This course will present prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation practice theories and techniques emphasizing culturally responsive and evidence-informed interventions that address diverse groups of infants, children, and youth within their social contexts.(e.g., peer group, school, family, neighborhood, and communities).
A range of evidence-based intervention approaches will be presented such as cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoeducation, parent-child relationship and behavioral therapy, parent management training, multi-tiered school based interventions as well as bottom-up, sensori-motor interventions that are aimed at preventing or repairing emotional and behavioral dysregulation. Intervention strategies taught in this course rely significantly on the social worker as a critical component of the change process.
Pathway Requirement For
- Children, Youth, and Families
Pathway Elective For
- Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse
Objectives
- Based on assessment, select culturally responsive and evidence informed intervention strategies (EPAS 8).
- Develop advanced intervention skills in working with children, adolescents and their families (EPAS 6, 8).
- Implement evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies that are compatible with infant/child/adolescent and family or caretaker goals, needs, circumstances, culture, and values (EPAS 4, 8).
- Understand and address the impact of diversity (including ability, age, class, color, culture, ethnicity, family structure, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), marital status, national origin, race, religion or spirituality, sex, and sexual orientation) of infants, children, adolescents, and families, and the social worker, on interventions and outcomes (EPAS 2, 3, 4, 8, 9).
- Monitor and evaluate interventions regarding effectiveness and sensitivity to diversity factors (EPAS 1, 3, 9).
Design
The instructor will assign required and recommended readings. Class format will include lecture, discussion, case analysis, and skills development sessions. Presentations and written assignments will integrate theory, evidence-based research, and case analysis, and when possible, the student’s practicum work.
Intensive Focus on Privilege, Oppression, Diversity and Social Justice (PODS)
This course integrates PODS content and skills with a special emphasis on the identification of theories, practice and/or policies that promote social justice, illuminate injustices and are consistent with scientific and professional knowledge. Through the use of a variety of instructional methods, this course will support students developing a vision of social justice, learn to recognize and reduce mechanisms that support oppression and injustice, work toward social justice processes, apply intersectionality and intercultural frameworks and strengthen critical consciousness, self-knowledge and self-awareness to facilitate PODS learning.
Intensive Focus on Privilege, Oppression, Diversity and Social Justice (PODS): This course integrates PODS content and skills with a special emphasis on the identification of theories, practice and/or policies that promote social justice, illuminate injustices and are consistent with scientific and professional knowledge. Using a variety of instructional methods, this course will support students developing a vision of social justice, learning to recognize and reduce mechanisms that support oppression and injustice, working toward social justice processes, applying intersectionality and intercultural frameworks and strengthening critical consciousness, self-knowledge and self-awareness to facilitate PODS learning. (Course Statement Approved By Governing Faculty 11/8/06).
PODS will be addressed through discussion of child/adolescent/family-worker differences and power/privilege differentials based on ability, age, class, color, culture, ethnicity, family structure, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), marital status, national origin, race, religion or spirituality, sex, and sexual orientation. Social Justice will also be addressed through discussion of differences between problems responsive to interpersonal practice interventions and those which result from poverty, discrimination, and disenfranchisement, requiring systemic as well as individual interventions. Case advocacy for disadvantaged, deprived, victimized and underserved or inappropriately served children and adolescents and families will also be emphasized. Special attention will be given to issues of diversity as it relates to building therapeutic relationships and intervening. The interaction between environmental risk factors, protective factors, promotive and developmental factors as they contribute to coping, resiliency, and disorder, as well as how these might vary by child or adolescent diverse and intersecting factors, such as race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity and culture.
Content on intervention planning will assist students in selecting interventions which are matched with client problems across diverse populations, cultural backgrounds, socio-political contexts, and available resources.
Interprofessional/Interdisciplinary Education Description
IPE Core Competencies addressed in this course are: Values/ethics; roles/responsibilities; intercultural humility
ID/IPE content that will be addressed and evaluated in the following ways:
- Interdisciplinary and/or interprofessional practice are required content areas in the course with integration of relevant required readings, class lecture and discussion including:
Focus of multiple readings, lectures, and class discussions include multidisciplinary and interprofessional conceptualizations of child and adolescent intervention. Students learn to develop and implement interventions that increase child and family physical, social, and mental well being. Two common assignments require students to practice skills of interprofessional collaborations, such as understanding the roles and responsibilities of multidisciplinary team members. Intercultural humility is a key area of content for this course which focuses on delivering interventions that are culturally affirming and relevant.
- Students will be encouraged to actively contribute from their experiences, field placement practice, knowledge of readings, etc. to considerations of the impact of interdisciplinary and interprofessional care related to diverse populations and settings.