SOWK 431 Social Work in Mental Health

This course is designed to introduce students to the knowledge, values, and skills necessary for social work practice in mental health settings. Topics will include roles and functions of social workers, diagnoses, and assessment.

The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to the knowledge, values, and skills necessary for social work practice in mental health settings. Topics will include roles and functions of social workers, diagnoses, and assessment. This course provides the needed foundation for the social work curriculum by providing the student with basic knowledge about the mental health practice in the social work field.

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After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, in the first discussion the student is required to create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion. The thread must be at least 300 words, demonstrate course-related knowledge, include at least 1 peer-reviewed sources in addition to the course textbook, and integrate at least 1 biblical principle. Sources must be cited in current APA format. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be at least 150 words.

In the second discussion, the student will share his/her mental health diagnosis presentation with the class. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ presentations. Each reply must include at least one source and be at least 300 words. 

The discussions will assess Competency 1: Ethics/Prof. Behavior (values, cognitive/affective processes) and Competency 2: Diversity (knowledge).

The student will complete a referral to a local community resource that addresses the diagnosis for any of the case studies found within chapter 3 or 4 of the Corcoran & Walsh textbook). The student is to review the client’s symptoms and what the text and research says about appropriate interventions to determine the best resource to provide the client. The student will need to research places in his/her community that provide these interventions to create a fictional referral. All citations must be in current APA format.

This will assess Competency 1: Ethics/Prof. Behavior (values, cognitive/affective processes) and Competency 2: Diversity (knowledge).

The student will create a mental health brochure about a mental health disorder found in the DSM under the Bipolar and Related Disorders Section, or Depressive Disorders Section. This brochure will include information on the diagnosis, evidence-based interventions, online resources, and places to seek assistance. The student must incorporate at least three evidence-based interventions, three online resources and/or websites, and two local community resources available in the student’s area. All citations must be in current APA format.

This assignment will assess Competency 1: Ethics/Prof. Behavior (values, cognitive/affective processes), Competency 2: Diversity (knowledge), Competency 4: Engage in Practice-Informed Research, and Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals

The student will write a research-based paper of at least 5 pages in current APA format that focuses on mental health assessment and a mental health diagnosis of the student’s choice. The paper must include at least 3 scholarly references published within the last 5 years in addition to the course textbooks and the Bible. 

This paper will assess Competency 1: Ethics/Prof. Behavior (values, cognitive/affective processes), Competency 2: Diversity (knowledge), Competency 4: Engage, Competency 7: Assess, and Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals.

Sharing information social workers have learned with others through presentations often comes with the job. For this course, the student will create a presentation with the findings of his/her research from his/her mental health diagnosis and assessment presentation assignment. This assignment will also be the presentation shared with other students in a discussion. The student must include both textbooks, the Bible, and at least 3 scholarly references published within the past 5 years. All citations must be in current APA format.

This presentation will assess Competency 1: Ethics/Prof. Behavior (values, cognitive/affective processes), Competency 2: Diversity (knowledge), Competency 4: Engage, Competency 7: Assess, and Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals.

A mid-term quiz and a final quiz will be given during this course. The mid-term and final quizzes will cover material in the assigned Modules: Weeks. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 25 multiple-choice and true/false questions, and have no time limit.

Exams assess Competency 1: Ethics/Prof. Behavior and Competency 2: Diversity.