Fall 2025 SOWK 530 Class 07 Weekly Email

MyHeritage Syllabus Presentations Emails

I hope that you are all well. I’m still waiting on word from IT as to when MyHeritage should be working. I have added the content of my forums to the regular course page so if you are interested you can start write your replies even if you can’t post them yet.

Unit Introduction and What You Will Learn

Week seven is asynchronous, and continues our focus on assessment, but moves the class away from individual work into families and groups. Students will read chapter ten of Hepworth et al. (2023), where family functioning is the focus. Their are forums for students to reflection on their own family rules, discuss elements of family systems framework assessment, families communication patterns, and the family connection to the environment along with other content related to the readings. Students also have a lecture video discussing family roles and the topic of dysfunctional family roles.

The agenda for the lecture video includes

• Content for week seven
• Family roles
• Dysfunctional family roles

The learning objectives for this week include:

• Describe and differentiate types of family roles
• Critically evaluate the concept of dysfunctional family roles and identify the associated roles
• Explain key concepts of the family systems framework.
• Identify and assess family rules, communication styles, and relational patterns.
• Reflect on verbal and nonverbal communication within families.

Unit Assignments

Content

• Read Hepworth et al. (2023) Chapter 10 Assessing Families Functioning in Diverse Family and Cultural Contexts
• Watch my lecture video

A-02 W-07 Asynchronous Engagement

The expectation is that each of your replies will be substantive and provide meaningful perspectives, contributing to the forum’s conversation and scholarship. They can be related to the prompts or building on conversations shared by peers. There are five forums for this week, and you are expected to make at least five replies¹ across any of the forums. These forums include the following:

• In the Chapter 10 Content Discussion², students consider questions related to the content in the textbook.
• The Family Rule Examples forum opens a space for students to draw connections between personal experiences and family rules.
• Determining what and how we assess for content from families is considered in the forum Family Systems Framework Assessment.
• The Factors Included in Assessment explores the connection that families have to their environment and areas of macro practice.
• Assessing Communication Styles of Family Members can be challenging, in this forum students explore the case study used in the textbook, Home for the Holidays, breaking down the communication dynamics between Anna and Jackie using systems theory concepts like congruence and sequence.
• Finally, in Family Verbal and Nonverbal Communication, students view a video featuring Insoo Kim Berg and reflect on observed patterns of communication, highlighting nonverbal cues and interaction dynamics in a family therapy context.

A-03 Reading Quiz

Complete W-07 Hepworth et al. (2023) Chapter 10 due by Saturday 10/11, 8:00 AM.

Midterm Evaluation

Please complete the SOWK 530 Survey. I would love to hear feedback about how this class is going and what I can do to improve your experience.

Assignment 04a: Interviewing Skills Role-Play

Worth 190 points, or 48% of the student’s final grade, the assignment has two parts. They are key assignments for SOWK 530 used to assess students’ implementation of competency six. The role-play allows the student to engage as a social worker conducting an interview. The reflective paper provides a space to self-critique your engagement and interviewing skills and consider what you might do to engage across system levels.

Meta: Points 100 pts (20% of final grade); Deadline Monday 10/13/25 at 08:00 AM; Completion via Anthology accessible through MyHeritage Assignments; Locations Informational Handout Compress a Video to Reduce the File Size (Desktop Computer), Assignment Submission, and Description and Rubric;

Purpose: The Interviewing Skills Video Role-Play supports students in confirming the acquisition of interviewing skills through the application of person in the environment, empathetic responding, reflective responding, and other interpersonal skills.

Task: Students will work with a partner to record a 10 to 15-minute interview. The interview should be a role-play of an initial meeting between a social worker and a fictional client. Students have the freedom to develop their settings for the interview. This assignment is designed to offer the student the opportunity to demonstrate engagement, the sixth competency described by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The following is the language used in the 2022 education and policy standards (EPAS):

Competency 6: Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities

Social workers understand that engagement is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with and on behalf of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

Social workers value the importance of human relationships. Social workers understand theories of human behavior and person-in-environment and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge to facilitate engagement with clients and constituencies, including individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers are self-reflective and understand how bias, power, and privilege as well as their personal values and personal experiences may affect their ability to engage effectively with diverse clients and constituencies. Social workers use the principles of interprofessional collaboration to facilitate engagement with clients, constituencies, and other professionals as appropriate.

