This course will focus on academic, co-curricular, and career planning. In addition to assignments related to resume and interview preparation, internship preparation, and an exploration of graduate school opportunities, the course includes units on the development of competencies in financial literacy, digital literacy, and cybersecurity, as well as an exploration of what it means to be AI-literate in a specific field. SIM 200 will be cohorted by discipline (Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM, Health Professions), so students are advised to take this class after they declare their major.

In the final segment of The Simmons Course, you will join other students in your major to focus on career, financial and life planning, considering internships, research, and service, employment and graduate school.

Covers emergence and development of sociological thought and research. Introduces basic concepts, theoretical approaches, and methodological strategies for the study of social structures, processes, and relations. Focuses on the seven thematic areas of the department to cover a range of social issues useful to a critical understanding of society, social inequalities, and the interconnectedness across national and social borders.

We explore analytical, contemplative, and political tools that can help us be change agents. We will examine how interlocking systems of inequality are built into our social institutions and engage with questions of what it takes to become social justice advocates. Understanding how inequities are shaped by race, ethnicity, gender, social class, sexual orientation, religion, and many other factors is a crucial part of this work as is examining how power and privilege influence our priorities, approaches, assumptions, networks, and vision.

Examines the unique perspective of health care from the cultural lens appropriate to women of color. Historical, social, environmental, and political factors that contribute to racial and gender disparities in health care are analyzed. Students will develop cultural competency tools for more effective health care delivery.

Introduces methods and strategies used in research in the social sciences. Teaches responsible consumption of social science research and presents the logic and skills of social research methods. Emphasizes the nature of inquiry and the relationship between theory and research. Includes social research ethics and an introduction to data analysis using computers in research. Previous courses in statistics or computers not required. Instructor consent required.

Introduces methods and strategies used in research in the social sciences. Teaches responsible consumption of social science research and presents the logic and skills of social research methods. Emphasizes the nature of inquiry and the relationship between theory and research. Includes social research ethics and an introduction to data analysis using computers in research. Previous courses in statistics or computers not required. Instructor consent required.

Emphasizes social determinants of physical and mental health and cross-cultural experiences of illness and seeking care. Pays special attention to the unequal distribution of health and illness in the U.S, the role of culture in our understandings of health and illness, and the social organization of health care.

Examines health and illness from a global perspective. Current public health dilemmas are analyzed, highlighting the role of colonialism, culture, development, and public health policies. Case studies will focus on how health issues are handled in different parts of the world, highlighting the roles of culture and political economy.

The United States is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, yet we live in a society riddled with inequality. Too often this inequality is hidden from many Americans. The purpose of this course is to understand where inequality exists and how it is able to sustain itself. Students will read articles and books on how racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia are prevalent in society�s economic, social, and political structures. They will also examine how these create a society where some are guaranteed privileges and opportunities while others are denied it.

The United States is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, yet we live in a society riddled with inequality. Too often this inequality is hidden from many Americans. The purpose of this course is to understand where inequality exists and how it is able to sustain itself. Students will read articles and books on how racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia are prevalent in society�s economic, social, and political structures. They will also examine how these create a society where some are guaranteed privileges and opportunities while others are denied it.

Examines the concepts of normalcy and disability, using personal narratives, literature, film, legal documents, social science research, and public health statistics. Students question how and why disability is socially constructed as a social category. Demonstrates the power of this concept in terms of policies created to "control" disability, and those people with disabilities have created.

Introduces students to transnational studies. Addresses transnational studies as a critical tool for examining subjects, social relations, and cultural processes. Highlights issues of race, nation, gender, class and sexuality in a world where cultural and political borders are being reconstituted by capital. Focuses on themes of nationalism and belonging, citizenship, migration, cultural practices, and diasporas.

Consent of department required.

Examines the concepts of normalcy and disability, using personal narratives, literature, film, legal documents, social science research, and public health statistics. Students question how and why disability is socially constructed as a social category. Demonstrates the power of this concept in terms of policies created to "control" disability, and those people with disabilities have created.

Introduces students to transnational studies. Addresses transnational studies as a critical tool for examining subjects, social relations, and cultural processes. Highlights issues of race, nation, gender, class and sexuality in a world where cultural and political borders are being reconstituted by capital. Focuses on themes of nationalism and belonging, citizenship, migration, cultural practices, and diasporas.

Continuation of SPAN-101.

Aims to increase proficiency in the oral and written use of language. Readings include selections by contemporary Latin American authors and focus on various issues, such as women's roles and human rights. Includes written assignments and oral presentations based on readings and other current events.

Continuation of SPAN-201, with a special focus on writing at the intermediate level and specialized units for Social Workers and Health Sciences professionals who want to improve their speaking skills.

Presents Hispanic culture, society, and politics, as seen through the prism of cinema. Topic changes yearly. Open to non-majors.

Consent of instructor required.

Explores building-based issues in the inclusion of learners with special needs and techniques, including cooperative learning, to include learners with special needs in general educational settings. Includes development of a collaborative plan describing implementation strategies for inclusion, team building, and school change. Requires site visit.

This course is part of the Autism Specialization Program. SPND 490 course provides an overview of the major disability categories under IDEA. The course builds on the foundation of typical cognitive and physical child development, devoting attention to early childhood theorist in the field of child development. An in-depth study of IDEA disability categories, accommodation strategies, assistive technology to promote independence, language and communication development, social and emotional development, home/school collaboration and inclusive lesson planning will be a focus of this course.

This course is part of the Autism Specialization program. This course provides an introduction to research methods in special education. The course content will focus on information and experience necessary to be a skilled consumer of research conducted by others and in application of these results and planning, implementing and evaluating comprehensive services for students with special needs, including autism. An emphasis will include methods of inquiry, the framing of research questions, research designs, strategies for data collection and analysis, and the components of a successful written literature review. Students will participate in a research lab supervised by individuals experienced in conducting research for the effective treatment and teaching of individuals with autism. Field work required.

This course is part of the Autism Specialization program. This course involves students continuing to work with learners with intensive special needs/autism in their full time severe practicum placement under the mentorship of a Program Supervisor. Students study classroom teaching techniques and procedures and work with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks to write well-structured lesson plans incorporating all Candidate Assessment of Performance elements. Students will continue to participate in their internship in a public school inclusive classroom with learners with special needs and English Language Learners. Students focus on their adjustments to practice and reflective practice as they strengthen their ability to write and implement well-structured lessons in their severe practicum placement and their Inclusion Internship placement.

This course builds on the content taught in SPND 498 Seminar/Autism I. The seminar supports student's experiences in their practicum and inclusion placements. Students will demonstrate understanding on how to incorporate the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks into teaching well-structured lessons for students with autism. Through class discussions, article reviews, peer evaluations and the development of their professional teaching eportfolio, students will incorporate the six essential elements from the Candidate Assessment of Performance into all their coursework and teaching. This course includes modules to meet the assistive technology state requirements.

This is an introduction to statistics for everyone who needs to collect, describe, and draw inferences from data. We will discuss various sources of data (experiments, surveys, etc.), graphical and numerical descriptions of data, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing for drawing inferences, and simple and multiple linear regression for making predictions. Students will become proficient in the use of R for these tasks.

This is an introduction to statistics for everyone who needs to collect, describe, and draw inferences from data. We will discuss various sources of data (experiments, surveys, etc.), graphical and numerical descriptions of data, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing for drawing inferences, and simple and multiple linear regression for making predictions. Students will become proficient in the use of R for these tasks.

This course serves as an introduction to data science using R. Students will learn how to wrangle, organize, and manipulate data in a variety of formats; design accurate and effective data graphics; "tidy" data principles; perform basic spatial data analyses and create data maps; predictive modeling and statistical learning; tools for working with text data. Prerequisites include Introductory Statistics (or equivalent) and a willingness to code.

This course introduces various approaches to Data Mining, including supervised and unsupervised methods, classification, clustering, and association with emphasis on evaluation of appropriate methods. Students will explore the appropriate use and differences of various algorithms using SPSS or R.

Provides valuable industry experience. Credit hours are typically based on the number of work hours, determined by the instructor. Successful completion of work experiences as well as post-internship presentation.

Introduces students to the historical development of professional social work and social welfare and orients them to the purposes, values, and worldview of the profession. The evolution of contemporary social work, contributions of key historical figures and pioneers, role of influential social policies, and ways in which social workers have shaped the social service system are discussed. Finally, an overview of contemporary social work practice principles with an emphasis on social and economic justice is provided. This course includes a 40-hour service learning component.

