Master of Social Work (MSW)

This course will assist students in acquiring a broad repertoire of skills and knowledge for beginning, generalist, social work practice. Students will learn about the specific steps in the problem-solving process: engagement, assessment, planning, intervention, evaluation, and termination and follow-up. The course will present a multi-dimensional (Person, Environment, Time), holistic perspective with which to view client issues, building upon the strengths of individuals and families. Course content will include exercises to assist students with understanding themselves and with identifying interpersonal skills in the context of a helping relationship.

Prerequisite: SOWK 502.

In this course, students will learn essential knowledge and skills needed to demonstrate ethical and professional behaviors in groups, communities, and organization using a rights-based, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lens. Students will learn the process of ethical decision-making guided by the National Association Social Workers Code of Ethics. Students will learn that self-care is paramount for competent and ethical social work practice. This course will also challenge students to demonstrate ethical use of technology in social work practice.

This course prepares social work students for research- and evidence-based, culturally competent, family-focused, strengths-based, and outcome-oriented child welfare practice. The goal is to familiarize students with the scope and practice of services that are available to help children and families. This course will review the evolution of public child welfare policies and services, the major child welfare federal and state laws, and the theories about the causes, prevention, and treatment of child maltreatment. The focus of this course will be on critical issues facing families in our society including ethnic and cultural issues. This course will explore best practices in the field.

This course is designed to prepare students for working with individuals who are experiencing persistent and severe mental distress. Students will learn how to navigate and diagnose individuals using the most current DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and understand factors related to diagnostic features, differential diagnosis, and comorbidity. Applying the social work systems perspective and biopsychosocial assessment framework, students will gain an understanding of mental well-being and illness in the context of antiracist practices. This course emphasizes the importance of promoting mental health equity with all individuals regardless of intersecting identities such as culture, class, race, ethnicity, religion, ability, and sexual orientation.

This course will provide crucial information for assessing and reacting to various crises involving suicide, homicide, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, sexual abuse, bereavement/grief, substance use, natural disasters, wars, emergency response in the community and in schools, and terrorism. Practical applications and policy implications for various crisis situations will be presented. The crisis task model will be used to process crisis situations, understand crucial information about a crisis, clinical considerations, and practical experiences on every crisis topic. Safety issues, self-care, and wellness will also be examined.

Vulnerable populations such as children, older adults, and people with disabilities are disproportionately affected by large-scale disasters. This course will address the specific psychosocial needs of vulnerable populations after a disaster and related policy implications. Best practices for crisis intervention with specific populations including children, older adults, people with disabilities, people with mental health issues, and people with substance abuse issues will be discussed. A theoretical foundation for understanding disasters, response systems, common guidelines for preparedness, and basic crisis theory will be presented.