This advanced seminar will provide a contemporary overview of special topics within family centered social work practice. Central among these topics will be further clinical skills training through the microanalysis of actual family treatment sessions through videos and role-plays, with a particular focus on making the connection between clinical constructs and their application in clinical work. We will utilize family therapy reflecting teams to help students develop new ideas and approaches with their current caseloads. Several different evidence-based models of treatment will be contrasted to consider their strengths/weaknesses in working with particular family constellations and to explore their overall effectiveness from the perspective of evidence-based practice. Other specific topics may include: 1) Working with families who have experienced trauma; 2) Home-based family treatment; 3) Ethical challenges in working with families; 4) Adoptive and foster family work; 5) Culturally sensitive family practices to more effectively address diversity including issues of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation; other topics based on student interest. Students should come away from the course with a more sophisticated understanding of social work with families, a clearer sense of their own clinical "voice," and the means to continuously improve their own effectiveness as practitioners

Note that this information may change at any time. Please visit the Student Link for the most up-to-date course information.