{"id":6741,"date":"2024-12-13T14:08:48","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T14:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=6741"},"modified":"2025-03-31T11:37:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T15:37:27","slug":"take-your-first-step-toward-a-behavioral-health-career-with-wilmus-new-associate-degree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2024\/12\/13\/take-your-first-step-toward-a-behavioral-health-career-with-wilmus-new-associate-degree\/","title":{"rendered":"Take Your First Step Toward a Behavioral Health Career With WilmU\u2019s New Associate Degree"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column6741_ec239a-bb > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column6741_ec239a-bb > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column6741_ec239a-bb > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column6741_ec239a-bb > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column6741_ec239a-bb > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column6741_ec239a-bb > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column6741_ec239a-bb > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column6741_ec239a-bb{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column6741_ec239a-bb > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column6741_ec239a-bb > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6741_ec239a-bb\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<p>If you are interested in working in areas of mental health care, substance abuse counseling or recovery support; becoming a corrections officer; providing geriatric or foster care; or working in youth and family services \u2014 then think about a career in behavioral health. It is one of the fastest growing fields, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with an expected job growth of 22% through 2031.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Starting in January 2025, Wilmington University will offer its NEW 100% online associate degree in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/behavioralscience\/applied-behavioral-health-associate.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Applied Behavioral Health<\/a>. This degree will provide a valuable credential that not only will make new entrants into the field more marketable but also give career changers a valuable credential and training in the field.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe need for qualified workers is great, even more so since the pandemic,\u201d says <strong>Dr. Johanna Bishop<\/strong>, director of Behavioral Science programs.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Earn a Flexible, Affordable Behavioral Health Degree&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Grounded in mental health, psychology, the sociology of wellness, health sciences and criminology, this interdisciplinary program blends foundational knowledge and practical skills, including how to work in teams, communicate well and maintain confidentiality.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMore often than not, even entry-level positions require higher education. The program really fills that void,\u201d says <strong>Dr. Shiloh Andrus<\/strong>, chair of the Behavioral Science and Applied Behavioral Health programs. \u201cIt\u2019s such a great set of courses.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Intro to Applied Behavioral Health explores fundamental concepts, societal perceptions, early intervention and treatments, and ethical and legal responsibilities.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNo matter what your degree is, working with any people, I feel Applied Behavioral Health is a good course to have,\u201d says Audra Watson, an emergency technician and Health Science major who enjoyed learning from Dr. Andrus. \u201cShe was open. She let us express how we felt. She listened.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another core course, Applied Behavioral Health Writing Assessment, teaches you to write succinct and organized case notes, which can improve decision-making and continuity of care.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a real eye opener,\u201d says Cassi Owner, a Behavioral Science major in the class. \u201cIt will get you into the mind frame of what questions you\u2019ll be asking your client to get them to open up without being too abrasive.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the A.S. in Applied Behavioral Health stands alone as a strong credential, it\u2019s also a stackable one.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s not just a degree that stops in two years,\u201d Dr. Bishop says. \u201cPeople have lots of opportunities to move forward in this degree.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Explore Social and Behavioral Sciences&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>WilmU&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/dualcredit\/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dual-Credit ADVANTAGE\u2122<\/a> saves you time and tuition by counting select credits from the A.S. in Applied Behavioral Health toward a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/behavioralscience\/behavsci.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">B.S. in Behavioral Science<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/behavioralscience\/crimjust.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">B.S. in Criminal Justice<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/behavioralscience\/psychology.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">B.S. in Psychology<\/a>. You may also be eligible to earn WilmU credit for your prior learning and experience.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re ready to make a difference in peoples&#8217; lives, Dr. Andrus says, and \u201cfeel just excited to be a help and to work as someone in an entry-level position to get started, this is the place for you.