Angela Lavery, PhD, LCSW, FT

Graduate Certificate Coordinator
Professor, Graduate Social Work
alavery@wcupa.edu
610-738-0341

Biography

Dr. Lavery is the coordinator of the Graduate Certificate in Gerontology and a Professor with the Graduate Social Work Department. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Fellow in Thanatology through the Association for Death Education and Counseling. She has worked in a variety of settings, including hospice and senior centers. Prior to seeking her PhD, she was the Assistant Director of the Wyoming Geriatric Education Center (WyGEC) at the University of Wyoming. Her research and scholarship background includes studying older adults with low income waiting for affordable housing, animal assisted interactions and interventions, disability, as well as older adults at risk for abuse, neglect and exploitation. Dr. Lavery, Dr. Stacie Metz and Dr. Erin Knight recently completed work on a service-learning project with the PA Department of Aging. Dr. Lavery and colleagues worked with this university intergenerational program from 2020 through 2023. Visit the Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education or contact Dr. Lavery for more information. Currently Dr. Lavery is working on an Older Adult and Equine Interactions project.

Gerontology Courses Taught

SWG 571 - Social Work and Older Adults
SWG 580 - Social Work Practice in End of Life Care

Publications

Lavery, A., Knight, E., Cole, S. & Metz, S. (2023). Interprofessional collaboration to address social isolation and facilitate intergenerational service learning within graduate education. Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education.
Lavery. A. (2023). Paw and hoofprints on my career path. In L.R. Kogan (Ed.) Careers in one health: Social workers’ roles in caring for humans and their animal companions. Taylor & Francis.
Lavery A. (2021). COVID-19: A reminder that addressing ageism is essential. Mental Health: NASW Practice Specialty Practice Section: Spring/Summer 2021, 5-6.
Lavery, A. L., Hasche, L. K., DePrince, A. P., Gagnon, K., Srinivas, T. & Boyce, E. (2020). Mental health consequences and service utilization among older adults at risk for financial exploitation. Social Work Research, 44(4), 257-265.
Bowen, M.E., Gaynor, B., Phillips, L. Orsega-Smith, E., Lavery, A., Mitchell, A., & Basehore, H. (2020). Factors associated with health service utilization among older adults in a Mobile Veterans Program. The Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 46(5), 15-22.
Buck, P. & Lavery, A. (2020). Animal-assisted activities for children on the autism spectrum: Parent insights. Human Animal Interaction Bulletin, 8(1), 78-89.
Kattari, S., Lavery, A. & Hasche, L. (2017). Applying a social model of disability across the lifespan. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 27(8), 865-880.
Hasche, L.K. & Lavery A. (2015). As needed: Case management across aging services in response to depression. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 58(3), 272-288.
Lavery-Benson, A. (2010). Transitions in Care. AGHE Exchange: A Newsletter of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, 34(1), 14-15.