SW 3460 - Community Mental Health: Policy and Practice

3 Credit Hours
Description: Survey of current social work methods for working with the severe and persistently mentally ill incorporating an explanation of the DSM IV and the diagnostic process. Exploration of the consumer movement and its impact on services and treatment methods, as well as a focus on advocacy for specific populations such as the homeless, alcohol and drug dependent, women, gays and lesbians, people of color and other oppressed groups in their struggle for adequate treatment. Review of the history of work with the “insane”, including the development of legal rights and precedents and a survey of current societal biases that affect the development of a program for insuring mental health for all in society.