Social Work, Trauma, and the Arts

Catalog description

This course provides instruction for social work students seeking to understand and apply the arts to encounters with traumatized individuals, communities, and systems. The course, which uses creative engagement and didactic strategies, is divided into three phases. In the introductory phase, participants will learn basic information about (1) the impact of trauma, (2) the consequences of trauma exposure, (3) the neurobiological implications of traumatization, and (4) best practices and common factors in trauma treatment. In the second phase, students will explore the relationship between social work, creativity, and trauma healing. Students will critically analyze (1) the concepts of creativity and destruction, (2) the role of various artistic media in facilitating trauma healing, and (3) the congruity of these arts based practices with social work values. In the third phase, participants will consider ways to integrate the arts into both clinical and macro contexts. Students will create and share a plan for implementation of a creative, arts-based intervention in a clinical or macro social work setting.