Examines the issues and problems that social workers confront and provides a framework for understanding and critically analyzing the impact of social welfare policies on individuals, groups, and society. Through an examination of historical and contemporary social welfare policies, students build the knowledge, values, and skills required for effective practice through policy development and reform, including the ability to engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well being.

Examines the issues and problems that social workers confront and provides a framework for understanding and critically analyzing the impact of social welfare policies on individuals, groups, and society. Through an examination of historical and contemporary social welfare policies, students build the knowledge, values, and skills required for effective practice through policy development and reform, including the ability to engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well being.

Human Behavior in the Social Environment allows students to participate in the in-depth study of the physical, psychological, social, and cultural forces impacting the growth and development of individuals within the context of their families, communities, and society. Students explore foundational theories necessary to an understanding of human growth and development and integrate information from biology, psychology, sociology, and social work. Using a life span approach, a social work strengths perspective, a social justice perspective, and a person-in-environment framework, Human Behavior in the Social Environment follows the human life span, covering the prenatal period through older adulthood and end of life.

Human Behavior in the Social Environment allows students to participate in the in-depth study of the physical, psychological, social, and cultural forces impacting the growth and development of individuals within the context of their families, communities, and society. Students explore foundational theories necessary to an understanding of human growth and development and integrate information from biology, psychology, sociology, and social work. Using a life span approach, a social work strengths perspective, a social justice perspective, and a person-in-environment framework, Human Behavior in the Social Environment follows the human life span, covering the prenatal period through older adulthood and end of life.

This course is designed to give students entering social service professions an introduction to interviewing skills that are needed in order to complete initial and follow-up interviews with clients. These skills include engagement, working with the client to identify the presenting concerns, and working with the client to assess their needs and strengths. The course begins by focusing on engagement and interviewing skills when working with individuals, families, groups, and community members. The focus then turns to documenting these social service encounters. Once initial interviewing skills have been honed, the course focuses on skills for Motivational Interviewing before ending the course with an introduction to assessment. Throughout the course, strengths-based practice, a social justice orientation, person-in-environment, and culturally humble stance will be taken when looking at engagement and assessment. Students will leave this course with an understanding of how to conduct an empowering and strengths-based initial interview with a client, whether that client is an individual, family, group, or a composition of community members.

The Junior Field Experience and Seminar is designed for the junior social work student to integrate classroom learning with practical social work experience in an agency setting. The field experience requires students to participate in 100 hours of field experience throughout the semester. The weekly seminar assists students in relating social work concepts, theories, and generalist practice competencies learned in BSW courses to experiences in the field. The junior field experience is designed to expose students to the complexities of practice in community-based organizations in preparation for the Senior Field Experience. Multiple dimensions of competent social work practice will be explored across a range of agency and service contexts. Students will begin to utilize supervision, identify and analyze related policies, engage in research-informed-practice, incorporate social values and ethics, and apply theories of human behavior in the social environment to various contexts in community-based practice.

This course is intended to help students apply knowledge of social work skills, values and ethics to immersive community and virtual field experiences and to assist students in integrating classroom learning with their emerging practice experience. The course will also support students� socialization into the profession and their self-reflective preparation for their Senior Field Practicum. The Junior Virtual Field Experience will provide the student with learning opportunities that complement SW 351 Social Work Practice l: Introduction to Generalist Practice and SW 352 Social Work Practice ll: Work with Individuals and Families,<i> </i>and provide a basis for generalist practice. In this context, students will be expected to develop and discuss knowledge, understanding and skills concerning relationships with prospective clients, supervisors, coworkers and external organizations. Students will also develop their resume and work on communicating skills development as they prepare for Senior Field Internship<i>.</i> In the Junior Field Lab, students will share learning experiences across a variety of immersive community and virtual field experiences. Students will be active learners in group process and group leadership skills. Lastly, students will discuss and understand the professional use of self in the social work role.<br /> <b>Prereq: SW 351; Taken concurrently with SW-352 </b>

The first in the Program's series of four practice courses for social work majors, this course is aimed at orienting students to social work practice by providing a firm framework of social work knowledge and values and specific foundational skills. Students examine the ways that research, social policy and programs, economic and political forces, social work history, and explanatory theoretical paradigms inform work with clients. An introduction to the social work generalist perspective, this course allows students to begin to develop a professional identity and the relationship-building, interviewing, and planned change skills necessary for work with client systems of all sizes. Students become grounded in the constructs which make the social work profession unique.

The second in the Program's series of four practice courses, this course continues the integration of theory and practice and advances the development of the generalist knowledge, values, and skills required to intervene with individuals and families from engagement through termination. Students continue to solidify the helping techniques and processes introduced in the Social Work Practice I course. In addition, this course is taught concurrently with the 100-hour, semester-long junior social work field placement. Material from each student's field placement experience is integrated into the class through discussion.

<div>The second in the Program's series of four practice courses, this course continues the integration of theory and practice and advances the development of the generalist knowledge, values, and skills required to intervene with individuals and families from engagement through termination. Students continue to solidify the helping techniques and processes introduced in the Social Work Practice I course. In addition, this course is taught concurrently with the 100-hour, semester-long junior social work field placement. Material from each student's field placement experience is integrated into the class through discussion. <b>Taken concurrently with SW-345X; if not, SW-352 before SW-345X.</b></div>

This course prepares students to plan for, assess, facilitate, and evaluate social work practice with groups. Students will develop an understanding of the developmental stages of groups, roles among group members, and the function of mutual aid.

The Social Work Field Placement and Seminar I (Fall) is designed for the senior social work student in order to integrate classroom learning with practical social work experience in an agency setting. Throughout the Fall semester, students participate in 16 hours of field placement per week toward completion of the 425-hour, year-long BSW senior field placement requirement. In addition, students meet once per week for a 1 hour and twenty minute, in-class field seminar led by the BSW Program Field Director. Through reflective discussion, weekly assignments, and major projects and papers, the Field Seminar focuses on the integration of theory and practice, building the student's professional social work identity, enhancing self- awareness skills, advancing practice competencies, and synthesizing field learning. All aspects of agency field work, including learning to work within the agency context, effectively using supervision, using research to inform practice, utilizing social work values and ethics in practice, and applying social work knowledge and skills with clients are addressed.

The Social Work Field Placement and Seminar II (Spring) is designed for the senior social work student in order to integrate classroom learning with practical social work experience in an agency setting. Throughout the Spring semester, students participate in 16 hours of field placement per week toward completion of the 425-hour, year-long BSW senior field placement requirement. In addition, students meet once per week for a 1 hour 20 min, in-class field seminar led by the BSW Program Field Director. Through reflective discussion, weekly assignments, and major projects and papers, the Field Seminar focuses on the integration of theory and practice, building the student's professional social work identity, enhancing self-awareness skills, advancing practice competencies, and synthesizing field learning. All aspects of agency field work, including learning to work within the agency context, effectively using supervision, using research to inform practice, utilizing social work values and ethics in practice,and applying social work knowledge and skills with clients are addressed.

The Social Work Field Placement and Seminar II (Spring) is designed for the senior social work student in order to integrate classroom learning with practical social work experience in an agency setting. Throughout the Spring semester, students participate in 16 hours of field placement per week toward completion of the 425-hour, year-long BSW senior field placement requirement. In addition, students meet once per week for a 1 hour 20 min, in-class field seminar led by the BSW Program Field Director. Through reflective discussion, weekly assignments, and major projects and papers, the Field Seminar focuses on the integration of theory and practice, building the student's professional social work identity, enhancing self-awareness skills, advancing practice competencies, and synthesizing field learning. All aspects of agency field work, including learning to work within the agency context, effectively using supervision, using research to inform practice, utilizing social work values and ethics in practice,and applying social work knowledge and skills with clients are addressed.

This course focuses on the context of macro social work, defined as policy practice, community practice, and organizational administration and management. This course will familiarize students with each of these practice environments by grounding them in the relevant historical and contemporary background of social work and social welfare policy; and then focusing on the theoretical frameworks and evidence-informed practice models for organizational and community engagement, assessment, and intervention. This course will underscore the responsibility that social workers have to understand and address the systemic factors that create circumstances of social, economic, and environmental injustice, with specific attention to the complexity of practice contexts and the influence of power and privilege on human rights. Students will learn strategies for social work at the macro level (i.e., policy, communities, and organizations) to influence, formulate, and advocate for social change related to social injustices based upon, but not exclusive to, race, ethnicity, language, class, religion, gender identity, sexuality, ability, citizenship status, age, and nationality. Throughout the course, examples will be drawn from local, national, and international contexts.

