DSW Spotlight: Kaila Anderson

Kaila Anderson’s personal experiences as a Kansan growing up in rural areas around farmers shaped her perspective on mental and behavioral health. She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, but life made it difficult to pursue further education until recently. 

Anderson, who is now in the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) program, witnessed the lack of care available in rural areas of Kansas, particularly for farmers. So she co-founded and co-developed the LandLogic model, providing training to healthcare providers and collaborating with researchers working with agricultural communities. 

Now, Anderson wants to use that experience as she works toward her DSW. She shared what brought her to social work and encouraged her to pursue the online DSW program at KU.

How did you choose social work?

Anderson: “I’ve always had an interest in psychology, and I have my undergrad in psychology. I didn't really know how that connected to social work until we were living in western Kansas and I was teaching. I thought I wanted to be a school psychologist, but ultimately that was too narrow of a field for me.

“I did my Master of Social Work degree through the long-distance program that KU had while I was living in western Kansas. In my practicum, I did outpatient therapy and took crisis calls; that was my early experience in social work. So, rural America is near and dear to my heart, specifically rural health disparities.” 

What made you decide to pursue your DSW?

Anderson: “Lived experiences. We brought home kids through adoption. We had a lot of very significant medical needs that were not known or expected. We were thrust into living in western Kansas, trying to get access to care. Behavioral health care, rural healthcare, medical care – it was not for the faint of heart. It’s pretty desperate. 

“There was not the right level of care, and that’s what drove us to move to Denver to get access to hospitals and care. I became a full-time stay-at-home mom with a very high-need special needs kid. I experienced the systems in the medical and social work world as a client, as a parent.”

Could you detail more about what was abnormal about your pathway?

Anderson: “I was burning out as a special needs caregiver, and I knew I had more to give. I needed something for myself. Growing up in rural America and around farmers was something I cared about, but it wasn’t something that I was living. So, I developed a toolkit for training. I saw a gap in serving our farmers with behavioral health licensed providers out in rural America, and medical providers who were also faced with being therapists. All these systems finally came together. So, I created the LandLogic Model with my colleague, and that put me on this pathway. I love thinking this way, and I love trying to solve problems.” 

With all of this in mind, why did you choose KU’s DSW program? 

Anderson: “I already had experience with the MSW program. I love Kansas, and it was one of the closer programs. I want to get to know my classmates and my professors on a personal and professional level. These people will be my peers one day, and I want to be able to collaborate with them and have discussions. I wanted to be geographically closer to those people. The other easy part: Ed Scanlon is my favorite professor from my master's program.”