SOWK 391 Don Collins 1

SOCIAL WORK 391 – PRACTICE WITH AND EVALUATION WITH INDIVIDUALS

The University of Calgary Instructor: Don Collins, PhD Faculty of Social Work Southern Alberta Region - Lethbridge E-mail: collinsd@ucalgary.ca Fall 2015 Office: E 532 Office Hours: To be arranged

Classroom: D610 SYLLABUS STATEMENT: An introduction to theories and skills for communicating with people in professional social work context. Generic interviewing and basic counseling skills from a generalist perspective of social work practice will be developed. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to offer the student: 1. A framework for understanding what a social worker does in an interview. 2. Opportunities to learn and practice specific interpersonal communication skills in a variety

of simulated interview situations. 3. A critical awareness of personal style and cultural limitations as an interviewer. Through lectures, assigned readings, structured exercises, video resources, group discussion role-playing, and practice interviews students will be introduced to core elements of communication theory and a generic model for social work practice. The concept of micro skills forms the theoretical foundation for the course. Micro skill training involves learning one interviewing skill per week with the students eventually weaving all the skills together for a competent, deliberate personal practice mode. Small group work is the main andragogical approach to learning. It involves practising the skills taught in class in role-plays during the second section of each class. Specific communication and interviewing skills will be identified, modelled, and practised within the context of the social work interview. Using video, role-play and various feedback mechanisms, particularly process recordings, students will explore and critique their own individual interviewing strengths and limitations in a variety of interview situations. Students must participate in small group practice sessions by role-playing a client scenario, providing feedback to interviewers, and being the social work interviewer. The course will assist students to develop “professional use of self” in a professional social work helping relationship. Students will be challenged to develop both a cognitive and behavioural grasp of basic interpersonal communication skills in a social work practice context. While the skills developed in class can be transferred to counselling settings, this purpose of this course is not to teach about specific psychotherapies. In addition, while many of these skills are directly applicable to counselling settings, the skills taught in this course can form an important foundation for other social work settings, such as meetings, research data gathering, supervision, community meetings, etc.

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RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER COURSES: This course is a required course in the BSW program and is a prerequisite to the Integrative Seminar and Practicum course. It also provides concepts and skills required for several 500 level electives. Successful completion of this course is a requirement for graduation. Learning Objectives Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to: I. Interview Process Objectives

A. Understand and know the ingredients of an effective professional

helping relationship.

1. Identify attitudes and behaviours that facilitate or interfere with establishing a positive helping relationship.

2. Identify issues related to values, ethics, cultural

differences, and emotional objectivity that might affect the development of a professional social work relationship.

3. Be able to communicate the three facilitative relationship conditions

(empathy, genuineness, and positive regard) to a client in role-play situations, and final videotapes. (Rogers and Ivey). (The expectation is that students will also transfer these skills to the field in practica and in actual professional settings.)

B. Understand the communication skills process model.

C. Understand and be able to state and demonstrate the stages, phases

and objectives of the interview process.

1. tuning in 2. preliminary phase 3. beginning phase 4. work phase 5. termination phase

D. Appreciate cross-cultural and gender issues in interviewing.

II. Communication and Interview Skills Objectives

A. Understand and demonstrate effective use of non-verbal communication with

clients.

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1. Understand and be able to describe possible meanings associated with a variety of non-verbal behaviours.

2. Demonstrate effective use of social worker non-verbal behaviours in role-

play and videotape situations.

