Sports Social Work

Post-Master's Certificate Program (in person and online)

Sport is one of the oldest social work interventions for vulnerable populations. Lawson (2003) skillfully highlighted the congruence between sport and social work when arguing that sports programs help to enhance human well-being, reduce the harms of poverty and contribute to human capital development. In a recent NASW News article, social work skills were declared to be a good fit for sports. Dean and Rowan (2014) affirmed that athletes at all levels are a population group with unique vulnerabilities whose social work-related needs are often unmet. This Post-Master’s Certificate course will provide an advanced foundation for social workers interested in social work practice in sporting environments and begin to prepare social workers to assist athletes, at all levels that they encounter in various social work settings. This course will introduce students to the intersection between social work and mental health disorders in college and professional athletics.

Sport social work is a rapidly emerging area of social work practice. Social workers work in high school, college, and professional sports and there is even a national organization for sports social workers – the Certified Sports Social Workers Institute. However, very little formal continuing education exists to train social workers to work with athletes and in sports organizations. This Post-Master’s Certificate course provides such an opportunity.

• Introduce and socialize students to sports social work
• Familiarize students with a framework for understanding college and pro sports
• Provide an advanced foundation for understanding college athlete vulnerabilities
• Merge generalist, advanced clinical skills and understanding with sports social work framework
• Address the impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion in sports, with a specialized focus on anti-oppressive practices and social justice in sports social work 
• Complete practice exercises that will begin to provide students with a foundation for a career in sports social work

This course is targeted at social workers and other human services professionals with a minimum of 2-5 years of post-Master’s experience.

The certificate program consists of 10 sessions over the Spring 2024 semester. Assignments include weekly readings and a final learning assessment in the form of a paper or project.

The program meets at NYU’s Washington Square Campus in Greenwich Village, NYC, with some classes being offered online via Zoom. Program dates for Spring 2024 are forthcoming, please check back.

Dr. Lena Green, DSW, LCSW

Dr. Lena L. Green is a clinical social worker, psychotherapist, and fatherhood practitioner. She currently serves as the executive director of the HOPE Center, a community-based mental health clinic in NYC. She is also a clinical professor at both NYU and Columbia University schools of social work. In her more than 20 years of direct practice and management experience as a clinician, professor, and administrator, Dr. Green has had a tremendous impact on countless New Yorkers. Her work encompasses effective clinical interventions with various populations across the lifespan, and interdisciplinary methods ranging from new and expectant parents, and teens to older adults and their families inclusive of complex medical care and psychosocial needs. She is skilled in mental health, program planning, development, clinical supervision, and building strategic partnerships. Her research focus includes mental health in communities of color and trauma-informed clinical practices.

Dr. Green received the National Association of Social Workers, New York City Chapter’s (NASW-NYC) Social Work I.M.P.A.C.T. Award in 2019. The award, which is the chapter’s highest honor, is presented to a social worker who “exemplifies the commitment to social justice, equity, empowerment, and civil rights, through their work, research, advocacy, practice, the embodiment of the social work profession, and their dedication to the communities and individuals they serve.” In 2015, she also received the chapter’s Mid-Career Leadership Award and was recently inducted into the Pi Pi Chapter of the Phi Alpha Social Work Honor Society.

Dr. Green holds both a doctorate and master’s degree in social work from NYU; a BA in psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and post-master’s certificates in Advance Clinical Practice from Hunter College, and the Treatment of Alcohol and Drug Addicted Clients from NYU. Dr. Green serves on several boards and is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Emmett Gill, PhD, MSW, LMSW

Emmett Gill is the founder of AthleteTalk, a mental health, and wellness app for athletes, and is a former clinical professor in the School of Social Work, and the Director of Student-Athlete Wellness & Personal Development in the department of Athletics, at the University of Texas at Austin. Emmett’s scholarship focuses on athletes’ mental health and sports scandals. Emmett is the co-founder and former president of the Alliance of Social Workers in Sports (ASWIS) and the current Executive Director of the Certified Clinical Sports Social Worker Institute (CCSSWI).

20 NYSED and ASWB/ACE Continuing Education Contact Hours will be awarded for this program.

55 jurisdictions accept ACE-approved provider CE contact hours. ACE is not an approved Continuing Education provider in the states of New York (though NYU Silver is NYSED CE approved in NYS) and West Virginia, unless the event is outside of West VA. ACE only approves individual courses in New Jersey, though NYU Silver is CSWE-accredited and therefore accepted for licensed NJ professionals. Here is a full list of statutes related to social work CE.

Applications for the Spring 2024 program are forthcoming, please check back. 

The cost of this certificate program is $1,100, which includes registration fee and cost of an online compendium of readings.

Available discounts include:

• 25% discount for NYU Silver School of Social Work MSW/PhD alumni
  
• 25% discount for field instructors currently working with NYU Silver School of Social Work graduate students.
• 15% discount for applicants who have already completed one NYU Silver certificate program.
• 50% discount for veterans.

Please note: discounts may not be combined.

Payment Policy: Upon acceptance into the program, a $250 non-refundable deposit is required to secure your place. This deposit is applied to the total cost of tuition. The total cost of the program is due before the start of classes.