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THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
COURSE NUMBER:
COURSE TITLE:
SEMESTER & YEAR:
INSTRUCTOR:
OFFICE HOURS:
SOWO 755
Issues for Contemporary Clinical Practice
Spring, 2015
Marty Weems, LCSW, LCAS
919-843-9161
weems@email.unc.edu
By appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This is a seminar designed to help prepare students for contemporary clinical practice, covering topics
such as managed care, independent practice, and self-care.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. Address ethical issues that develop as a clinical social worker including dual roles, liability
issues, confidentiality and competency.
2. Understand how managed care impacts clinical social work practice.
3. Identify professional development issues important for longevity in the field, such as supervision,
self-care, on-going use of evidence-based practices, and networking.
4. Be exposed to a variety of clinical social work roles and the various issues that arise based on the
setting (e.g. home visits vs. working in a hospital as part of an interdisciplinary team).
5. Assess current level of competence and comfort level with working within various social work
settings and with clients from a range of diverse backgrounds and issues.
EXPANDED DESCRIPTION:
This course will build on the Advanced Practice classes students will take in their concentration year. It is
designed to help students think about the variety of options for clinical social work practice, as well as
help them to identify and begin to address issues that may impact their own practices, regardless of the
setting. This seminar will help students to prepare for longevity in the field by helping them begin to
incorporate self-care and professional development practices immediately upon graduation. In addition,
the basics of how to develop an independent practice will be discussed. Ethical issues and self-awareness
will also be discussed in relation to how these issues may impact their ability to be an effective
practitioner.
REQUIRED TEXTS/READINGS:
Willer, J. (2014). The beginning psychotherapist’s companion (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford
University Press. Other assigned readings will be posted on our Sakai site
CLASS ASSIGNMENTS:
Refer to description of assignments at the end of this syllabus.
1. Supervision Paper: 30%
2. Professional Development Plan: 50%
3. Class Attendance and Participation: 20%
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CLASS PARTICIPATION:
Class participation counts for 20% of your final grade. Everyone will receive a standard score of 100 for
participation, in recognition of a norm of attendance, contributions to small group activities and informed
participation in class discussion. Informed participation means that you clearly demonstrate that you have
completed assigned readings and can offer analysis, synthesis and evaluation of written material.
Excellent participation also means that your comments are thoughtful, focused and respectful. Points will
be deducted from the base score if you miss class, are late, leave early, disappear for long periods on
break or are unprepared. Please turn off cell phones during class.
This class will use a variety of teaching and learning methods to cover the content. These different
methods include: small group activities; lecture; guest speakers; role-plays; and class discussions. The
development of a supportive learning environment is fostered by respectfully listening to the ideas of
others, being able to understand and appreciate a point of view which is different from your own, clearly
articulating your point of view, and linking experience to readings and assignments. If you will not be
able to attend a class, let the instructor know as soon as possible. It is also your responsibility to obtain
handouts, information about class content, and information about announcements, etc., from your
classmates. In order to fully participate in and benefit from each class session, students must complete
required readings and come to class prepared to discuss them.
CLASS PARTICIPATION RUBRIC:
H 94-100
Excellent Effort




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Demonstrates excellent preparation: has analyzed readings exceptionally well,
relating it to readings and other material (e.g., readings, course material,
discussions, experiences, etc.).
Offers analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of material, e.g. puts together pieces
of the discussion to develop new approaches that take the class further.
Contributes in a very significant way to ongoing discussion: keeps analysis
focused, responds very thoughtfully to other students’ comments, contributes to
the cooperative argument-building, suggest alternative ways of approaching
material and helps class analyze which approaches were effective.
Demonstrates ongoing very active involvement.
Demonstrates good preparation: knows case or reading facts well, has thought
through implications of them.
Offers interpretations and analysis of case material (more than just facts) to
class.
Contributes well to discussion in an ongoing way: responds to other students’
points, thinks through own points, questions others in a constructive way, offers
and supports suggestions that may be counter to the majority opinion.
Demonstrates consistent ongoing involvement.
Demonstrates adequate preparation: knows basic case or reading facts, but does
not show evidence of trying to interpret or analyze them.
Offers straightforward information (e.g. straight from the case or reading),
without elaboration or very infrequently (perhaps once a class).
Does not offer to contribute to discussion, but contributes to a moderate degree
when called on.
Demonstrates sporadic involvement.
Present, not disruptive (This includes coming in late.)
Tries to respond when called on, but does not offer much.
Demonstrates very infrequent involvement in class.


Absent
Little or No effort, disruptive, disrespectful.


