MSW in Social Work

The Health Care and Mental Health Social Work specialization program prepares students for direct social work practice roles in wide array of health care relevant settings, including hospitals, community clinics, public health clinics hospice/home care and long term care facilities, public mental health agencies, community counseling and therapy programs, family service agencies, health, child welfare, and correctional programs and other health care settings to address the health care needs of individuals, families, communities and other groups. At an individual level, the objective of health social workers is to offer psycho-social support to individuals and their families in dealing with communicable and non-communicable diseases as well as injuries. At the community level, given their professional skill set, social workers are best placed to design, implement and manage those aspects of community health which require, on the one hand, involvement with the community and groups and, on the other hand, engagement with the health system, particularly in its interface with people/users. In this specialization program, students will learn about the interconnections of physical, psychological, social and spiritual health for individuals, families and communities; and preparing students to be leaders of organizational change in complex, multi-disciplinary health care settings.

Program Structure and Organization

The MSW curriculum is divided into two parts: the foundation curriculum and the specialization curriculum. The foundation curriculum provides an orientation to the profession and a basis for understanding practice with individuals, families, groups, and communities and provides the base for the specialization portion of the curriculum.

Foundation Curriculum Objectives

The overarching goal of the MSW program at the foundation level is to provide students with a generalist perspective on social work practice. Students will develop solid basic and advanced skills for working with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

• Understand the value base of the profession and its ethical standards, and practice accordingly;
• Apply critical thinking skills within the context of professional social work practice;
• Use empirically-based knowledge to develop practice strategies and policy advocacy and development;
• Understand the structure and mechanisms of oppression and privilege and demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to work effectively with oppressed and at risk populations;
• Engage diversity and difference in practice;
• Apply, without discrimination, effective strategies of advocacy and social change that empower populations at risk and which promote social and economic justice;
• Apply knowledge and skills of a generalist social work perspective to practice with systems of all sizes;
• Analyze, formulate, and influence social policies;
• Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research;
• Advance human rights and social, economic and environmental justice;
• Engage, assess, intervene, evaluate and document with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities; and
• Demonstrate commitment to continued professional growth and development.

Health Care and Mental Health Social Work Specialization Curriculum Objectives

The Health Care and Mental Health Social Work specialization address the following objectives in the respective courses and field education as a course. Students will be able to:

• Master advanced knowledge that supports their development as a healthcare and mental health social work practitioner in health care and mental health practice intervention theories and models; and the environmental context,
• Demonstrate the following skills in healthcare practice settings:
  • Apply practice skills based on relevant and current conceptual frameworks or practice theories and models in healthcare practice,
  • Use methods of intervention that are specific to healthcare social work, and
  • Assess the effectiveness of interventions in healthcare practice.
• Apply professional ethics and values to situations in healthcare and mental health social work practice, including:
  • Integration of strategies of ethical decision-making to guide intervention in healthcare and mental health social work practice, and
  • Integration of the centrality of social justice, diversity and ethical responsibility as a change agent into all aspects of one’s professional behavior in addressing inequality in the health services through various innovative mechanisms including case and cause advocacy.
• Plan, develop, implement, and evaluate community and mental health programs using evidence-based research;
• Analyze issues and develop healthcare and mental health policies and strategies that further the health and wellness goals of individuals, families and communities;
• Function within the structure of healthcare service delivery systems and seek necessary organizational change;
• Demonstrate healthcare and mental health policy, planning and leadership skills in service to vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups;
• Demonstrate the ability to effectively assess client systems for strengths and needs;
• Evaluate and improve clinical practice in a systematic and ongoing manner that is informed by evidence-based research and that builds the social work knowledge base;
• Understand the structure and mechanisms of oppression and privilege, and resistance to oppression and the impact on client experiences, assessment, treatment, and evaluation;
• Demonstrate clinical skills to work effectively with vulnerable and oppressed individuals;
• Conduct research that informs and advances social work knowledge and practice at various levels;
• Provide community services relevant to societal needs and problems in their areas of specializations; and
• Recognize, comprehend, and apply social work values and ethics in healthcare practice.