Clinical Social Work Fellowship
Our post-graduate clinical social work fellowship, funded by the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium, is a full-time, 2-year fellowship dedicated to providing evidence-based clinical social work training, supervision, multidisciplinary teamwork, and direct psychotherapeutic experience for LMSWs seeking their clinical license.
Program Outline
- Weekly competency-based didactic psychotherapeutic training, with individual, family, and group psychotherapy direct practice, supervision, observation, and training in pediatric psychiatry and behavioral health settings
- Site rotations between inpatient and outpatient settings and in specialized rotations (e.g., neurology, behavioral, developmental, gastroenterology, substance use, eating disorders)
- Weekly 1:1 and group clinical supervision from a LCSW-S
- Direct clinical hours with assigned clients per site
- Multidisciplinary team approach with physicians, residents, interns, nurses, advanced practice providers, psychologists, and pharmacists
- Neurobiological and biopsychosocial clinical application training
Our fellows are rotating at Children's Medical Center, Dallas, and UT Southwestern Medical Centerin sites that include, but are not limited to, children's and adolescents' IOP, PHP, outpatient pediatric, and family psychotherapy mental health services; Rees Jones Center for Foster Care Excellence; Suicide Prevention and Resilience at Children's (SPARC); Children's Mental Health Assessment Team in the Emergency Department; and the Texas Perinatal Psychiatry Access Network for their first year. As our program grows, additional rotations and opportunities continue to expand.
Minimum Requirements
- Active and in good-standing LMSW in state of residence (preference given to Texas residents) from a CSWE-accredited graduate school
- MSW from a CSWE-accredited program
- Graduate GPA 3.0+
- Proof of U.S. citizenship or a U.S. permanent residence
- Statement of purpose
- Commitment to the 2-year, in-person, full-time paid position
Preferred Qualifications/Skills
- 1-2 years of experience in child and family mental health services
- 1-2 years of experience in pediatric inpatient and outpatient mental health settings
- Knowledge of child and family mental health community resources
- Desire to learn and welcome training, structured feedback, and supervisory direction
- Ability to work collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team
- Excellent verbal, written, and client interaction skills
- Proficiency in electronic health records and technology
- Strong organizational and time management skills
- Ability to thrive and remain flexible in a fast paced, changing environment
Current Fellows
- Ma’Kayla Donaldson
I graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences and earned my Master of Social Work degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. I have dedicated 11 years working in social services and health care, 8 of which were working for child-placing agencies and the Department of Family and Protective Services. I enjoy working with children and vulnerable populations. I look forward to learning from the clinicians in and outside the UTSW Psychiatry Department and seeing how my areas of interest will grow.
- Megan Mousaw
I graduated from UTA with my MSW, where my area of focus within social work was mental health and substance use. I was fortunate enough to spend one of my internships working at Parkland Hospital with pregnant women with diagnosed substance use disorders, providing case management and counseling support. Along with school, I spent the past 2-3 years working at the Children’s Advocacy Center for North Texas, working with victims of abuse/neglect and their families. Despite the heaviness of this job, I loved working with the children and seeing just how resilient, confident, and empathetic these children could be after experiencing trauma. I loved being able to see the progress our children made through the weeks and months they attended therapy, and because of this job, I hope to use my LCSW to work with children, teens, and their families who are victims of abuse and neglect.
As a social worker, I try to remind myself that self-care is important and needed, especially for those of us who see clients/patients daily. So, let this be your reminder to practice self-care today!