Kelly Young, Ph.D., LMSW, LMAC

Overview

Dr. Kelly Young, PhD, LMSW, LMAC, is an Assistant Professor and BSW Program Director in the School of Social Work at Wichita State University. She earned her PhD in Social Work from the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, where her dissertation, Exploring the Embodied Experience of Child Welfare Occupational Trauma Through a Multi-Level Intersectionality Lens: Participatory Arts-Based Body Mapping with Child Welfare Professionals, used innovative arts-based and participatory methods to explore how trauma is embodied and experienced within child welfare practice.

Dr. Young’s scholarship centers on Child Welfare Occupational Trauma (CWOT), a construct she defines as encompassing the cumulative impacts of secondary trauma, moral injury, and embodied stress experienced by professionals working in child welfare systems. Grounded in critical constructivism, intersectionality, and embodiment theory, her research advances understanding of how personal trauma histories, professional responsibilities, and structural inequities converge to shape worker well-being and retention. Using participatory methods such as Body Mapping, she seeks to amplify practitioner voices and illuminate the lived realities of those serving in high-trauma environments.

Her ongoing research examines trauma-responsive supervision, implementation of resilience-promoting interventions, and the systemic and institutional conditions that contribute to occupational harm. Dr. Young has presented nationally at the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) and has received multiple awards and research fellowships, including the University of Kansas Doctoral Dissertation Fund and the PhD Student Travel Award for her longitudinal study, Does Age Matter for Reentry After Reunification? A Ten-Year Exploration from an RCT on PMTO for Families of Children in Foster Care.

Before joining academia, Dr. Young spent over 30 years in child welfare and behavioral health practice across Kansas. She held leadership roles as Director of Evidence-Based Initiatives at KVC Kansas, PMTO lead trainer and coach, and Director of the state’s first certified Batterer Intervention Program embedded within a child welfare agency. Her extensive professional experience includes clinical practice, supervision, policy development, program evaluation, and statewide implementation of evidence-based models.

In the classroom, Dr. Young teaches across both the clinical and macro social work curricula, including courses such as Social Work Practice in Addictions, Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis, Children’s Mental Health, Generalist Practice with Children and Families, Assessing and Treating Substance Misuse, Pharmacology and Drug Classification, Social Welfare Policy, and Research Methods. Her teaching philosophy integrates trauma-responsive, inclusive, and anti-oppressive pedagogies that foster critical reflection, professional resilience, and ethical leadership among emerging social workers.

Dr. Young’s professional service includes roles as the BSW Program Director, and Addictions and Tilford Diversity Certificate Advisor. Further, Dr. Young provides field supervision for several students completing their practicum. She holds Kansas licenses as a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW #8051) and Licensed Master Addiction Counselor (LMAC #107).

Across her research, teaching, and practice, Dr. Young is committed to advancing trauma-informed, equity-driven, and evidence-based approaches that enhance the well-being of both clients and practitioners. Her work bridges scholarship and practice to foster resilience, critical consciousness, and systemic change within social work and child welfare contexts. Through her leadership and research, Dr. Young seeks to transform social work, education and practice toward greater compassion, accountability, and social justice.

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