Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice with Families

This course is an advanced skill-based course that extends students' knowledge and application of family systems therapy. The course engages the activate participation of students in role-play scenarios and the discussion and deconstruction of actual cases enhancing their developing skills as family therapists-in-training. In this course, students have the opportunity to plan and implement an entire course of treatment for a family. This allows the development of a conceptual understanding of family therapy practice, treatment skills and interventions, and utilization of self-as-therapist that influences the therapeutic system.

Students have multiple opportunities to practice family interventions and receive feedback from both classmates and the instructor through the use of the clinical family therapy methods of ‘live supervision’ and ‘reflecting teams’. Students will experience the connection between theory and practice and learn to integrate multiple theories. Issues related to transference, culture based countertransference, resistance, and working with involuntary clients are discussed.

Advanced Clinical Social Work Skills with Families builds on the family systems theory and practice applications learned in the required family systems concentration courses and expands students’ opportunity to apply theory to cases in diverse practice and client situations. An emphasis is placed on the development of personal theory, professional development, and therapeutic change/outcome as it relates to common factors in family therapy. This course also builds upon SOWK 4505: Relationship Therapy and aspects unique to couple’s therapy.