| CODE | SWP5148 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Helping Skills for Social Work Practice | ||||||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Social Policy and Social Work | ||||||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Through this study-unit students will be exposed to relevant knowledge, values and skills needed for social work practice. The study-unit will deal with theoretical knowledge and values related to the helping process, the role of the social worker in the helping process, the social work interview, the skills and techniques used in the helping process and different forms of practice including person-centered practice, responsible practice and multicultural practice. This study-unit offers training in key basic and advanced skills in social work practice. Students will receive training in a selection of interviewing skills such as empathy, questioning, confrontation, refocusing and so on. The latter will take place in groups. Furthermore, the study-unit focuses on developing skills in creating new perspectives, challenging stuck or self-defeating ideas, dealing with service-user reluctance and resistance, using immediacy and dealing with countertransference, breaking bad news and dealing with appropriate endings amongst others. The session format will be group-based therefore offering students the opportunity to practice and receive feedback on each skill that is presented. Moreover, the training is supplemented with additional practice through role-play. Attendance Due to the participatory nature of the course, attendance to all sessions is compulsory. Absence from more than 3 sessions per semester “will lead to the student being declared ineligible for assessment of the unit, in which case a 0 mark and an F grade shall be assigned and recorded” (General Regulations, Clause 35, May 2004). Study-Unit Aims: - To familiarise students with the social work process from the point of engagement through assessment, intervention, evaluation and ending; - To understand the importance of establishing and maintaining a helping relationship; - To understand the different skills and techniques used by the social worker in the different phases of the helping process; - To appreciate the importance of person-centered practice, responsible practice and multicultural practice; - To provide training in a number of basic and advanced interviewing skills required for social work practice; - To enable students to practice helping skills for social work practice; - To help students develop an ability to critique themselves in the appropriate use of helping skills for social work practice; - To help students become more aware of themselves as potential social workers. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Demonstrate that they understand that professional helping in social work involves a spiral process; - Distinguish a social work interview from a social conversation; - Show that they understand the importance of establishing and developing a positive helping relationship; - Describe the key phases of the helping process and the skills and techniques involved in each stage; - Describe the roles and tasks of the social worker and the service user in each phase of the helping process; - Describe a positive helping relationship in social work practice; - Describe 'person-centered practice; - Explain multicultural and responsible practice; - Explain how a social worker works with people in crisis; - Demonstrate an understanding of the use of skills that they adopt and/or should adopt; - Understand the rationale for the use of the various skills that they are exposed to in this study-unit; - Understand the importance of choosing the appropriate skill to be used in different circumstances; - Develop an understanding on the appropriate use of self in social work practice; - Understand countertransference and potential personal triggers in relation to countertransference and parallel processes; - Develop a deeper understanding of themselves as potential social workers. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify and explain the elements that make up a social work interview; - Identify the characteristics of a positive relationship; - Identify the key phases of the helping process and the skills and techniques involved in each stage; - Identify the roles and tasks of the social worker and service user in different phases of the helping process; - Identify the elements that make practice person-centered, multicultural and responsible; - Analyse and evaluate his/her performance in a social work interview. The student is expected to show at least a basic acquisition of the skills that were practised during the study-unit. The student must demonstrate the ability to: i) describe his/her role and begin a social work interview (including using the appropriate opening line, describing and explaining confidentiality and limits to confidentiality); ii) show that they are able to establish rapport and communicate a sustaining presence (including conveying warmth, respect, nonjudgmental attitude, unconditional positive regard, genuineness); iii) demonstrate that they can convey basic understanding (including using the skills of empathy, attending, listening); iv) demonstrate that they are able to explore and elaborate using skills such as questioning, clarification, underlining and reflecting; v) demonstrate that they are able to use advanced skills such as confrontation, advanced empathy, CBT techniques and so on; vi) demonstrate an ability to be reflexive and critique themselves. The student must demonstrate an ability to critique themselves in the use of basic and advanced skills. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Egan, G. (2013). The skilled helper: A problem-management and opportunity-development approach to helping. Ninth Edition. CA: Brooks/Cole. - Kadushin, A., & Kadushin, G. (2013). The social work interview. Fifth Edition. New York: Columbia University Press. - Murphy, B. C., & Dillon, C. (2015). Interviewing in action in a multicultural world. Fifth Revised Edition. London: Brooks/Cole. Supplementary Readings: - Beck, J. S. (2011). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond (2nd ed.). New York, NY, US: Guilford Press. - Compton, B., Galaway, B. and Cournoyer, B.R. (2005) Social Work Processes. (7th edn.) California: Brooks/Cole. - Corey, G. (2008). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. International Edition. CA: Brooks/Cole. - Corey, M. C., & Corey, G. (2010). Becoming a helper. International Edition. New York: Brooks/Cole. - Corsini, R. J., & Wedding, D. (2010). Current psychotherapies. Illinois: F. E. Peacock Publishers. - Coulshed, V. and Orme, J. (2012). Social work practice. London: Macmillan Press. - Gelso, C. J., & Hayes, J. A. (2007). Countertransference and the therapist's inner experience. Routledge: New York. - Hackey, H. L., & Cormier, L. S., (2012). The professional counselor: A process guide to helping. Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon. - Hepworth, D. H., Rooney, R. H., Rooney, G. D., Strom-Gottfried, K. & Larsen, J. A. (2010). Direct Social Work Practice: Theory and Skills. Brooks/Cole: Belmont. - Hohman, M. (2010). Motivational Interviewing in Social Work Practice. The Guliford Press: New York. - Katz, R. S. & Johnson, T. A. (2006). When Professionals Weep: Emotional and countertransference responses in palliative and end-of-life care. Routledge: New York. - Mantell, A. (2013). Skills for social work practice. London: Sage. - Mearns, D. (1997). Person-centred counselling training. London: Sage. - Miller, L. (2006). Counselling skills for social work. London: Sage. - Payne, M. (2011). Humanistic social work: Core principles in practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. - Riggall, S. (2012). Using Counselling Skills in Social Work. Sage Publication Ltd: London.- Seden, J. (2005). Counselling skills in social work practice. Buckingham: Open University Press. - Shulman, L. (2009). The skills of helping individuals, families, groups, and communities. Sixth Edition. Illinois: F. E. Peacock Publishers. - Stuart Matthews, Anna Harvey & Pamela Trevithick (2003) Surviving the swamp: Using cognitive behavioural therapy in a social work setting, Journal of Social Work Practice, 17:2, 177-185, DOI: 10.1080/026505302000145680 - Taylor, B. (2011). Working with Aggression and Resistance in Social Work. Learning Matters Ltd: Glasgow. - Trevithick, P. (2012). Social work skills: A practice handbook. Buckingham: Open University Press. - Wing Sue, D., Rasheed, M. N., Matthews Rasheed, J. & Jackson, K. F. (2016). Multicultural social work practice: A competency-based approach to diversity and social justice. Second Revised Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Qualifications: Entry qualifications for the Master of Social Work Failure in submitting the Assignment, Classwork or an unjustified absence in the Oral Examination components will result in an overall fail. Additionally a pass in the 40% Oral Examination component is obligatory for an overall pass mark to be awarded. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Independent Study and Group Learning | ||||||||||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Mark Pellicano Claudia Psaila (Co-ord.) |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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