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This course is a continuation of GRSW 501 and is also taken concurrentlywith a field placement which serves as a practice lab for theory and skills learned in the classroom.This course focuses on several practice applications: group theory and process (both task and treatment groups), agency change, and understanding the dynamics of unintended discrimination and oppression. As with the first course, student self-awareness and self-assessment are critical to developing a solid foundation for authentic practice.
Spirituality is expressed through diverse forms in our client's lives; it is central to our client's understanding of suffering and their attempts to resolve it. Therefore, social workers need to be prepared to respond in an effective, spiritually sensitive manner. In response, this course examines major issues pertaining to spiritually-sensitive social work practice with clients of various religious and non-religious perspectives.
Committees and Positions:
Co-Director, Spirituality Institute
Member, Tenure and Promotion Committee
Member, MSW Practice Content Area Committee
Member, MSW Admissions Committee
Member, Institutional Review Board (St. Thomas)
Coordinator, Clinical Research Presentation Day
Courses Taught:
Graduate:
History and Philosophy of Social Work
Theory and Practice of Social Work I & II
Spiritual Dimension of Social Work Practice
Applied Research Seminar
Academic Experience:
B.A., M.S.W., University of Nebraska at Omaha
Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University
Current Research Interests:
Social work education
Social work ethics
Spirituality and social work practice
Diversity and oppression
Practice Experience:
Marital/family therapy
Employee Assistance Program
Domestic violence
Public welfare
Chemical dependency
Administration
Publications & Presentations:
“Using Literature Groups to Teach Diversity” in press (2010)
"Justice in Teaching: Teaching as Groupwork," in Social Work with Groups: Social Justice Through Personal, Community, and Societal Change, Haworth Press.
"Teaching as Groupwork," in Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work, vol 8(1), Fall 2002.
"Naming the Spiritual: The Hidden Dimension of Helping," in Social Thought, Vol. 18(4), 1998.
"Empowering Social Work Faculty: Alternative Paradigms for Teaching and Learning," in The Journal of Teaching in Social Work, June, 1997.
Concerned in Concert, copyright 1995. A compact disc and audio cassette recording of music to be used across the social work curriculum. Published by the Council on Social Work Education.
Association Memberships & Affiliations:
Member, National Association of Social Workers
Member, Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups
Member, Society for Spirituality and Social Work
Licensed Independent Social Worker, Minnesota Board of Social Work
