SW 506 - PsychPath & PsychPharm

Credits: 3

This course will examine contemporary social work practice in mental health, both by familiarizing students with a range of diagnoses as presented in The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual version 4, Text Revised (DSM IV-TR), and also by examining the etiology of presenting conditions from a bio- psycho-social-cultural-spiritual perspective. A review of current psychopharmacological approaches for common disorders will be reviewed. Students will also be introduced to practice approaches that may be used with specific diagnoses and presenting conditions. Students will examine the history of mental health policy, and will become familiar with the current service delivery system and how it affects social work practice, and identify ways to advocate for the consumers of mental health services within organizational and community systems. Major social movements which have altered the manner in which services are delivered such as deinstitutionalization, the consumer movement, the advent of HMO’s, and the shift toward a biologically-based conception of mental illness will be discussed and evaluated. Practice issues that may arise in working with consumers at all system levels will be examined and discussed. Prerequisite: admission to MSW program.