Week four, we move away from talking about groups in general and discussing a specific type of group, that of working with families. Students are expected to read Chovil (2009). We will also be talking about the dimensions of family assessment. These include (1) Homeostasis, (2) Boundaries and Boundary Maintenance, (3) Family Decision Making, Hierarchy, and Power, (4) Family Roles, (5) Communication Styles of Family Members (6) Family Life Cycle, (7) Family Rules, (8) Social Environment, and (9) Family Adaptive Capacity (Stressors and Strengths).
The agenda for this week is as follows:
Reference
Chovil, N. (2009). Engaging families in child & youth mental health: A review of best, emerging and promising practices. The F.O.R.C.E. Society for Kids’ Mental Health, 44 pages. Available at https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/resource-guide/cac_engaging_families_in_child_and_youth_mental_health.pdf
You need to read Chovil (2009).
During this class session you will need the following:
I created an 11-minute video to go with this material. It discusses Strengths-Based Engagement with Families. It provides some specifics for how we can think about strengths perspective and working with families and groups.
The presentation slides can be viewed through Notist on my website, where you can download them and follow along during class. Spring 2021 SOWK 487 Working with Families Part I: Strengths and Assessments with Families
View SOWK 487 Week 04 - Working with Families Part I: Strengths and Assessments with Families.
Attend Class
Meta: Points 5 points (1.25% of your final grade); Deadline initial post due Friday 02/05/21 at 11:55 PM and two replies due Sunday 02/07/21 at 11:55 PM; Completion via My Heritage Course Forum at W-04 “Introspective of family systems” forum
Purpose: This forum is to give students an opportunity to consider the dynamics of their family in relationship dimensions of the family systems framework assessment.
Task: During class on 02/03/21, we will be discussing various aspects of the family systems framework assessment. Students will break out into groups to talk about roles, norms, rules, and values that they might have in their family. Students are to write about this topic related to their family in a paragraph or two. Students can consider their family in any way that they desire.
Criterion for Success: Students will talk about some of their family’s roles, norms, rules, and values. They will post about this on-time and reply to at least two peers.