This course provides students with the necessary skills to analyze the social welfare policies, benefits, and services that create the context in which all social workers practice. Students will learn about current state and federal policies related to a range of social welfare concerns (e.g., poverty reduction, health, housing/homelessness, criminal justice, disability, child welfare, immigration), the evolution of these policies, and the socio political and economic environment that has influenced their development and implementation. Students will build upon what they learned in SW403 Macro Social Work: Social Policies, Communities and Organizations by delving more deeply into various policy analysis frameworks, the mechanics of conducting policy analysis, and the evaluation methods to determine a policy's impact and effectiveness. To appreciate the complexities, contradictions, strengths, and weaknesses of the American approach to social welfare, students will be encouraged to think critically about the role of economics, politics, ideologies, values, and alternate policy models in each of these areas. The roles of power and privilege in social welfare policy will be assessed as they pertain to equality, equitability, and discrimination based on identity and social location. Class discussion, readings, and assignments will underscore the reciprocal relationship between clinical social work practice and social welfare policy.

Human Behavior in the Social Environment addresses two areas of focus. One is an ecological-developmental approach to human behavior in the social environment, taking a social constructionist perspective, emphasizing the ways in which culture (of large groups and small) and the broader social environment shape human behavior and identity. Concepts of resilience and resistance to oppression are emphasized using frameworks such as empowerment theories, systems theory and human ecology. This course emphasizes micro, meso, and macro level social systems that influence individual behavior, including families, groups, organizations and communities, as well as the larger society within historical and cultural contexts. Particular attention is paid to culture, race, class, gender and sexual orientation as dynamic social constructions that can be sources of both oppression and strength at all levels of social systems. The second area of focus is on current theoretical frameworks to understand the bio-psycho-social-cultural processes that shape human behavior and development of self across the life span. We emphasize the interaction of individuals with their environments as they mutually influence each other, emphasizing cultural diversity and social justice. The application of multiple theoretical perspectives to Social Work practice is emphasized.

This course examines crisis intervention and treatment approaches for children and adolescents, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable populations. Since crisis intervention is an integral part of social work practice, this course aims to provide students with knowledge of contributing factors, theories and practice models which best inform crisis intervention in social work with children and adolescents. Students will use a systems-based framework in their analysis of crisis situations and become familiar with the skills necessary to implement effective techniques with children and adolescents. The course will provide students with the opportunity to apply critical thinking skills when working with crises, as well as examine policy issues, ethical issues, and the intersectionality of oppression and the implications of oppression and discrimination on crisis experiences and interventions. Further, students will develop an awareness of the importance of engaging in self-care practices that will support their well-being when working with crises.

The second semester of this yearlong course will carry forward the ecosystems perspective from the first semester and will introduce students to four main practice theories: psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, narrative, and solution-focused. Within each framework, we will examine core principles and begin to explore implications for each phase of the helping process: engagement, assessment, planning, evaluation, and termination. Drawing upon these theoretical frameworks as an organizing framework for thinking about generalist social work practice, the course proceeds to explore work with individuals, families, and communities in various contexts and circumstances. Students will deepen their assessment skills and their intervention skills at micro, mezzo, and macro levels. An emphasis will be placed on collaborative consultation of student case presentations as one way of conceptualizing the work and thinking from multiple perspectives about intervention strategies. We will explore the use of evidence-based (or informed) practice. Ways of evaluating practice and using the professional literature as an aid to practice choices will also be discussed.

Social workers across all sectors of practice are faced with individuals, families, and communities that are significantly affected by substance use disorders. The focus of the class is on exploring the nature, etiology and treatment of substance use disorders and how they relate to social work practice. Set within a social justice framework, students critically analyze the intersections of substance use with racism and other forms of oppression. Ethical and legal frameworks for substance use treatment are identified and analyzed. Students explore the complex interactions of biological, psychological, and social causes and consequences of substance use, and learn how to develop a comprehensive, multidimensional biopsychosocial assessment. The class prepares students to develop knowledge of, and skills in, evidence-informed substance use prevention, education, and treatment with individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities.

This 3-credit course is the second course of a required two-semester sequence and is taken concurrent with field education courses. Students combine theoretical knowledge and insights with evidence-based strategies for specific populations. Each practice approach reflects different ways of gathering, organizing, and reflecting on pertinent information and leads to distinct ways of conceptualizing issues and co-constructing clinical processes with clients. Students learn to identify which practice method or intervention is most beneficial for each specific client in achieving positive outcomes. Specific populations will be considered in this course, including children and adolescents, families, older adults, and sexual and gender minorities. The course focuses on deepening your knowledge and advanced clinical skills working with these populations. As this is a course that focuses on clinical practice, the aim is to include a significant amount of demonstration, role-play, and expert insight across the asynchronous and synchronous learning. Prerequisite: SW424A. Must be taken concurrently with SW447B.

In this introductory course, students examine the research process as it applies to the specialized interests and needs of social work. Illustrations are chosen from the studies of social work practice. The course is designed to enable students to be critical consumers of research, to understand the principles and process of research and the evaluation of practice, to become familiar with ethical considerations when designing and implementing a project, and to be capable of participating in practice related research. Sections with some online class sessions are designated as &#34;blended.&#34;

SW 446A Practicum Education Year I<br /><br />Weekly agency-based practicum, which focuses on foundation social work skills. Students complete agency based assignments in addition to process recordings and assessments.<br />- First year (i.e., generalist/foundation) practicum days are Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.<br />- First year (i.e., generalist/foundation) courses are offered on the following days and times: Monday (evening only), Tuesday (evening only), Wednesday day and evening), Thursday (evening only), Friday (day only).<br />Corequisite: SW 421A

Continuation of SW446A, weekly agency-based practicum which focuses on foundation social work skills. Students complete agency-based assignments in addition to process recordings and assessments.. - First year (i.e., generalist/foundation) practicum days are Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. - First-year (i.e., generalist/foundation) courses are offered on the following days and times: Monday (evening only), Tuesday (evening only), Wednesday day and evening), Thursday (evening only), Friday (day only). <br />Prerequisite: SW 446A Corequisite: SW 421B

The goal of practicum education is to learn the application of theoretical concepts and social work principles and values learned in the classroom to clinical practice. Practicum education provides supervised learning of advanced practice skills with individuals, families and groups in a variety of clinical settings.<br />- Second year (i.e., specialist/advanced) practicum days are Mondays and Thursdays, and either Wednesday or Friday.<br />- Second year (i.e., specialist/advanced) courses are offered on the following days and times: Monday (evening only), Tuesday (day and evening), Wednesday (evening only), Thursday (evening only), Friday (day only).<br /><br />Prerequisite: SW 447A<br />Corequisite: SW 424B<br /> 

This course is designed to help students develop foundational knowledge and skills for social work practice with sexual and gender minority populations. Students will utilize a multi-dimensional framework to critically analyze power, privilege, and oppression relative to LGBTQ&#43; populations. Grounded in a social justice perspective, the first few weeks of the course are designed to help students gain an understanding of relevant ethical principles and dilemmas; models of identity development across race, class, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, and historical period; health disparities and resilience; history of social work discourse related to LGBTQ&#43; populations; and basic principles for affirmative social work practice. Students will develop knowledge about the mutual influence of individuals, families, and institutional factors, including social policies and cultural factors. Students will learn basic skills for competent practice with LGBTQ&#43; populations over the life course, with a particular focus on engagement, assessment, and intervention. Specific areas of practice will be explored, including intimate partner violence, suicide risk, HIV/AIDS, and substance use disorders. Students will critically examine the values of the social work profession and reflect on their personal values for the purpose of raising self awareness and examining personal biases related to heterosexism, heteronormativity, transphobia, and cisnormativity.

This course will examine the public health problem of suicide, with specific attention to prevention, intervention, and postvention approaches. Students will gain an understanding of suicide epidemiology and underlying theory, as well as risk and protective factors for suicide. This course will familiarize students with evidence-based practices and ethical considerations with suicidal clients, including learning directly from individuals with lived experience with suicidality. Students will also learn about the current state and national strategies for suicide prevention, as well as policies related to suicide. Upon completion of this course, students will gain skills in assessment and management of suicide risk, intervention and treatment techniques with suicidal clients, and postvention approaches with survivors of suicide loss.

