are strongly related to Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and related workplace behavioral health programs and policies. Since its creation in 2013, materials from the EA Archive have been downloaded over 130,000 times. Materials are regularly submitted to the Archive and it continues to serve an important resource throughout the world to learn about best practices and emerging needs in the EA Field. (Founders: Jodi Frey & Patricia Herlihy)

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