Jaclyn Kirsch

Dr. Jaclyn Kirsch is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Arlington. Her work focuses on improving mental health outcomes for forced migrant populations and communities in low/middle-income countries. She employs transformative mixed methods and community-based research to address collective trauma and develop group interventions. Current projects include studies on language interpreters' trauma, mental health in Belize, and Afghan women's displacement experiences. Dr. Kirsch holds a PhD in Social Work (Ohio State University, 2023), an MPH (2015), MSW (2015), and BA in Psychology (2012).

• Education:
• PhD in Social Work, The Ohio State University, 2023
• MPH in Public Health, The Ohio State University, 2015
• MSW in Social Work, The Ohio State University, 2015
• BA in Psychology, The Ohio State University, 2012

Her research interests include forced migration impacts, simulation-based learning for social workers, and community-driven interventions. Notable grants include a $20,000 pilot study on health services access for limited English proficient patients (UT Arlington, 2024) and a $4,888 grant for simulation-based interpreter training (CRTLE, 2024). She actively serves on committees like the Interprofessional Education Committee and chairs the Dallas Refugee Mental Health Coalition.

Dr. Kirsch’s teaching spans courses on advanced micro practice, diverse populations, and US immigration policy. She advises master’s theses and has collaborated on over 20 peer-reviewed publications since 2021, focusing on refugee mental health, pandemic impacts, and systemic disparities in child welfare.

Her work emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, with affiliations including the Society for Social Work Research and the Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio. Recent presentations include keynotes on refugee health disparities and pandemic leadership at national conferences.