This 3- credit course focuses on developing advanced social work practice knowledge, skills, and core competencies with a focus on health care delivery. Course content emphasizes critical thinking, group discussion, demonstration, and integrative practice learning to increase students� conceptual and practice skills to be well-trained practitioners in diverse health/health care settings. Students will hone skills in psychosocial assessment and treatment integrated with the aspects of the medical and physical functioning of the person-situation configuration. Coping tasks of individuals and family members are viewed with cultural humility, from a perspective of growth based upon psychosocial capacities, pre-illness coping patterns, phases of the illness process, and health beliefs and prognosis for physical functioning and life. Structural factors contributing to health disparities, access to and utilization of health care services are prioritized. Given the dynamic nature of health care, the course addresses both the opportunities and challenges posed by emerging public health crises and other developments, and the flexible adaptation of skills needed to respond to this changing environment including work carried out in the fast-paced context of crisis and time constraints.<br /><br />The course covers specific content areas including health equity and the social determinants of health (SDOH); unique social work roles in health care practice in the context of policy, technology, organization and health behavior theory; use of evidence-based assessment tools, treatment, and clinical intervention models within a variety of health settings; interdisciplinary team collaboration; working across the life span; grief and loss dynamics; discharge planning, case management, and managed care; and legal and ethical issues.

This course will examine health from the social work perspective, and how it concurs and contrasts with the perspective of other disciplines including medicine, public health and psychology. Definitions of health and well-being will be discussed to more fully understand the state of physical, mental and social health. Students will gain an understanding of the determinants at multiple levels that contribute to health and to disparities/inequities in health and health care. Special attention will be focused on how social, economic and cultural factors impact health and access to high quality health and social services. This course will also familiarize students with prominent theories of health behavior, and how they may be integrated into prevention and intervention programs to promote health and health equity. Students will learn about the movement towards an integrated health care model, the Affordable Care Act, and its implications for their work on an interdisciplinary health care team. Additionally, students will gain the initial practice and knowledge skills relevant for social workers in health and health care settings.

The object of this course is to provide a working knowledge of the basic principles and specific techniques of a contemporary multi-modal approach to cognitive-behavioral therapy with consideration of its integration with other therapeutic approaches. Issues presented include: substance abuse, anger, interpersonal relationships, stress, anxiety disorders, depression, personality disorders with an emphasis on borderline personality disorder and issues of affect regulation. Prerequisite is SW421A. This course meets the requirement for a clinical practice elective.

This 3-credit course is designed to educate students about the basic<br />principles of program evaluation and prepare them with the knowledge and skills they need to evaluate social work services, programs, and agencies. Using case examples and their agency settings as laboratories, students will learn about three major types of evaluation�"needs assessment, process, and outcome�"including how to conduct them and the ways that each informs the other. Students will deepen their knowledge of social work program theory and design, with a specific focus on developing logic models, and have the opportunity to apply<br />program evaluation principles to practice-level assessments. Throughout the course, students will engage in critical discussion about the tensions, ambiguities, and potential for oppression that accompany current evaluation models and practices. Students will exit the course with the skills necessary to think evaluatively about every aspect of their practice, work collaboratively when engaging in evaluation activities, and apply an anti-oppressive and antiracist lens to those activities. Prerequisite: SW441. Must be concurrent with SW447A or B.

This course examines best practices for providing treatment to adult survivors of complex trauma as well as intervention strategies designed to work with families who have experienced chronic stress and trauma. Clinical social work with traumatized individuals and families requires a flexible and informed skillset. This course will provide an overview of current literature and empirical evidence relating to the treatment of complex trauma in adulthood, and emphasis will be placed on work with vulnerable and oppressed populations. Students will engage in live in-vivo role plays with trained actors several times throughout the semester so that they may enhance their clinical skills and gain greater mastery of intervention strategies. This course will provide students the opportunity to understand and engage in a variety of treatment approaches, as well as examine ethical issues, policy issues and issues pertaining to social justice, and their relationship to trauma treatment. The course will build on the knowledge and skills acquired in the foundation year Human Behavior in the Social Environment and Practice courses

This three-credit course is the second of the two-course sequence on school social work practice. Building on the foundational knowledge gained in SW539A, this course deepens students� knowledge and skills regarding mezzo and micro practice interventions to support the mental health of students, staff, and community members. Interventions will address challenges related to students and adults�"and the role of the school social worker for both populations. Topics covered include school avoidance and refusal, common challenges in working with anxiety and depression, self-harm, suicidality and crisis intervention, effective student discipline, healthy relationships, eating disorders, social media, substance use, and collaboration with outside providers and agencies. Attention to social work values, including ethical practice and an anti-racist, anti-oppressive approach, will be woven into course assignments. Students will leave the course with a portfolio of interventions on a variety of topics, and will possess the required knowledge and skills to meet the qualifications for licensure as a school social worker in the state of Massachusetts.

This class is an introduction to a variety of theories and principles of play therapy. Case material, including student's own material will be used. Readings, videos, case discussions, and experiential activities will be used to deepen the student's understanding of theory and technique. Students will be encouraged to gain comfort in their work with children and to explore their own theoretical orientation. Upon completion, students will have a clear foundation from which to treat children of all ages. Prerequisite: SW421B. This course meets the requirement for a clinical practice elective.

This course presents an overview of dissociative symptoms and disorders, and conceptual frameworks for understanding them. Methods of addressing dissociative symptoms and a model for treating dissociative disorders will also be reviewed?. Prerequisite: SW414; SW421B. This course meets the requirement for a Advanced clinical practice elective.

This course addresses the important influences of early and later attachment relationships on one's cognitive, emotional, relational, and neurobiological development. It looks at the ways that interpersonal, community, and cultural connections serve critical neurobiological functions in regulating a person's sense of security and containment, and capacities to act on her strengths. The class examines contemporary research in attachment theory, interpersonal communication, and brain development to understand many clients' presenting symptoms as products of their having had to adapt to chronic extreme stress with limited essential relational and community resources. Students look through a lens of interpersonal neurobiology at common child and adult symptoms of post-traumatic stress related learning difficulties, anxiety, and depression; dysregulation of behaviors associated with violence and addiction; and difficulties negotiating relationships. They learn about the brain's ability to change throughout one's life and specific individual and community interventions that promote these changes.

<div><div>Description</div></div><div><div><div><div>Advanced Standing Field Education is an agency-based course in which students apply, in supervised practice, the theoretical concepts, principles, values, and ethics taught in the generalist curriculum. In addition to the supervised learning of clinical skills with individuals, families, and groups, students will learn the varied roles and skills used by social workers at the agency and community level. Case based learning is deepened and amplified through field instruction, process recordings, and required written assignments.</div></div></div></div>

This PhD-level course focuses on preparing advanced graduate students with the knowledge and skills needed to design and evaluate interventions that address social needs, problems, and conditions.

The course addresses underlying philosophical principles of qualitative inquiry, the development of answerable questions in qualitative inquiry, the link between theory and method in qualitative inquiry, issues of researcher power and researcher reflexivity, ethics, and subjectivity, and the fundamental concepts and vocabularies of qualitative research. The course will be conducted as a seminar, with ample time for in-class discussion of work-in-progress. During the semester, students will engage intensively in close reading and analytic dissection of specific examples of qualitative research to understand the strengths, weaknesses, uses, and characteristics of different qualitative approaches. Assignments will culminate in a qualitative research proposal to be submitted to the Simmons IRB for study approval. Students taking the companion qualitative data analysis class will use this approved IRB study proposal to collect data suitable for analysis in that course.

This option is intended to allow students to supplement their doctoral study in areas of special interest to them. Contact the director of the doctoral program for more information.

This course provides students with public policy knowledge and analysis skills aimed at integrating public policy issues and outcomes into social work research. Students will learn about: theories and models of policy analysis, designing research for policy change, and translation of scholarly research into policy change. Additionally, students will gain knowledge about policy-making systems and trends with regard to development, implementation and evaluation of evidence-based policy. Dynamics of political systems, policy change, population and stakeholder diversity, and cultural norms and trends will be incorporated throughout the course; students will build critical analysis skills to assess the influence of these dynamics on social work research.

This is a seminar course designed to help students integrate material learned across PhD courses, advance their individual scholarly agendas and research work, and develop professional academic and career skills. Students enroll in this course SW 685 every semester they are in the program (Fall, Spring, and Summer terms). First and second year students enroll in 685 section A; Third year students enroll in section 685B, and students in their fourth year and beyond enroll in section C, only during Fall and Spring terms.<b>Note: Instructor Consent Needed</b>

This is a seminar course designed to help students integrate material learned across PhD courses, advance their individual scholarly agendas and research work, and develop professional academic and career skills. Students enroll in this course SWO 685 every semester they are in the program (Fall, Spring, and Summer terms). First and second year students enroll in 685 section A; Third year students enroll in section 685B, and students in their fourth year and beyond enroll in section C, only during Fall and Spring terms.