B. Know and demonstrate effective and accurate of listening responses.

1. Reflection of feeling, content, and meaning 2. Paraphrasing 3. Clarification of content and feeling 4. Summarization 5. Advanced level empathy 6. Immediacy 7. Constructive confrontation 8. Elimination of dysfunctional interviewing behaviours 9. Appropriate use of questions

III. Interview Skills Application Objectives.

In a series of interviews the student, will be able to:

A. Demonstrate basic interview skills. B. Demonstrate a deliberate and appropriate use of a range of interviewing skills. C. Be open to feedback, nondefensively, and use this feedback to improve interviewing

and communication skills. D. Develop relationship skills, in accordance with social work practice, such that the

client “story” is elicited through a nonjudgmental, warm, and genuine manner. E. Discard dysfunctional interviewing behaviors. F. Demonstrate the difference between an “ordinary conversation” and a professional

social work interview. IV. Interview Synthesis and Analysis Objectives

The student will be able to:

A. Analyze and critique peer role plays and skill analysis. B. Accurately analyze a transcript and prepare for improved communication skills. C. Analyze personal interviewing transcripts for tape assignments. D. Be able to identify and eliminate dysfunctional interviewing behaviours, i.e. chit-

chat and premature, problem solving, and habitual interactions such as minimal prompts (uh-huh, okay, so).

E. Develop self-awareness and analysis about strengths and limitations of one's own skills, and one's role and impact in an interview.

F. Demonstrate an ability and willingness to expose work to others. G. Demonstrate an ability to provide and use critical feedback constructively.

TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE (dependent upon progression of skills in the class)

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DATE TOPIC September 9 Introduction Class Overview Resources, labs and instruction Professional Interviewing

Social Work Interviewing . September 16 Communication Theory, circular causality

Introduction to Core Conditions: Empathy, warmth and genuineness

Starting an interview Interview Process Stages Engagement skills September 23

Engagement and Attending behaviours

Basic Listening Sequence Awareness of Self and others . Use of self in an interview

September 30 Core conditions: empathy, warmth and

genuineness Reflection of content and affect

Film Carl Rogers, “Gloria: The Three

Psychotherapies October 7 Paraphrasing Questioning Open and closed questions

Strategic, circular, reflexive, and lineal Problems with question-formulation

October 14 Dysfunctional behaviours: Identifying and eliminating dysfunctional interviewing behaviours (class handout, class exercise) October 21 Focusing Three psychotherapies “Gloria: Gestalt Therapy

Fritz Perls” Summarization

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October 28 Interviewing in difficult situations (pleasepass along worst case scenarios before this

class) November 4 Confrontation November 10 Difficult interviewing situations

November 18 Interviewing with more than one person in the

room: Groups and families

November 25 December 2

Interviewing across differences: cultures, genders, and other differences Last Class: Termination, feedback, putting it together

Course Evaluation As in all courses, students will complete both the University and Faculty standard course evaluations towards the end of the semester. In addition to the standard final course evaluations, the instructor will informally evaluate the course throughout the semester. Grading and Assignments The instructor will be responsible for deciding how to round grades. Rounding will depend upon several factors. The University of Calgary Undergraduate Grading System and the standard Faculty of Social Work percentage conversion will be used. Grade Grade

Point Description Percentage

Range A+ 4.0 Outstanding 95 – 100 A 4.0 Excellent – superior performance, showing

comprehensive understanding of subject matter 95 – 100

A- 3.7 90 – 94 B+ 3.3 85 – 89 B 3.0 Good – clearly above average performance with

knowledge of subject matter generally complete 80 – 84

B- 2.7 75 – 79 C+ 2.3 70 – 74 C 2.0 Satisfactory – basic understanding of subject matter 65 – 69 C- 1.7 60 – 64 D+ 1.3 55 – 59 D 1.0 Minimal Pass – marginal performance 50 – 54 F 0.0 Fail – unsatisfactory performance or failure to meet Below 50

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course requirements

There will be two graded videotape assignments. (Please note: All assignments will be assigned a letter grade, not a numerical grade.) Each tape will consist of a role-play demonstrating beginning interviewing skills completed in class to date. The various skills will be discussed in class. The section of tape to be viewed will be 10-15 minutes duration. It is the students’ responsibility to cue the tape where you want to be graded. The instructor will not forward or rewind the tape to make it match the transcript. Tapes for the initial assignment must be transcribed and a critique of the skills used will also be completed in a process recording format. The format will be handed out in class. 1. Mid-Term Assignment - a tape with transcript and brief critique and process

recording (to be further described) Due Date: October 21, beginning of class Weight: 40%

For this tape, students should demonstrate an ability to understand the core

conditions, with special emphasis on reflection of feeling and empathy. For this tape, students should also avoid the use of dysfunctional interviewing behaviours.

