San José State University
School of Social Work
ScWk 262, Social Work Practice with Adolescents
Course Code 42196, Section 1, Fall 2014
Instructor:
Barry Goldman-Hall, LCSW
Office Location:
WSQ 217F
Telephone:
(408) 807-8627 (text or VM)
Email:
barry.goldman-hall@sjsu.edu
Office Hours:
Monday & Tuesday TBA
Class Days/Time:
Sept. 2nd –Dec. 9th, Tuesdays 6:00-8:45 PM
PMPM
MacQuarrie
Hall 523
Classroom:
Catalog Description
Skills and knowledge in working with diverse populations of at-risk adolescents from a
transcultural multi-systems perspective. Focus on understanding adolescent and family
development as well as assessments and interventions at various levels in a transcultural
multi- systems context. (3 units. An elective)
Course Description
SW 262 is an advanced level practice course that offers second year MSW candidates the
opportunity to gain skills and knowledge in transcultural multi-systems practice with a
specific population: at-risk adolescents. This course builds on the skills and competencies
gained in foundation and concentration practice courses (i.e. SW 220, 221, 222, and 223),
and HBSE courses (i.e. SW 212 and
214). Utilizing ecological/systems, strengths and psychosocial perspectives SW 262
examines micro and mezzo level professional practice, imbedded in macro systems, with
high- risk, poor, oppressed, marginalized, and/or disenfranchised adolescents.
Specific populations include, but are not limited to, ethnic minority adolescents,
gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered youth, biracial/bicultural teens, gang affiliated/violent
youth, physically/sexually-abused adolescents, pregnant teens, chemically
dependent/abusing youth, and depressed/suicidal teens. Primary focus is on gaining and
refining transcultural multi- systems knowledge and skills in the area of culturally competent
joining, assessment, and intervention with high-risk teens on individual, family, and
community levels.
Current trends in public policy and program development for high-risk adolescents are
discussed, including MHSA (i.e. Prop 63), best practices, and evidenced-based practices.
Course Competencies
The following competencies are realized through this course:
1. Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly.
2. Apply ethical principles, codes of conduct and professional social work values skillfully
in practice and in resolving ethical conflicts.
3. Apply critical thinking skills using logic, scientific inquiry, and reasoned discernment
in order to synthesize information, communicate professional judgments, and practice
effectively in the context of specific fields of practice.
4. Engage diversity and difference in practice.
5. Advance human rights and social and economic justice.
7. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.
10. Engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate with individuals, families, groups, organizations,
and communities.
Course Practice Behaviors
Upon completion of ScWk 262 students will be able to:
1. Practice personal reflection and self-correction to assure continual professional
development as it relates to work with adolescents PB: 1 (b)
2. Attend to professional roles and boundaries as it relates to work with adolescents PB: 1 (c)
3. Recognize and manage personal values in a way that allows professional values to
guide practice, as it relates to work with adolescents PB: 2 (a)
4. Make ethical decisions by applying the standards of the NASW Code of Ethics PB: 2 (b)
5. Apply strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at principled decisions as it relates to work
with adolescents PB 2 (d)
6. Analyze models of assessment, prevention, intervention and evaluation with high-risk
adolescents and their families PB: 10 (c-b)
7. Recognize the extent to which a culture’s structures and values may oppress,
marginalize, alienate or create or enhance privilege and power, as it relates to work with
adolescents PB: 4 (a)
8. Engage in practices that advance social and economic justice with high-risk adolescents
and their families. PB: 5 (c)
9. Utilize conceptual frameworks to guide the processes of assessment, intervention and
evaluation with high-risk adolescents and their families. PB 7 (a)
10. Develop a mutually agreed upon focus of work and desired outcomes with high-risk
adolescents and their families PB: 10 (b-c)
11. Collect, organize and interpret client data PB 10 (b-a)
12. Assess client strengths and limitations with high-risk adolescents and their families PB 10
(b-b)
13. Select appropriate intervention strategies with high-risk adolescents and their families PB
10 (b-d)
14. Facilitate transitions and endings with high-risk adolescents and their families PB 10 (c-e)
REQUIRED TEXTS
Choate, Laura (2013). Adolescent Girls in Distress: A guide for mental health treatment and
prevention.
Springer Publishing Company. ISBN-13#97808266109545
Social Work 262, Professor Goldman-Hall, Fall 2014 Course Reader. Electronically Distributed
RECOMMENDED TEXTS
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual
of mental disorders (5th edition). Washington DC: Author.
ISBN#0890425558
Fishman, H.C. (1988). Treating troubled adolescents: A family therapy approach.