This practicum is for Social Work doctoral students and focuses on developing and applying pedagogical skills in a classroom setting at the School of Social Work. Before registering, doctoral students must have a signed teaching practicum agreement with the faculty member they will be working with. This is a required practicum.

This practicum is for Social Work PhD students and focuses on developing and applying research skills while working on an active research study at the School of Social Work. Before registering, PhD students must have a signed research practicum agreement with the faculty member they will be working with. This is a required practicum.

This course focuses on the context of macro social work, defined as policy practice, community practice, and organizational administration and management. This course will familiarize students with each of these practice environments by grounding them in the relevant historical and contemporary background of social work and social welfare policy, and then focusing on the theoretical frameworks and evidence-informed practice models for organizational and community engagement, assessment, and intervention. This course will underscore the responsibility that social workers have to understand and address the systemic factors that create circumstances of social, economic, and environmental injustice, with specific attention to the complexity of practice contexts and the influence of power and privilege on human rights. Students will learn strategies for social work at the macro level (i.e., policy, communities, and organizations) to influence, formulate, and advocate for social change related to social injustices based upon, but not exclusive to, race, ethnicity, language, class, religion, gender identity, sexuality, ability, citizenship status, age, and nationality. Throughout the course, examples will be drawn from local, national, and international contexts.

This 3 credit course builds upon SWO 403 Macro Practice: Social Policy and Social Work Organizations and Communities. Students will learn about current federal, state, and local policies related to a range of social welfare concerns (e.g., poverty reduction, health, housing/homelessness, criminal justice, disability, aging, child welfare, transportation), the evolution of these policies, and the socio-political and economic environment that has influenced their development, implementation, and evaluation. To appreciate the complexities, contradictions, strengths, and weaknesses of the U.S. approach to social welfare, students will make connections about the role of economics, politics, ideologies, values, and alternate policy models in each of these areas. The roles of power and privilege in social welfare policy will be assessed as they pertain to race, ethnicity, language, class, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, citizenship status, age, nationality, and indigenous status. Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze social welfare policies, evaluate public budgeting for policies and programs, understand the role of the judiciary branch in the policy process, and assess the implementation of policies and the evaluation of their effectiveness. Class discussion, readings, and assignments will underscore the inextricable relationship between clinical social work practice and social welfare policy and practice. Students will consider how to incorporate policy work and advocacy into their own social work practice.

Since its inception, the social work profession has been committed to developing health and human services that promote diversity and alleviate and/or eliminate social oppression and injustice. Rooted in the ecological perspective, social workers are aware of and can identify large social structures and processes that can negatively impact the well-being of communities and individuals. This 3-credit course is an intensive examination of how racism meets at the intersection of other dynamics of oppression to shape our and our clients� experiences as we work together. The selection of the oppression of racism as a primary focus for the course is deliberate. Through the analysis of critical race theory and intersectionality, students will come to understand the reasoning for this emphasis. The course begins with conceptualizing race as a social construct and racism as a system that exists on multiple domains. From there, using an intersectional approach, we will examine the research focusing on how people develop racial identities in the face of racism, and how our racial identities position us to do our work. While thinking about how to disrupt racism in key sectors, such as the health professions and schools, we will then focus on how to enact culturally responsive care at the micro, meso, and macro levels in ways that honor the expertise and strengths of BIPOC people and their communities.The course is designed to stimulate critical thinking, help us critically reflect on our positionalities, and develop systematic critical analyses that lead to identifying ways that social workers can intervene and oppose oppression professionally and personally.

Human behavior in the Social Environment addresses two areas of focus. One is an ecological-developmental approach to human behavior in the social environment, taking a social constructionist perspective, emphasizing the ways in which culture (of large groups and small) and the broader social environment shape human behavior and identity. Concepts of resilience and resistance to oppression are emphasized using frameworks such as empowerment theories, systems theory and human ecology. This 3 credit course emphasizes micro, meso, and macro level social systems that influence individual behavior, including families, groups, organizations and communities, as well as the larger society with historical and cultural contexts. Particular attention is paid to culture, race, class, gender and sexual orientation as dynamic social constructions that can be sources of both oppression and strength at all levels of social systems. The second area of focus is on current theoretical frameworks to understand the bio-psycho-social-cultural processes that shape human behavior and development of self across the life span. We emphasize the interaction of individuals with their environments as they mutually influence each other, emphasizing cultural diversity and social justice. The application of multiple theoretical perspectives to Social Work practice is emphasized.

In this one semester 3 credit course students learn to assess psychiatric diagnoses described in the DSM-5, considering those diagnoses and compounding psychosocial challenges from multi-theoretical lenses. Throughout the course there is a central focus on issues of social justice and oppression, and the interrelationship between biological, psychological, and social/cultural systems that impact diagnosis and treatment. Treatments connected to diagnoses are noted briefly. Students will be able to comprehensively assess, diagnose, and write bio-psychosocial assessments of their clients that convey the social justice lens of social work. Teaching techniques may include didactic presentations, guest presenters, videos, class discussions, and practice exercises.

This 3 credit course examines crisis intervention and treatment approaches for children and adolescents, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable populations. Since crisis intervention is an integral part of social work practice, this course aims to provide students with knowledge of contributing factors, theories, and practice models that best inform crisis intervention in social work with children and adolescents. Students will use a systems-based framework in their analysis of crisis situations and become familiar with the skills necessary to implement effective techniques with children and adolescents. The course will provide students with the opportunity to apply critical thinking skills when working with crises, as well as examine policy issues, ethical issues, and the intersectionality of oppression and the implications of oppression and discrimination on crisis experiences and interventions. Furthermore, students will develop an awareness of the importance of engaging in self-care practices that will support their well-being when working with people in crisis.

This yearlong course will focus on the action, reflection, and skills of generalist social work practice. We will consider the basic processes of social work practice: engagement, assessment, contracting, intervention, evaluation, and termination, and their application to a wide range of issues and problems. We will look at various levels of intervention (intrapsychically, interpersonally, and intersystemically), various practice settings, social work practice roles, and theoretical perspectives. (3 credits per semester) In the first semester, particular attention is given to the multidimensional approach to assessment and intervention, interviewing skills and the development of the professional identity of the social worker, and the professional relationship with client(s)/client systems. Generalist social work practice is rooted in the ecological/ecosystems framework. Theories of empowerment and strengths-based perspectives are emphasized. Social work practice as framed and contextualized by professional codes of ethics, legal precedence, agency and organizational dynamics, neighborhoods, and communities will be studied and analyzed. While all sections of the course share a common outline for the syllabus, books, readings, and written assignments, each professor will shape their section to meet the specific needs of the classroom. Instructors will use a variety of mini-lectures, role-play, case presentations, process recordings, videos, and standardized cases to demonstrate different models and see the ways that different social and behavioral theories lead to particular ways of intervening. Given the changing demographics of U.S. society, there is a particular emphasis on cross-cultural understanding and on work with clients across the age spectrum.

The second semester of this yearlong 3 credit course will carry forward the ecosystems perspective from the first semester and will introduce students to four main practice theories: psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, narrative, and solution focused. Within each framework, we will examine core principles and begin to explore implications for each phase of the helping process: engagement, assessment, planning, evaluation, and termination. Drawing upon these theoretical frameworks as an organizing framework for thinking about generalist social work practice, the course proceeds to explore work with individuals, families, and communities in various contexts and circumstances. Students will deepen their assessment skills and their intervention skills at micro, mezzo, and macro levels. An emphasis will be placed on collaborative consultation of student case presentations as one way of conceptualizing the work and thinking from multiple perspectives about intervention strategies. We will explore the use of evidence-based (or informed) practice. Ways of evaluating practice and using the professional literature as an aid to practice choices will also be discussed.

Social workers across all sectors of practice are faced with individuals, families, and communities that are significantly affected by substance use disorders. The focus of the class is on exploring the nature, etiology, and treatment of substance use disorders and how they relate to social work practice. Set within a social justice framework, students critically analyze the intersections of substance use with racism and other forms of oppression. Ethical and legal frameworks for substance use treatment are identified and analyzed. Students explore the complex interactions of biological, psychological, and social causes and consequences of substance use, and learn how to develop a comprehensive, multidimensional biopsychosocial assessment. This 3 credit course prepares students to develop knowledge of, and skills in, evidence-informed substance use prevention, education, and treatment with individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities.

