The Clinical Concentration at NCSSS

 

NCSSS has a long standing reputation in the social work community for the strength of its Clinical Concentration. Traditionally the largest of its concentrations, the Clinical Concentration of the National  Catholic School of Social Service prepares advanced practitioners who act as agents of change with individuals, couples, families, and small groups.  The mission of the Clinical Concentration is to build on the foundation skills of generalist practice with knowledge from courses in ethics, human development, clinical practice theories, practice evaluation and field education experiences so that they may understand the development and needs of individuals as bio-psycho-social-spiritual beings functioning in a family or family-like structure, as well as apply advanced clinical skills to effect change within these client systems.

 

Clinical concentrators provide service in a wide range of advanced field placements that include schools, health-care facilities, community agencies, mental health centers, psychiatric hospitals, child welfare agencies, group homes, and residential treatment facilities. Among the competencies the clinical concentration offers are play therapy with children diagnosed with developmental disorders, case management with those with serious and persistent mental illness, home-based family treatment for families of children-at-risk, group therapy for survivors of sexual violence, community-based services with seniors, and psychotherapy with children, adolescents, and adults with a variety of problems in social functioning.  In addition to course options for deepening knowledge of clinical theory and clinical practice modalities, clinical concentrators may choose to augment their direct skills with elective courses focused on the policies and macro issues that face clients.

 

The Clinical Concentration prepares students to engage in social work practice consistent with the profession’s primary mission of enhancing the life of clients, helping them meet basic human needs, and addressing issues of oppression, vulnerability and other environmental struggles (NASW, 1999).  Graduates of the Clinical Concentration will be qualified for clinical social work licensure.

 

The Clinical Concentration is rooted in the social work profession’s understanding of person-in-environment and the value of empowering individuals, couples, families, and small groups to address problems in social functioning.  The student who pursues this concentration will be prepared to be an agent of social change on micro and mezzo levels by focusing on the core values of the profession: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence (NASW, 1999).  Many Clinical Concentrators work within agencies that provide clinical social work services to oppressed and marginalized populations.  These students will be prepared to engage in practice guided by the principles of distributive justice (Wakefield, 1988).

 

The advanced year curriculum includes the following:

 

 

Clinical Concentration

801, 802, 803, 804 (elect 2)   821, 822 (elect 1)     723, 724, 725 (elect 1)   756 740 871, 872 6 semester hours   Health Care Specialization 877, 878 665 Choose 1 of the following: 653, 662, 663, 668 (elective)

Clinical SW with Older Adults; Adults; Adolescents and Young Adults; Children Clinical SW with Families: Traditional Models; Strengths-Based Model   Psychodynamic; Cognitive -Behavioral, Transpersonal   Practice Evaluation Ethics Clinical Field Education and Integrative Seminar I & II Elect 6 semester hours of free electives   Health Care Field Education and Integrative Seminar I & II Theory and Models of Health Care Attachment Theory and Neurobiology, Death, Treatment of Chemical Dependency, Health Care Policy, Advocacy and Decision-making

 

Questions about the Clinical Concentration? Feel free to call or email Dr. Cathie Gray, Dr. Barbara Early, or Dr. Eileen Dombo.

 

Clinical Health Specialization

The Health Specialization within the Clinical Concentration prepares students for advanced clinical practice to promote individual and family well-being when they are faced with a chronic or acute health issue. The goal of the Health Specialization is to understand the impact illness has on the development and needs of individuals as bio-psycho-social-spiritual-sexual beings functioning within a family or family like structure.  The impact of illness on the development and needs of a family or family like structure and the impact of society on the individual and family or family like structure (and visa versa) is also addressed. Integration of foundation skills of generalist practice as they apply advanced clinical skills to facilitate change in individuals, families, and systems is a focus of the specialization.  Additionally, students build upon foundation experience as they integrate the knowledge and skills learned from the academic experience with those of practice within a health care setting. 

 

Students in the Health Specialization learn to work within multidisciplinary teams to meet the needs of the individual, family, and system. They work within the system to promote changes that will support individuals and families. The students learn how to apply social work values and ethics in a setting that may have competing values and ethical demands. For students whose career goals include working in health care settings upon graduation, specific knowledge of these issues is expected in an increasing number of institutions that provide health care services. Students who choose this specialization are prepared to step into health care jobs with confidence and competence in working in these challenging settings, being skilled across the advocacy continuum, and prepared to be a voice for social justice within health care. For further information, contact Dr. Karlynn BrintzenhofeSzoc.