SOCW-440 - Social Work and Mental Health - 3.00 Credits

Upon successful completion of this course students should be able to:

• a beginning understanding of mental health concepts and issues related to the practice of social work;


• a critical analysis of contemporary perspectives regarding mental health/mental illness including: bio-psycho-social-spiritual, medical, strengths, post-modernism, anti-psychiatry, critical, multi-systemic, and recovery approaches;


• a critical understanding of diagnostic categories, labels, stigma and social exclusion associated with disabling conditions of mental health;


• a beginning understanding of mental health and wellness concepts for Aboriginal peoples;


• an analysis of gender, class, culture and diversity in relation to mental health;


• an understanding of what it means to practice in anti-oppressive ways in the mental health field;


• an understanding of current Canadian and BC mental health policy and law;


• an understanding of selected forms of mental health concerns;


• a beginning understanding of mental health practice and therapeutic methods, including the use of psychotropic medications;


• an understanding of the specific role of social work in the field of mental health including professional roles, ethics and inter-professional practice; and


• an appreciation of the "lived" experience of individuals and families who have experienced disabling conditions of mental health.