Practice Methods Sequence

Methods courses prepare students for direct practice with individuals, families and small groups. This preparation requires a progressive identification with the values of social work, mastery of the knowledge on which practice is based, and development of practice skills. A wide range of theories and varied approaches are utilized to accomplish these goals in order that professional roles and functions may be effectively integrated.

SOWK 500E. Human Behavior and the Social Environment
(Restricted to students admitted to Erikson/Loyola dual-degree program)

SOWK 501.

SOWK 502. 

SOWK 503. Social Work with Individuals and Families I

Prequisite or co-requisite: SOWK 500. Theory for social work practice is studied, using an integrated social systems and biopsychosocial model. The student is introduced to the profession through its history, its conceptual development and through an examination of the values, knowledge and skills which characterize it. The course content focuses on the worker/client relationship and development of assessment, intervention and evaluation skills.

SOWK 504. Social Work with Individuals and Families II

 

Prerequisite: SOWK 503. This course is concerned with social work as intervention with clients. The focus of the course is on individualized treatment planning and execution, based on diagnosis and the social worker's disciplined use of professional skills.

 

SOWK 505. Social Work with Small Groups

 

Prerequisite or co-requisite: SOWK 503. This course presents theoretical approaches to social work with small groups, with particular emphasis on the dynamics of small group process and appropriate worker intervention.

Research Sequence

The need of practitioners to be accountable and evaluate their own practice, programs, and service delivery requires them to have research skills. The research sequence is designed to enable the student to prepare for three roles: l) the role of a competent evaluator of one's own practice; 2) the role of a responsible and critical consumer of social work research; and 3) the role of an active participant in knowledge-generating inquiries. This includes collection and use of data for the development of service as well as the clarification of clinical issues in social work practice. Taking into account students' professional goals, two options are offered, each consisting of two sequential three-credit courses.

Social Welfare Policy and Services Sequence

Courses in this area are designed to help students: understand social welfare policies and programs, their sociohistorical development, current operation and the values that inform social choices; develop familiarity with analytical concepts and standards in relation to the impact of policies and programs on direct practice and people; acquire knowledge and skills in policy formulation, services planning and positive change.

Field Instruction Sequence

Elective Courses

In addition to the 36 semester hours of required coursework, the remaining 24 hours of specialization and elective courses are needed. 10 hours of electives are required. While students may take any elective for which they have prerequisites, the sequencing of courses and the selection of electives should be done with the advice of the student advisor or by the MSW Advising Template. Be sure to check the prerequisites in the course descriptions which follow. When an elective is oversubscribed, the school reserves the right to close registration.

A multi-theoretical understanding of substance abuse is emphasized. A family systems orientation provides the framework for discussion of the knowledge and techniques needed for social workers to identify, assess and treat substance abuse problems.

 
SOWK 602. Health Policy and Health Systems

Health-care systems are examined in the context of social policy and healthcare needs. The effects of different levels of healthcare interventions, changing roles and responsibilities of government, the voluntary sector and the proprietary sector are assessed in relation to access and utilization of health care. Cultural and class factors are considered in relation to differential risks and healthcare services.

This seminar builds on the student's knowledge of short-term treatment, expanding this knowledge and skill toward understanding, and the practice of brief treatment as a modality of social work intervention. It examines the essential components of brief treatment: selection of clients, goals, focus, treatment approaches and techniques. Differences and common elements of three approaches to brief treatment (task-centered, crisis intervention, brief psychotherapy) are explored and related to social work practices with individual clients. Special consideration is given to the dynamics of the first interview with clients. Emphasis is placed on integrating theory with practice skill through the use of current clinical material from the student's fieldwork course.

SOWK 604. Advanced Social Work Practice with Groups

Building on the basic course in social work with small groups (SOWK 505), this course focuses on developing deeper understanding and skill in the area of group therapy. The course includes examination of process of "live" group therapy, using the class group as well as the student's field course experience for learning purposes.

This course provides basic knowledge about the physiology and psychology of human sexuality as well as consideration of some areas of sexual dysfunction. In addition to the knowledge component, attention is focused on cultural, societal, and personal attitudes which may affect the student's response to this area of practice. The problems of sexual dysfunction are considered within the context of the client relational patterns and individual adjustments. Current treatment modalities are reviewed and examined within the context of social work values.

