SW Z523 - Adv Soc Wrk Prac With Groups

Credits: 3

This course is designed to deepen students’ understanding of social work practice with groups in agency-based practice. Having completed this course, students should have developed beginning tools to enable them to apply these models in their practice. Group work practice is viewed through an ecological lens whereby students integrate an understanding of how policy, ethics, values, agency, economics, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, culture, and various forms of oppression inform practice. Group work will be examined from a developmental perspective - exploring group stages and tasks over time - as well as from a systemic perspective. Students will use evidence-based models of group practice to structure and further the work with groups of clients, colleagues, and community members. Furthermore, students will develop an appreciation for the flexibility within these models to meet the unique needs of diverse populations and settings. Students will have opportunities to apply group work principles to a range of treatment and task groups. Videos, role plays, observations, and experiential exercises are essential learning strategies used in this course. Prerequisites: Foundation courses.