Competencies for Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse
University of Michigan's School of Social Work (U-M SSW) is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation (COA), of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Accreditation is a system of recognizing educational programs as having a level of performance and quality that gain them the confidence of the educational community and the public. You can read more about the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards here.
At U-M SSW, each pathway has specialized competencies that describe the knowledge, values, skills, and cognitive and affective processes that comprise the competency in each pathway area.
1. Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
Social workers demonstrate the ability to apply ethical social work principles and critical thinking to products and work produced. Social workers understand the role of emotional intelligence and professional resilience in professional and ethical practice. Social workers understand the role of other professionals when engaged in interprofessional teams within their areas of specialization. Social workers recognize the importance of life-long learning and ways that supervision and consultation can support continued development.
Practice Behaviors:
- Utilize supervision and consultation to guide professional decision-making.
- Demonstrate emotional intelligence in practice and professional situations.
- Utilize effective communication strategies appropriate to context.
2. Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice
Social workers understand how diversity and difference characterize and shape the human experience and are critical to the formation of identity. The dimensions of diversity are understood as the intersectionality of multiple factors including but not limited to age, class, color, culture, disability and ability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, marital status, political ideology, race, religion/spirituality, sex, sexual orientation, and tribal sovereign status. Social workers understand that, as a consequence of difference, a person’s life experiences may include oppression, poverty, marginalization, and alienation as well as privilege, power, and acclaim. Social workers also understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination and recognize the extent to which a culture’s structures and values, including social, economic, political, and cultural exclusions, may oppress, marginalize, alienate, or create privilege and power.
Practice Behaviors:
- Identify biological, socioeconomic, cultural, and behavioral risk and protective factors for health, disease, and quality of life across the life span in the context of the social determinants of health.
- Describe socioeconomic, cultural, and religious differences in health beliefs and practices, utilization of health services, and access and barriers to care.
- Describe stress, strain, chronic illness impact health, coping, and adaptation as they relate to health and disease across the life span in the context of diversity and social determinants of health
3. Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice
Social workers apply their understanding of social, economic and environmental justice to advocate for the human right to have equal opportunity for optimal health and access to quality health care.
Practice Behaviors:
- Ability to identify and work to remove structural, political, social, economic barriers to the just and equitable delivery of health care locally, nationally and globally
- Initiate and engage in advocacy and health delivery practices that advance equity in health care access and delivery
4. Engage in Practice-informed Research and Research-informed Practice
Social workers understand quantitative and qualitative research methods and their respective roles in advancing a science of social work and in evaluating their practice. Social workers know the principles of logic, scientific inquiry, and culturally informed and ethical approaches to building knowledge.
Practice Behaviors:
- Understand that evidence informs practice and will be able to identify and provide evidence-based interventions and best social work practice in a variety of health settings including integrated health, mental health, behavioral health, hospital, outpatient and community care settings.
- Provide clinical, evidence-based/evidence-informed rationale for use of a specific intervention to match client needs, preferences and responses.
- Monitor and evaluate outcomes of interventions and modify, adjust interventions accordingly.
5. Engage in Policy Practice
Social workers understand how to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, economic, and/or environmental justice through the application of critical thinking skills. Social workers are able to identify how current events are linked to policy issues, how to critically analyze and understand policy implications, and apply strategies to engage in policy practice that effect change and advocate for clients.
Practice Behaviors:
- Identify how current events are linked to policy issues impacting clients and client systems.
- Analyze the implications of policy across service systems.
- Identify strategies to engage with policy to advocate for clients and client systems.
6. Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
Social workers understand that engagement is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with, and on behalf of, diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers value the importance of human relationships. Social workers understand theories of human behavior and the social environment, and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge to facilitate engagement with clients and constituencies, including individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers understand strategies to engage diverse clients and constituencies to advance practice effectiveness.
Practice Behaviors:
- Initiate with and engage with clients (individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities)regarding health concerns and needs using interpersonal skills including professional use of self in relationship building, creating safe spaces for interaction and therapeutic alliance
- Demonstrate engagement skills of empathy and reflective listening
- Demonstrate effective engagement and communication with interprofessional team members including initiating contacts, sharing concerns, perspectives, and recommendations to team care-plans
7. Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
Social workers understand that assessment is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with and on behalf of diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers understand the theories of human behavior and the social environment, and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge in the assessment of diverse clients and constituencies.
Practice Behaviors:
- Apply a holistic approach to health in conducting biopsychosocial spiritual assessments including person in environment (PIE), strengths-based client assets, nature of the client, family and social support system, cultural, spiritual and religious beliefs and other socio-economic resources that impact on health and delivery of care
- Conduct brief, evidence-based, and developmentally sensitive screening for cognitive impairment, risky, harmful, or dependent use of substances, including alcohol, illicit drugs, and prescription medications and for risk related to self-harm, harm to others, impairments in functional self care and environmental safety.
- Identify signs of abuse, neglect, domestic violence and other traumas in individuals across the lifespan and conduct brief, evidence-based screening.
8. Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
Social workers understand that intervention is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with, and on behalf of, diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers are knowledgeable about evidence-informed interventions to achieve the goals of clients and constituencies, including individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers understand theories of human behavior and the social environment, and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge to effectively intervene with clients and constituencies. Social workers understand methods of identifying, analyzing and implementing evidence-informed interventions to achieve client and constituency goals. Social workers value the importance of interprofessional teamwork and communication in interventions, recognizing that beneficial outcomes may require interdisciplinary, interprofessional, and inter-organizational collaboration.
Practice Behaviors:
- Deliver brief, trauma-informed, evidence based interventions for mental conditions, risky or harmful substance use conditions, adjustment to illness and chronic disease management.
- Provide information, education, guidance, and support to clients and family members about health conditions, prevention, available treatments, illness and self-management, peer support and recovery.
- Use inter-professional collaboration as appropriate to achieve beneficial practice outcomes
9. Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
Social workers understand that evaluation is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with, and on behalf of, diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers recognize the importance of evaluating processes and outcomes to advance practice, policy, and service delivery effectiveness. Social workers understand theories of human behavior and the social environment, and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge in evaluating outcomes.
Practice Behaviors:
- Provide clinical, evidence-based/evidence-informed rationale for use of a specific intervention to match client needs, preferences and responses.
- Monitor and evaluate outcomes of interventions and modify, adjust interventions accordingly.