Video/Interview: The goal of the video is to show use of interviewing skills development in an interview, the ability to engage the client and develop a focus. The instructor may view only portions of the video to get and overall sense of skill level. Typescript: Students will select approximately 15-20 minutes of their interview and transcribe it into typewritten form. Select the portion they feel is the best example of the skills captured. A template for the process recording will be handed out in class. The template will include: what was said, the intentions behind the interaction, the skills used, a suggested improvement to the interaction. A brief analysis of the interview will be presented at the end of the transcript outlining the strengths and areas to work on in the interview.

2. Final Assignment - a tape, with an analysis and critique.

Due Date: One week after last class Weight: 50% In this final tape, students should demonstrate all of the interviewing skills

presented in class. Students should also demonstrate that they have integrated feedback from the first tape. 3. Participation in small group: Students will be graded on their participation in the small group. They will be expected to actively participate in this small group during every class. In these small groups students are expected to participate in role-plays as: interviewer, observer and client and to provide feedback to other group member on their skill development. Due Date: Ongoing Weight: 10%

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Students are invited to do more tapes for practice, feedback, and to improve their course grade. Please let the instructor know within one week after the mid-term assignment has been handed back. These additional tapes can be used to factor into the final grade. The students must submit the additional tapes with transcripts and indicate that the grade weighting for the additional tapes prior to them being graded. HANDING IN COURSE ASSIGNMENTS All assignments are to be handed in by the start of class on the date specified by your instructor. Grades will be deducted for late submission. Assignments handed in after the start of class deadline (e.g. 1:00) will be considered as late. Note: All assignments are to be handed in as hard copy. Email submissions are accepted in exceptional circumstances, as agreed to by instructor.

Course Format This course will be offered over a 13-week semester. Classes are 3 hours each and will consist of lectures on micro-skills, a demonstration of these skills, and practicing the skills. Half of the class time will be used for experiential learning with audio-visual equipment. This class is based on andragogical principles (theory of adult learning, Malcolm Knowles) in that adults assume responsibility for their own learning and are capable and responsible for helping others learn. Healthy group dynamics are also integral to adult learning and this class in particular. Students will be expected to participate in small groups learning through role-playing, observation, and providing feedback. Students may be called upon to demonstrate the acquisition of skills to the class. Instructor Availability: by appointment Office hours: Students may make an appointment with the instructor. Required Text There is no text for the course. Instead, a manual will be posted on Blackboard along with associated Power Point presentations. Students will also be provided with numerous course handouts to supplement the text and classroom lectures. RECOMMENDED READINGS Bibliography The following references cover interpersonal communication in general and interviewing in particular. These sources have been used for the preparation of lecture/lab material for this course, and offer useful material to supplement the required readings from the text. Adler, R. B., & Rodman, G. (1994). Understanding human communication (5th ed.). Fort

Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Adler, R. B., & Towne, N. (1987). Looking out - looking in (5th ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart,

and Winston. Adler, R. B., Rosenfeld, L. B., & Towne, N. (1986). Interplay: The process of interpersonal

communication (3rd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

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Asante, M. K., Newmark, E., & Blake, C. A. (1979). Handbook of intercultural communication.

Beverly Hills: Sage. Barone, J. T., & Switzer, J. Y. (1995). Interviewing: Art and skill. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Benjamin, A. (1987). The helping interview (with case illustrations). Boston: Houghton

Mifflin. Berko, R. M., Rosenfeld, L. B., & Samovar, L. A. (1994). Connecting: A culture-sensitive

approach to interpersonal communication competency. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.

