The course will introduce clinical social work practice by addressing the fundamental purposes, historical and ongoing debates, functions, and practice methods. Links to clinical social work practice with groups are made in this course in addition to social work theory (including psychological and social theories), issues related to social policy, agency and community contexts, and advocacy work, as well as research (e.g., empirical evidence, evaluation).
This 10-week course is organized by three broad areas of social work practice competence:
- Principles of clinical social work practice
- Clinical competencies in the beginning phase of social work practice
- Introduction to clinical competencies in the middle and ending phases of practice
First, this course will focus on social work values, ethics, and other key principles, in clinical social work practice. Attention will be given to the clinician’s capacity for an intentional and effective use of self as well as understanding and addressing complex and intersecting nature of power and various social locations within a therapeutic process.
Next, the course will address foundational practice competencies required in the beginning phase of practice, namely interviewing skills for relationship building, assessment, case formulation, goal setting, contracting, and treatment planning. Understanding that much of clinical practice was built on Euro-centric, western, colonial epistemologies, instructors will invite students to critically appraise and identify ways to engage clinical skills responsibly from racial and social justice perspectives.
Finally, the last part of this 10-week course will introduce students to the competences relevant to the middle phase of practice, such as common tasks and processes involved with this phase of work, an introduction to several intervention models of working with individuals and families, case management (e.g., working with collaterals, resource development, referral), as well as the ending phase of practice, such as practice monitoring, evaluation, and termination. While several conventional intervention models (e.g., psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, trauma work) will be introduced, the course will also engage students in critically examining the utility and limits of these models, with a goal of centering practice decisions on the needs and voices of clients from marginalized communities. A variety of pedagogical methods, including lectures, discussions, the use of media, case-based learning, mindfulness exercises and role-plays, will be used to introduce practice principles, theoretical and empirical literature and competency-based skills. Throughout the course, student learning will be scaffolded, moving from learning aboutpractice to doing practice through various experiential methods, such as mindfulness exercises, case-based discussion and peer-to-peer role plays. Case materials used for discussion and role-plays will reflect individual and family practice in a range of service settings with a focus on the social and structural contexts surrounding marginalized communities.
- Instructor: Kenta Asakura