Social Work & Human Services

With this specialization, you can study best practices related to traditional forms of intervention for both offenders and victims, including individual and group therapy.

This specialization can help you advance social welfare by identifying community needs and learning best practices for working with key stakeholders on today’s most pressing social policy issues.

Develop advanced skills to provide culturally sensitive support to children and families.

This program helps you cultivate a better understanding of the resources and support services available for vulnerable populations, including those who are terminally ill, disabled, or dealing with acute or chronic illness.

This curriculum is designed to help you gain insight into organizational behavior, staff development, internal and community relations, and management

This specialization can prepare you for a career as an expert in clinical social work practice.

Learn to identify the needs of families, individuals, and communities whose lives have been affected by addiction

Study crisis intervention theories and models for working with a wide range of populations. You also will be able to examine best practices for counseling victims in the aftermath of natural or man-made crises.

Examine the psychological impact that terrorism, natural disasters, and other crises can have on individuals and communities.

Develop advanced skills to provide culturally sensitive support to children and families. You will discover specific resources and instruction for working with couples, families, children, and adolescents.

Designed to help you gain an in-depth understanding of organizational behavior so that you can better assess the effectiveness of community-based social work organizations.

Enhance your skills as a supervisor or advanced clinician. You will explore major methods and practices as well as ethical and legal issues that you may encounter as a supervisor working with staff from diverse backgrounds.

Explore the psychology of addiction and the various interventions available for individuals and families who are dealing with addictive behavior.

Develop and assess the best possible strategies in practice interventions with individuals and families facing chronic or terminal illness, disability, and issues associated with aging

Explore current forms of intervention and help pave the road for advances in individual and group psychotherapy and processes such as restorative justice. Use this knowledge to inform your role as a scholar, educator, policy analyst, agency leader, or researcher.

Explore the fundamentals of successful collaboration with legislators and lobbyists to create public policies that generate sustainable change.

Create your own learning experience through the General Program. Explore topics of interest that align with your personal and professional goals.

In the Mental Health specialization, you will develop the skills to help individuals navigate community mental health services. The program explores the role of mental health in health behavioral changes and provides a solid understanding of the assessment and referral system for mental health intervention and support.

This specialization prepares you to work in community social work in non-licensure roles. You will study the prevention, intervention, and promotion of well-being in a variety of settings, including schools, communities, and organizations.

Do you aspire to take on a leadership role in the human services field? This specialization focuses on topics such as public management and leadership, program development and implementation, and staff development and training—the core competencies you will need to effectively lead a human services agency or organization.

In diverse populations, human services professionals must be in tune with the special needs of underrepresented or marginalized groups such as low-income, single-parent, gay and lesbian families, bisexual, and transgender.

From combat-related injuries to addiction, members of the armed forces may face a multitude of challenges both on the front lines and when they return home. In this specialization, you’ll deepen your understanding of military culture; explore topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and vicarious trauma; and examine how frequent relocations, parent-child separation, and extensive deployments impact military families.

Aging populations with special needs are creating a greater demand for professionals who can facilitate the integration of services for the older adult, including health and home care, financial and lifestyle, and issues of daily living. The Gerontology specialization prepares you to meet this growing need. In this program, you will explore the impact of societal expectations on the elderly and demographic trends, including global cross-cultural issues in aging.

Walden’s MS in Human Services General Program explores the full spectrum of human services competencies and strategies. As a student, you will gain insight into the history of the profession, learn best practices for human services delivery systems, and practice effective program planning and evaluation methods.

Whether it’s an act of nature or an act of terror, effective crisis management leaders are needed to curtail the effects of the disaster and implement relief efforts. This specialization focuses on theories and strategies to meet the needs of individuals, families, and communities in crisis.