Social Welfare - Sexuality and Gender Diversity

Catalog description

This course is designed to meet the needs of graduate social work students, as well as those from related disciplines such as psychology; applied behavioral science; public health; and women, gender, and sexuality studies. The focus is on enhancing clinical skills (e.g., diagnostic assessment; individual, group, and family therapy approaches) for practice pertaining to sexuality and gender with a primary focus on working with people with marginalized sexualities and genders (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, pansexual, etc.). Utilizing a social justice and equity framework, students examine their own identities, experiences, and larger systems of oppression to engage in effective and ethical practice with people who have marginalized sexualities and genders. The course integrates history, theory, research, policy, and practice and is centered within social work tenets, ethics, and values while also creating space for students to engage across multiple disciplines and enhance transdisciplinary practice skills. Prerequisite: Admission to MSW Advanced Standing plan of study or completion of social welfare generalist courses.