Program Summary:  This course explores social work’s foundation as a human rights profession and describes early efforts to advocate for a wide range of social, economic, and environmental reforms.  The course highlights social work’s essential role as an advocate for social justice but also acknowledges the evolution of the profession toward professionalization and clinical practice.  The course examines the limitations of the micro/macro divide and advocates for the promotion of rights-based approaches in all areas of social work practice.

NASW Code of Ethics Value: Social Justice
Ethical Principle: Social workers challenge social injustice.  Social workers pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people. Social workers’ social change efforts are focused primarily on issues of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice. These activities seek to promote sensitivity to and knowledge about oppression and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers strive to ensure access to needed information, services, and resources; equality of opportunity; and meaningful participation in decision making for all people.

This course is recommended for social workers and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.  This course is not recommended for NBCC ethics credit.

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Please note:  This is an ethics course and is not intended to meet your mandatory reporting coursework requirements.

Program Summary:  This course offers an analysis of mandated reporting of child abuse in the US using excerpts from social work textbooks.  The course provides a critique of an oversimplified, ‘better safe than sorry’ understanding of mandated reporting and seeks a more nuanced and careful analysis.  Mandated reporting is viewed in the context of deontological ethics, a rules-based ethics, prioritizing rules over consequences, context, and outcomes. The case for mandated reporting as an ethical dilemma for social workers is presented, and the NASW Ethical Standard 1.01 Commitment to Clients is highlighted.

Ethical Standard 1.01 Commitment to Clients

Social workers’ primary responsibility is to promote the well-being of clients. In general, clients’ interests are primary. However, social workers; responsibility to the larger society or specific legal obligations may, on limited occasions, supersede the loyalty owed clients, and clients should be so advised. (Examples include when a social worker is required by law to report that a client has abused a child or has threatened to harm self or others.

This course is recommended for social workers and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.  This course is not recommended for NBCC ethics credit.

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This course highlights a scientific research study.

Program Summary:   This course explores the advance care planning experiences of sexual and gender minority people and highlights the results of a qualitative research study.  Three main themes are discussed:  1. Fear of discrimination limits disclosure of SOGI and affects selection of clinicians 2. Concerns about whether EOL preferences and appointed MDMs would be supported and 3. Most discussions about EOL preferences occurred without clinicians.  Potential barriers to advance care planning for SGM people are identified.  Results and conclusions are given.

This course is recommended for social workers, counselors, and therapists.

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Program Summary:   This course examines stigmatizing language in the electronic health record and how stigmatizing words and phrases may impact health equity.   The course explores three forms of stigmatizing language: labeling someone as other, blaming, and invoking danger.  Patients with diabetes, substance use disorder, and chronic pain are explored as subgroups.  Findings and study limitations are presented.

This course is recommended for social workers, counselors, and therapists.

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Program Summary:   This course looks at the harms of alcohol misuse, which groups are most affected, and how evidence-based community-level policies can create safer communities.  Data is provided for different population groups including age, sex/gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.  Evidence-based  strategies for reducing alcohol misuse are included; policies that focus on reducing alcohol availability in the community have been shown to be some of the most effective.

This course is recommended for social workers, counselors, and therapists.
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Program Summary:   This course examines the benefits and challenges of family therapy in SUD treatment.  The course explores how substance misuse can impact family systems, how family systems can impact substance misuse, and and the value of family involvement in SUD treatment.   Common family dynamics and terminology are discussed including rules, roles, boundaries, and power structures.  An overview of different family counseling approaches is given.

This course is recommended for social workers, counselors, and therapists.

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