Jillian Campbell is a clinician in the Intensive Home-Based Therapeutic Care (IHBTC) Program at Wayside Youth and Family Support Network, an agency providing mental health counseling and family support services to children, young adults, and families in Massachusetts. Currently, Campbell oversees a caseload of seven clients in their teens or early 20s. She works with them and their families in their homes to help treat a range of diagnoses including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and personality disorders.
“Their cases are very complex,” says Campbell. “We are the highest level of care the Department of Mental Health offers prior to inpatient hospitalization.”
As part of a team that includes other youth support workers, family partners, and peer mentors, Campbell facilitates treatment plans that might include decreasing substance use, reducing self-harm, or managing dissociative symptoms.
“Ultimately, our goal is safety — to help our clients thrive in the community and to avoid another hospitalization,” she explains.
On Choosing Simmons
After graduating from Fairfield University with a degree in psychology/behavioral neuroscience in 2021, Campbell set her sights on a career in social work. With its strong reputation for clinical excellence, she says, “Simmons was at the top of my list.” She particularly appreciated its location in Boston for internship and employment opportunities.
How Simmons Provided Career Preparation
Interested in working with youth, Campbell chose Simmons’ Social Work + Trauma Practice certificate program to deepen her knowledge of trauma-informed therapy and intergenerational trauma. She describes the learning atmosphere at The School of Social Work as highly collaborative — providing vital preparation, she says, for the team-based approach at Wayside.
“I built the confidence to share my ideas while also seeing situations from others’ perspectives,” she says.
Likewise, Campbell found the in-class simulation work invaluable for developing her clinical skills. In her first placement, she interned at Boston-based Match Community Day Charter Public School, where she counseled elementary students individually and in groups.
Intrigued and challenged by crisis work, she completed her second field placement at Walker Therapeutic and Educational Programs, a nonprofit in Needham, Massachusetts, serving K-8 youth with complex behavioral, social, and emotional needs. Interning in the Ain Intensive Treatment Residence (ITR) and the Community-Based Acute Treatment (CBAT) Program, Campbell provided therapeutic support to clients involved with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, as well as youth “stepping down” from psychiatric hospitalizations.
“It was an amazing learning opportunity,” she says. “I loved the kids and the intensity. I realized I wanted to do more of this work.”
Why Social Work is Meaningful
Fulfillment, says Campbell, comes from seeing family relationships improve or a client consistently complete their activities of daily living.
“To rise to these challenging clinical situations and show up every single day to do the best I can for our kids and families is so rewarding,” she says.