This course is designed to introduce students to various ways of assisting clients and communities to lessen the impact of crises. The students will be introduced to counselling techniques and tools to ease the debilitating effects of crisis situations. The student will be introduced to the effects of crises and restorative techniques in working with clients and communities. This course offers the student an opportunity to manage the client’s symptoms of traumatic stress in a creative life-affirming way. Understanding healing as a creative process is basic to the therapeutic practice. It requires time, the desire to reach a new level of self-awareness, an active search for knowledge, and problem solving skills.
This course will combine theory, policy and practice issues related to disability. Overall it will have an empowerment/advocacy/rights orientation underlying the specific issues addressed. It will be "pan-disability" in that it will not specifically focus on one type of disability but will draw from the complex of disability related impairments. The aim of the course is to give students a broad understanding of how disability is constructed, the past and current responses to disability and how human service workers can support the empowerment of people with disabilities.
This course examines the social welfare state in Canada by investigating the programs, theories, and approaches within it. Actions and attitudes, which shape Canadian social policy development at the political level, and social welfare policy implementation at the personal level, are also examined. The course directs the students to explore their attitudes, ethics and actions in relation to helping clients use social programs. The assumption that people can take responsibility for the direction of their own lives is challenged by examples of unsympathetic government policies, bureaucratic regulations and personal responses to people in need. Emphasis will be on developing an understanding of the impacts of social policies and programs on Indigenous peoples. The role of the social worker in influencing policy development is examined.
This course is designed to provide students with a background in the theory, policy, practice and other matters central to mental health issues. Students will learn about factors, situations and conditions that influence mental health classifications, as well as discuss and learn about related treatment models. Specific attention will be paid to the role of understanding behaviours indicating mental health difficulties that cause suffering to the individual through interference of individual functioning. Various approaches to treatment and current research on psychological disorders will also be reviewed.
This course will take students through the steps involved in developing and writing an academic research paper. Students will develop a research essay proposal, create an annotated bibliography, write a final paper, and share their research findings in a class presentation at the end of term. Throughout the course, elements of writing will be explored and practiced, including: brainstorming, pre-writing, outlining, thesis statements and research questions, primary and secondary sources, rhetoric, grammar and mechanics, formatting (MLA, APA), drafting, editing, and revision techniques. Particular attention will be paid to the student using and enhancing skills they have learned in ENG 110 and acquiring reading and critical thinking skills.
This course is an introduction to substance use assessment, intervention and counselling. A variety of substance use concerns will be discussed and examined. The main areas of coverage include: Classification and Effect of Substances, Criminalization, Harm Reduction Ethics and Principles, Overdose Response, and various approaches to assessment, intervention and care with diverse populations.
This course provides an introduction to the general practice of social work from a dual perspective of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous practices. The course will emphasize interdisciplinary approaches to practice and help students understand the basis of social work. Various levels of social work practice, including individual, family and community systems and the roles of the worker and groups in the helping process will be examined. This course reviews the knowledge base and skills of social work practice and assists students to evaluate their interests and capacities for entering the profession of social work. A historical overview of social work and an introduction to the value and ethical base of the profession is provided.
Counselling topics such as family violence, vicarious trauma, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, suicide prevention and victim’s services will be explored. Students will be introduced to community resources and be exposed to a variety of counselling techniques and tools utilized by service providers in the field. Focus will be placed on equipping students with skills, knowledge and tools to be able to work supporting survivors of family violence. The students will also be introduced to the diverse responsibilities, duties, skills, expectations and roles of the human services field through their research of resources and agencies. Students will review and practice self-care activities essential to the worker’s health.
This course will provide knowledge-based skills in areas of law relevant to human services work, including family law, civil liberties, the accountability and liability of human service workers and the provision of legal services. We will also discuss and learn about areas of law that may affect Indigenous people. We will review basic legal concepts, discuss the court structure and examine trial procedures, and discuss Indigenous principles of justice. This course provides an overview of Canadian law and the Canadian legal system as it relates to the practice of the human service field. Students will gain knowledge of legislation and law and how it affects individuals and communities in order to enhance their ability to advocate and support families and clients.
This course will explore the history of child welfare from an Indigenous perspective and discuss past and current practices and policies. The course will emphasize the current trends in child welfare as set out by both the federal and provincial governments. Current programs in Indigenous communities will be reviewed discussing the movement toward healing from past practices and to strive toward Indigenous control of child welfare practice for children, families and communities. We will begin to address our own values and ethics in light of these changing Canadian paradigms, in order to focus on advocacy work that assists children and families with their rights under legislation.