Dr. Shericka Smith Breaks New Ground in Childhood Trauma Research With Her UK Doctorate in Social Work Online
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Dr. Shericka Smith has dedicated her career to serving K-12 students in her hometown of Lexington, Kentucky. “I was born and raised here, and I moved away just for a brief moment to get my master’s degree in school social work,” she said. After returning, she joined Fayette County Public Schools, the district where she was once a student.
Dr. Smith spent a decade as a campus-based social worker, first at Booker T. Washington Elementary then at her alma mater, Tates Creek High School. She was named Kentucky School Social Worker of the Year in 2016, and she’s currently the mental health coordinator and crisis response team lead for the district. “I work closely with school-level support teams, which include our social workers, school counselors, district mental health specialists and family resource coordinators,” she said.
When FCPS campuses closed in the interest of safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Smith was pleased that the majority of students were successful with learning remotely. But as a social worker, she knew that many were feeling a loss of connection in other ways. “The school is a safe place for a lot of our students,” she shared. “My mind was really stuck on those who were at home with no resources, no services, no mental health supports.”
As Dr. Smith explored new ways of working with students to bridge those gaps, she decided the time was right to keep building on her expertise. She enrolled in the online Doctorate of Social Work program at the University of Kentucky in 2020.
“It was super convenient,” she said, praising the program’s accelerated online coursework and flexible scheduling. She earned her DSW while working full time, teaching master’s courses part time for UK and providing mental health services to clients in private practice.
Strong support from faculty and classmates in the doctorate in social work online program helped her stay on track and finish in just two years. “You get great feedback from professors, and you have a lot of time to help develop ideas,” she said. “Anytime I needed something, I could reach out to them.”
As she moved through the coursework, Dr. Smith applied the concepts and strategies from class to her daily practice at school and with her therapy clients. She also researched issues that she felt needed more attention in social work. For her capstone project, she focused on the dynamics of culture and trauma.
“Delving into the research—especially about Black males, the impact of trauma on their life and the lack of mental health services—it absolutely sparked even more curiosity,” she said, citing disparities in treatment for young boys and adolescents in particular and the implications for their development as men.
Dr. Smith discovered that the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) questionnaire—used by many physicians and psychiatrists to assess trauma and discuss it with patients—was missing something crucial. “ACE does not address certain cultural situations,” she explained, including experiences such as racial inequality, discrimination or police brutality that can impact Black children, affecting their lives as adults.
In response, she created the Cultural Trauma Questionnaire, a supplemental five-question tool that many clinicians are now adopting to expand their practice in mental health assessment. “It’s so important for our therapists and our counselors and doctors to address,” she said.
Dr. Smith graduated in May 2022, and in 2024, UK’s College of Social Work honored her with the Lyman T. Johnson Torch of Excellence Award, named for the school’s first Black student whose 1949 civil rights case paved the way for integration on campus. Her pioneering work and innovation continue to honor his legacy.
She is also proud to be teaching the online DSW course for UK that was her personal favorite—Justice Informed Social Work Practice—and that she has now become a role model for many students in her district. She hopes to inspire the next generation of educators and social workers to serve their community.
“Being able to go back into some of our schools and say, ‘I am Dr. Shericka Smith,’ and then have them ask me, ‘Well, how did you get to that point?’ has been truly amazing,” she said.
DR. SHERICKA SMITH: My decision in gaining my Doctorate of Social Work was really for increasing my capacity to do public speaking nationally. You know, I wanted to create something for the field of social work that wasn’t there. I’m able to travel around the country and talk about what I’ve created, and I’m able to travel around the country and speak in front of crowds of a thousand people in the crowd. And I think the work that I did at the College of Social Work absolutely had an impact on the community where I live. Of course, being online, fully online, was super convenient for me. There was all types of support when it came to technology and just navigating the virtual space. The professors of actual courses that I was in, anytime I needed something, I could reach out to them. It just kind of worked. It fit. It was perfect for my lifestyle at the time. Getting a doctorate can be intimidating for a lot of people. The way that the DSW program is laid out, you don’t write everything all at once. You space it out, you get great feedback from your professors, and you have a lot of time to help develop your ideas and change your ideas if need be. The whole goal is to find something in this field that we’re so passionate about and really put our all into making it better. With all of that hard work came a true sense of pride in, this is my final product and I’m presenting it to the world. I’m presenting this to the field of social work. Really, really think about the end, and what you are going to finally produce and be able to share with the world.
Expand Your Practice With a Doctorate in Social Work Online Program
In the online DSW program at the University of Kentucky, you can build advanced knowledge in the field, pursue your research interests and earn a doctorate without pausing your career. Studying in the renowned UK College of Social Work, you will learn from faculty with a broad range of expertise as you prepare for high-level roles in education, healthcare, government or public service.
Complete your degree faster with accelerated, 100% online coursework and achieve your professional goals in less time. Core doctoral classes cover essential topics in advanced social work practice, including:
- Theory, policy and ethics
- Assessment and evaluation
- Research, data collection and statistics
- Leadership and supervision
- Cultural competency and social justice
The program’s concentration areas are aligned with distinct career pathways where job candidates with a doctorate are in demand. Choose from clinical social work, administrative leadership, social work education or military behavioral health.
Concentration courses, electives and the final capstone give you the opportunity to tailor your learning to your needs. During your capstone experience, your research and social work practice will come together in a project you design, guided by a faculty mentor invested in your success.
UK also offers an online Master of Social Work degree for students in the early stages of their career. MSW students can pursue a graduate certificate in the following areas as well:
- Child Welfare Practice
- Clinical Social Work
- Military Behavioral Health
- School Social Work
- Substance Use Disorder
- Trauma-Responsive Practice
Follow your passion for service with an online degree program from UK and discover the difference you can make in your community.
Learn more about the University of Kentucky online Doctorate of Social Work program.