Summer 2023 Seated and Hybrid Electives

This course is organized primarily as a seminar that will highlight motivational interviewing approaches to help clients build commitment and reach a decision to change behavior. This course provides a forum for case presentation and discussion with an emphasis on discussing cases from students' field placements or practice settings. Theories of behavioral change will be discussed, and the transtheoretical model of intentional behavior change will be highlighted as an integrative framework for understanding the process of behavior change.

Motivational interviewing is an evidence-based practice for addictive behaviors, but applications have been extended to behavioral change in general, including social work, mental health, health promotion, general medical care, corrections, and community and organizational settings. In addition, the course will discuss motivational interviewing's application to practice with “mandated” clients.

This course is approved for CEUs.

This course is designed to provide the student with an overview of social work practice in public schools. Students will examine the history of school social work, state and federal education laws, educational issues and policies, conceptual frameworks (such as the ecological approach), and service delivery models. Evidence-based programs, interventions and practices will be highlighted, in particular those that optimize the student's potential for growth and learning. The course is intended to develop the student's awareness and understanding of the unique role that the school social worker has and how it impacts the lives of children, families, school staff and communities.

This course is approved for CEUs.

In this interprofessional course, students work alongside students from other health professions at community-based clinics and other settings working toward racial equity in the delivery of basic health care services. Students may be working with students from other university schools or departments to conduct assessments, provide psychosocial information, coordinate services and advocate for the community. Students will use social work skills learned in classroom and field education, including a trauma-informed and human rights lens, to assess the macro forces that impact health and health care in economically challenged neighborhoods.