Essentials of Interpersonal Practice

This course presents knowledge and skills essential to interpersonal practice while considering the community, organizational, and policy contexts in which social workers practice. Students learn how to perform various social work roles (i.e. counselor, group facilitator, mediator, broker, and advocate), recognizing that these roles must be based on the adherence to social work values and ethics. All phases of the IP treatment and prevention process (i.e. engagement, assessment, planning, intervention, evaluation,and termination) will be presented with attention to how they are applied to work with individuals, families, and small groups. Using an evidence informed approach, students will learn to assess problems in clients' lives that relate to attributes of the client (e.g. age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability and spirituality) as well as situational and environmental factors relevant to the client's social functioning. Students will understand patterns of functioning, to assess strengths and limitations, and to plan, implement and monitor change strategies. Students also learn how self-awareness and the conscious use of self affect the helping relationship and how to apply practice skills such as active listening, empathic responding, contracting, problem-solving, critical and creative thinking in practice. Students learn how to apply various evidence-informed strategies in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of change efforts based on whether their implementation enhances the client's capacity for self-determination and the system's capacity for justice.