SW605 - Advanced Social Work Intervention I

This course attends to the range of mental health diagnoses including mild to severe and those possible treatments that may be used to address this continuum.  Despite growing neuroscience, many etiologies (history/origin) remain elusive for many mental illnesses; however, the DSM-5 is briefly introduced to orient students to treatments presented and based on symptoms that clients may present. The course introduces two underlying philosophies that drive mental health care (Medical Model and the Recovery Movement), exploring the types of services provided based on levels of care and then explores more intimately the evidence-based treatments and interventions employed by current mental health practitioners across settings and philosophies. Many different understandings related to mental health and mental illness are included and the required readings draw from various theoretical approaches to treatment, ranging from psychodynamic to brief solution-focused and are introduced to students. Students will be encouraged to think critically about both the current philosophies, the current research on treatments, and the various approaches to treatment.  The approach to teaching the course is person-centered in that the emphasis is on understanding the individual with behavioral health challenges, strengths, relationships, larger contexts, and the processes associated with acquiring care whether that be in the community or through an integrated care setting.