Bittner, J. R. (1988). Fundamentals of communication (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice

Hall. Brammer, L. M. (1988). The helping relationship: process and skills (4th ed.). Englewood

Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. Brooks, W. D., & Emmert, P. (1980). Interpersonal communication (2nd ed.). Dubuque: W.C.

Brown. Cournoyer, B. (1991). The social work skills workbook. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Dillard, J. M., & Reilly, R. R. (1988). Systematic interviewing: communication skills for

professional effectiveness. Columbus: Merrill Publishing. Engel, S. M. (1984). The language trap: How to defend yourself against the tyranny of words.

Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. Evans, D. R., Hearn, M. T., Uhleman, M. R., & Ivey, A. (1984). Essential interviewing: A

programmed approach to effective communication (2nd ed.). Monterey: Brooks/Cole. Fiske, J. (1982). Introduction to communication studies. New York: Methuen. Garrett, A. (1972). Interviewing: Its principles and methods (2nd ed.). New York: Family

Service Association. Garvin, C. D., & Seabury, B. A. (1984). Interpersonal practice in social work: Processes and

procedures. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. Glaser, S. R., & Eblen, A. (1986). Toward communication competency (2nd ed.). New York:

Holt, Rinehart, & Winston. Gordon, R. L. (1992). Basic interviewing skills. Itasca, IL: F.E. Peacock. Graybeal, C. T., & Ruff, E. (1995). Process recording: It’s more than you think. Journal of

Social Work Education, 31, 169-181. Green, J. W. (1982). Cultural awareness in the human services. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-

Hall.

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Gudykunst, W. B., & Ting-Toomey, S. (1988). Culture and interpersonal communication.

Newbury Park: Sage. Gudykunst, W. B., Ting-Toomey, S., Sudweeks, S., & Stewart, L. P. (1995). Building bridges:

Interpersonal skills for a changing world. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Hutchins, D. E., & Cole, C. G. (1986). Helping relationships and strategies. Monterey:

Brooks/Cole. Ivey & Ivey, A. (2010) Intentional Interviewing & Counselling. (7th ed.) Pacific Grove, CA:

Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.

Kadushin, A., & Kadushin, G. (1997). The social work interview (4th ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. Kavanaugh, K. H., & Kennedy, P. H. (1992). Promoting cultural diversity: Strategies for health

care professionals. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Kidd, J. (1996). Language and family: The poverty of English. Family and Conciliation Courts

Review, 34, 351-372. Kim, Y. Y. (1988). Communication and cross-cultural adaptation. Clevedon: Multilingual

Matters Ltd. Kim, Y. Y. (Ed.) (1986). Interethnic communication: Current research. Newbury Park: Sage.

Leathers, D. G. (1986). Successful non-verbal communication. New York: Macmillan. Lishman, J. (1994). Communication in social work. London: Macmillan. Lum, D. (1992). Social work practice with people of colour. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole. Marsella, A. J., & Pedersen, P. B. (eds.). (1981). Cross-cultural counseling and psychotherapy.

New York: Pergamon. McCroskey, J. C., & Daly, J. A. (1987). Personality and interpersonal communication. Newbury

Park: Sage. Meier, Scott T. (1989). The elements of counseling. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole. Murphy, B. & Dillon, C. (1998). Interviewing in Action. Toronto: Brooks/Cole Publishing

Company. Nichols, M. P. (1995). The lost art of listening. New York: Guilford Press. Pietrofesa, J. H., Hoffman, A., & Splete, H. H. (1984). Counseling: An introduction (2nd ed.).

Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

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Sawyer, D., & Green, H. (1990). The Nesa activities handbook for native and multicultural classrooms. Vancouver: Tillacum Library.

Sattler, J. (1998). Clinical and forensic interviewing of children and families. San Diego: CA: Jerome M. Sattler, Publisher, Inc.