Social workers:

a. apply knowledge of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as interprofessional conceptual frameworks, to engage with clients and constituencies; and b. use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to engage in culturally responsive practice with clients and constituencies. (p. 11)

The following are the instructions for this assignment:

• Students will record a 10 to 15-minute role-play with a classmate. To complete this, students should use a tripod or stable surface to record the role-play with a cell phone or other recording device.
• Each student’s role-play will have three parts (1) introduce the role-play setting, (2) complete the client interview using listening and attending skills discussed and practiced in class, and (3) debrief the role-play with your partner.
• The intention is to demonstrate your ability to use attentive listening, open-ended questions, empathetic responding, and other skills. The focus is not on solving the person’s problem or difficulties.
• Students can do each of the three parts with the camera rolling. During the debrief with your partner, discuss (a) the things that you said/did that helped the other person feel comfortable and open up, (b) the things that you could have improved, and (c) any suggestions or feedback from your partner.
• After completing the first interview, switch roles and do another 10 to 15-minute role play following the same format.
• Each student should upload their final video as the interviewer to the Anthology Portfolio for the instructor’s assessment.
• Your video may be too large to upload to Anthology Portfolio and may need to be compressed. Appendix D provides step-by-step directions with screenshots for how to reduce the file size of your video.

Success: Each student will submit a video of themselves that demonstrates their use of interviewing skills. Grades will be based on the Interview Skill Video Role-Play and Competency 6 Practice Behavior Rubric, which evaluates students based on the CSWE competency six.

Interviewing Skill Video Role-Play and Competency 6 Practice Behavior Rubric

The rubric used to assess the A-04a: Interviewing Skills Video Role-Play, and it is focused on evaluating CSWE’s (2022) competency six and related practice behaviors. This includes applying social knowledge and engagement skills through empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills.

Competency 6: Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and/or Communities.

a. Apply knowledge of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as interprofessional conceptual frameworks, to engage with clients and constituencies; and
b. Use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to engage in culturally responsive practice with clients and constituencies.

Description	Initial	Emerging	Developed	Highly Developed
Engages with client and applies knowledge of human behavior (HB) and person-in-environment (PIE), as well as interprofessional conceptual frameworks, to engage with clients and constituencies	Demonstrates minimal knowledge of HB, PIE, and practice context through use of inappropriate strategies or question.	Demonstrates some HB, PIE and Practice knowledge, but interviewer also demonstrates some misunderstanding.	Demonstrates fundamental understanding of HB and PIE and practice context knowledge, but may have some gaps in applying appropriate strategies.	Utilizes strategies, to include choice of language, level of assertiveness, etc., that are appropriate for the client based on HB, PIE and interprofessional conceptual frameworks.
Use empathy to engage	Communicates judgmental statements during the interview and does not help the client to feel understood.	Demonstrates beginning skills at empathy, but has lapses that communicate judgment of the client or create an atmosphere that is too formal to build trust.	Demonstrates a sufficient amount of empathy and understanding. There are very few statements that might be perceived as judgmental.	Demonstrates empathy and understanding throughout the entire client interaction. Refrains from statements that might be perceived as judgmental.
Use reflection to engage	Does not create a flow from one question to the next. Asks primarily closed questions. Jumps from topic to topic without regard for themes.	Asks a number of closed questions, but includes some open-ended questions. Begins to address client feelings. Has at least some ability to direct the conversation.	Utilizes primarily open-ended questions. Acknowledges client feelings and encourages the client to share thoughts.	Utilizes well-planned, open-ended questions that allow client to expand on thoughts and feelings. Reflects on the main ideas the client shares and gently directs the interview toward those themes.
Use interpersonal skills to engage	Communicates discomfort and/or disinterest through verbal and nonverbal behavior.	Demonstrates some basic verbal and nonverbal communication skills, but is not yet able to communicate warmth and genuineness to the client.	Elements of the interview clearly communicate warmth and genuineness, although there may be lapses. A few attending and communications techniques are included. Conversation flows fairly well.	Communicates basic helping skills to the client from the greeting and throughout verbally and nonverbally. Demonstrates a combination of attending skills. Has the ability to keep momentum in the conversation, and also uses silence appropriately.

Chapter 10 Content Discussion

The following are some adapted essay prompts from the Hepworth et al. (2023) instructor materials. Consider reflection on any of them in this forum:

• Briefly explain what makes up a family and why this definition matters to social workers.
• Describe what should be done by a social worker when there are worldview differences between the social worker and the family they are working with.
• Explain the concept of homeostasis as a dimension of a family systems framework assessment.
• In the context of boundaries in a family system, describe internal boundaries.
• Discuss family roles and the conflicts associated with them.
• Discuss how congruence and clarity can be achieved in the communication styles of family members.
• Explain family rules and how they can be explored across two dimensions.
• Identify and discuss how the depth and nature of a family’s involvement in the social environment is a key dimension of a family system structure.
• In the context of family adaptive capacity, describe family resilience.
• Describe the usage of a genogram.

