Syllabus
Master of Social Work
SSWO 553 – Advanced Social Work Practice with Families – Spring B 2020
Credits - 3
Description
This second semester course critically analyzes how contemporary clinical theories explain the inner dynamics and external experiences of family systems. Practical applications of family theory are explored through case examples, role play and self-reflective writing that includes both self-analysis and critique of how sociocultural factors influence how we assess and work with families. Students are exposed to a range of family structures and caregiving systems and also to the larger social contexts of race, social class, age, ability, sexual orientation, gender identification, and culture, which influence the distribution of resources made available to these families. The role of the clinician as activist is explored as students reflect upon what their professional roles will be as community practitioners. Must be enrolled in: Master of Social Work.
Materials
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
School of Social Work Program Outcomes:
Graduates of the UNE SSWO will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and leadership in the following:
- Demonstrates ethical and professional behavior.
- Advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
- Engage in anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) in practice.
- Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice.
- Engage in policy practice.
- Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
- Assess individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
- Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
- Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
Course Outcomes
Upon successful completion of Advanced Clinical Practice with Families students will:
- Apply self-awareness and self-regulation to manage the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse clients and constituencies. EPAS 2c (Measured in journal entries)
- Use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to effectively engage diverse clients and constituencies. EPAS 6b (Measured in Assignment 1)
- Develop mutually agreed-on intervention goals and objectives based on the critical assessment of strengths, needs, and challenges within clients and constituencies. EPAS 7c (Measured in Assignment 2)
- Critically choose and implement interventions to achieve practice goals and enhance capacities of clients and constituencies. EPAS 8a (Measured in Assignment 2)
- Facilitate effective transitions and endings that advance mutually agreed-on goals. EPAS 8e (Measured in Assignment 2)
Assignments
Weekly Discussions
Discussions are an important part of the learning process in this course. Students are expected to post an initial response to the weekly discussion questions by Saturday, adhering to the requirements outlined in the Discussion Rubric, and to return on at least one additional day of the class week to respond to a minimum of 3 classmates in meaningful and substantive ways. This equates to a minimum of 4 total posts spread over at least two different days. Students are welcome and encouraged to begin posting earlier than Saturday, but Saturday is the latest acceptable day for initial posts.
Writing Assignments, Projects, and Assessments
Family Journal: Each week you will submit a one-page family reflection journal. This reflective writing assignment will relate to one or more of the topics covered in the Thomlinson Family Assessment Handbook. Your weekly journal provides an opportunity for you to think in a reflexive way about important aspects of working with families — reflexive in the sense of how your assumptions, beliefs, and perhaps biases influence the way you experience, interpret, and act with family clients. You are encouraged to push yourself to new realizations and insights in your weekly journal entry. Citations are not required unless you choose to include something from a specific source to enhance your reflective process.
Assignment #1, Comparison of Classic Family Therapy Approaches Paper – Sharon Family Case (Assignment 1): In this 7 to 8-page paper, you will choose one of the classic family therapy models from module 3 (either the transgenerational or the experiential model) and one of the classic family therapy models from module 4 (either the structural or the strategic model) and apply the chosen models to the Case of Sharon and her Family (Thomlison pp. 196-197).
Assignment #2, Social Constructionist Intervention Paper – Del Sol Family Case (Assignment 2): In this 7 to 8-page paper, you will choose either Solution-Oriented (focused) Family Therapy or Narrative Family Therapy and apply the chosen model to the Del Sol Family Case Study (Thomlison pp. 219-222).
Grading and Feedback Method: Grading and feedback methods are provided for each assignment. Please refer to the Learning Modules for more information.
Due Dates: Due dates for all learning activities are provided in the Course Schedule.
Grading Policy
The School of Social Work uses the following grading system for all courses with the exception of field education courses. Students are expected to maintain a “B” (3.0) average over the course of their study. Students with less than a GPA of 3.0 will be placed on academic probation. Students must have an overall GPA of 3.0 in order to receive their Master’s Degree.
Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:
Grade Breakdown
| Assignment | Point Value | Percentage of Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly Participation in All Discussions | 200 points (25 points X 8) | 20% |
| Weekly Family Reflection Journal | 200 points (25 points X 8 ) | 20% |
| Assignment #1: Comparison of Classic Family Therapy Approaches Paper - Sharon Family Case | 300 points | 30% |
| Assignment #2: Social Constructionist Intervention Paper - Del Sol Family Case | 300 points | 30% |
| Total | 1,000 points | 100% |
Grade Scale
| Grade | Points Grade | Point Average (GPA) |
| A | 94 – 100% | 4.00 |
| A- | 90 – 93% | 3.75 |
| B+ | 87 – 89% | 3.50 |
| B | 84 – 86% | 3.00 |
| B- | 80 – 83% | 2.75 |
| C+ | 77 – 79% | 2.50 |
| C | 74 – 76% | 2.00 |
| C- | 70 – 73% | 1.75 |
| D | 64 – 69% | 1.00 |
| F | 00 – 63% | 0.00 |
Schedule
Course Dates: Wednesday, Mar 4 – Sunday, April 26
All assignments are to be submitted by 11:59 PM ET on the dates listed below.
Unless otherwise specified below, all module discussions and assignments are due the last day of the module or unit week. Initial discussion posts are due by 11:59 PM Saturday, and responses to classmates are due by the end of the week; except for the early discussion due-dates noted in Module Seven.
Week 1 | Family Relationship Framework, Family Life-cycle, and Familial Culture
Dates: Wednesday, March 4 – Tuesday, March 10
Readings and Video:
- Week 1 Video Lecture
- Goldenberg: Chapters 1, 2 and 3
- Thomlison: Chapters 1 and 2
Discussions:
- Week 1: Introductions
- Week 1: The Family Relationship Framework and the Family Lifecycle
Assignment:
- Week 1 Family Journal: Family Culture
Week 2 | Systems Theory and Ethics in Family Therapy
Dates: Wednesday, March 11 – Tuesday, March 17
Readings and Video:
- Week 2 Video Lecture
- Goldenberg: Chapters 4 and 6
- Thomlison: Chapter 3
Discussion:
- Week 2: Ramona and Her Family
Assignment:
- Week 2 Family Journal: Normative and Non-normative Events
Week 3 | Transgenerational and Experiential Family Therapy
Dates: Wednesday, March 18 – Tuesday, March 24
Readings and Video:
- Week 3 Video Lecture
- Goldenberg: Chapter 7, pp. 186-187, Chapters 8 and 9
- Thomlison: Chapter 4 and Fernandez family case study, p. 214
- The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family http://thebowencenter.org/theory/eight-concepts/: Visit this site for a succinct explanation of the 8-Concepts of Multigenerational Family Therapy
- Wiebe, S. A., and Johnson, S. M. (2016), A Review of the Research in Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples. Fam. Proc., 55: 390-407. doi:10.1111/famp.12229http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.74.6.1055
- Video: Emotionally Focused Therapy in Action with Sue Johnson (118 minutes, Closed Caption Available) https://unelib.kanopy.com/video/emotionally-focused-therapy-action-sue-johns
Discussions:
- Week 3: Case Study (Fernandez Family)
Assignment:
- Week 3 Family Journal: What Makes Family Assessment Unique?
Week 4 | Structural and Strategic Family Therapy; and Goal Setting in Family Therapy
Dates: Wednesday, March 25 – Tuesday, March 31
Readings and Video:
- Week Video Lecture
- Goldenberg: Chapters 10 and 11
- Thomlison: Chapters 5 and 6 and Fernandez family case study, p. 214
- Suggested Lecture (Not Required): Strategic Therapy with Dr. Diane Gehart (2015) (54:42 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwv0nmWn-cE
Discussions:
- Week 4: Is “Strengths-based” Present in Structural and Strategic Family Therapy?