P+ 90-93
Good Effort




P 80-90
Moderate Effort




L- 70-80
Infrequent Effort
F
No effort
0-70
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GRADING SYSTEM:
In accordance with the Graduate school, letter grades are assigned to the following numeric ranges:
H = 94 and above P = 80 to 93 L = 70 to 79 F = 69 and below
POLICY ON INCOMPLETES AND LATE ASSIGNMENTS:
It is expected that assignments will be completed at times noted in the syllabus. If you have a situation
arise that might prohibit you from completing the assignment on time, you may request an extension (lack
of planning on your part does not establish a reason for an extension). Any request for an extension must
be approved in advance of the due date. Approved delays will not affect the grade. Any late
assignments submitted without prior approval will not be accepted, resulting in a score of 0. Papers
are due at the beginning of the class session. If a student encounters unavoidable obstacles to meeting
the deadline, the student should discuss his or her circumstances with the instructor to determine if an
initial grade of Incomplete would be appropriate. I prefer not to give a grade of Incomplete, and will do so
only in strict compliance with University policy.
HONOR CODE:
The Student Honor Code is always in effect in this course. The Instrument of Student Judicial
Governance (http://instrument.unc.edu/) requires that you vouch for your compliance on all your written
work. You must write the following pledge in full on each document title page: “I have neither given nor
received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment.” Sign and date it. Please refer to the APA Style
Guide, The SSW Manual, and the SSW Writing Guide for information on attribution of quotes,
plagiarism and appropriate use of assistance in preparing assignments.
POLICY ON ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
Students with disabilities which affect their participation in the course may notify the instructor if they
wish to have special accommodations in instructional format, examination format, etc. Please contact the
University’s Disability office to request the paperwork necessary for approved accommodations.
USE OF LAPTOPS OR OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES:
Please turn off all cell phones or other devices that would disrupt the learning environment of the
classroom. Laptops are allowed during lecture only or when being used for a class activity. Laptops
should be closed during class discussion and other activities that do not require the use of a laptop.
APA AND WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS:
The School of Social Work faculty has adopted APA style as the preferred format for papers and
publications. The best reference is the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association,
Sixth Edition (2009) that is available at most bookstores. The following web sites provide additional
information: http://juno.concordia.ca/help/howto/apa.php
Students are strongly encouraged to review the materials on the School of Social Work’s website
http://ssw.unc.edu/students/writing. This page includes numerous helpful writing resources such as
tutorials on understanding plagiarism, quick reference guide to APA, writing tips and ESL materials.
Students are also strongly encouraged to review the section on plagiarism carefully. All instances of
academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary measures pre-established by the School of Social Work
and the University.
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COURSE OUTLINE
Class 1: Introduction/Evidence-Based
Practices in Clinical Social Work
Practice
1/12/15
 Overview of the Course
 What is clinical social work?
 Theoretical base
 Current challenges in our field
Readings:
 Drisko, J. (2014). Research evidence and social work
practice: The place of evidence-based practice. Clinical
Social Work Journal 42, (2), 123-133.
 Mirabito, D.M. (2012). Educating a new generation of
social workers: Challenges and skills needed for
contemporary agency based practice. Clinical Social
Work, 40, 245-254.
 Staub-Bernasconi, S. (2007). Social work: Theory and
methods. In G. Ritzer (Ed.), Blackwell Encyclopedia of
Sociology (pp. 4549-4554). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley
& Sons.
http://www.blackwellreference.com.libproxy.lib.unc.ed
u/subscriber/tocnode.html?id=g9781405124331_chunk
_g978140512433125_ss1-187
 Wike, T. L., Bledsoe, S. E., Manuel, J.I., Despard, M.,
Johnson, L.V., Bellamy, J. L., Killian-Farrell, C.
(2014). Evidence-based practice in social work:
Challenges and opportunities for clinicians and
organizations. Clinical Social Work Journal, 42, 161170.
Recommended:
 Bransford, C.L. (2011). Reconciling paternalism and
empowerment in clinical practice: An intersubjective
perspective. Social Work, 56(1), 33-41.
January 19th - MLK Holiday- NO CLASS
Class 2: Record keeping
Readings:
2/2/15
 Willer, J. (2014). Confidentiality and Informed
 Forms (e.g. release forms, consent for
Consent. In The beginning psychotherapist’s
treatment, policies)
companion (pp. 103-116).
 Referral networks
 Willer, J. (2014). Progress notes and the chart. In The
 Collateral contacts
beginning psychotherapist’s companion (pp. 167-192).
 Insurance/Payment issues
 Willer, J. (2014). The therapeutic frame. In The
 Malpractice
beginning psychotherapist’s companion (pp. 26-41).
Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Class 3: Safety and Risk Management
Readings:
2/9/15
 Reamer, F. (2014). Clinical social work in a digital
 Review various clinical social work
environment: Ethical and risk-management challenges.
roles such as inpatient, clinic based,
Clinical Social Work Journal, 1573-3343.
community based, residential settings,
 Willer, J. (2014). Boundaries. In The beginning
medical social work, community
psychotherapist’s companion (pp. 42-64).
outreach, etc.
 Willer, J. (2014). Violence Risk Management. In The
 Considerations for each role regarding:
beginning psychotherapist’s companion (pp. 311-338).
safety, managed care, ethical issues,
role satisfactions and stressors
 Boundary issues/ethics
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Class 4: Managed Care and Trends in
Clinical Social Work
2/16/15
Supervision Paper Due at 9:00 a.m.
Readings:
 Acker, G.M. (2010). How social workers cope with
managed care. Administration in Social Work, 34(5),
405-422.
 Krohn, D. (2013). The three fallacies: evaluating three
problematic trends in clinical practice. Clinical Social
Work Journal, 41(2), 192-204.
 Lungren, L., & Krull, I. (2014). The affordable care act:
New opportunities for social work to take leadership in
behavioral health and addiction treatment. Journal of
the Society for Social Work and Research, 5 (4), 23342315.
Class 5: Use of Technology
2/23/15
 Use of technology with clients
 Looking at your own online presence
 Boundary issues and technology
Readings:
 Mattison, M. (2012). Social work practice in the digital
age: Therapeutic e-mail as a direct practice
methodology. Social Work, 57(3), 249-258.
 Mishna, F., Bogo, M., Root, J., Sawyer, J. & KhouryKassabri, M. (2012). “It just crept in”: The digital age
and implications for social work practice. Clinical
Social Work Journal, 40, 277-286.
 Willer, J. (2014). Professional electronic
communications and data security. In The beginning
psychotherapist’s companion (pp. 80-99).
Readings:
 Ladany, N. (2008). Getting the most out of supervision.
In Practicing counseling and psychotherapy: Insights
from trainees, supervisors and clients. (pp. 101-134).
New York, NY: Routledge.
 NASW (2013). Best practice standards in social work
supervision. Washington, DC: Author.
 Willer, J. (2014). The supervisor-supervisee
relationship. In The beginning psychotherapist’s
companion (pp. 13-24).
Readings:
 Willer, J. (2014). Caring for yourself and your clients.
In The beginning psychotherapist’s companion (pp.
363-381).
 Willer, J. (2014). Becoming a psychotherapist:
Challenges, rewards and growth. In The beginning
psychotherapist’s companion (pp. 382-396).
Class 6: Supervision
3/2/15
 Supervision
 Continuing education
 Licensure
Class 7: Self-care, vicarious trauma,
burnout
3/2/15
 Importance of self-care and selfawareness
 What self-care strategies to use
 Burnout, secondary trauma,
compassion fatigue, vicarious
traumatization
 How do our histories impact the work?
Final Assignment: Professional
Development Plan due on 3/6/15 at 9 a.m.
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ASSIGNMENTS:
Supervision Paper: Due 2/16/15 at 9:00 a.m.
This paper is designed to help you reflect on your feelings/experiences in clinical supervision thus far in
your career and to contextualize those experiences through an understanding of the professional literature
about clinical supervision. In addition to the required course readings on supervision, read two or three of
the supplemental supervision articles that look interesting to you.
Reflect on your experiences thus far with supervision in your field placements and/or other human
services jobs you have held. Describe any critical experiences, good or bad that have shaped your view of
supervision. Discuss your reactions to these experiences and your thoughts about supervision in general in
light of the readings on supervision and our class lecture and discussions. Discuss your hopes for
supervision in the future, what might work best for your learning style and what might be personally
challenging for you in clinical supervision.
In addition to considering yourself as a supervisee, consider what may be involved in your own transition
to becoming a supervisor.
1. What will be difficult for you as a supervisor?
2. What type of supervisor will you be?
3. What are you looking forward to about becoming a supervisor?
4. What might you need to work on in yourself in order to be a good clinical supervisor?
Paper should be 4-5 pages in length and APA compliant! Please demonstrate in the paper that you have
read the materials about supervision and considered them thoughtfully. Apply the concepts to your
particular situation.
Grading Criteria
The student clearly described their own experiences in supervision
and covered all aspects of the assignment.
The student appropriately applied the course readings on supervision
to their own situation.
The student demonstrated an understanding of the course readings
on supervision and the didactic material presented.
The paper was written well with no errors and followed APA format
Total
Possible Pts.
5
Score
10
10
5
30
Professional Development Plan- Due 3/6/15 at 9:00 a.m.
Objective:
As a professional social worker, you will need to be conscious of how to develop your skills and
knowledge in the area of clinical social work. This assignment is to increase your attention to your
own needs as a new clinician and to develop concrete steps that you will take to reach your own
personal goals.
