SOWK 105 - Social Work

SOWK 105: COUNSELLING: A GENERALIST APPROACH
3 CREDITS

Given the painful effects of historical trauma that are so evident in many Indigenous families and communities, this course starts with an overview of how childhood trauma undermines brain development, thus hindering the developing child's capacity to engage in self-regulation. Students will be introduced to strategies that will enhance their capacity to engage in self-regulation and acquire communication skills that will improve their approach to parenting while also learning to communicate more effectively in their adult relationships. Having acquired the skill of using their prefrontal cortex to initiate the necessary changes in themselves and in their personal relationships, students will then be introduced to a counselling process based on the premise of cultural intentionality. Once students have demonstrated mastery of the micro skills associated with intentional counselling, they will learn how to conduct a five-stage counselling session followed by the acquisition of interpersonal influencing skills that will facilitate a client's self-change process.