On August 11, 2025, Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service (GSS) held an educational panel for Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) students discussing the diverse opportunities for social workers in Integrated Behavioral Health practice.
IBH in Substance Abuse and Addiction Settings
The panel began with a presentation from GSS Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Linda White-Ryan, Ph.D., who discussed the importance of IBH techniques in the space of substance abuse and addiction treatment. Despite all we know about the biological mechanisms behind addiction, White-Ryan said, it still carries social stigma, and providing psychoeducation about the disease is critical to effective treatment.
This is especially true when acknowledging the reality that addiction exists on a continuum, with victims often starting as social users and gradually moving toward serious use—eventually losing their ability to choose. Social workers are responsible for client assessment and data interpretation, and use a strengths-based approach when conducting a comprehensive history of the person seeking help.
White-Ryan explained that practitioners are “their own best instruments” when screening clients, and the clinician’s ability to holistically assess clients is key to long-term treatment and quality care. Throughout treatment, specialists use methods like Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help mitigate any stigma the client has experienced and shift the client’s feelings to a more positive light.
“Thoughts create feelings, and feelings create behavior,” White-Ryan said. “If you can shift that thinking, you can influence the behavior downstream.”
Creating a Safe Space to Empower Clients
Next, Kieran Delamere, LCSW, GSS ’01, Behavioral Health Consultant at Western Connecticut Medical Group, spoke to participants about his role, which he has held for nine years. Delamere transitioned into social work after a career in the financial sector.
In his previous positions at Danbury Hospital, Delamere noticed that patients would oftentimes disregard a doctor’s recommendation to follow up with a behavioral health specialist after their medical exams. Now, at Western Connecticut, Delamere’s office is located within a primary care practice itself, and he can be paged to the exam room whenever the doctor feels it appropriate, conducting a follow-up on-site.
“What we do as social workers is create a safe space where people can talk through their challenges, develop coping skills, and find their own path to improvement,” Delamere said.
Social Work Career Growth in IBH Settings
Juliet Amato, LCSW, GSS ’11, a Social Work Manager at Montefiore Medical Center’s Wakefield Division in the Bronx, spoke next. Amato now manages the same team of social workers on which she cut her teeth for 11 years after graduating from Fordham. Her experience on the frontlines and in management has allowed her to witness firsthand how different Social Determinants of Health impact patients’ lives.
Amato and her team use IBH techniques when assessing what they can do to help “empower patients to make the best decisions for their families.” Amato first discussed Montefiore’s Behavioral Health Integration Program (BHIP), through which the hospital integrates mental health services as a regular component of its primary care services.
“To have optimal physical health, patients benefit from good emotional health,” Amato said.
Furthermore, Montefiore’s OBGYN and Women’s Health Clinic trains employees through IBH methods to offer culturally competent care to meet their clients’ needs. Amato also noted that Montefiore currently operates within school systems to make care more accessible to students who otherwise would not be able to attend medical appointments.
She stated that Montefiore’s multipronged strategy to wraparound services highlights its “dedication and commitment to a multidisciplinary approach to delivering care.”
Schools as Behavioral Health Hubs for Children and Families
Finally, GSS Professor and Doctoral Program Director G. Lawrence Farmer, Ph.D., furthered Amato’s closing remarks—stating that schools have become behavioral health care hubs for both students and their parents.
Farmer has years of research expertise in the school social work sector. He described how school social workers facilitate integration of behavioral health services to children in school settings and connect the school to its surrounding community to bring in resources and support student wellbeing—promoting health both inside and outside the school.
Farmer explained how school-based health care centers—partnerships between schools and community health organizations that offer primary and mental health care, among other services—have increased efficiency and improved student health outcomes in a cost-effective way. In 2020, Farmer said, there were 2,500 centers in the US, serving approximately 10% of public school students at or near their schools.
Farmer also detailed his experience with the City at Hope working group, an organization of 30 NYC leaders developed to implement the recommendations of the Aspen Social Emotional and Academic Development Commission’s report “A Nation at Hope.” The group was comprised of many social workers, Farmer said, and its thrust was to “coordinate efforts to support kids’ mental health through development of social emotional competencies.”
At the panel presentation’s conclusion, audience members were encouraged to participate in a question-and-answer session. Fordham M.S.W. students had the opportunity to receive individualized feedback and insight into IBH as a career path from alumni who have thrived in the field.
