Social Work 694

SOWK 694: Social Work Practice and Families and Couples

Prerequisites: Accepted into the MSW program

Credit Hours: 3

Clinical practice with couples and families.

Detailed Description of Course

This is an elective course for students who are in the MSW program. It focuses on commonly employed models of social work practice with diverse families and couples. This course is designed to help students develop a better understanding of the applications of specialized methods of social work practice and interventions with families/couples. Specific treatment models, which have significantly contributed to social work practice with this targeted population, are studied. Particular focus on the processes of assessment, intervention, and evaluation will be provided in order to increase the student's social work skills and techniques as specifically related to working with this population. Particular emphasis is given to interventions with rural families, as well as populations at risk. It is expected that students will develop a more complete integration of knowledge, values and skills for practice with different types of family units in various social contexts.

Content:

    1) Gain experience applying Family systems theory, plus otehr Social Work theories, in a therapeutic setting.
    2) Gain experience using treatment modalities such as structural Family Therapy, etc.
    3) Gain experience dealing with non-compliant or resistant clients.
    4) Gain experience with various age groups, family types, couples, and a variety of problems.

Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

In addition to lectures, you and your co-therapist will become experts at an assigned therapy.
    1) You will read about this therapy in your books, and in clinical, empirical, peer reviewed journals.
    2) Each individual in your therapy group will typically collect one article per session about your assigned therapy, and will send it to the rest of the class, after the therapy group reads and approves.
        a. With each article you will typically send a brief synopsis and your professional opinion about the article (an abbreviated article review).
    3) You will typically then create a way of presenting this therapy approach to the class. For example, you may check one of the teaching videos out of the library, show it to the class, and then perhaps engage the class in role play as further instruction.

Students will typically be assigned a family or couple with whom they will perform therapy according to an assigned model. Their interactions with this family will typically take place in the fishbowl, or center of the class with everyone watching. Your peers will typically then give you feedback, kudos, or suggestions based on your work.

Goals and Objectives of the Course

1) Apply critical thiking skills within professional context, including synthesizing and applying appropriate theories and knowledge to practice interventions;

2) Identify the ratinoale for selecting particular treatment models, interventions, and techniques with a family/couple;

3) Interview family/couple with multiple problems (mental health, domestic violence, substance abuse, etc.);

4) Assess family/couple by recognizing each member's strengths and limitations as they relate to overall functinoing;

5) Develop appropriate treatment plans that are sensitive to race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and class. Be able to intervene with client systems at an autonomous level of practice;

6) Demonstrate their awareness of the impact of oppression and discrimination on family units (which includes couples) in their work;

7) Demonstrate an appreciation for the positive value of diversity in relation to teh family structures, processes, values, and beliefs;

8) Demonstrate an understanding of their own strengths and limitations;

9) Identify the potential for value dilemmas in social work practice with family systems; and

10) Identify their own strengths and limitations in working with this population as well as evaluate their own practice in order to determine its effectiveness.

Assessment Measures

Presentation, Role play, Class participation, Your peers will grade you (according to a rubric).

Other Course Information

None

Review and Approval

May 9, 2017