ADVANCED
SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE WITH COUPLES
SWK 4610F
Professor Rob MacFadden
COURSE
OUTLINE
Prerequisite:
Rationale
and Significance:
Couple therapy is one of the most
common forms of intervention in social work practice and occurs within a wide
range of practice areas as reflected within our faculty themes such as: child
and family, gerontology, health and mental health. Many of our practicum
settings provide couple therapy opportunities. This course builds on the
fundamental practice offerings within our first year program and offers an
advanced learning experience linking theory, research and practice with couples.
This
course is based on an adult-centred model of learning. Students are expected to
participate fully in class discussion and to share their knowledge and
experience as a critical part of the class process. Integrating research and theory with practice
will be a primary focus throughout the course. Incorporating diversity into
practice with couples will also be emphasized.
Learning Environment:
Every effort will be made to create a positive learning environment
where people are free to share ideas and explore issues. Learning from others
is a significant part of the educational process both within our classes and in
the field. Social workers, in particular, have a social and professional
responsibility to respect and encourage a range of viewpoints. We may challenge
the ideas but not the person. Students are encouraged throughout the course to
make suggestions of ways to foster a more positive learning environment within
the classroom.
Goals:
To
provide students with information on a range of practice approaches appropriate
for social work intervention with couples and an opportunity to apply these
approaches to practice situations. This includes consideration of foundation
theories, practice models, evaluation of practice, ethics and diversity.
Student Learning Outcomes:
1.
To develop the ability to evaluate one's
own practice with couples and to incorporate this within a practice model,
2.
To explore and utilize existing
foundation knowledge (i.e., systems, role, communication and developmental
frameworks) to understand and enhance practice with couples,
3.
To critically examine empirical research
into couple therapy and identify current findings, problems and potential,
4.
To explore and critically examine some existing
therapeutic models, identifying their assumptions, techniques and
effectiveness,
5.
To integrate theory into practice
with couples,
6.
To explore the significance of diversity
issues in practice with couples, including gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation,
7.
To develop a professional practice model
for work with couples.
Academic Integrity:
Students in graduate
studies are expected to commit to the highest standards of integrity, and to
understand the importance of protecting and acknowledging intellectual
property. It is assumed that they bring to their graduate studies a clear
understanding of how to cite references appropriately, thereby avoiding
plagiarism. The student's thinking must be understood as distinct from the
sources upon which the student is referring.
Two excellent documents entitled How Not to Plagiarize http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/plagsep.html and the Code on Behaviour and Academic Matters is available for you to review on the FSW web-site or at www.sgs.utoronto.ca .
Course Content:
Fall 2006
September 11 Overview of course, including
introductions, reviewing course outline and assignments and introduction of the
concept of professional practice model
September 18 The revolution in couple therapy: A
practitioner-scientist perspective.
Ethics in Couple Therapy. Explore the site: http://www.aamft.org/resources/LRMPlan/Ethics/ethicscode2001.asp .
September 25 Cognitive-Behavioral Couples Therapy.
Baucom, Epstein & LaTaillade (Chapter 2) in Gurman & Jacobson, 26-58.
October 2 Narrative Couple Therapy.
Freedman & Combs (Chapter 11) in Gurman & Jacobson, 308-334.
October 9 Thanksgiving.
No classes
October 16 Emotionally-Focused Couple
Therapy. S.
Vatcher & Bogo (2001). The
Feminist/Emotionally-Focused Therapy Practice Model. Journal of Marital and
Family Therapy, Vol.27, No.1, 69-83. Available through library e-journals.
October
16 Assignment I Due
October 23 Solution-Focused Couple Therapy. Hoyt, M. Solution Focused
Couple Therapy (Chapter 12). In our required text.
October 30 Gender and Couple Therapy. Rampage (Chapter 20), in Gurman & Jacobson,
533-545.
November 6 Empirically-derived Couple
Therapy. Gottman, Driver & Tabares (Chapter 13) in Gurman & Jacobson,
373-399. See http://www.gottman.com/research/abstracts/
.
November 13 Evaluating
Couple Therapy. Conjoint
marital therapy: A practitioner's approach to single-system evaluation. In
Collins, P., Kayser, K., Platt, S. (1994). Families in Society.
Vol. 75
(3), March, 131. Also, Shadish, W.,
Explore
this website’s review of practice effectiveness research
http://www.talkingcure.com/index.asp?id=100
http://horan.asu.edu/cpy702readings/seligman/seligman.html
a major report
published on treatment effectiveness.
November 20 Violence & Couples. Holtzworth-Munroe et
al. (Chapter 16), in Gurman & Jacobson, 441-465. Stith, S., Rosen, K.,
McCollum, E. (2003). Effectiveness of couples treatment for spouse abuse. Journal
of Marital and Family Therapy, 29(3), 407-426. E-journal.
November 27 Couple Therapy & Diversity. Gays &
Lesbians: Green & Mitchell (Chapter 21, 546-568; Multicultural: Hardy & Laszloffy (Chapter
22, 569-593). Both in Gurman & Jacobson. Also, Bepko, C.,
December
4 Infidelity and Couple
Therapy. Glass (Chapter 18) in Gurman &
Jacobson,
488-507.
December 4 Assignment II Due
Discussion of student practice models
with couples and the implications of diversity in developing these practice
models.
Format:
The
course will incorporate seminars, and videos, and the use of computer technology.
Students will be encouraged to use the Internet for research purposes.
Evaluation of Students:
Assignment
This
course consists of two assignments.
Assignment I
The first assignment , due October 16th,
2006, is worth 30% of the final grade and should be 7 double-spaced pages in
length. It is an outline of the major
assignment specified below. This outline should provide a structure for your
full practice model with couples and contain the dimensions and some details
specified for the major assignment below.
It should include a provisional bibliography
Assignment II
The
second and major assignment is worth 70%
of the grade. Each student is expected to develop a professional practice model for work with couples. The assignment
is a paper which builds on your work in assignment I and presents your model in
detail and describes:
How your model incorporates a focus on
evaluation,
How your model relates to specific theoretical frameworks (e.g.,
role, communications, systems and
developmental) and specific practice
models
(e.g., cognitive, solution-focussed,
object relations) with couples,
How your model reflects awareness of
diversity issues, including cross-cultural and gender issues,
The major
components of your model and the reason for including these components
(e.g., ethics, structure, stages),
The practice
principles and interventive techniques employed in your model.
A critique of your beginning practice
model.
Use
examples to illustrate your points and indicate any empirical support for
components of your model, where available.
Length
Twenty-five,
double-spaced, typewritten pages with 1 inch margins, and minimal font size of
12 (e.g., this course outline utilizes a font size of 12).
Format
The
papers are subject to all the
requirements described in the student grading manual for graduate papers,
including a full bibliography, correct grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Illustrate your discussion with examples. Please review the M.S.W. Policies and
Procedures Handbook at (http://www.socialwork.utoronto.ca/index.php?section=283
) and the
Evaluation
The
outline for the paper due on October 16th is worth 30% of the grade.
The major paper is due December 4th, 2006 and represents 70% of the
final grade in this course.
Due Dates
The
First Assignment is due, October 16th, 2006. The Second Assignment is due Monday, December
4, 2006. Late papers are subject to a one-half grade reduction or may not be
accepted.
Professor
Rob MacFadden
Room
434
416-978-5818
e-mail:
robert.macfadden@utoronto.ca
website:
http://www.robertmacfadden.com
Required
Gurman, A. & Jacobson, N. (2002). Clinical handbook of
couple therapy.
Copies ordered from Bob Miller Bookroom,
Mout07.html