Building on knowledge and skills mastered from the foundation practice course, this 3 credit course is organized to expand and deepen students� practice understanding and skills using a framework that incorporates the following learning goals:Students will be able to understand, interpret, and organize appropriate clinical data using the major social work paradigms (ecological, social justice, cultural responsiveness, ethics, and use of evidence).Students will demonstrate an ability to collect, appraise, and organize appropriate clinical data executing the social work process (engagement, assessment, formulation, goal setting, intervention, and evaluation).Students will demonstrate an ability to analyze, compare, contrast, interpret, and apply major social work practice approaches (psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, solution-focused and narrative) to appropriate clinical data from their internships and to their classroom colleagues� clients.Students will be able to assess and interpret specific client challenges demonstrating knowledge of course themes related to professional use of self, the therapeutic relationship, assessment skills, and brief treatment.Prerequisite: SWO 421B

In this advanced 3 credit course, students combine theoretical knowledge and insights with evidence-based strategies for specific populations. Each practice approach reflects different ways of gathering, organizing, and reflecting on pertinent information and leads to distinct ways of conceptualizing issues and co-constructing clinical processes with clients. Students learn to identify which practice method or intervention is most beneficial for each specific client in achieving positive outcomes. Specific populations will be considered in this course, including children and adolescents, families, older adults, and sexual and gender minorities. The course focuses on deepening your knowledge and advanced clinical skills working with these populations. As this is a course that focuses on clinical practice, the aim is to include a significant amount of demonstration, role-play, and expert insight across the asynchronous and synchronous learning. 

This 3 credit course introduces the fundamental principles of social work research, stressing the link between research and practice. Students will develop their critical thought regarding ethical considerations in research and will learn to design a research project. Also, students will learn to be critical consumers of research and professional literature, with a focus on the specialized interests and needs of individuals, families, and communities served through social work practice and allied professions. Students will develop an understanding of how statistics are used in research. Readings and class discussions will present principles of evidence-based or evidence-informed practice. Emphasis will be placed on the application of research to the practice of social work in micro and macro settings.

Generalist Practicum Education I is an agency-based course in which students apply, in supervised practice, the theoretical concepts, principles, values, and ethics taught in the generalist curriculum. In addition to the supervised learning of clinical skills with individuals, families, and groups, students will learn the varied roles and skills used by social workers at the agency and community level. Case based learning is deepened and amplified through field instruction, process recordings, and required written assignments.

The Simulated Field Experience (SFX), a 14-week, three credit course that constitutes the first term of the generalist field placement. The SFX involves weekly asynchronous content, live sessions, and select assignments designed to prepare students for the field placement. This course creates a learning lab guided by a strengths-based, anti-oppressive practice approach where students apply social work values, ethics, knowledge, and skills to simulated interactions with standardized client-actors, role plays, and practice scenarios. Accordingly, the course provides an opportunity for students to build social work competencies and to prepare for practice-based learning grounded in the exploration of affective and cognitive processes including self-reflection and self-regulation, critical thinking, and cultural humility. In addition, students are exposed to a generalist social work process, evidence-based modalities, ethical decision-making, risk assessment, and working in interprofessional teams. Agency and larger system contexts for services, as well as the impact of social and economic policy on agencies and clinical practice, will be woven throughout the course. Throughout the course, students practice use of field education learning methods, including a competency-based learning plan and evaluation, process recording, and other reflective practice tools. In addition, students are introduced to the purpose and practice of supervision, as well as field education expectations. After successful completion of the course, students enter the three-term agency-based placement, which comprises the final term of the generalist placement and both terms of the specialized placement.Simulation training is an evidence-based teaching and learning pedagogy and an essential method for applying knowledge to practice. It provides the highest level of experiential learning while retaining the safety of working with actors, instructors, and peers rather than actual clients. Importantly, simulation offers a unique opportunity for observed practice and learning in a supportive environment where students will benefit from instructor guidance, peer support, and engage in reflective practice for application to future practice. Scholarly research indicates that students who engage in simulation practice increase their knowledge, skills, and confidence as practitioners. 

Specialized Practicum Education I is an agency-based course in which students apply, in supervised practice, the theoretical concepts, principles, values, and ethics taught in the specialist level curriculum. In addition to the supervised learning of clinical practice skills with individuals, families, and groups, students learn organizational level social work skills. Case based learning is deepened and amplified through instruction, process recordings and required written assignments.

Specialized Practicum Education II is an agency-based course in which students apply, in supervised practice, the theoretical concepts, principles, values, and ethics taught in the specialist level curriculum. In addition to the supervised learning of clinical practice skills with individuals, families, and groups, students learn organizational level social work skills. Case based learning is deepened and amplified through instruction, process recordings and required written assignments.

Sexuality is an essential component of the human experience. Exploring our attitudes and belief systems about human sexuality, and how they are informed by our social location, is important so that we can be self-aware and mindful in how we engage in conversations with our clients about their sexuality, gender identity, and social location. This 3 credit course presents a multifaceted overview of the challenges, concerns, and attitudes about human sexuality�"how it evolves over the lifespan and is directly informed by social, familial, and political contexts. Regardless of client population or method of practice, all social workers will be required to address sex and sexuality with clients and will need to understand best practices as well as when and how to put personal values aside and be present for the client with a curious and nonjudgmental stance. The course integrates macro, mezzo, and micro approaches to sex and sexuality, and explores the historical, political, and biological aspects of sex and sexuality, sexual health, safe sex education and prevention, violence, and trauma, and helps students develop clinical skills for practice with adolescents and adults across the life span. Ethical considerations will also be explored.

This three credit course will examine the public health problem of suicide, with specific attention to prevention, intervention, and postvention approaches. Students will gain an understanding of suicide epidemiology and underlying theory, as well as risk and protective factors for suicide. This course will familiarize students with evidence-based practices and ethical considerations with suicidal clients, including learning directly from individuals with lived experience with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Students will also learn about the current state and national strategies for suicide prevention, as well as policies related to suicide. Upon completion of this course, students will gain skills in assessment and management of suicide risk, intervention, and treatment techniques with suicidal clients, and postvention approaches with survivors of suicide loss.

In this 3 credit course, students will gain relevant knowledge and practice skills in order to practice motivational interviewing and dialectical behavior therapy �with� diverse client populations in an array of settings. In the first half of the course, students will gain exposure to the spirit of motivational interviewing as both a philosophy about client engagement and an approach that is sensitive to and respectful of the client�s ambivalence about change. They will learn how to ask questions and respond to clients in a way that is curious, reflective, supportive, and ultimately strives to promote client self-determination, well-being, and readiness for change. MI has been proven to be an effective approach for clients who struggle with substance use disorders and other addictive disorders, as well as suicidal ideation. In the second half of the course, students will focus on dialectical behavior therapy, which is a manualized curriculum developed by Marsha Linehan and teaches clients the skills that enable self-regulation of affect, and to consider how their own meaning making and perceptions impact their behaviors that inform their sense of self and relationship with others, and is used with clients in both individual and group settings. Students will also learn how to integrate MI and DBT as a combined intervention strategy when appropriate.

This 3 credit course focuses on developing advanced social work practice knowledge, skills, and core competencies with a focus on health care delivery. The course content emphasizes critical thinking, group discussion, demonstration, and integrative practice learning to increase students� conceptual and practice skills in order to be well-trained practitioners in health care. The course aims to teach students to develop knowledge and the full range of social work skills used 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 psychosocial capacities, pre-illness coping patterns, phases of the illness process, and prognosis for physical functioning and life. Cultural and class factors are emphasized relative to health belief systems and how such factors interact with access to and utilization of health care services. Given the ongoing changes in health care, attention will be paid to the opportunities as well as the threats posed by emerging developments, and the adaptation of skills needed to respond to this changing environment including work carried out in the fast-paced context of crisis and time constraints.  Specific content areas covered in this course include unique social work roles in health care practice context of policy, technology, organization and health behavior theory; use of evidence-based assessment tools, treatment, and clinical intervention models within a variety of health settings; working with children, adults, elderly, and special populations; grief and loss dynamics; discharge planning; case management and managed care; legal and ethical issues; and interdisciplinary team work.   This course will: Aid students in developing the advanced skills and knowledge required to adapt social work skills to the fast-paced and changing health care environment while retaining an emphasis on social work values and ethics. Aid students in developing the requisite knowledge and skills to work effectively with diverse vulnerable and oppressed populations, especially minority persons, people from different ethnic groups and the immigrant groups, people of varying sexual orientation, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Deepen practice knowledge and skills with an emphasis on those especially applicable to health care social work practice such as crisis intervention and the structured approaches found effective with people experiencing profound health problems. Develop understanding of the complex nature of health care delivery systems and skills in interdisciplinary practice.Consider approaches for evaluating health care social work practic<b>e. </b>

The object of this 3 credit course is to provide a working knowledge of the basic principles and specific techniques of a contemporary multimodal approach to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with consideration of its integration with other therapeutic approaches such as dialectic behavior therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction. Issues presented include depression, anxiety, interpersonal relationships, phobias, psychosis, and working with children and adolescents.