Assignments:
- Week 4 Family Journal: Establishing Strengths-Based Goals in Multigenerational Families
- Assignment 1: Comparison of Classic Family Therapy Approaches Paper: Sharon Family Case
Week 5 |Cognitive and Behavioral Family Therapy and Motivation for Change
Dates: Wednesday, April 1 – Tuesday, April 7
Readings and Video:
- Week 5 Video Lecture
- Goldenberg: Chapter. 12
- Thomlison: Chapters 7 and 8 and the Francoise Family Case Study, pp. 238 and 239
- Friedberg, R. D. (2006). A cognitive-behavioral approach to family therapy. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 36(4), 159-165. doi:http://dx.doi.org.une.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s10879-006-9020-2
- View this SAMHSA website page: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy https://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/ProgramProfile.aspx?id=96
- Functional Family Therapy (A Brief Description): http://fftllc.com/about-fft-training/clinical-model.html
- Video: My Kids Don’t Appreciate Me, Dr. Janet Wolfe, 2010 (57 Minutes) https://unelib.kanopy.com/video/my-kids-dont-appreciate-me-rebt-single-mother
Optional Resources:
- Morgan-Mullane, A. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Children of Incarcerated Parents. Clin Soc Work J (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-017-0642-5
- Functional Family Therapy Quick Facts: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs/cbhs/provider/documents/FFT%20Facts.pdf
- The Albert Ellis Institute http://rebt.org/
Discussions:
- Week 5: Francoise Family Case Study
Assignment:
- Week 5 Family Journal: MI Strategies and the Francoise Family
Week 6 | Social Constructionist Family Therapy
Dates: Wednesday, April 8 – Tuesday, April 14
Readings and Video:
- Week 6 Video Lecture
- Goldenberg: Chapters 13 and 14
- Thomlison: Chapter 9
- I’d Hear Laughter – Finding Solutions for the Family with Inso Kim Berg (1:11:40, Closed Caption Available). https://unelib.kanopy.com/video/id-hear-laughter-finding-solutions-family
- Narrative Therapy Excerpt from Dr. Bitter. (17:18, Closed Caption Available). https://youtu.be/gYaDrVp_DyI
- Michael White, Narrative Therapist, Funny Moments (28:25, Transcript): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT73fQVvya8
Discussion:
- Week 6: Viewing Life Stories through a Solution-Oriented and Narrative Lens
Assignment:
- Week 6 Family Journal: Assessment and Evaluation Instruments for Solution Oriented and Narrative-Based Family Therapy
Week 7 | Sharing our Social Constructionist Family Interventions with Colleagues
Dates: Wednesday, April 15 – Tuesday, April 21
Reading:
- Read and evaluate four of your classmates’ papers following the instructions in the Whole-Class Discussion forum
Discussion:
- Week 7: Peer Evaluation and Feedback
Assignments:
- Week 7 Family Journal: Peer Evaluation and Feedback
- Assignment 2: Social Constructionist Intervention Paper
Week 8 |Reflective Thinking and Reflexive Practice with Families
Dates: Wednesday, April 22 – Sunday, April 26 (Please note the early assignment and discussion due dates the final week)
Readings:
- Week 8 Video Lecture
- Thomlison: Chapter 10
- Hepworth, Jeri. (2000). The Two-Way Mirror in My Therapy Room, Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 10:4, 9-20, DOI: 10.1300/J085v10n04_02 (A Special Message to Students: Although this article was written a number of years ago it has deep touching relevance to this week’s closing conversation on reflexive practice. Please find some quiet time early in the week to slowly read and reflect on this article, written from the heart by a former family practitioner) To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1300/J085v10n04_02
Discussion:
- Letters from the Heart
Assignment:
- Week 8 Family Journal: Final Family Reflection
Student Resources
Accommodations
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Policies
Attendance Policy
8 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Sunday at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.
16 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Friday at 11:59 pm ET of the second week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.
Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures
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Academic Integrity
The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:
- Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
- Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
- Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
- Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
- Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.
Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.