Classes Areas of Expertise
Scholarly and Creative Activities Ongoing Clinical Practice

Spring 1999 Classes

• SWRK 223: DSM-IV and Psychopharmacology
• SWRK 235B: Human Behavior in the Social Environment

On Sabbatical for Fall 1998 Semester

General Course Descriptions

SWRK 235A/B: HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

This two-semester course investigates the major forces of human development from the prenatal period through death. The fall semester offering focuses on normal development by looking at the capacities, opportunities, and hazards of each stage of the life cycle. With the intrapsychic structure as our home base, we study how personality develops within levels of power--interactions with families, community, and society. Last, we examine the strengths,resistances, and injuries which ensue from societal forces of social class, race, culture, gender, sexuality, and by the rapid rate of change in societal values and institutions.

The spring semester course is a study of how personalities function when challenged in a variety of ways. Covering the major fields within which social workers practice, we view the effects of child abuse and neglect, substance abuse, domestic violence, mental and physical illness, disability, grief, and stress in individual, group and community living. We begin the development of the student's theoretical framework for the practice of social work with individuals, including psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and psycho-spiritual frames of reference. The approach in both courses is based heavily on the connection of theory to practice.

SWRK 204C/D: ADVANCED GENERALIST PRACTICE IN SOCIAL WORK

Whereas the foundation generalist practice courses (SWRK 204A/B) enabled students to work with clients within a problem-solving model, this two-semester practice course asks the student to employ major theoretical frameworks (from SWRK 235B) in assessing and intervening in clients' lives to improve their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning. We study specific practice with children, adolescents, adults, couples, families, organizations, and communities which results in accountable outcomes.

The fall semester course affords particular attention to the social worker's use of self, personal stress-management, and one's role in building healthy social agencies. The spring semester examines the supervisory role, client advocacy, policy-building, and self-assessment as a tool of becoming an independent social work practitioner. Both classes employ the case method as the central learning mode.

SWRK 223: DSM-IV and Psychopharmacology

Although serving primarily as a skills course, SWRK 223 also provides the student with a context in which to view this psychiatric diagnostic protocol: the history of its development, the use and abuse of DSM-IV in today's psychiatric, medical and social work practices, and critical analysis of this diagnostic system. The student will learn the functions of the five DSM-IV axes, the mechanics of selecting and justifying diagnoses, basic psychiatric diagnostic vocabulary, and typical medications used with the major diagnostic areas. This course makes heavy use of cases and drills.

• Attachment across the lifespan
• Attachment disorders
• Substance exposure in utero and implications for child development
• Posttraumatic stress disorder
• Addictions and compulsive behaviors
• Offender behaviors
• DSM-IV
• Forensic social work ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Scholarly and Creative Activities

• Psychodynamic, cognitive, and neurological explanation of behaviors of attachment-disordered children and adolescents
• Development of habilitative and rehabilitative parenting techniques
• Independent trainer for social workers in mental health and child welfare settings
• Training tapes in attachment disorder for foster/adoptive parents
• Training tapes and CD-ROM (in progress) in "DSM-IV for Social Workers"

Clinical Practice

• Private psychotherapy practice
• Supervision of LCSW interns
• Coaching of LCSW interns for the license (oral exam)
• Evaluation and consultation on forensic cases (specialize in adolescent offenders; special interest in death penalty cases)

If you are a student in a class listed above, please take the time to complete the Student Survey at this time.

Send problems/comments/suggestions to: allenkm@csus.edu