New York: Basic Books, Inc. (on reserve). Available used ~$4.00
Classroom Protocol
This course includes didactic lectures, interactive learning exercises, and seminar-style
discussion. Please note in order to save resources the School of Social Work is moving
toward the distribution of class syllabi and handouts via electronic means (e.g., email
and Canvas).
Students are expected to maintain professionalism; this includes preserving the
confidentiality of clients/cases (discussed in class or written in assignments), and their
professional peers (e.g., FFLs, FI, and fellow students). Professional development
includes consultation with fellow students. This includes being respectful of opinions,
perspectives and ideologies; refraining from disruptive behavior; and taking the
opportunity to use one another as a resource. I ask you to consult with me when you do
not understand what is covered, open yourself to asking questions, and be engaged in
your own learning process. Please communicate with me regarding any concerns about
the course and your progress in it.
I take very seriously the responsibility of grading your work and will always strive to be
fair in my evaluations. Please know that I provide a lot of feedback and often will edit in
the spirit of helping improve the quality of your work. If your work will result is less
than a B-, I will on a one-time basis, offer you the option of rewriting/resubmitting the
paper. This will help you practice writing that specific type of paper, as well as obtain a
higher point grade. Note, however, that a rewrite does not qualify for the full assignment
points (and typically might mean only obtaining 2 or 3 more points).
My guidelines on contested grades are as follow:

If you are unhappy with a grade, I require you to wait at least one day after
receiving your work before contacting me to discuss the matter. During this time,
I ask that you read and consider my comments carefully.

I strongly recommend that you rewrite your paper or exam using the feedback
and/or editing I provided in order to see how it may improve. However, note that
a rewrite (when applicable) is your decision.

I also ask that you set up an appointment with me, and come with a reasonable
explanation as to why you believe the grade is inaccurate.
I will take your thoughts seriously and will listen earnestly to each request and judge it on
its merits.
Dropping and Adding
Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drops,
academic renewal, etc. Refer to the current semester’s Catalog Policies section at <http://
info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html.> Add/drop deadlines can be found on the
current
academic calendar web page located at
<http://www.sjsu.edu/academic_programs/calendars/
academic_calendar/>. The Late Drop Policy is available at
<http://www.sjsu.edu/aars/policies/
latedrops/policy/>. Students should be aware of the current deadlines and penalties for
dropping classes.
Assignments and Grading Policy
Your grade in this course will be based on your presentations, written work, tests and
participation as follows:
Assignment
Points
Violent Teens Paper
Adolescent Observation
Adolescent Practice
Oral Presentation
High-Risk Adolescent
Assessment &
Treatment Plan
Class Participation
Total
25
20
20
Course Competencies (CC) &
Practice Behaviors ( PB)
PB: 1 and 3
PB: 9-12
PB: 2, 7, 8, and 9
25
PB: 2, 5-7, 9-13
10
100
PB: 1-5
Penalty for Late Work
All assignments will be turned at the start of class by the due date. Assignments turned in
after the due date may be subject to an automatic 5% deduction.
Assignments and Grading Policy (continued)
Your grade will be determined from evaluations of the following assignments:
1. Violent Teens: Contemporary Epidemic? Paper: Students will be asked to read and
critically
analyze an article and editorial focused on teens and lethal violence. Drawing from
their first year course work, prior field experience, and life experiences students will
discuss and comment on this debate from a transcultural multi-systems perspective.
This paper will be used to assess both writing and critical thinking skills. Article and
editorial are included in course reader.
Due Date: September 23rd
Required length: 4 (minimum)-6 (maximum) pages
Percent of Course Grade: 25
2. Oral Presentation: Students will prepare and present a brief 35-45 minutes (including
Q&A time) group didactic presentation focused on a specific area of social work
practice with high-risk teens. Presentation will include information on contemporary
“best practices/evidenced-based practices” with the population/issue chosen.
Presenter(s) will prepare separate one page lists of contemporary literature, online, and
community resources pertinent to the topic presented.
Due Date: Nov. 25th & Dec. 2nd
Percent of Course Grade: 20
3. Adolescent Observation: This in-class exercise will allow students to observe a
videotaped segment of an adolescent being seen in a clinical setting. Using concepts
from both the readings and lectures pertaining to the Mental Status Exam, DSM V, risk
assessment protocols, and others the student observers will document their initial
mental status and diagnostic impressions. Students are expected to attend to the verbal,
non- verbal, behavioral, contextual and interactional signs and symptoms that support
their clinical impressions.
Date: October 28th
Percent of Course Grade: 20
4. High-Risk Adolescent Paper: Students will be asked to read and critically analyze one
of two articles (not both) focusing on the plight of separate high-risk adolescents.
