| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | In an era of evidence based practice, community workers, advocates, and evaluators will likely find that they need to interpret and visualize data from a wide variety of sources. Understanding, interpreting and visualizing data (including some basic coding) can make the difference in successfully or unsuccessfully advocating for communities, clients or programs, and for understanding the impact of programs on clients. Increasingly, data relevant to community, participant and client well-being are available from a broad range of sources, whether those be databases of volunteers and donors, the Census, the World Bank, in addition to many others. This course will be focused on the acquisition of concrete applicable skills and strategies for interpreting and visualizing community data, including learning in R, Tableau and QGIS. Some learning of basic coding in R will be involved in this course. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Management & Leadership, Policy & Political Social Work, Program Evaluation and Applied Research (Host) |
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| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course is designed to introduce students to statistics and statistical methods. It is intended and designed for students who already have some familiarity with statistics. Students in this course will acquire the skills to create and comprehend statistical reports related to program evaluation and research practice. Students will be able to assess the value and limitations of measures of central tendency (means, medians and modes), rates, and statistical estimates such as correlations and regression parameters. This course will help students develop the ability to use advanced quantitative methods to describe and analyze real world situations in social work settings and to make ethical inferences and decisions based on the statistical results. Students will learn to choose methods of statistical analysis to improve social policy decisions, service delivery, and intervention programs. Students will learn to understand and use appropriate language with their statistical analyses to clarify meaning and to explain the inferences (e.g. causal inferences) that can be appropriately made from specific data. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Policy & Political Social Work, Program Evaluation and Applied Research (Host) |
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| Credits: | 3 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | In this course, students will be introduced to mixed methods research in the social and behavioral sciences. Mixed methods, here, include both qualitative and quantitative inquiry and can be situated in either positivistic and constructivist paradigms. The course will explore the kinds of research questions that are best answered with mixed methods, and this understanding will enable students to determine if mixed methods are advantageous, given their problem statement and research questions. In this course, less attention will be given to the single methods alone, but rather, how they integrate during each stage of the research process for a mixed methods study. The focus of the course is to consider how each method can inform each step of the research process to answer complex research questions. The course is best suited for students with comfort and familiarity using one or both of the single methods (qualitative or quantitative). |
| Pathway Elective For: | Management & Leadership, Program Evaluation and Applied Research (Host) |
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| Credits: | 3 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | Indigenous communities in the U.S. are unique in their status as sovereign nations. This unique status creates particular opportunities and limitations for doing research. The course will identify different levels of engagement with Indigeous communities for developing and implementing research within them. Students will consider the underlying values, ethics, commitments, mutual respect and relationships from which these inquiry efforts are built and extended. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Community Change, Program Evaluation and Applied Research (Host) |
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| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | SW507 |
| Course Description: | This course will provide content on the logic of inquiry and the necessity for an empirical approach to social work practice. The process of formulating appropriate research questions, research design, sampling, methods of data collection, procedures to assess and improve the validity and reliability of data and measures, and the ethics of scientific inquiry will be addressed. As consumers of research, students will learn to locate, assess and critique research studies so as to draw appropriate inference, particularly as it affects diverse populations. In addition, this course will provide students with an introduction to evaluation practice as a method of assessing social work practice, strengthening clients, communities, and service systems. Students will have an opportunity to plan an evaluation project, collect, analyze, report and interpret results. This course will help students understand social work practice through the critical examination of methods and approaches associated with decision-making, critical thinking, and ethical judgment. |
| Credits: | 3 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisites: | Foundation Essentials Required |