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.kb-row-layout-wrap.wp-block-kadence-rowlayout.kb-row-layout-id6741_96814c-62{margin-top:0em;}.kb-row-layout-id6741_96814c-62 > .kt-row-column-wrap{align-content:center;}:where(.kb-row-layout-id6741_96814c-62 > .kt-row-column-wrap) > .wp-block-kadence-column{justify-content:center;}.kb-row-layout-id6741_96814c-62 > .kt-row-column-wrap{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-none, 0rem );row-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-none, 0rem );max-width:var( --global-content-width, 1290px );padding-left:var(--global-content-edge-padding);padding-right:var(--global-content-edge-padding);padding-top:0em;padding-right:0em;padding-bottom:0em;padding-left:0em;grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr) minmax(0, 2fr);}.kb-row-layout-id6741_96814c-62{border-top:1px solid #eeeeee;border-right:1px solid #eeeeee;border-bottom:1px solid #eeeeee;}.kb-row-layout-id6741_96814c-62 > .kt-row-layout-overlay{opacity:0.30;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-row-layout-id6741_96814c-62 > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr) minmax(0, 2fr);}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-row-layout-id6741_96814c-62{border-top:1px solid #db1313;border-right:1px solid #eeeeee;border-bottom:1px solid #eeeeee;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kb-row-layout-id6741_96814c-62 > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}.kb-row-layout-id6741_96814c-62{border-top:1px solid #db1313;border-right:1px solid #eeeeee;border-bottom:1px solid #eeeeee;}}.wu-text-col,.wu-img-col {\tmin-height: 114px;}.wu-text-col > div,.wu-img-col > div {\tflex: 1;}<\/style><div class=\"kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6741_96814c-62 alignnone FULL wp-block-kadence-rowlayout\"><div class=\"kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-2-columns kt-row-layout-right-golden kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-middle kb-theme-content-width\">\n<style>.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col{display:flex;}.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-none, 0rem );}.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:row;flex-wrap:wrap;align-items:center;justify-content:center;}.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col > *, .kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-image, .kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-kadence-image{margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;}.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image-is-ratio-size{flex-grow:1;}.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col{background-color:var(--global-palette9, #ffffff);}.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:row;flex-wrap:wrap;align-items:center;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col > *, .kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-image, .kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-kadence-image{margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;}.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image-is-ratio-size{flex-grow:1;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:row;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:flex-start;justify-content:center;}.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col > *, .kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-image, .kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-kadence-image{margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;}.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image-is-ratio-size{flex-grow:1;}}.kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a figure.image-is-svg {-webkit-margin-after: 1em;  margin-block-end: 1em;}img[src$=\".svg\"] {  max-width: 220px;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6741_f820ce-6a kb-section-dir-horizontal wu-img-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.kb-image6741_1a8120-ca:not(.kb-image-is-ratio-size) .kb-img, .kb-image6741_1a8120-ca.kb-image-is-ratio-size{padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.kb-image6741_1a8120-ca .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image6741_1a8120-ca image-is-svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"350\" height=\"125\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/wilmu-logo-sbs1.svg\" alt=\"College of Social &amp; Behavioral Sciences logo\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-13300\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col{display:flex;}.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);}.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;align-items:stretch;}.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:stretch;}.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery{align-self:stretch;}.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kt-row-column-wrap > .kadence-column6741_b71567-f6{align-self:center;}.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6{align-self:auto;}.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col{background-color:#eeeeee;}.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kt-row-column-wrap > .kadence-column6741_b71567-f6{align-self:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6{align-self:auto;}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;align-items:stretch;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kt-row-column-wrap > .kadence-column6741_b71567-f6{align-self:center;}.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6{align-self:auto;}.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;align-items:stretch;}}.kt-row-column-wrap > .wp-block-kadence-column {align-self: stretch;}.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 > div {  padding-block: 1em;}.kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 p:last-of-type {  -webkit-margin-after: 0;  margin-block-end: 0;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6741_b71567-f6 kb-section-dir-vertical wu-text-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<p class=\"NoMargin\" style=\"font-size:1rem\"><em>Gain the knowledge and skills to launch or advance your career with Wilmington University\u2019s new <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/behavioralscience\/applied-behavioral-health-associate.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>A.S. in Applied Behavioral Health<\/em><\/a> <em>from the<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/behavioralscience\/indexs.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>College of Social and Behavioral Sciences<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you are interested in working in areas of mental health care, substance abuse counseling or recovery support; becoming a corrections officer; providing geriatric or&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":13255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[825,703,826,742,827,828,280,14,15],"class_list":["post-6741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-applied-behavioral-health","tag-associate-degree-in-applied-behavioral-health","tag-b-s-in-behavioral-science","tag-b-s-in-criminal-justice","tag-b-s-in-psychology","tag-behavioral-science-and-applied-behavioral-health","tag-college-of-social-behavioral-science","tag-wilmington-university","tag-wilmu"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":2,"label":"ACADEMIC NEWS"}],"post_tag":[{"value":825,"label":"Applied Behavioral Health"},{"value":703,"label":"associate degree in Applied Behavioral Health"},{"value":826,"label":"B.S. in Behavioral Science"},{"value":742,"label":"B.S. in Criminal Justice"},{"value":827,"label":"B.S. in Psychology"},{"value":828,"label":"Behavioral Science and Applied Behavioral Health"},{"value":280,"label":"College of Social &amp; 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