This course will cover five different historical and current areas of psychodynamic theory: 1) drive and structural theory, 2) ego psychology, 3) object relations theories, 4) self psychology, and 5) new theories derived from research on infants. Emphasis is on understanding the evolution of psychodynamic theory over time, (i.e., how different theories have both built upon and diverged from each other, and what their respective strengths and limitations are). Applications to social work practice will be explored and discussed.

This course will provide an overview of the legal system, the role of social workers in the court system, and provide tools to assist students in developing reports appropriate for legal review.

This course focuses on the roles of social workers in schools, including provision of direct service, consultation, advocacy, program development and evaluation, and liaison with family and community systems. A perspective on school social work is developed through a historical view of social work in schools and identification of issues in the delivery of social work services in schools. Significant legislation such as laws pertaining to special education, family rights and privacy, and due process will be included. Content areas are supported by value positions stemming from the professional social work value base and the professional code of ethics. This course should be taken concurrently with a school field placement.

This course explores clinical models and techniques for the treatment of couples with relationship problems. Primary attention is given to the integration of systemic and analytical theories. Specific strategies and techniques are presented and demonstrated via simulations and video. Theories of change in social work treatment are discussed, and students are encouraged to identify their own theoretical framework and capabilities as social work practitioners. Attention is given to the range of symptomatology and dysfunction, including sexual dysfunction and severe disturbances. Diagnosis and treatment of a variety of dyadic relationships are discussed, including unmarried, gay and lesbian couples.

The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the field of family diagnosis and treatment. It provides a base of selected theoretical concepts and practice techniques which may be utilized to assess family functioning, organize therapeutic systems and facilitate processes of family development and positive change.

SOWK 613. Advanced Family Therapy

This seminar course is designed to deepen student clinical practice competence in family therapy. Through lecture, discussion and experiential exercises, including formation of simulated families, use of case vignettes and films, the course will focus on refining understanding of the therapeutic process and the development of treatment skills. Students will advance their understanding of the relationship between treatment goals and treatment techniques. Students will gain experience on the intellectual and affective levels in executing the roles and tasks of family therapists.

SOWK 614. Clinical Social Work Practice in Health Care

The components of psychosocial assessment and treatment are integrated with the aspects of the medical and physical functioning of the person-situation configuration. Coping tasks of individuals and family members are viewed from a perspective of growth based upon the psychosocial capacities of the persons involved, pre-illness coping patterns, phases of the illness process and prognosis for physical functioning and life. Cultural and class factors are emphasized relative to family health belief systems and how such factors interact with access to and utilization of healthcare services. Students in the healthcare program should take this course with the advanced field placement.

SOWK 615. The Adolescent Client: Diagnosis and Treatment

This course emphasizes knowledge of critical dimensions of adolescent ego development (normal and pathogenic) and draws primarily from analytic ego psychological theory. The vicissitudes of therapeutic relationships with adolescents are explored, focusing on stages in the treatment process, the modes of expression available to clinicians, and clinicians' differential judgments regarding technique and communication. While a psychodynamic approach is emphasized within the context of an individual treatment model, some issues relative to family and group psychotherapy will be addressed

SOWK 616. Psychotherapy with Adults
This course focuses on the content and process of psychodynamically-based psychotherapy with adults. Course content includes areas of diagnostic evaluation, the phasic treatment process, the therapeutic alliance, transference and counter-transference, frameworks for understanding communications and therapeutic techniques.

SOWK 617. Clinical Diagnosis and Therapeutic Treatment

Utilizing a developmental framework and a structural approach to clinical diagnosis, this course focuses on the manner in which individuals organize and understand their environments in harmony with the functioning of their inner lives. Selective perception and the concept of the transitional object are emphasized as basic to the development of both cognitive and affective development. Case material is analyzed to demonstrate the manner in which client communication can be understood from this point of view. Attention is then paid to how counter-transference reactions and worker-client interactions within the treatment situation can be used to promote growth. Although there is some illustrative material from work with neurotic clients, the course deals primarily with work with pre-oedipal disorders

SOWK 618. The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Psychotherapy

This advanced elective examines the predominate practice theories regarding religion and spirituality for the "person-in-the-situation". Included in the course material are relevant psychodynamic, philosophical, theological and sociocultural understands of the interface between psychotherapy and religion and spiritual beliefs and practices of our clients and of ourselves. This course is designed to assist clinical social workers in their development as critically reflective of and responsive to the diversity of religious and spiritual values, ethics, and principles that contribute to the world-view of practitioners and the people with whom they work.

