Certificate in Sport Social Work | Lifespan Track

Starts Jun 23, 2026
42 credits

Understanding and supporting athletes and their overall health and welfare has been a prominent specialty service area that social workers have formally and informally navigated for decades. And today, the need for sports social workers with advanced training has never been more requested across sport settings (youth, collegiate, professional, and geriatric). Research currently suggests that: (1) athletes engage in sport across the lifespan to foster a greater sense of belonging and social connection; (2) athlete mental health needs are increasing and licensed, mental health providers are needed to meet this growing demand; and (3) athletes are using their platform to address social injustices and bring awareness to longstanding disparities across our country. As established agents of change, social workers uphold the profession's mission and core values, while having an expansive scope of practice to improve outcomes for individuals, communities, and the larger society.

Live Course Schedule

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

3:00pm–4:00pm Intro to the Sports Social Work Certificate Program
4:00pm–5:00pm Understanding Athlete Health Needs

Tuesday, June 30, 2026

3:00pm–5:00pm Treatment Needs: Managing Mental Health Crises with Athletes

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

3:00pm–5:00pm Alcohol and Athletics: Two Things that Do Not Mix

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

3:00pm–4:00pm Self Defeating Attitudes and Behaviors
4:00pm–5:00pm Developing Healthy Relationships

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

3:00pm–4:00pm Lessons Learned from a Interprofessional Team in Sports Medicine
4:00pm–5:00pm Working in Collaboration with Coaches

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

3:00pm–4:00pm Importance of Internships and Fellowships within Sport
4:00pm–5:00pm Future of Sports Social Work

In addition to the live schedule, program includes 30 hours of recorded lectures:

Overview: History of Sport Social Work
Impact of Current Culture on Adolescent Mental Health
Adjustment/Transition into College Athletics
Integrated Health in Sports Settin
Adolescent Mental Health & Wellness
Sports & Body Image: Identifying Risks and Recommendations for Clinical Intervention
Subclinical Eating Disorders
Body Image and Perfectionism
Grief and Loss Support
Psychopharmacology and Navigating USADA & WADA, Drug Testing
Multidisciplinary Eating Disorders Team
Impact of Sport Specialization on Development and Injury
Parent-Coach-Player Dynamics
Safe Sport
Conflict Resolution and Mediation
Bullying and Harassment Prevention
Understanding Racial Diversity and Social Justice in Sports
Team Building and Leadership Development
Injury: Loss of Identity
Ensuring Healthy Development for Youth through Sport and Recreation
Behavior Activation
Intro to Sport Psychology
Sport Psychology: Basic Skills, Preparatory Skills, Performance Skills
ADHD vs. Anxiety: Neuropsychology and Attentional Interference in Athletics
Sleep and Sport
Differences Between Coaching and Support
Performance Anxiety
LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in Sports
Athletes Connected: Developing Community-Based Programming
Everybody Gets an Opportunity: Ability
Critical Research Perspectives for Contemporary Sport Culture
Post Concussion Care
Transitioning Out of Sport
Sports in Older Adults: Once an Athlete, Always an Athlete
Navigating the Media's Response to an Athlete's Game
Macro Social Work Practice in Collegiate Sport

Objectives

Describe how a sports medicine team works closely together to improve student-athlete outcomes.
Identify three essential skills to why coaches are a key part to student athlete outcomes
Define next steps in sport social work and the emerging need in the sport industry.
Describe the benefits of experiential learning opportunities within sport.
Identify major historical steps in the development of sport social work.
Describe current mental health programs and their missions and structures.
Name two instrumental social justice moments in sport that contributed to global changes.
Outline gaps in sport social work research and growth trends for the field.
Describe the unique mental health and performance needs of LGBTQ+ athletes.
Describe the impact of community/teams on inclusion of LGBTQ+ athletes.
Describe considerations for building an integrated health team to effectively address an athlete’s medical needs.
Describe pathways to leadership in sport for social workers.
Describe how to use behavior activation to improve an athlete's outcomes.
Identify considerations for responding to the demand and need for clinical services after implementing outreach and education programs.
Use culturally-responsive language and engagement strategies for addressing body image and perfectionism in sport.
Associate physiological and psychological aspects of sports performance.
Describe the impact of concussion management on athletes, coaches, team, and other support staff.
Evaluate an athlete's transition out of sport, considering the impact on identity, and stages of grief and loss.
Describe how aging impacts older adults’ experience of being a sports participant or fan.
Identify three interventions that can reconnect older adults with involvement in sports.
Describe strategies to identify and address eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors across the spectrum of care.
Identify risk factors and assess for potential disordered eating in athletes, encouraging athletes to get help proactively.
Identify the diagnostic criteria, symptoms, and course of treatment for insomnia/delayed sleep-wake disorders.
Outline drug testing protocols and banned substances, and identify resources to help athletes mitigate risk around banned substances.
Describe the role of sport psychologists and identify common issues sport psychologists help athletes address.
Outline best practices on working in multidisciplinary eating disorder teams.
Describe the relationships between ADHD and student-athlete functioning
Outline three different phases of mental skills training.
Implement best practice mental health crisis intervention assessment and intervention models within an organization.
Describe a framework for eliminating self-defeating attitudes.
Describe strategies for helping athletes navigate developmental changes from adolescence to adulthood.
Complete a biopsychosocial history using the Bronfenbrenner's ecological model from an athletic perspective.
Identify ways that mental health manifests in athletes differently from the non-athlete population.
Distinguish between a performance and mental health intake and what is important to capture when working with athletes on performance enhancement.
Describe positive and negative mental and physical impacts of sport on youth, and the effect coaches have on youth athlete development in and out of sport.
Apply theories of identity development, resources, and treatment options to assist with transition management and adjustment disorders.
Describe how a sports medicine team works closely together to improve student-athlete outcomes.
Identify three ways to support and enhance skills to work with adolescents and youth experiencing grief and loss in their lives.
Identify subclinical factors for eating disorders and disordered eating in athletes.
Describe effective communication and conflict resolution strategies for managing relationships among parents, coaches, and young athletes.
Describe the process to report abuse through the identified national organization for minor athletes.
Describe three strategies for recognizing and responding to bullying and harassment.
Describe three ways to effectively increase team cohesion, peer relationships, and understanding of individual differences in order to produce results and a healthy environment.
Describe how social media impacts youth social, emotional, and developmental interaction with the world around them.
Describe three strategies to help parents and athletes in finding balance outside of sport culture.
Describe ways in which the role of coaching and support systems can work together to produce improved outcomes.

Certificate Directors & Instructors

Abigail Eiler, LMSW, IMGAC-II; & Emily Klueh, LMSW, CMPC

Please see our website for a full listing of contributing instructors

Social Work Continuing Education Offered

30 hours regular asynchronous online
12 hours regular live interactive online

CE Approval Statement

The University of Michigan School of Social Work, provider #1212, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The University of Michigan School of Social Work maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 5/15/2023-5/15/2026.

Social workers participating in this course will receive 42 general continuing education contact hours.