Mental and Behavioral Health concentration
Overview
As a leading cause of disability worldwide, mental health issues are a critical factor in population health. The Mental and Behavioral Health concentration equips students to protect and improve the mental health and well-being of individuals, communities and societies using public health strategies.
Although individualized treatment by a licensed clinician remains the standard of care for people with diagnosable mental illness, the core competencies of public health prepare professionals for work in population-level mental and behavioral health.
In this concentration, students gain advanced knowledge about the presentation, risk and correlated factors, treatment, and course of major mental and behavioral health disorders. Students also learn how individual, family and societal factors impact mental health and well-being and how to apply this knowledge using public health approaches to improve population mental and behavioral health.
Concentration requirements
A total of 15 credits is required.
- Fundamentals of Public Mental Health (3 credits)
- Public Mental Health (3 credits)
- Transdisciplinary problem solving course (3 credits)
- One elective course
- Practicum with a mental and behavioral health focus (3 credits)
Transdisciplinary problem solving courses options include:
- TPS: Global Mental Health
- TPS: Mental Health Prevention and Promotion
Electives with a mental and behavioral health focus include:
- Mental and Behavioral Health Epidemiology
- Behavioral Health Policies and Services
In addition, students are strongly encouraged to choose skill labs related to mental and behavioral health.
Practicum
Students in the mental and behavioral health concentration must complete their practicum experience in a setting where they will develop relevant skills and experience. Practicum sites may include:
- Behavioral Health Network of Greater St. Louis
- Centerstone
- Parents as Teachers National Center
- Perinatal Behavioral Health Service
Concentration chair
Psychiatric epidemiologist Alexis Duncan, PhD, an associate professor at WashU Brown School, focuses her research on interrelationships between obesity, eating disorders and substance use disorders, as well as risk mechanisms for the development of psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, and the effects of these disorders on psychosocial outcomes and health behaviors.
Apply now
At WashU School of Public Health, we are reimagining public health and working to move the field forward at one of the most impactful moments of our time. Become part of our academic community, where we are dedicated to addressing the world’s most urgent public health challenges.