SOWK 619. Issues in the Treatment of Women

This course focuses on the identification and application of treatment strategies relevant to practice with women. Issues in diagnosis include: high prevalence disorders in women, developmental and role issues, and female identity issues. Relationship issues are identified based on understanding sexism and stereotyping in society and social work as a "female profession." Intervention process issues include focus on female populations including battered, minority, and alcoholic women.

 

This course is designed to help students attain a mastery of the central concepts in direct social work treatment of children. The course begins with an overview of the major mental disorders from which children suffer, and then covers interviewing skills and formulating diagnosis and treatment plans with children. Students are introduced to the various modalities available for clinical social work practice with children, and different theoretical models that have been developed for understanding and treating children.

SOWK 626. Treatment of Clients with Severe Mental Illness: Theory and Practice

This elective course offers students the opportunity to learn about leading-edge social work approaches to providing humane care for severely mentally ill clients, especially those clients with concomitant substance abuse, developmental disabilities, and severe socioeconomic disadvantage. This course offers students a comprehensive approach to social work practice with this population, which includes outreach, clinical assessment, and treatment planning. Working with the client's environment, collaboration with other systems, advocacy and program development are considered. The course uses a strengths-perspective, in that the emphasis is on understanding the severely mentally ill client's experience of illness and his/her strengths, and improving the processes associated with acquiring care.

The goal of this course is that students acquire a working knowledge of infant development, including the developmental patterns of infants at risk. This knowledge includes an understanding of the basic developmental processes in the domains of cognitive, social/emotional, communication and motor development. Throughout the course, consideration will be given to the interaction of social, cultural, and interpersonal environments with infant development. Special focus will be placed on the influences of developmental challenges in the child's emerging capacities for engagement in relationships and in learning. (Note: This course is cross-listed with the Erikson Institute)

SOWK 631. Clinical Social Work Practice with Family Violence

Prerequisites: All required 500 courses; Family Diagnosis and Treatment ( SOWK 612) or consent of instructor. This course will focus on the occurrence of violence, the various theoretical perspectives and the treatment of violence as it is experienced by various family members. The content of the course will include clinical social work assessment and intervention relevant to violence to family members.

SOWK 632. Social Work with the Aged

The focus of this course is on practice with an aging clientele. It consists of understanding the issues of the developmental process of aging, and examining social work practice issues. The student is helped to develop diagnostic and treatment skills for work with the elderly population. Similarities and differences in treatment approaches with other age groups are reviewed and generic principles identified. Concrete service delivery and individual, family and small group treatment approaches are studied.

SOWK 645. Crises Intervention
This course focuses on crises and emergencies, significant and stressful phenomena that are common in all aspects of social work. The definitions and implications of crisis (a period of emotional disequilibrium that lasts for up to 6 weeks) and emergency (an immediate situation that includes the potential for physical harm) are explored. A model of crisis intervention is presented, with a variety of case examples, along with an understanding of the importance of not conducting crisis intervention when a client is not in crisis. The nature of emergencies are also explored, with emphasis on potential suicide, potential violence, and states of impaired judgment that produce vulnerability to harm.

SOWK 644. Ethics: Theory & Application

SOWK 690. Independent Study

Independent studies primarily are designed to supplement and enrich the elective components of the curriculum. The structure and content of a given study are developed by the student and the faculty member who is directing the course. A major work product is required. A maximum of 4 credit hours may be applied toward the degree.

Electives in Other Schools

Students accepted into the Loyola School of Social Work may take four elective credit hours of selected courses offered in other graduate departments, schools and programs of the university, as listed below. Students who wish to take such courses must contact their faculty advisors to make arrangements and secure permission to register.

Institute of Human Resources and Industrial Relations
Institute of Pastoral Studies
School of Education
School of Law
Erikson Institute Advanced Study in Child Development
Political Science Department
Psychology Department
Sociology Department