Writing hypothetically from the perspective of a Social Worker working with the
article’s main character (Mindy or Lawrence) students should assess and discuss this
adolescent’s situation from one of the following perspectives: adolescent developmental
theory, family systems theory, ecological/systems theory, community practice,
transcultural multi-systems practice, policy practice, or other perspective (with the
instructor’s approval). Students will also be expected to propose two micro, mezzo, or
macro level interventions (2 total, not 2 of each) they would engage in with, or on
behalf of this client. Articles are included in course reader.
Due Date: November 25th or December 2nd
Required length: 4(minimum)-6(maximum) pages
Percent of Course Grade: 25
5. Class Participation: Active class participation, including participation during oral
presentations, that demonstrates student’s understanding of, and oral proficiency
discussing, course concepts, assigned readings, field practicum experiences, and
case material.
Percent of Course Grade: 10
Library Liaison
For assistance in the library go to the King Library Reference Desk (2nd floor;
808-2100) and/or utilize the Social Work Research Guide available
at http://libguides.sjsu.edu/scwk. The Social Work Library Liaison
is Teresa Slobuski (408-808-2015 or Teresa.Slobuski@sjsu.edu
APA Format and Writing Requirements
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) 6th
style manual adopted by the Masters in Social Work Program. All papers must follow current
APA format guidelines with the following exceptions: the use of running heads is not necessary.
All papers must use standard, 11-point fonts (e.g., Times Roman) and be free of typographical,
formatting, spelling, and content errors, as the quality of the writing will be evaluated as part
of the grade for all written assignments. All papers should be written in standard/formal English;
avoid slang and refrain from overuse of jargon. It is strongly recommended that you make use of
WORD tools for edit your work (spell check and grammar check). Be sure to carefully review
and edit all drafts prior to submission. All ideas, quotes, and information taken or derived from
other sources must be appropriately cited and referenced in accordance with APA rules. Make
sure to add a reference if using a website. See School of Social Work Writing Policy for more
information.
All papers, including exams and the group exercise papers will be graded according to
the following criteria:
• Addressing the topic that is relevant to the assignment.
• Clarity and flow of written discussion, and well as free of grammatical/typographical
error.
• Answering questions and/or showing evidence of use of concepts in a concrete and
thorough manner (depth & breadth).
• Demonstrate understanding and use of critical analysis (critical thinking skills).
• Obvious effort and attention to the material required for the assignment.
• Organization.
• Appropriate citing of sources used (APA). When adding a review of the literature (a
piece of information from an author other than yourself), make sure to separate what you
are writing about your own experience (e.g., with a case), and what an author writes
(whether using the author’s quote or paraphrasing what s/he wrote).I.
SW262 /
Social Work Practice with Adolescents: Course Schedule
This schedule is subject to change with fair notice. I will announce any changes in class.
Table 1 Course Schedule
Dates/
Topics, Readings, Assignments, and Deadlines
Practice
Behaviors (PB)
1
Sept. 2nd
Course overview: Review syllabus, readings, and assignments.
2
th
Adolescent Development: Psychosocial, Psychosexual, Contextual, and Cultural.
Sept 9
Review of HBSE developmental themes and paradigms for their applicability to the struggles
PB: 7-9
of high-risk youth.
Required Readings:
Foster, D. (1993, December 9). If the symptoms are rapid increase in teen
deaths from murder, suicide and car crashes, alcohol and drugs…the
disease is adolescence. Rolling Stone (reader)
Choate, L (2013), Adolescent Girls in Distress: A guide for mental health
treatment and prevention.
Preface & Chapter 1, Girl Power? Understanding Girls’ Socialization
Through the Lens of Popular Culture
3
Sept. 16th
PB: 9, 11, 12,
and 13
Adolescent Development: Family Systems Perspective. Understanding
the behavior of high-risk youth from a family system’s perspective. Particular attention to
non-traditional, poor, and ethnic-minority families.
Required Readings:
Choate, L (2013), Adolescent Girls in Distress: A guide for mental health
treatment and prevention.
Chapter 2, My World Is Spinning Upside Down: Family, Peer, School, and
Developmental Upheavals
4
Sept. 23rd
PB: 11 and 12
Assessment of High-Risk Adolescents. Focus on micro level assessment of high-risk
youth, including psychosocial, mental status, risk-assessment, and DSM-IV-TR protocols.
Discussion of the applicability of these assessment tools across cultures.
Required Readings:
Meeks, J.E., & Bernet, W. (1990). The diagnostic evaluation of the
th
adolescent patient. In The fragile Alliance (4 ed.)
(pp. 46-87). Malabar, FL: Robert E. Krieger. (on reserve)
Choate, L (2013), Adolescent Girls in Distress: A guide for mental health
treatment and prevention.