Description:
The aim of this assignment is to help you organize your professional goals into as many concrete
steps as necessary to help you know where to go in your career. The outline below should be
followed to ensure that you have considered critical areas for professional development. However,
you should not feel limited by this outline, as there may be other essential areas that you would want
to include in your plan. It is the hope of this assignment that you will feel more prepared to begin
your social work career with this document as a guide.
Outline for Professional Development Plan:
1. Identify your short and long term goals
a. What are your short term goals? (2-4 years post-graduation)
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b. What are your long term goals? (5 years and beyond)
c. What are the populations and settings where you want to work?
2. What are the immediate skills, tasks needed to reach your goals
a. Supervision – type, style, orientation, consideration of learning styles, on the job vs.
outside
b. Licensure – in what state? Test time frame, necessary steps to complete process, such
as recommendations, forms, etc.
c. Job searches – where will you look? What are some contacts that you can identify to
help?
d. What organizations might be helpful? Consider Clinical Society, NASW, NABSW,
other psychotherapy organizations, groups for particular types and areas of practice
such as DBT or EMDR, psychoanalysis, marital therapy, group work, etc.
3. What steps will you take to ensure you are paying attention to self-care?
a. What are the concrete steps you will take?
b. Where does personal therapy come into play?
c. What do you know works for you to stay healthy and balanced? (e.g. spiritual group,
time off, balanced case load, varying types of work)
4. Professional Development- What are the skills/competencies that you will need to meet your
goals?
a. What additional training do you need (e.g. Post-graduate courses, Ph.D., certificate
coursework, additional training in theoretical approaches, other certifications, such as
expressive arts, psychoanalytic, EMDR, etc.)?
b. Where will you find the specific training you need? What is your time frame for
further training?
c. Are there fellowships or post-master’s training programs that you would want to seek
out?
5. Ethics
a. Do you have a place to go when faced with ethical dilemmas?
b. What steps will you take to ensure your safety in the field? Do you need additional
training in therapeutic holds, non-violent crisis intervention, etc?
c. What will you do to maintain your boundaries both in face to face work with clients
and online?
i.
Thought about issues of self-disclosure? What will you say when asked
the tough questions?
ii.
How available will you be outside of work? What limits might you need
to set about work hours/overtime? What are your thoughts about cell
phone/pager availability and how that fits for you personally?
6. Other areas that are relevant for your personal goals
a. How will your short-term goals lead into your long-term goals?
b. What other areas do you need to consider?
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Grading Criteria: Criteria
1. Each of the areas listed in the outline have
been addressed and the plan is specific,
concrete, thoughtful and reflective
concerning personal professional needs.
Possible Pts.
35
2. The document reflects content and
knowledge from the course, such as
resources identified in the course or specific
issues raised in class discussion
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3. The writing was clear and well organized
with no errors and followed APA format
5
Total points
50
Score
9
Supplemental Reading:
Rønnestad, M.H., & Skovholt, T.M. (2001). Learning arena for professional development: Retrospective
accounts of senior psychotherapists. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 32, 181187.
Hamama, L. (2012). Burnout in social workers treating children as related to demographic characteristics,
work environment, and social support. Social Work Research, 36(2), 113-125.
Gerdes, K. E., & Segal, E. (2011). Importance of empathy for social work practice: integrating new
science. Social Work, 56(2), 141-148.
Ji, J., Kao, D., & Kim, H. (2011). Burnout and physical health among social workers: a three-year
longitudinal study. Social Work, 56(3), 258-268.
Gardner, F., Savaya, R., & Stange, D. (2011). Stressful encounters with social work clients: a descriptive
account based on critical incidents. Social Work, 56(1), 63-71.
Gelman, C., Fernandez, P., Hausman, N., Miller, S., & Weiner, M. (2007). Challenging endings: First
year MSW interns' experiences with forced termination and discussion points for supervisory
guidance. Clinical Social Work Journal, 35, 79-90.
Supplemental Reading about Supervision:
McTighe, J.P. (2010). Teaching the use of self through the process of clinical supervision. Clinical Social
Work Journal, 39, 301-307.
Stovel, L. & Steinberg, P.I. (2008). Learning within psychotherapy supervision. Smith College Studies in
Social Work, 78(2/3), 321-336.
Alonso, A. (2000). On being skilled and deskilled as psychotherapy supervisor. Journal of Psychotherapy
Practice and Research, 9(1), 55-61.
Yourman, D.B. (2003). Trainee disclosure in psychotherapy supervision: The impact of shame. Journal of
Clinical Psychology, 59(5), 601-609.
Hawkins, P. & Shohet, R. (2006). Maps and models of supervision. In Supervision in the helping
profession (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill (pp.56-79). 10