Introduction to Trauma and Social Work.

Catalog description

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online or face-to-face). 3 credits. Enrollment is restricted to students with junior status in the social work and mental health minor or by permission of the program director or course instructor. The course will provide a foundational understanding of trauma's nature, effects and treatment. The impact of social, structural, cultural, economic and environmental principles on determinants of health and quality of life will be addressed, including the influence of factors such as race, gender, sexual orientation, geography, ability, biological and epigenetic factors. It will include the levels of trauma (individual, collective and community trauma, and vicarious and secondary trauma) as well as how trauma is discussed and understood in various cultural contexts. The course will briefly discuss the impact of trauma on different populations, including veterans, refugee populations, the LGBTQIA community, indigenous populations and marginalized groups. The course is taught through an anti-racist, trauma-focused, healing-centered lens. Readings, podcasts, assignments and lectures will be taught/delivered through this lens.