Academics

Social Work Fellowship in Child and Family Practice

The Social Work fellowship in Child and Family practice is a two year advanced didactic and clinical training program for Active Duty Social Work Officers that specialize in clinical treatment of military children and families.

Overview

WHO: Military Social Work Officers
WHAT: Two-Year, post-graduate fellowship including clinical work, didactics focused on the clinical evaluation, assessment and treatment of military children and families.
WHEN: Fellowship starts yearly on 1 July.
WHERE: Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
HOW: Instructions are contained in MILPER message released in December timeframe or contact HRC

Rationale and Purpose

The Social Work Fellowship promotes the implementation of a consultative and collaborative Behavioral Health care model for military families, with the ultimate objective of promoting optimal service member readiness through family wellness and resilience.
 
The DoD recognizes that service member effectiveness is multi-dimensional and subject to a variety of environmental stressors. The service member’s performance is not only influenced by training but also linked to the state of the service member’s personal and family life. Both military members and their families are deserving of a quality health care system as they face traditional family challenges with the added burden of unique stressors such as frequent relocations, extended separations, additional financial burdens and worry for loved ones operating in high risk environments.
 
The training provided by the Fellowship ultimately contributes to military readiness by increasing the value of what the Fellowship graduates bring to their future assignments and beyond.

Objectives

By the of the two year program, Fellowship graduates will demonstrate:
  • A psychosocial/psychodynamic understanding of human growth and development from birth through adolescence and beyond.
  • Advanced clinical skills to work directly with military children, parents, family members and groups, including assessment, diagnosis and skillful implementation of treatment interventions.
  • Knowledge of agency structure, community resources, local, and national organizations who work with and support military children and families.
  • Improved ability to professionally contribute as a member of a multi-disciplinary treatment team.
  • Improved ability to provide professional consultation and program development.
  • Opportunities to improve research skills.
  • Improved professional judgment and behavior while navigating the complexities of social work practice unique to military population

Curriculum

The Social Work Fellowship in Child and Family Practice is a combination of didactic coursework and experiential casework chosen by the faculty consultants, clinic leadership, and Social Work and Child Psychiatry Fellows. Learning modalities include reading assignments, group presentations, small group seminars, case conferences, individual face-to-face supervision, independent study, staff evaluation and consultation, journal club presentations, attendance at local workshops and conferences, and presentations at national professional conferences.
The didactic coursework includes family therapy, human growth and development, psycho-pathology, principles of psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, advanced clinical supervision, ego psychology, short term therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, adolescent therapy, and marital therapy. Fellows also receive training in consultation to ancillary disciplines within hospitals and other community agencies and organizations.

Contact Us


Christopher J. Guenthner, LCSW, BCD
LTC, MS
Director, NCC Social Work Fellowship
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Email: Christopher.j.guenthner.mil@mail.mil
Office: 301-295-8018
Don't forget to keep your family's information up-to-date in DEERS.