Class Descriptions

The class descriptions displayed below are for the past Fall 2021 term and may not reflect the current curriculum.
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SW725

Juvenile and Adult Justice System

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Children, Youth, and Families
Description:
This course critically examines juvenile delinquency and the adult correctional system in the United States. Students will be exposed to the theories that help professionals understand the development of delinquency and crime within the context of individuals, families and communities. Understanding the mechanisms that contribute to offending is important for social work professionals, as this understanding should directly guide the policies and practices of the justice system. This course will focus on some of the most pressing issues that face the justice system and the social work professionals that work within this system. Such issues include adolescent brain development, poverty, child maltreatment, substance abuse, mental health, disproportionate minority contact (DMC), incarceration, peer relationships, the school to prison pipeline, evidence based interventions and the role of ideology in juvenile justice policy. The course is designed for social work students interested in working in justice settings (micro or macro) or students interested in working with youth populations that may experience contact with the justice system.
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SW726

Counseling and Advocacy for LGBTQIA2S+ Youth

Grading Method:
S/U
Credits:
1 Credit Hour
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Children, Youth, and Families
Description:
This course will introduce and address issues of concern to social work practice youth that identify as Transgender, Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Queer or questioning, focusing on the basic knowledge, practice and advocacy skills it takes to become increasingly competent in providing social work practice 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 youth that identify as TBLGQ including the social injustice and stigma facing these groups. Related to TBLGQ youth, key areas of focus include how to advocate, affirm, engage, assess and effectively practice in a culturally responsive manner, while exploring risk and protective factors within the contexts of school, home, health care, and communities. This course will also address self-exploration and ethical dilemmas for social work providers with TBLGQ youth.
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SW727

Families and Health (Public Health)

Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host), Children, Youth, and Families
Description:
This course examines families as a primary context for understanding health and health-related behaviors. Major topics include: 1) substantive and ethical overview of families and health, 2) historical perspectives on the family, 3) demographic trends in family structure, 4) family diversity with respect to social class, race/ethnicity and culture, and sexual orientation and their implications for understanding health phenomena and family models and theories, 5) families as the context for socialization to health beliefs and practices, 6) the provision of family-based care, 7) health profiles of family members and family roles, and 8) family-based skills, programs, and practice concepts.
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SW744

Adventure/Experiential Based Therapy

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
1 Credit Hour
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host), Children, Youth, and Families
Description:
This one-credit course will focus on the use of an experiential and adventure practice approach (theories, models, tools and techniques) for therapeutic purposes with individuals, groups and families. Students are expected to come with a foundational understanding of clinical work (in particular, some knowledge of clinical group facilitation), and experiential learning. Theoretical models of clinical experiential and adventure practice will be offered and discussed in tandem with clinical social work theories and models of practice. Evidence-based literature will be reviewed that promote nature-based, experiential and adventure interventions that build on strengths and resources of individuals and their families, and that integrate components of other evidence-based practices into the experiential and adventure methodologies. Inclusive and accessible practices will be discussed and demonstrated, especially due to the outdoor and natural setting involved and the physicality of many of the tools used in the approach.
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SW746

Attachment Theory in Clinical Practice through the Lifespan

Grading Method:
S/U
Credits:
1 Credit Hour
Prerequisites:
None
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, Children, Youth, and Families
Description:
Understanding the implications of childhood relationships on adult functioning can provide a powerful framework for creating goals and intervention in adult psychotherapy. Using attachment theory as the foundation, this course will address relationship-based intervention with adults. Students will learn the role of attachment in the development and maintenance of strategies that adults use to manage needs for autonomy and connection, in social, family and romantic relationships.
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SW771

Assessment and Intervention with Preschool Children

Grading Method:
S/U
Credits:
1 Credit Hour
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse, Children, Youth, and Families
Description:
Students will learn about comprehensive assessment and evidence based interventions with pre-school children (ages 3-5). This course aims to increase developmentally relevant and effective practice with preschool children and their families. A particular lens will be assessment and intervention in the context of school, however, assessment and intervention strategies within other settings will also be discussed. Special attention will be paid to the needs of preschool children most likely to be under-served by, or expelled from, preschool (e.g. children with behavior problems, children of color, children impacted by trauma, and children with developmental delays.)
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SW772

Forensic Interviewing

Grading Method:
S/U
Credits:
1 Credit Hour
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Children, Youth, and Families
Description:
This is an advanced course focused on forensic interviewing of children. The course is particularly relevant to interviewing children alleged to have been sexually abused, but also relevant to gathering information from children about a spectrum of traumatic maltreatment experiences. This course will provide a critical review of the research evidence that is relied upon in forensic interviewing of children, and will provide information about best practice. The course takes child-centered, social justice, and culturally responsive approaches that is inclusive of the child’s needs, developmental stage, and level of cognitive – emotional functioning, throughout the forensic interview process. Documenting the child’s disclosure about the specifics of the allegations will also be discussed.
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SW773

Evidence Based Parenting Interventions

Grading Method:
S/U
Credits:
1 Credit Hour
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Children, Youth, and Families
Description:
This course focuses on a specific parenting issue - the use of discipline and punishment in child-rearing. This course examines research on the effectiveness of a wide range of parental disciplinary approaches, and introduce numerous evidence-based parenting interventions, and their recommendations and approaches to child discipline. The course content will be embedded within a child development framework that considers the child’s age and development stage, in conjunction with family and community-level factors. We will discuss how cultural norms and beliefs may influence parents’ discipline choices and how social workers can best dialogue with parents to help them achieve their parenting aims. This one-credit course addresses micro and macro social work issues.
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SW777

Animal Assisted Therapy Interventions

Grading Method:
S/U
Credits:
1 Credit Hour
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse, Children, Youth, and Families
Description:
This course provides an experiential opportunity for students to explore an array of animal assisted therapeutic activities specifically designed to further a wide range of therapeutic goals with children, adolescents, families and adult clients. Like play therapy and art therapy, animal assisted interventions, when integrated with evidence-based methods including (but not limited to) CBT and mindfulness, trauma recovery, family systems, cultural-relational and psychodynamic approaches, offer opportunities for people to work through a variety of issues and insecurities related to attachment, trauma, self-esteem and identity concerns, dysregulation, behavioral difficulties, mental illness, developmental disabilities, and family and relational problems. With selected animals as therapy partners, the therapeutic team helps people of all ages and positions foster new alliances, understand more fully existing problems and build practical life-skills to enhance confidence, effectiveness and joy. Presently, animal assisted therapy is gaining acclaim in the field of mental health intervention and there is a growing body of evidence supporting its efficacy to be explored. This course specifically teaches the theoretical foundations, standards, ethics, evidence, certifications, integration of methods, case examples, evaluation and practical skills involved in partnering with a variety of animals – dogs, cats, goats, pigs, horses and chickens (yes, chickens!)- to provide engaging and effective interventions.
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