This 3 credit course provides students with the foundation needed to understand the benefits and uses of telebehavioral health as well as the role of the telebehavioral health social worker. As more agencies and practices are providing �online� services, it is crucial for students to understand the role of technology, social work ethics, evidence-based practices, special populations and adaptations.

This 3 credit course is designed to prepare students in the basic principles of program and practice evaluation and their application to social work practice in agency settings. Using both case examples and their agency settings as laboratories, students will learn major approaches to evaluation (needs assessment, process, and outcome) with attention to the value, tensions, and ambiguities related to adapting current evaluation models to agency requirements for evaluation.

This three-credit course, which is the first of a two-part sequence, provides a foundational overview of the U.S. military and the needs of service members and their families from a social work lens. Understanding the military�s history, systems, and culture is an essential first step in the provision of effective and culturally sensitive social work practice with servicemembers, veterans, and their families. Students will learn to apply relevant social work theories to understand the special challenges of military social work in general, especially with active-duty members and their families. Students will learn about the needs of service members and veterans across all levels of the ecological model and at the various developmental phases of the military life cycles. This course is designed to provide students with a holistic understanding of military systems and culture, including historical and cultural influences; the sociocultural identity development of military personnel; the experiences of military individuals and families, with specific attention to minoritized groups; support for military personnel and their families; and socioeconomic, health and mental health, and other challenges experienced by military personnel and their families.  Integrated throughout the course will be a substantial discussion of issues related to power dynamics, social and racial injustice, and the role military policies play in fostering equity and equality within the military service system. Students will exit the course with knowledge and skills regarding engagement and assessment with service members and their families. As a result of taking this course, students will be more informed about the range of health, social, and other support needs of these populations.

This three-credit course is the second of the two-course sequence on military social work. Understanding and empathizing with military culture is imperative in building rapport and providing effective and culturally responsive care to this special population. This course builds upon Military Social Work I in that it identifies specific assessment and intervention practices. Students will learn to understand and apply evidence-informed clinical approaches to military populations that address signature service-related issues, conditions, and injuries. Students will explore the intersectionality of gender, race, sexuality, age, and culture and the diversity of military experience relevant to working with military subpopulations. Students will learn the elements of interdisciplinary practice when working with military service members. Students will learn to address stigma and barriers to service in order to establish effective alliances with their clients. Students will learn to adapt and apply evidence-informed clinical interventions with military service members, veterans, and families. Special attention will be paid to unique clinical presentations with nuanced cultural differences between branches of service highlighted. Finally, students will learn to use the range of supported practice models in a phase-oriented approach that values the therapeutic relationship, cultural responsiveness, and theoretical grounding, with an understanding of cultural adaptations/modifications relevant to service members. 

In this 3 credit course we will begin examining best practices for trauma treatment with children, adolescents and families.  Using the social work assessment process we will begin to use a phase oriented treatment paradigm to examine clinical applications of trauma treatment across various settings and client presentations.  Special attention will be given to the in vivo utilization or role plays to deepen and enhance our clinical skill set when working with diverse traumatized clients. Our clinical social work practice will focus on integrating the social work paradigms of engagement, assessment, practice and evaluation while incorporating methods of addressing social justice and client-centered policy engagement.The course will build on the knowledge and skills acquired in the foundation year Human Behavior in the Social Environment and Practice courses.

This 3 credit course provides a current review of trauma-informed practices for adult survivors of complex trauma and trauma, as well as trauma-informed practice interventions designed to work with families that have experienced chronic stress and complex trauma. Clinical social work with traumatized individuals and families requires a flexible and informed skill set. This course provides an overview of current literature and empirical evidence relating to the treatment of complex trauma in adulthood and family systems, with an emphasis placed on work with vulnerable and oppressed populations. Students will engage in live in vivo role-plays with trained actors several times throughout the semester so that they may enhance their clinical skills and gain greater mastery of intervention strategies. This course provides students with the opportunity to understand and engage in a variety of treatment approaches, as well as examine ethical issues, policy issues, and issues pertaining to social justice, and their relationship to trauma treatment.The course is the second semester of the Lifespan of Trauma Treatment course, and builds upon 528A: Lifespan of Trauma Treatment With Children and Adolescents. Additionally, the course builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in the foundation-year Human Behavior in the Social Environment and Practice courses.

This 3 credit course is designed to provide a bridge to the concentration year clinical curriculum and practicum placement. A strong emphasis is on exploring the development of a professional social work identity and on supporting student's increasing self-awareness and ability to learn from practice experience. The course will focus on broadening the capacity for the use of self, promoting reflective practice, conceptualizing various theoretical perspectives and their application to clinical work, and enhancing the ability to work across difference.

This 3 credit course introduces students to the theory of attachment, covering areas such as patterns of attachment across the life span, relevant development theories, challenges of adolescence, adult attachment styles and relationships, how different attachment issues may manifest at different stages of life, and practical implications of attachment for conducting clinical therapy sessions. The neurobiology of attachment, the implications for attachment in trauma recovery, and the development of psychopathology from an attachment and neurobiological perspective are explored. Special attention is paid to the early life experiences including preverbal life experiences, adverse experiences of childhood, and the impact of abuse and neglect in childhood. This course explores clinical applications and usefulness of case conceptualization from an attachment and neurobiological aspect. Evidence-based approaches are utilized as the foundation for our exploration of clinical applications.

Advanced Standing Field Education is an agency-based course in which students apply, in supervised practice, the theoretical concepts, principles, values, and ethics taught in the specialist level curriculum. In addition to the supervised learning of clinical practice skills with individuals, families, and groups, students learn organizational level social work skills. Case based learning is deepened and amplified through instruction, process recordings and required written assignments. The course also includes asynchronous content to be reviewed on 2SW, and six live-session classes held during the term.

Advanced Standing Practicum Education II is an agency-based course in which students apply, in supervised practice, the theoretical concepts, principles, values, and ethics taught in the generalist curriculum. In addition to the supervised learning of clinical skills with individuals, families, and groups, students will learn the varied roles and skills used by social workers at the agency and community level. Case based learning is deepened and amplified through practicum instruction, process recordings, and required written assignments.

Advanced Standing Field Education is an agency-based course in which students apply, in supervised practice, the theoretical concepts, principles, values, and ethics taught in the generalist curriculum. In addition to the supervised learning of clinical skills with individuals, families, and groups, students will learn the varied roles and skills used by social workers at the agency and community level. Case based learning is deepened and amplified through field instruction, process recordings, and required written assignments.

The required course supports students in their ongoing leadership development. As the first leadership course in the DSW, it sets the foundation for developing skills to prepare students for leadership roles.  This course acknowledges the range of leadership experiences DSW students bring to the program and the potential to expand leader-manager roles following program completion. The course covers a variety of leadership theories and perspectives, challenging students to develop and assess their own leadership style, with a particular emphasis on inclusive leadership.  Building on the work of Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership, the course puts significant attention on leadership values of diversity, equity, respect, cultural intelligence, and collaboration.  Inclusive leadership has these values at its core.  Specific skills of leadership, including assessment, communication, human capital development, decision-making, and collaboration are explored.  The course culminates with a focus on leadership for the future, exploring innovation, technology, and change.  Throughout the course, students are required to apply course materials to practice situations and develop strategies for social work leadership.

