Summer 2024 MSW Credit Course Electives

Current UB SSW students: Register through the Hub Student Center in the same manner that you register for all other classes.

Not a current UB SSW student? (Non-Degree or Non-Matriculated Students): Apply for non-degree status, which must be completed prior to registration. 

Billing is sent electronically to your buffalo.edu email address. Paper bills are no longer mailed by UB. If you do not check your buffalo.edu email and pay your tuition bill on time, you will be charged late fees by UB.

Review the in-state and out-of-state tuition and fees.

Field Educators with SUNY Tuition Waivers may use the waivers to pay for tuition costs. Waivers do not cover standard course fees or the nondegree application fee. For more information call the MSW Field Education Office at 716-645-1234 or email sw-field@buffalo.edu.

For more information visit the SUNY Tuition Waiver page.

• The Buffalo Niagara Summer Institute courses are considered non-standard courses. Please refer to the Office of the Registrar's non-standard session dates for add/drop dates. 
• Full attendance is required for credit. 
  

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Youth: Theoretical & Therapeutic Foundations will cover evidence based CBT interventions for youth “internalizing” disorders including depression, suicide prevention, various anxiety disorders and trauma/PTSD.  The Theoretical & Therapeutic Foundations component will include topics such as how to formulate a CBT Case Conceptualization, the art of Socratic Questioning and Cognitive Restructuring with youth, how to involve parents in the child’s treatment, and how to integrate more recent “Third Wave” CBT therapies such as DBT, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Positive Psychology and Polyvagal Theory & Therapy into an integrated treatment approach.  .  Methods to involve parents in the youth’s treatment will be addressed. Attendees will have the opportunity for skill building through didactic instruction and various immersive learning opportunities such as role play and small group application of treatment skills.  

Students who successfully complete SW 976: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Youth: Theoretical & Therapeutic Foundations AND SW: 977 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Youth: Evidence based approaches for adolescent disorders will receive a certificate in "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Program for Child & Adolescent Mental Health Disorders". 

This course will offer an exploration of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and essential concepts in trauma psychotherapies. Designed for students seeking to deepen their understanding beyond general brief counseling models, the course provides an examination of trauma-focused interventions, modalities, and delves into the application of EMDR therapy in clinical practice. Individual clinician readiness, interest, and therapeutic fit will be explored.

The purpose of this course is to provide a practical knowledge of the Schema Focused Therapy Model.  Students will become acquainted with the nature of each of the Lifetraps or early maladaptive schemas, their domains, the pathogenic early learning in their origin, and the ways they play out in self-defeating behaviors of the adult.  An overview of the model, components of assessment, case conceptualization, and phases of treatment will be presented.  At the conclusion of this course, students will have an understanding of the model and the steps for incorporating this integrative tool for the treatment of a wide range of clients who have histories of psychological trauma and meet criteria for personality, other mental health and/or substance use disorders.  

This course will focus on the trajectory of serious illness and the accompanying experience of grief.  Students will utilize a life course perspective, discussing the impact of age and developmental stages (individual and family), race, culture, ethnicity, and overall social context.  Incorporating a trauma-informed and human rights perspective, students will increase their knowledge, enhance their assessment and clinical skills, and improve their self-awareness, in order to best serve this population in various practice settings.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that incorporates mindfulness and behavioral strategies to help clients increase their psychological flexibility.  ACT takes a non-pathological approach to clinical presentations and aims to help clients engage in values-based behavior while simultaneously making space for unwanted internal experiences, such as painful thoughts, feelings, body sensations, memories, etc.  Through this, clients learn to put less effort into fighting against their symptoms and put more effort into living the life they want.  This course focuses on the origin, theory, components, and application of core ACT skills to help adults and adolescents from diverse populations and a variety of life problems organize their lives around what matters to them, rather than avoidance of unwanted experiences.  

This course is designed as an introduction to the basic principles of ACT.  No previous experience with ACT is necessary.  Learners will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to utilize this method appropriately and effectively with diverse client populations and problems.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Youth: Evidence based approaches for adolescent disorders will cover diagnosis specific, evidence based CBT approaches for various “externalizing” child & adolescent disorders including Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Pediatric Bipolar Disorder and Substance Use Disorders.  The emphasis will be on teaching highly practical interventions clinicians can readily apply in their clinical practice with youth.  Methods to involve parents in the youth’s treatment will be addressed. Attendees will have the opportunity for skill building through didactic instruction and various immersive learning opportunities such as role play and small group application of treatment skills.  

***Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Youth: Theoretical & Therapeutic Foundations is a prerequisite for this course.***

Students who successfully complete SW 976: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Youth: Theoretical & Therapeutic Foundations AND SW 977: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Youth: Evidence based approaches for adolescent disorders will receive a certificate in "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Program for Child & Adolescent Mental Health Disorders". 

This is a skill focused course on how to assess and respond to adults with psychiatric emergencies where there is a risk of lethality (suicidal/homicidal/self-harm). It will include identification of high risk factors and how to conduct lethality assessments for individuals, including those who are diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness and/or under the influence of substances. Participants will learn the levels of lethality; how to use lethality assessment tools and rating scales; how to complete documentation of services which reflect clinical assessments in accordance with the most current evidence and best practices; how to create an intervention plan for identified lethality, and when it is appropriate in professional social work practice to break confidentiality based on a current lethality assessment.