School of Social Work

Katie Kim is a second-year doctoral student at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work. Her academic and professional interests focus on substance misuse and childhood trauma-related psychiatric disorders and their impact on social development and daily functioning. She is also interested in prevention and intervention in biopsychosocial risk factors for mental health, particularly mood, anxiety and substance use disorders, in relation to daily stress or cumulative trauma.

Katie received her B.S.W. from George Mason University in 2018. Her field internship at the Arlington County Department of Human Services stimulated her interest in macro-social as a means to examine how systems can help to bridge the gap between government-funded services and human needs. Katie received her M.S.W. from the University of Michigan in 2019, focusing on interpersonal practice in mental health. She also received clinical training as a paid intern at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Jackson County, Michigan, where she worked with substance use disorder and trauma populations.

In 2019, Katie started her research career at Yale Stress Center (YSC) in the Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, which focused on both research and clinical work. As a research coordinator and clinical social worker, she participated in interdisciplinary studies to understand the long-term effects of stress on integrated brain, body and behaviors, specifically targeting substance abuse and trauma populations. kat

Katie is also interested in spiritual growth and self-development, including spirituality, religious life, faith traditions, values and philosophies of life. She enjoys exploring the connections between faith traditions and real-world complexities, making a difference in the lives of others through service work, and growing in the sense of her own abilities and self-awareness.

Areas of interest

• Adolescent and Youth Development
• Communities and Neighborhoods
• Community-Based Participatory Research
• Family
• Health
• Mental Health
• Social Work Practice
• Substance Misuse and Addictive Behaviors
• Violence Against Women and Children

Education and credentials

LMSW, Virginia Department of Health Professions (March 2022-present)
M.S.W., University of Michigan
B.S.W., George Mason University

View Katie Kim's curriculum vitae.