There is more to teaching than the transmission of information from one human being to another. Teaching is about building a culture of trust, a relationship that supports intellectual growth through shared purpose and mutual aid, and a willingness to take risk and be uncomfortable. Each individual learner brings unique life experiences, preferences, and a mindset to their learning.  The instructor�s role is to understand how human beings learn and then work with their students to create an environment that will enable them to feel supported, visible, and respected- a learning environment in which they can thrive and experience the transformation that can occur when learning occurs in context with others. We will begin this course by imagining the inner life of the adult learner as we examine social learning theory, cognitive and metacognitive science, contemplative practices, the interconnectedness between emotions and knowledge acquisition and retention, and other diverse approaches to student engagement.  As we consider different frameworks for understanding adult learning, we will explore the impediments and barriers to learning that result from complex trauma, poverty, oppression, and most notably, racism.  These experiences can greatly impact a learner�s ability to learn and to feel like a contributing and valued member of a learning community. As social work educators, we frequently  teach learners who are living with many of the exigencies that affect their clients.The second half of this course focuses on the principles and practices of contemporary approaches to teaching that emphasize the learner�s agency and voice, and the importance of making course content relevant, interactive, experiential, and applicable to learners as human beings and professionals.  Throughout the course we will deconstruct the impact of structural racism on higher education, and on our students� sense of belonging within the classroom and to the programs and institutions in which they are enrolled.  These themes will be threaded throughout all of the course curriculum and learning activities.

This seminar is grounded in the NASW Code of Ethics, which suggests that all actions that social workers take have ethical implications and consequences and that social justice considerations, in particular, must be weighed with every action. Through examination of ethics literature, public records of ethical violations, class discussions, and case-based learning, students will develop knowledge and skill in using an anti-racist, ethics-informed approach to decision making and taking action in the core areas of the DSW program: practice, teaching, and leadership.

This course will examine how professional social work knowledge evolves in philosophy and the social sciences. Traditional and postmodern theories will be examined and deconstructed in relation to clinical practice with vulnerable populations traditionally served by social workers. It will also explore the elements of racial trauma which is a form of race-based stress and the hidden wounds associated with it. Specific strategies for healing and transformation will further be examined that involve an integration of cultural humility and a DEIPAR social justice approach to clinical practice.

This course is designed to prepare students for diverse roles in organizational leadership with a focus on shifting institutional culture, creating social change, and advancing anti-racist policies and practices. Students will deepen their knowledge of organizational theories and concepts of power, privilege, and oppression within institutional frameworks. Students will develop strategies for effective change leadership�"including organizational assessment and analysis, adaptive solution finding, and leveraging of their own vantage points and positionality within an organization.

This course is designed to deepen students� understanding of theories inclusive of theories previously explored in Practice 1, that advance practice using DEIP &amp; anti-racist (DEIPAR) lenses to help understand the relevance and supporting science of incorporating theories of historical and generational trauma. Theories of institutional, structural and individualized oppression will be discussed in the context of increasing awareness regarding: personal benefit of members of the dominant society from historical dehumanization of others, the impact of internalized and accommodated dehumanization in non-dominant and dominant societal members, personal and corporate responsibility for creating the conditions of dehumanization; how culture creates and recreates dehumanization and acceptance of dehumanization; ethical implications of being complicit in dehumanization; and the role of resistance to rejection in the struggle to use DEIPAR frameworks.

This course focuses on developing students� knowledge of research methods to evaluate and utilize evidence for practice in clinical settings. Students will explore both quantitative and qualitative methods such that students are able to read and critique published research and determine the implications for evidence-based and evidence-informed practices with a particular focus on underserved and underrepresented populations. Students will also examine these methods for implementing practice evaluations for evidence-based and evidence-informed practice.

This course provides DSW students with the foundation needed to develop and design a course from a Learner Centered and Anti-Racist Approach. The student will have the opportunity to gain knowledge and skill related to the creation of learning objectives, assessments, syllabi and other key elements of a course. In addition, DSW students will learn to design and execute a Learner Centered instructional plan, rooted in inclusive pedagogy. Strategies will be discussed for effective instruction and management of classroom dynamics.

This course is designed to focus the broader themes of the first leadership course into examination of social justice and anti-racist considerations in clinical program supervsion and management, including challenging oppressive workplace structures and building decolonized work climates and cultures. Discussions and coursework will address the range of internal program dynamics addressing diversity, equity and inclusion issues in clinical supervision, managing complaints and conflict.

In this course students will be engaged in developing culturally responsive approaches to navigating classroom dynamics. They will also learn to implement learning strategies for developing classrooms grounded in cultural humility, as well as to create space for debate in classrooms. Additionally, students will learn to apply strategies for the building of anti-racist (using DEIPAR principles) and inclusive classrooms in the complex learning environment. This will be done by way of synthesizing the knowledge gained through self-reflection, and analysis and evaluation of scholarly pedagogical literature.

This course builds on SWO-704 Deconstruction and Development of Clinical Social Work Knowledge and Practice and SWO-706 Theories to Advance Practice content to examine clinical processes working with complex and diverse populations. Building on critical skills of inquiry and analysis of critical race theory and intersectionality, students will explore the impact of clinical processes when working with complex and diverse populations inclusive of but not limited to: intersubjectivity, therapeutic relationship, transference and countertransference, containment, holding, the use of defenses, hope, and justice. The course will help students learn to apply tenets of radical social work and a decolonizing lens to explore processes of change toward a (re)imagined social work practice for complex and diverse populations. Using case material, students will interrogate the assumptions of theory, research and practice as they relate to working with complex and diverse populations. The course will challenge students toward skill and knowledge generation regarding conceptualization, critique, and analysis of culturally-informed formulation and in responsive working alliances with clients.

This course focuses on the development of expert level knowledge, skills, and competencies in interdisciplinary social work practice. The aims of the course are to familiarize students with 1.) the application of varying models of interdisciplinary practice 2.) approaches to working with and across disciplines while centering the stakeholder within the experience and 3.) the skills necessary to assume leadership roles on interdisciplinary teams. Students explore the complex interactions of different disciplines while examining the impact of interdisciplinary practice on outcomes, satisfaction, and greater structural change in the context of social determinants of health. Students embrace the foundations of social work as a frame for interdisciplinary practice as anti-racist, anti-oppressive practitioners, educators, and leaders. The course content emphasizes critical thinking, peer discussion, demonstration, and case-based learning to enhance students� conceptual and practice skills to not only participate in, but lead interdisciplinary teams. 

This course will examine the nature of leadership adaptation in the context of the life-cycle of non-profit agencies. This course builds on content learned in prior leadership courses: SWO 701 Transformation, Inspiration, and Inclusion, and SWO 705 Power, Passion, and Social Change. The course will frame the knowledge and comprehension of adaptive leadership using the Judith Simon model of the five stages of the agency life-cycle. Students will engage in grouped discussion of this framed progression model to build contextual understanding of theories of power and social justice concerns regarding adaptive leadership. The class will explore tensions and ambiguities of leadership, as well as personal and public resistances to DEIPAR (diversity, equity, inclusion, power, anti-racist) considerations. At this stage, there is an emphasis on collaborative learning where students engage in the development and application of concepts relating to adaptive leadership found in readings and real world examples. Students will collaboratively synthesize and apply their emerging leadership in the area around which they are developing their expertise (their Capstone projects), using adaptive and socially just (DEIPAR) leadership lenses. Class discussions unfold using workshop style discussions to facilitate student application of ideas in new ways and/or in new contexts.

This is a process intensive course toward degree completion. Students will work with course faculty to refine their Proposal and build toward oral defense of their Capstone proposal. This is done through a scaffolding process where the students first develop their comprehensive exam, then develop their literature review, and construct their proposal. In this course, students will integrate their learning and knowledge from previous curricular content. The first paper of this course is the comprehensive exam where students will demonstrate knowledge of comprehensive integration of the three pillars (teaching, leadership and practice) as it relates to their developing area of expertise (Capstone project), and the DEIPAR framework. Students who received a passing grade on this comprehensive exam can then begin work on their second paper, the Literature Review, which justifies the project being proposed. A passing grade on the Literature Review paves the way to develop the Capstone Proposal.  Students will work with course faculty to refine their Proposal and prepare for oral defense of their Capstone proposal.  Content creation and application of knowledge and skills are expected weekly throughout the term.

The Capstone Seminar course builds on the Integrative Seminar, in which students demonstrated their expertise in DSW curricular content and defended their Capstone proposal (and obtained IRB approval as was needed). In this Seminar, students will implement the projects that were approved in the Integrative Seminar, which sets the stage for their post�"DSW career trajectory.  The Capstone is the culminating degree project designed to address a problem, gap or unmet need in social work practice, leadership, or teaching. The strategy used to address the identified concern can be creative and delivery of the project can be varied. Through the Capstone, students will demonstrate their expertise in their chosen area through application of knowledge and theory gained in the three program pillars of practice, incorporating the DEIPAR social justice lens.