Our newest cohort of PIPELINE for Youth Health Fellowship Program fellows met virtually on September 9th to learn more about their impact this year as integrated behavioral health interns.
The fellowship is a grant-funded initiative between Fordham GSS and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Behavioral Health Workforce, Education, and Training (BHWET) program. Its mission is to “create a sustainable pipeline of racially and ethnically diverse behavioral health social work practitioners who are equipped with the skills needed to work with youth across the entire continuum of care (prevention and intervention), and practice effectively on interprofessional teams in integrated care settings.”
The cohort consists of 26 M.S.W. students in their specialist phase of the program. Along with a specialized field internship, students take advanced coursework, are involved in speaker series programming, and work on developing a community capstone end-of-year project.
A Growing Field
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, integrated behavioral health care “blends care in one setting for medical conditions and related behavioral health factors that affect health and well-being.” This holistic approach is “rapidly emerging” in high-quality health care practice, specifically in communities affected by health inequities.
Social workers constitute 40% of the behavioral health workforce and are in especially high demand. The PIPELINE program allows students to learn from distinguished faculty and experienced professionals to bring a desired skillset to this growing field.
“So much of social work is moving into the area of integrated behavioral health,” said Linda White-Ryan, Ph.D., associate dean for academic affairs at GSS.
Students learn from a specialized curriculum grounded in the social determinants of health (SDOH), incorporating family-centered and trauma-informed care principles. Training content also covers:
- Evidence-based prevention and intervention
- Models of integrated care and interprofessional practice
- Tele-behavioral health
- Health and digital health literacy
- Technology integration tools for individual and population health monitoring
“Student field placements take place in medically underserved communities,” said Janna Heyman, Ph.D., professor and faculty lead of the fellowship.
Fordham GSS Associate Professor Yvette Sealy, Ph.D., highlighted the diverse field placement experiences and their critical work with youth and families.
Students in attendance shared their diverse field placement locations for the upcoming year, including placements at the Wheeler Clinic, New York Presbyterian Hospital, and the Institute for Family Health. Fellowship placements focus attention on prevention, integrated care, and health equity.
Associate Professor Elizabeth Matthews, Ph.D., discussed the enhanced Speaker Series events, highlighting the next event focused on health and person-centered care, scheduled for October 21.
Prepared for the Future
The fellowship is completed in April with a closing event at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus, where students receive their certificate of completion and can present their capstone projects. Capstones address a particular need of the population served by the agency with which the student completes their field internship and demonstrates skill acquisition that prioritizes prevention and health equity in integrated care settings.
After completing the program, Fellows are equipped with a specialized skillset focused on the provision of behavioral health care. Additionally, they participate in PIPELINE Propel, a cohort-focused professional development model designed to support the transition to the professional workforce.
“As a PIPELINE fellow, I identified a need at my field placement and addressed this need by implementing a technique I learned from my coursework,” said Jailene Guillermo, who completed the fellowship last year. “I was able to make a difference at my field placement that will transcend after I depart, and that is what PIPELINE aims for us to do. Forever grateful and thankful to be a PIPELINE Fellow.”
If you want to learn more about the PIPELINE for Youth Health Fellowship Program, please visit our website.