Chapter 3, A Cloud of Hopelessness: Adolescent Girls and Depression
5
Sept. 30th
PB: 5, 6, 9, 11,
and 12
Violent Teens Paper due
Assessment of High-Risk Adolescents (cont.). Continuation of week #4
topics. “Karina T. case.” (reader)
Recommended Readings:
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). DSM-V
(specific readings TBA)
Choate, L (2013), Adolescent Girls in Distress: A guide for mental health
treatment and prevention.
Chapter 4, Weighted Down: Disordered Eating in Adolescent Girls
6
Dates/
Competencies
Oct. 7th
PB: 6, 7, and 11
Topics, Readings, Assignments, and Deadlines
Assessment of High-Risk Adolescents: Family, Community, & Cultural Contexts.
Ecological/systems and strength’s based assessments of high-risk youth on mezzo and
macro levels.
Required Readings:
Fishman, H.C., (1988). Family therapy: The treatment of choice for
adolescents and The tools of therapy. In Treating Troubled Adolescents:
A Family Therapy Approach (pp. 3-26). New York: Basic Books, Inc:
(reader)
Henggeler, S.W., Schoenwald, S.K., Borduin, C.M., Rowland, M.D., &
Cunningham, P.B. (1998). Clinical foundations of MST: Nine treatment
principles, home-based model of service delivery, and guidelines for clinical
supervision. In Multisystemic Treatment of Antisocial Behavior in Children
and Adolescents (pp.21-57). New York: The Guilford Press. (reader)
7
Oct. 14th
PB: 9-13, 14
Intervention with Self-Destructive Youth: Use of cross-cultural case
material to discuss specific intervention strategies with self-destructive teens and their
families. Specific issues of GLBTQ youth.
Required Readings:
Choate, L (2013), Adolescent Girls in Distress: A guide for mental health
treatment and prevention.
Chapters 6, Expressions of Pain: Counseling Adolescent Girls Who Engage
in Nonsuicidal Self-Injury & Chapter 7, Violated and Betrayed: Sexual
Trauma and Dating Violence in Adolescent Girls
8
Oct 21st
PB: 9-13
9
Oct 28th
10
PB: 11-12
Nov. 4th
Goldman-Hall, B.J. & Ode, S., (1991). Parents as partners: In-home
treatment of suicidal adolescents. Empowering Families: Papers
from the Fifth Annual Conference on Family-Based Services, 5, 131-137.
(reader).
Intervention with Self-Destructive Youth: Use of cross-cultural case
material to discuss specific intervention strategies with self-destructive teens and their
families. Specific issues of GLBTQ youth. (continuation of week #7 topics)
Adolescent Observation Exercise (in-class): Students will view videotaped excerpts of an
adolescent in individual therapy, and will be asked to record their Mental Status impressions.
Veterans Day Observance: Campus closed, no class
11
Nov. 11th
Guest Speaker: Teen Pregnancy & Substance Abuse
PB: 1-5
Required Readings:
Choate, L (2013), Adolescent Girls in Distress: A guide for mental health
treatment and prevention.
Chapter 5, Fitting in and Numbing out: Substance Use
Disorders in Adolescent Girls, and Chapter 8, Hope for the
Future: Strengthening Resilience in Adolescent Girls
12
13
Nov. 18th
Nov. 25th
Topic TBD by class consensus
Oral Presentations
High-Risk Adolescent Paper due (alternate submission date 12/2)
14
PB: 5, 7, 8, and
15
Dec 2nd
15
PB: 5, 7. 8. And
15
Dec. 9th
Oral Presentations
Professional Issues in Advanced Generalist Social Work Practice: Jobs, interviewing,
resumes, supervision, salaries, BBS licensure, etc.
San José State University
Social Work Programs Evaluation and Grading Criteria
Instructors in the Social Work program promote and evaluate critical thinking and
communication skills to help students achieve academic and professional excellence. These skills
encompass one’s ability to organize ideas, reason concretely and abstractly, and apply objective
and subjective reasoning to ideas, situations, and theories. One method to evaluate students’
critical thinking and communication skills is via written assignments. The Publication Manual of
the American Psychological Association (APA; 5th ed.) is a format guide widely used in many
social work assignments. However, alternate formats may be expected for writing assignments
such as, but not limited to, process recordings, case or progress notes, court reports, and
biopsychosocial and family assessments. Please refer to your
course syllabus for guidance on APA assignment requirements. If you need writing or editing
assistance, please consult with your instructor.
Grades are calculated based upon the scale below:
98-100 A+
93-97 A
90-92 A-
87-89 B+
83-86 B
80-82 B-
77-79 C+
73-76 C
70-72 C-
67-69 D+
63-66 D
60-62 D-
59 or less F