University of Georgia School of Social Work

“I had no idea that the Army had social workers. I got the opportunity to combine the two things I wanted to do. A month out of graduate school, I got deployed with my first unit as a combat social worker, and I fell in love with all of it.”

Meet Jeff Yarvis, a 34-year Army veteran who built a career at the intersection of the military and mental health. He is a part-time instructor in the University of Georgia School of Social Work where he teaches courses in military social work curriculum that he and colleagues at the Council on Social Work Education spent years developing.

Learn more about Jeff and his career at the link below! 🔗

Register at the link in the first comment.
Join us for a 2-hour virtual ethics CEU training: Redefining Self-Care. Monday, June 19, 1 PM-3 PM EST on Zoom, $25. Register at the link in the first comment. Presented by Tina Niziurski, LCSW
Director, Social Work, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

This practical and engaging training focused on stress, burnout, compassion fatigue, resilience, and realistic self-care strategies for sustainable practice.

Participants will explore:
✔ Warning signs of stress and burnout
✔ The brain-body connection and resilience
✔ Core domains of self-care
✔ Daily self-care practices and personalized planning
✔ Organizational barriers and supports

It's almost time! We're looking forward to celebrating our new graduates this Friday! Go Dawgs!

University of Georgia School of Social Work alum and retired U.S. Army Colonel Dr. Jeff Yarvis built a career at the intersection of the military and mental health.

Through several deployments and numerous military decorations including the Bronze Star and Combat Action Badge, Jeff was able to get his doctoral degree in social work where he found his niche in providing mental health services and support to soldiers. After he completed his degreed, he returned to the field and put his research into action. That action led to Jeff earning a Social Work Pioneer honor from the National Association of Social Workers Foundation.

Learn more about Jeff's career in social work and the Army at the link below! 🔗

We're honored to have Judge David R. Sweat as the keynote speaker at the 2026 School of Social Work Convocation ceremony.

A graduate of the UGA School of Law, Judge Sweat served as Judge of Superior Court and as Chief Judge of the Western Judicial Circuit until 2017, when he retired from active service. Judge Sweat now serves as a Senior Judge of the Superior Courts of Georgia. In 2008, Judge Sweat established a mental health treatment court program to assist individuals with mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders and divert them away from the criminal justice system. Judge Sweat also facilitated the creation of the Athens-Clarke County Justice Mental Health Collaborative, which works to change system responses to justice-involved individuals with behavioral health treatment needs.