SWK4604H is a prerequisite for SWK4631H Advanced Social Work Practice in Mental Health
Social workers are key providers of mental health care, and we have a unique contribution to this field. With an emphasis on promoting equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice in mental health practice, social workers strive for transformative change on multiple levels. We work with individuals, families, and communities experiencing mental health and addiction concerns across all sectors and practice settings. In order to provide high quality services, social workers require relevant knowledge, skills, values, judgement, and critical thinking capacity to develop holistic competence in mental health and addiction care.
This course will help you develop and strengthen your competence in these areas, with a focus on building effective therapeutic relationships with diverse service users through engagement and assessment processes. As a practice-oriented course, you will be encouraged to engage in experiential learning activities aimed at enhancing your ability to address a range of psychosocial difficulties. You will be invited to learn and apply principles of evidence-based and anti-oppressive practice (AOP) with cultural humility while locating yourself through an intersectional lens. Using Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques alongside recovery, harm reduction, and trauma-informed frameworks, we will explore how social workers begin supporting service users through their most challenging experiences.
The instructors in this course want to see you succeed and will strive to help you work toward your academic goals while building on your existing skills and experiences. As an active participant in the learning process, you will be welcomed to take part in traditional and creative learning activities such as simulations, role plays, group discussions, and more. Through meaningful engagement in this course, you will learn how to empower service users, reduce the risk for harm, and foster inclusion, hope, and healing.