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School of Social Work
Indiana University
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John M. Keesler, PhD, LMSW

Associate Professor

Phone:
1-812-855-2580
Email:
jkeesler@iu.edu
Location:
Room C3155 2631 East Discovery Parkway Bloomington,IN 47401

Education

  • Ph.D., Social Welfare
    University at Buffalo — 2016
    Dissertation: an evaluation of individual and organizational factors in predicting professional quality of life among direct support professionals in intellectual and developmental disability services
  • Master of Social Work (MSW)
    University at Buffalo — 2009
    Major: social work

Academic and Professional Portfolio

  • Associate Professor (with Tenure)
    Indiana University School of Social Work — 2022 – Present
  • Assistant Professor
    Indiana University School of Social Work — 2016 – 2022

  • B. F. Skinner Lecturer. Applied Behavior Analysis International 51st Annual Conference. May 2025.
  • Faculty Community Engagement Award. Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement. May 2025.
  • Trustees Teaching Award. Indiana University. April 2024.
  • Disability Manuscript Award. Council on Social Work Education. 2022.
  • Distinguished Alumni Award. University at Buffalo School of Social Work. April 21, 2022.
  • Steven Reiss Research Award. National Association for the Dually Diagnosed. November 29, 2021.
  • South-Central Indiana Area Health Education Center Partnership Award. Indiana Area Health Education Center Network. April 17, 2020.

  • Keesler, J., Samways, B., & McNally, P. (2025). Trauma-informed care training: A systemwide process to transform the act of caring. Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
  • ^Keesler, J., Funk, K., Deck, C., & Wilkerson, D. (2025). Addressing tech-health equity with a rural public library telehealth model. Social Work in Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332985.2025.2499086
  • Keesler, J. M., Presnell, J., & Brown, S. (2025). Advancing trauma-informed care system-change among disability organizations: A national learning collaborative. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
  • Keesler, J., Wu, W., Presnell, J., & Fukui, S. (2024). Trauma-informed climate scale-10 and attitudes related to trauma-informed care-10: An examination of scale psychometrics using data from disability service providers. Disability and Health Journal.
  • Keesler, J. M., McCoy, P., & Wiltz, J. (2022). Trauma-specific treatment among individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities: A case series with progressive counting. British Journal of Learning Disabilities.
  • Keesler, J. M. (2020). Promoting satisfaction and reducing fatigue: Understanding the impact of trauma-informed organizational culture on psychological wellness among DSPs. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities.
  • Keesler, J. M. (2020). Trauma-specific treatment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A review of the literature from 2008–2018. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities.
  • Keesler, J. M. (2014). A call for the integration of trauma-informed care among intellectual and developmental disability organizations. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 11(1), 34–42.

  • Keesler, J. M. Trauma-informed care for immigrant populations. ALASI, Dubois County Public Health Partnership and Center for Rural Engagement. $18,000.
  • Keesler, J. M. Trauma-informed care and developmental disability services. Bethesda, Ontario, Canada. $78,264.
  • Keesler, J. M. (Principal investigator). Lawrence County trauma-informed initiative. Sponsored by Families Forever (not-for-profit). $80,259. (2023–2025).
  • Keesler, J. M. (Co–principal investigator). Catalyst grant. Sponsored by Department of Mental Health and Addictions (state). $500,000 awarded to Families Forever. (2022–2025).
  • Keesler, J. M. (Principal investigator), & Wilkerson, D. (Co–principal investigator). Digital social work practice. Office of Community and Rural Affairs. $200,000. (2022–2023).
  • Keesler, J. M. (Principal investigator). Stone Belt trauma-informed care initiative. Sponsored by Arc of Indiana (not-for-profit). $14,989. (February 1, 2022 – May 31, 2023).
  • Keesler, J. M. (Principal investigator). Pilot trauma-informed care learning collaborative for intellectual and developmental disability organizations. Sponsored by Klingberg Family Centers (not-for-profit). $14,117.77. (May 1, 2021 – May 31, 2023).
  • Keesler, J. M. (Principal investigator), & Purcell, A. S. (Co–principal investigator). Online training in trauma-informed care. Sponsored by Center for Rural Engagement (Indiana University internal). $80,294. (August 2019).