Updated on August 6, 2025
Social work as a whole centers around the interaction between individuals and their environment, providing support and guidance through a given situation. Integrative social work takes it a step further by ensuring the betterment of individuals using the holistic and systematic perspective of social work.
At Saybrook University, the holistic approach is part of our core for all programs, including our Integrative Social Work programs. We offer a Ph.D. in Integrative Social Work, as well as specialized Ph.D. programs that apply a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to social work traditions.
What is a holistic approach to social work practice?
A holistic approach to social work assesses all factors in a person’s life when determining a path to care. Social workers who take a holistic approach to their practice tend to examine client behavior through a wide variety of lenses, including environment, family dynamics, culture, and more.
Often, holistic social work will not only attempt to tackle issues faced by an individual but also their communities. This ensures practitioners are addressing root causes of negative outcomes and ideally affecting change for a wide range of people, not just their given client.
By taking all of these elements into consideration, a social worker can better detect any hidden issues that could give rise to emotional distress or negative behaviors. This holistic lens can lead to better care plans and overall support for clients similar to how integrative social work is concerned with the general well-being of individuals.
What is integrative social work?
Integrative social work draws from the concept of holistic social work to create a model rooted in systemic support for an individual. This social work practice model is often described as “person-centered,” meaning it takes into account the physical, emotional, community, and spiritual well-being of a client. The integrative social work model teaches that if you do not recognize all of the above dimensions in your practice, it will undermine the whole.
Integrative social work also addresses an individual’s community issues in relation to their personal issues in an attempt to find long-term solutions.
Integrative social work, at its core, combines the time-honored traditions of social work with the values of social justice and social transformation.
Pursuing a Ph.D. in Integrative Social Work
Pursuing a doctoral degree in integrative social work prepares students to become leaders, researchers, and advocates of social work and community health.
After the completion of a Ph.D. in Integrative Social Work, graduates will be prepared to do the following:
- Examine and evaluate the traditional community and societal values of social work and apply them to the dynamic landscape of the 21st century
- Explain the influence of social policy and public health programs on general health and well-being of individuals, organizations, and communities
- Support health equity and social justice in health care, society, and law
- Engage, assess, and intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
- Critically evaluate methodologies, apply published research, and conduct independent research to investigate contemporary issues with community and society
- Assess and synthesize evidence, theories, and informed practices and interventions in integrative social work
By possessing these high-level skills in both practical and research methods, students are ready to enter the field of social work in any capacity. The majority of integrative social work graduates go on to pursue careers in health care, education, community organizing and activism, child welfare, public policy, and more.
Integrative Social Work FAQs
What is integrative social work?
Integrative social work takes traditional social work and incorporates a holistic and systematic perspective of social work to better treat the whole person and garner long-term solutions to community issues.
Can you study integrative social work?
Yes, Saybrook University offers an integrative social work Ph.D. program that is 100% online.
How does integrative social work differ from traditional social work?
Integrative social work utilizes the principles of traditional social work and incorporates holistic insights. Integrative social work also draws on teachings from sociology, psychology, health care, and law, providing a holistic approach with a broad perspective on social work issues within communities and societies.
To learn more about Saybrook’s Ph.D. in Integrative Social Work program, visit our program page. We also offer two specialized Ph.D. programs in Integrative Social Work: Integrative Community Studies Specialization and Legal Studies Specialization. Fill out the form below to request more information or learn how you can apply today.
Interested in other types of practice models in the field of social work? Head to our blog about the four different types of social work practice models.
