Fall 2023 Online Electives

This undergraduate course will provide a foundational understanding of human biology with emphasis on the biological bases of behaviors and issues of concern to social workers. This course is designed to meet the human biology prerequisites for Masters in Social Work students, and will cover the basics of human biology including anatomical systems and structures, development from conception through aging and death, genetics, evolution and biological and environmental interactions. The focus of the course is not only on biology but also on the critical analysis of the interplay between human biology and social issues. Discussions will cover the biological bases of phenomena including but not limited to addictions, mental illness, sexuality and aggression. Emphasis throughout the course also will be placed on biological processes related to trauma and stress.

Course Introduction - In this video Elaine Hammond provides a summary of what the course covers.

This course is designed to provide students with practical and theoretical knowledge and skills for addressing and resolving conflict through the use of mediation and negotiation strategies and tactics. Students will explore the ways in which power operates in a variety of approaches, theories, and perspectives, including conflict theories and styles, strategies for empowering relevant parties in managing conflict through negotiation, and techniques and frameworks for third party intervention. Students also will critically analyze methods of conflict management integrating concepts of human rights, trauma, and restorative practice within various contexts.

This course is aimed at developing the knowledge and skills necessary for working with individuals who have a diagnosis of serious mental illness using recovery-oriented evidence-based practices. It is designed for MSW students and MSW mental health practitioners. Students will become familiar with evidence-based practice, within a recovery-oriented paradigm, as a general approach to practice as well as specific evidence-based interventions to use for individuals with a diagnosis of serious mental illness. It is assumed that students will have a basic knowledge on serious mental illness as a pre or co-requisite, however a review will be provided. Students will learn to examine research literature to determine the various levels of support for specific interventions and essential principles for translating research into practice. In addition, they will identify the appropriate treatment outcomes that reflect effective, quality, mental health practice. Each evidence-based practice presented will also be examined for its utility with diverse groups. Providing assessment and treatment to a diverse group of individuals with a diagnosis of serious mental illness is the focus of this course and will be discussed in detail.

This course is approved for CEU's.

This course provides a general introduction to the fields of abnormal psychology and clinical psychiatry. Specifically, this course will acquaint students with the epidemiology, classification, and etiology, of the major forms of mental illness. It is the primary aim of this course to develop the student’s diagnostic skills in clinical settings. To that end, didactic emphasis will be placed not only on the study of psychopathological symptoms and behaviors, per se, but also on their manifestations in everyday life. Specific attention is paid to the ethical and social work value-related problems associated with diagnosing and labeling clients with a psychiatric disorder, and issues of race, ethnicity, culture, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disabilities or illness, age and national origin as they influence the manifestations of behaviors that may be diagnosed as mental illness or affect the presentation of mental illness. Case studies and videos will be used to ensure that students have an effective working knowledge of: (a) the biological and psychosocial bases of the major mental disorders; (b) the behavioral symptomatology that characterizes them; and (c) their classification according to the American Psychiatric Association system of classification of mental illness and the World Health Organization (WHO) International Classification of Diseases (ICD). This course also addresses the role of social workers as advocates for people with mental disorders and as environmental change agents.

This course is approved for CEU's.

This course provides a general introduction to behavior problems of childhood. A particular emphasis will be placed on differentiating among the many associated labels (i.e. behavioral disturbances, behavior problems, mental illness, developmental disorders, maladaptive behavior, and dysfunctional behavior) with this category of disorders. The course will review classification and etiology of major mental health disorders within the context of normal and abnormal mental and emotional development of children. Children’s behavior disorders will be examined in the contexts of family, peer group, school, and community. The ethical considerations associated with this topic as well as the impact of culture on children and their families will be highlighted. Strategies employed to treat children and their families will also be addressed.

This course is approved for CEU's.

This course employs the reproductive justice framework, which is a framework developed by women of color infusing social justice and reproductive rights, to examine the history, cultural and societal attitudes, and associated politics of reproduction and reproductive health in the United States from a social work perspective. We will analyze the impact of social policy and the activities of various political stakeholders on reproductive health and rights. The course will also explore how various forces of oppression intersect to impact reproductive health and reproductive rights in the United States. *Course with a racial justice focus.*