Reference

Hepworth, D. H., Vang, P. D., Blakey, J. M., Schwalbe, C., Evans, C., Rooney, R. H., Rooney, G. D., & Strom, K. (2023). Direct social work practice: Theory and skills (11th ed.). Cengage Learning, Inc.

Family Rule Examples

All of our families have rules. Sometimes these rules are explicitly discussed/enforced, and other times they are more implicit, and it just seems like everybody in the family knows that is the rule. Rules can also be flexible or rigid. In this forum, consider sharing about some of your family rules (current, from growing up, or people you knew). Consider some of the following prompts:

• Discuss rules and their nature
• Along with rules, you could consider sharing about roles, norms, and values that might have been unique to your family
• Complete a “map” of 4–5 rules in their family and share whether they are functional or rigid
• What did it look like when there were rule violations
• What was some of the impact these rules had on you
• What are the ways that we can gather information about the rules our client families have, and what is the importance of that

Family Systems Framework Assessment

The family systems framework assessment discussed by Hepworth et al. (2023) includes the following:

• Homeostasis
• Boundaries and Boundary Maintenance
• Family Decision Making, Hierarchy, and Power
• Family Roles
• Communication Styles of Family Members
• Family Life Cycle
• Family Rules
• Social Environment
• Family Adaptive Capacity (Stressors and Strengths)

In this forum, consider selecting one of the areas and identifying the types of information you would evaluate. You can also discuss potential questions you might ask to understand better the topic and how the gathered information could be helpful to your work with the family.

Reference

Hepworth, D. H., Vang, P. D., Blakey, J. M., Schwalbe, C., Evans, C., Rooney, R. H., Rooney, G. D., & Strom, K. (2023). Direct social work practice: Theory and skills (11th ed.). Cengage Learning, Inc.

Factors Included in Assessment

In this forum, consider what factors are included in an assessment of a family and the family’s relationship with the external environment. Consider responding to one of the following:

• Develop scenarios with a diverse family and consider how systems external to the family can influence family functioning. Based on this, what are examples of resources, stressors, and strains that diverse families might experience?
• Reflect upon a case in which they have been involved in their practicum or employment agency. Can you identify macro influences that were relevant to the case?

Communication Styles of Family Members

Consider Hepworth et al. (2023) case example Home for the Holidays (Page 193 of the text). Discuss the family rules, content, and process levels of communication, clarity, sequence, and congruency of the messages between Anna and Jackie. Identify the systems concepts that apply to this case.

Reference

Hepworth, D. H., Vang, P. D., Blakey, J. M., Schwalbe, C., Evans, C., Rooney, R. H., Rooney, G. D., & Strom, K. (2023). Direct social work practice: Theory and skills (11th ed.). Cengage Learning, Inc.

Family Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

Sometimes I like to show students Insoo Kim Berg Solution-Focused Family Therapy Video (PsychotherapyNet, 2009). While she is one of the creators of solution-focused brief therapy, I don’t necessarily show it as an example of skills in using a solution-focused approach. Watch the short video. Share some of the insights you observe about the communication styles that you see.

Reference

PsychotherapyNet. (2009, June 29). Insoo Kim Berg solution-focused family therapy video [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/6Fe8D0hAQh0

Unit Resources

All of the presentations for this class can be found at https://presentations.jacobrcampbell.com. This week’s slides are Fall 2025 SOWK 530 Week 07 - Understanding Family Roles and Potential Problematic Roles.

The Lecture Videos tab in the MyHeritage course is where you will be able to find class recordings. The video this week is at Fall 2025 SOWK 530 Week 07.

Reference

Hepworth, D. H., Vang, P. D., Blakey, J. M., Schwalbe, C., Evans, C., Rooney, R. H., Rooney, G. D., & Strom, K. (2023). Direct social work practice: Theory and skills (11th ed.). Cengage Learning, Inc.

To-Do List

• Read chapter 10 of the textbook and do the reading quiz
• Complete 5 replies across any of the five forums
• Complete A-04a: Interviewing Skills Role-Play
• Submit midcourse feedback

1. Knowing that MyHeritage is down and you are hard at work this week completing your role-play, it is only five replies this week. ↩

2. Please note that each of the links in this list doesn’t work currently. I have developed my forums, but for the time being, I’m including them here in the body of the section so you can see the content you will be responding to this week. Since MyHeritage isn’t working, I’m unable to access the forums. I’m hoping it gets fixed soon, and will likely update this page, removing the actual forums text. ↩