Introduction to Practicum

Catalog description

This is the first of three practicum courses, to be followed by SWK 480 and 481 respectively. This course is an introduction to social work practice. The purposes of this course is four-fold: 1) to provide students with an introductory opportunity to integrate the bio-psycho-socio-spiritual perspective and social work theory and practice; 2) to provide students with an educationally-directed experience in order to enhance the development of engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation skills; 3) to orient students to begin to identify with the social work profession and its values, and 4) to provide opportunities for students to demonstrate learning of practice behaviors. In this introductory practicum course, the student will focus primarily on the processes of generalist social work with individuals in their social environment. Each practicum setting, however, is unique and many students will have opportunities to participate in most or all aspects of the generalist social work process. This course is taken concurrently with SWK 341 -Generalist Practice with Individuals. In the 200-hour practicum experience, students begin to develop competency in generalist social work in an approved setting under the supervision of a professional social worker.