Robert McKinney

Associate Professor

Dr. Robert McKinney is an associate professor of social work in the department of psychiatry and behavioral health at the College of Community Health Sciences. McKinney is director of the University Medical Center Department of Social Services, where he supervises social work field students and student employees as they address the often-unmet patient needs regarding their social, environmental and familial situations. McKinney teaches about the social determinants of health and mental health and works in clinical teaching environments alongside interprofessional colleagues and learners. 

McKinney earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Mississippi State University. He completed his master’s and doctorate degrees in social work at The University of Alabama. His professional experience began with direct clinical practice with children, adolescents and their families at Indian Rivers Community Mental Health Center. He was the assistant director of Tuscaloosa Family Resource Center (Tuscaloosa’s One Place) and interim director, clinical social worker and yoga instructor at the Working On Womanhood program. 

McKinney is one of fewer than 50 people in Alabama to be licensed and certified for private, independent practice by the Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners in all five recognized areas of practice: clinical social work, community organization, social casework, social work administration and social work research. McKinney’s clinical and research interests are primarily in the areas of the social determinants of health and mental health, childhood interpersonal victimization, and interprofessional education. 

McKinney is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine and International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.