Joseph “Joey” Colby Bernert

Clinical Social Worker | Public Health Practitioner
(Any/All Pronouns)
Clinician, statistician and researcher working at the intersection of behavioral health, ethics, and public systems.

Clinical Practice

I provide reunification therapy, clinical assessments, and clinical therapy for families, individuals, and couples throughout Southeast Michigan. I utilize the clinical modalities of cognitive behavior therapy and metacognitive therapy.I offer free consultations in person or through zoom


Research and Writing

My background in research is primarily quantitative. I prefer to employ advanced statistical and stochastic methods to uncover systemic inequities within health and social institutions, supplementing these approaches with qualitative analysis when necessary to interpret the human and institutional dynamics underlying the data.

Outside of work, I enjoy rebuilding engines and repairing cars. I find great enjoyment in designing data-modeling systems for social epidemiological analysis. My interests center on how complex systems, mechanical, social, and institutional, break down, adapt, and can be rebuilt with greater integrity. I approach both engines and datasets with the same mindset: diagnose precisely, simplify what’s unnecessary, and restore function through understanding rather than force.I provide mathematical tutoring up to and including multivariable calculus and multivariate statistics through zoom or in-person.

Public Health Work

I am currently collaborating with the Michigan Center for Rural Health to improve behavioral health access in rural communities. My work combines applied social research and advanced statistical methods, including Bayesian modeling and multilevel analysis, to examine treatment accessibility and equity. Current projects involve mapping medication-assisted treatment providers and identifying structural barriers affecting older adults in rural Michigan.My current capstone project designs and evaluates a policy pilot for integrating electronic medical records across correctional and rural health systems to improve maternal health outcomes in McDowell County, West Virginia


Education

MPH Candidate, Michigan State University (April 2026)MSW, Social Work – Oakland University (April 2024)B.A., Women and Gender Studies – Oakland University (April 2022)A.S., Arts/Welding – Macomb Community College (January 2018)

I have a wide variety of published works, both creative and peer-reviewed. I maintain an extensive portfolio of poetry, creative non-fiction, fiction, and experimental art. These can be referenced upon request.

©