Schulman, E. D. (1982). Intervention in human services: A guide to skills and knowledge (3rd

ed.). St. Louis: Mosby. Smith, D. R., & Williamson, L. K. (1981). Interpersonal communication - roles, rules, strategies,

and games (2nd ed.). Dubuque: W.C. Brown. Stewart, J. (Ed.). (1986). Bridges not walls: A book about interpersonal communication (4th

ed.). New York: Random House. Tannen, D. (1990). You just don’t understand: Women and men in conversation. New York:

Ballantine. Tannen, D. (Ed.). (1993). Gender and conversational interaction. New York: Oxford

University Press. Tomm, K. (1984). One perspective on Milan systemic approach: Part I Overview of

development, theory, and practice. Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy, 10(2), 113-125.

Tomm, K. (1984b). One perspective on Milan systemic approach: Part II Descriptions of

session, format, interviewing style and interventions. Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy, 10(3), 253-271.

Tomm, K. (1985). Circular interviewing: A multifaceted clinical tool. In D. Campbell, D., & R.

Draper, (Eds.), Applications of systemic family therapy, pp. 33-45. New York: Academic Press.

Tomm, K. (1987a). Interventive interviewing: Part I. Strategizing as a fourth guideline for

the therapist. Family Process, 26(2), 3-13. Tomm, K. (1987b). Interventive interviewing: Part II. Reflexive questioning as a means to

enable self-healing. Family Process, 26(2), 153-183. Tomm, K. (1988). Interventive interviewing: Part III. Intending to ask lineal, circular,

strategic or reflexive questions? Family Process, 27(1), 1-15. Tomm, K. (1998). A question of perspective. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 24(4),

409-413.

Verderber, K. S., & Verderber, R. F. (1988). Inter-act: Using interpersonal communication skills (5th ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth.

Wilson, S. J. (1980). Recording: Guidelines for social workers. New York: Free Press.

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Wing, Sue, D., (1990). Counseling the culturally different: Theory and practice. Toronto: John Wiley & Sons.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

It is a student's responsibility to request academic accommodation. If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation and have not registered with the Disability Resource Centre, please contact their office at 220-8237. If you are seeking academic accommodation, please notify your instructor no later than 14 days after the commencement of this course.

EVALUATION Students will have the opportunity to evaluate the course content and instruction throughout the course and at end of term. The instructor welcomes ongoing feedback.

"If a student is interested in undertaking an assignment that will involve collecting information from members of the public, he or she should speak with the course instructor and consult the CFREB ethics website (http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/research/html/ethics/ethics.html) before beginning the assignment."

GRADING SYSTEM

PLAGIARISM Students are reminded that the Faculty of Social Work views plagiarism as a very serious offense that can result in serious disciplinary action. Students are encouraged to read The University of Calgary Calendar for full clarification and any questions should be presented to the class instructor. ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES Faculty members of the Lethbridge Division expect and insist that assignments: Be typed (or in legible handwriting); Be free of grammatical, spelling and typing errors; Incorporate correct usage of referencing set forth by the American Psychological

Association. (The “Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association”, is available in the University of Lethbridge library and the Student Resource Centre in the Faculty of Social Work.)

It is a student’s responsibility to request academic accommodation. If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation and have not registered with the Disability Resource Centre, please contact their office at 220-8237. If you are seeking academic accommodation, please notify your instructor no later than 14 days after the commencement of this course. Classroom Behaviour and Laptop/cell phone policy Social Work students are held to professional standards at all times while in the program. Class and field settings are considered to be professional work settings

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and students are expected to perform and behave accordingly. Please act at all times as you would in a meeting in a social work agency. This includes the use of cell phones and computers. Please turn off cell phones while in class. If you are expecting an urgent phone call please let the instructor know prior to class. Laptops may only be used for taking notes or other appropriate educational purposes. Students who use their computer for other purposes will be asked to leave for the class session. Having a private conversation during a class lecture, including answering a phone in the class room or using a portable computer or other electronic device for activities unrelated to class, which potentially may disturb or distract student learning is not acceptable. If you have special learning needs or issues, please discuss these with the professor.

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