| Course Description: | Social problems affecting individuals, families, groups, communities, and nations are globally interconnected. This course is designed to introduce students to an understanding of power in the global context and to help students develop a critical and reflexive understanding of how such power informs social work practice, utilizing decolonizing and social justice-oriented perspectives (e.g., feminist, participatory, liberatory/emancipatory). Students will gain an analytic de-centering framework for critical understanding and assessment of pressing social problems (e.g., human trafficking, climate change, and environmental disasters) and models of social interventions across global contexts. Students will learn to develop research- and policy-related questions and procedures that may address these pressing social problems. In exploring these themes, we will review underpinning theories and practice in global social work, such as: colonization, international aid and development, and democratization. |
| Pathway Requirement For: | Global Social Work Practice (Host) |
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| Pathway Elective For: | Community Change |
| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | SW505 (concurrent enrollment in SW505 permitted if necessary) |
| Course Description: | This course is designed to prepare social work students for effective and ethical professional practice in global social work contexts. This course works from a framework that acknowledges that global issues and practice are not bound by physical borders. Global contexts within the USA and abroad will be explored. These contexts will be within and across different cultural, geopolitical, socio-economic, organizational, and interpersonal settings. Ongoing development of critical consciousness is the core of this course. Throughout the course, students will critically and reflexively examine the impact of their positionalities, privilege, values, assumptions, prejudice, and biases. Specific attention will be placed on analyzing types, levels, and sources of power and mechanisms of oppression to assist students in addressing global inequalities. They will use such expanding/increasing critical understanding and insights to more effectively work including advocacy and developing allyship in diverse global contexts. |
| Pathway Requirement For: | Global Social Work Practice (Host) |
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| Pathway Elective For: | Community Change |
| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course focuses on immigration - one of the most volatile and hotly debated issues of our time. How we respond to the myriad questions about immigration and immigrants and the problems generated by public policy responses to various kinds of immigration will determine how our society and economy will look and function in the future. Students will gain historical, structural and critical analyses of theories and debates related to immigration and forced migration, such as: political economy perspectives about the supply and demand of migrant labor; identity, culture and intersectionality based on Critical Latinx Theory; the challenges of ‘integration’; and tensions between citizenship rights activism versus No Borders activism. Students will understand policies and systems that both facilitate and delimit social work practice with immigrants and refugees, including the family, child welfare, refugee resettlement, asylum, health and mental health, community and legal systems. This course imparts and aspires for social work practice with immigrants and refugees that is forward-looking, transformative and just. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Community Change, Global Social Work Practice (Host), Policy & Political Social Work |
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| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course is founded on the idea that all human beings can engage in art practices – music, theater, sculptures, painting, photography, etc. Art practices, which are expressed differently across the globe, can be inspiration, methods, and practices to advance self-healing and social justice. This course will be useful to all students, even those who do not consider themselves to be “artists.” The course will help students to incorporate self-healing and social justice into social work practice. For example, students will authentically connect to global efforts, such as the Campaign Against Racism (23 chapters in 10 countries), to dismantle structural racism by supporting local actions. Students from all pathways and disciplines will learn content on interprofessional (e.g., art therapy), community (e.g., advocacy), and global (e.g., theater of oppressed) practices. Students will learn how to explore artistic creation for self-healing while examining critical theories of race, gender, sexuality, ableism, and cultural identity vis-à-vis social work practices. Students will engage with art practices as a means of self-reflection (self-healing) and to advocate for myriad inequities. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Global Social Work Practice (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1-2 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course is part of the Detroit Scholars and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training Programs, both of which focus on centering the needs of historically marginalized populations. This course will support trainees in advancing their understanding, practice, and application of best and promising principles and practices. In this course, students will explore the principles and practices essential for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in various settings, including at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. The curriculum emphasizes the importance of engaging in organizational and structural advancements to foster social justice and equity. Through a combination of theoretical frameworks and practical applications, students will develop the skills needed to navigate complex social dynamics, challenge systemic inequalities, and implement inclusive practices effectively. Note: Students that register for two credits will also complete training to be eligible to be a Qualified Mental Health Professional in a community mental health setting. Objectives: Upon completion of the course, students will be able to: - Develop familiarity with the history of training program efforts in Michigan - Gain a comprehensive understanding of key concepts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and their relevance to social work practice and healthcare. - Develop practical skills for applying DEI principles, including the concept of recovery enhancement in micro, mezzo, and macro social work settings, including direct practice, organizational leadership, and policy advocacy. - Critically examine organizational structures and systemic barriers that impact marginalized communities, and learn strategies to address these issues. - Engage in intraprofessional and interprofessional learning to enhance collaborative efforts and create a more inclusive and equitable culture within social work practice. |
| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | Foundation Essentials Required |
| Course Description: | This course focuses on bio-psycho-social development and changes in mid- and late-adulthood. It will cover six major areas. (a) Demographic trends globally and in the United States, (b) Major theoretical perspectives including the life course and life-span perspectives. (c) Biological and cognitive changes in the second half of life. (d) Common chronic conditions and their treatment in older adults. (e) Psychological and social development in mid- and late-adulthood. (f) Definitions and determinants of positive and healthy aging. Special attention will be paid to diversity and social justice issues, including similarities and differences in the experience of aging related to an individual's position in society (e.g., class, race/ethnicity, immigration status, religion, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity), and institutional and social factors that marginalize some segments of the older population. |
| Pathway Requirement For: | Social Work Practice with Older Adults and Families from a Lifespan Perspective (Host) |
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| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse |
| Credits: | 1-12 |
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| Prerequisites: | SW515 |
| Course Description: | This advanced Field education course will build on the pre-requisite SW 515 foundation field placement education. Students will engage in tasks and assignments that reflect a higher level of immersion, independence, and competence than at the foundation level. Acquisition of such development occurs through a field placement involving integration of classroom learning and experiential learning opportunities. Students will receive regular field supervision with a field instructor and learning that may be supplemented by other educational resources. |
| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | SW506 |
| Course Description: | This methods course focuses on intervention with older people at the micro level. This content will be integrated with intervention strategies directed toward aging adults, including evidence-based interventions and practices. Major areas to be discussed are: coping with age related changes, caregiving demands, legal and financial planning, elder abuse, sexuality and intimacy, and loss and grief. This course will also address the diverse dimensions including: ability, age, class, color, culture, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion or spirituality, and sexual orientation. The IP intervention will focus on intake, screening, initial evaluation, treatment and termination issues involved in working with older clients and their families. Such skills as reaching out, engaging reluctant or impaired elders, and successful termination of intervention will be covered. Various psychiatric disorders more typically diagnosed among the elderly will be discussed and intervention strategies identified. |
| Pathway Requirement For: | Social Work Practice with Older Adults and Families from a Lifespan Perspective (Host) |
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| Pathway Elective For: | Global Social Work Practice, Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse |
| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This Capstone course will provide students an opportunity to reflect on their social work education, as well as look forward to their future social work career. Students will explore concepts of professional resilience and social work identity, as well as gain an understanding of lifelong learning as a core value of the social work profession. The course will provide an opportunity for students to integrate and apply learning from their academic career in a comprehensive manner. The course will assess the students’ overall mastery of social work competencies, as demonstrated through products produced over the course of their study and collected in a professional portfolio. Students will be given the opportunity to develop a cover letter and resume, as well as explore interviewing and negotiating skills necessary to secure a social work position upon graduation. |
| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course has a clinical focus and practical orientation; therefore, we will examine basic neuropsychopharmacology, neurotransmitter systems, drug metabolism (i.e, absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion), and the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of psychotropic medications to only a limited degree. Our emphasis will be primarily on understanding the physiological actions, therapeutic effects, and potential toxicities associated with prescribed pharmacotherapies for major classes of mental disorders affecting youth, adults, and older adults. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host), Social Work Practice with Older Adults and Families from a Lifespan Perspective |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | Among adults seeking treatment for behavioral health concerns, including mental health and substance use disorders, the high prevalence of historical trauma and associated PTSD is increasingly well-established. The results of the significant Adverse Childhood Experiences Study only emphasize further the high cost in negative health outcomes of neglecting to identify and treat the impact of childhood traumatic experiences. But what can be done to address this important co-occurring condition that otherwise poses such a threat to physical, emotional and mental health? This training will take participants through the steps of clinical treatment sequence that includes evidence-based best practices, from engagement with understandably ambivalent clients to available, research-based group and individual treatments. Use of the most recent version of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Checklist (PCL-5) for client education, diagnostic assessment, treatment planning considerations, and outcome measurement will be featured. The groupwork modalities of Seeking Safety and the Trauma Recovery & Empowerment Model (TREM/M-TREM) will be presented, as well as individual therapy approaches including Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral approaches, and Prolonged Exposure Therapy. Participants will be equipped with information, resources, and beginning skills that can lead to actionable change in the direction of improving the effectiveness of treatment for PTS/D across various service settings, from community mental health clinics, to substance use disorder treatment programs, to integrated primary care & behavioral health centers. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course provides a framework of knowledge, values, skills and experiences to promote culturally competent, ethical, spiritually-sensitive Social Work practice which takes into account diverse expressions of spirituality. In adopting a holistic perspective to guide practice, spirituality will be viewed as a vital and essential dimension of the bio-psycho-social assessment and treatment planning process. This course will explore the rationale and need to integrate assessment and interventions related to spirituality in social work in a manner that supports cultural humility, social justice and competent practice. This course will be skill-development focused with in-class activities designed to best define, integrate, and use spiritual assessment and interventions in addressing presenting client issues. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | The Evidence Informed OUD/SUD Interventions mini course is designed to introduce students to assessment, intervention, and specialized practice skills to effectively engage and treat clients experiencing addictions (e.g., alcohol, opioids, cannabis, illicit drugs) and who may also present with additional complex and comorbid mental health and physical health needs. The course will also cover Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorders. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | In this mini course, students will explore cultural issues in the assessment and treatment of Opioid Use Disorders/Substance Use Disorders. Students will examine the effect of culture on the initiation, use, and abuse of substances. Socio-cultural beliefs can shape an individual’s approach to behavior regarding substance use and abuse. A special focus will be on emerging practices that support positive outcomes for diverse cultural groups, in prevention OUD/SUD, accessing services, engaging and completing treatment programs related to OUD/SUD. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | The criminalization of substance use disorders is perhaps one of the most urgent racial and social justice issues of social work today. Understanding the neuroscience behind substance use disorders is one of the most impactful strategies for social workers to employ when advocating for clients at interdisciplinary tables. This mini-course will provide an introduction to the neuroscience of substance use disorders with emphasis on both science and social justice. Topics covered include basics of cellular communication and neurotransmission, different types of neuroimaging techniques and the structural and functional impact of the main classes of psychoactive substances. The course will also address interdisciplinary health considerations (chronic pain, pregnancy, overdose prevention), harm reduction models, MAT, systemic racism and the carceral system. Social work students will receive most current neuroscience perspectives on the development and trajectory of chemical dependence that can be employed in practice to directly challenge stigma related to substance use disorders. Students will learn about structural and functional neurological changes that comprise the characteristic symptoms of substance use disorders and will be able to identify the genetic mechanisms that result in sustained changes in mesocortical and mesolimbic dopaminergic processing. Students will critically evaluate current approaches to diagnosing and treating substance use disorders and will discuss strategies to apply translational knowledge gained from neuroscience in practice. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course will increase students’ capacity to understand the issues faced by gender diverse people and communities, including but not limited to trans and nonbinary persons across the life span, and capacity to provide gender-affirming social work support to this group. To achieve these goals, this course will 1) offer a working definition of terms, including (but not limited to): Transgender, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, Gender Expansive, Gender Diverse, Intersex, Nonbinary, Cisgender, and Accomplice; 2) examine multiple risk factors that impact trans and gender diverse people (e.g., mental health issues, economic insecurity, violence) from a strengths-based lens; 3) examine protective factors (e.g., social support, community); 3) consider how these experiences are differentially experienced across intersections of race, class, and disability status, among other facets of identity/experience; and, 4) educate students about resources for trans and gender diverse individuals and communities and where/how to access these resources. Of particular importance, the concept of gender affirmation will be introduced, including mechanisms for social, legal, and medical gender affirmation, with examination of the role of the Social Worker in each of these domains. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host), Social Work Practice with Older Adults and Families from a Lifespan Perspective |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course will introduce and address issues of concern to interpersonal practice clients across the lifespan who identify as Transgender, Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Queer or questioning, focusing on the basic knowledge, interpersonal practice and advocacy skills it takes to become increasingly competent in providing counseling and advocacy for people who are in these marginalize, yet highly resilient, groups. From a strength-based perspective, this course will focus on basic social work knowledge and understanding of these groups, the social injustice and stigma facing these groups, but ultimately, how to engage, assess and effectively intervene with current, associated issues through therapy and advocacy. This course will also address self-exploration and ethical dilemmas for social work providers with TBLGQ people, and include real practice experiences with people from our local community. Students will be encouraged to actively engage in the course. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host), Social Work Practice with Older Adults and Families from a Lifespan Perspective |
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| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course deals with two central themes. First, environmental problems are people problems requiring an understanding of how people think, what they care about, and the conditions under which they behave most reasonably. Second, human behavior makes the most sense when studied in the context of the environment, both present and evolutionary. The course builds a model of human nature based upon research in the field of environmental psychology. The course will explore such topics as environmental perception and knowledge, preferred environments and coping with the failure of preference, and mental attention fatigue and restoration. It then applies this model to such issues as common property resource management and the psychology of sustainability. The course is cross-disciplinary both in emphasis and student population with the disciplines of natural resource policy, planning and management, environmental education, conservation behavior, psychology, landscape architecture and urban planning typically represented. |
| Credits: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | Latinx constitute the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. The United States Latinx population is immensely diverse, with members originating from over twenty countries. Latinx sub-populations tend to reside in different areas of the United States, have different cultural practices/norms, immigration experiences, and varying levels of economic attainment. These sources of internal variation are important, as they have implications for many social outcomes and social work practice with Latinx families. This mini course focuses on the theoretical, empirical and practice literature on Latinx families in the United States. The mini course will allow for students to become familiar with demographic trends, health disparities, acculturation and acculturative stress, and the current debates surrounding the immigrant health paradox. Additionally, this mini course will cover key methodological approaches aimed at engaging Latinx families in mental health and health care services, as well as barriers and facilitators to mental health and health care utilization. Furthermore, the course focuses on the clinical aspects of working with Latinx families, including but not limited to, culturally congruent assessment, and prevention and treatment models. Students in this course will acquire a general understanding of (1) the demographic, social and political background of Latinx families in the United States, (2) key theoretical frameworks to consider (e.g., acculturative stress) when working with Latinx families, (3) culturally congruent assessment, prevention and treatment approaches for health and well-being, and (3) acquire a general understanding of clinical aspects when working with Latinx families in the United States. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Global Social Work Practice, Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host), Welfare of Children & Families |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | Transitional age youth, defined as the transition period from adolescence to young adulthood, represents a developmental periods characterized by, among other things, increased risk taking and vulnerability for behavioral and mental health conditions. Yet the social work theoretical, empirical and practice literature remain underdeveloped, particularly for transitional age youth with behavioral health and mental health conditions. Social work practitioners and researchers alike play an essential role in ameliorating behavioral health conditions among transitional age youth. This course focuses on the state of the science when working with transitional age youth with behavioral health conditions. Students in this course will acquire a general understanding of (1) the prevalence and variations of behavioral health conditions among this overlooked and vulnerable population, (2) etiological factors associated with behavioral health conditions, (3) theoretical frameworks to inform practice with transitional age youth, and (4) best programs and practices when working with transitional age youth. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host), Welfare of Children & Families |
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University of Michigan
School of Social Work
1080 South University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106