Clinical Social Work in a Public Health Future

Abstract

Social and ecological changes after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have surfaced the need to change how clinical interventions are administered to extend the reach and impact of interventions. The public health approach presents a framework to organize intervention efforts, and clinical social work can benefit from integrating this approach formally into its clinical education programs. This paper presents the current needs for a population-based approach to clinical service, a primer for social workers on the public health perspective. It offers critical areas to focus on integrating this public health approach into clinical social work practice.