Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse

This course will teach social work students to achieve positive client outcomes through interdisciplinary teamwork and interprofessional communication while utilizing social work values, methods, and skills at a multi-disciplinary student-run health clinic that includes student-practitioners from schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacology, dentistry, and social work. The course will help students understand the roles and responsibilities of each discipline on the healthcare team, the importance of effective communication, and the role of team collaboration in clinical decision making.

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).

This course will provide a macro lens to assess and engage with various social services, policies, and programs that provide developmental, preventive, protective, and rehabilitative services for children, youth, and families. Students will be introduced to major policies and macro-level issues within the education, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems.

This course is designed to increase students awareness, knowledge, and understanding of issues related to diversity and social justice, including race, ethnicity, class, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, ability status, and the intersections between these social identity groups. Additionally, students will gain an understanding of dialogue as a method for peacefully resolving conflict that may emerge due to cultural misunderstandings or oppressive dynamics, as well as skills for effectively engaging in dialogue.

This course is a practice-focused course on chemical dependency and other addictive behaviors. Course content and instructional methodologies enable students to develop knowledge and assessment and intervention practice skills using a framework grounded in both theoretical and science-based prevention and intervention approaches. The course focuses on development and direct application of prevention, assessment and intervention skills with clients related to chemical dependency and other addictive behaviors.

The Evidence Informed OUD/SUD Interventions 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.

Motivational interviewing is a goal-directed, client-centered counseling approach for eliciting behavioral change by helping clients explore and resolve ambivalence. Utilizing the Professional Training Videotape Series developed by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick, this is a series of skill-sharing sessions will provide a basic introduction to Motivational Interviewing. This advanced action-based learning course will focus on direct practice and implementation of motivational interviewing techniques.

Transitional age youth, defined as the transition period from adolescence to young adulthood, represents a developmental period 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 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.

This course will examine practice theories and techniques for working directly with children ages eighteen months to nine years, and their caregivers, via play therapy. This course will emphasize evidence-based play therapies that address diverse groups of young children. Special attention will be given to the meaning of play across cultures, as well as the role of play in the healthy development of children.