This course is designed to help prepare students for their initial placement experiences in the Social Services.  Students will learn about the roles and responsibilities of social service workers, the various agencies and organizations in which they are employed, and the placement opportunities available that will help facilitate progression towards their professional goals and aspirations.  Students will be introduced to placement search techniques, field placement learning objectives, roles of agency supervisors, and college advisors and also complete the necessary forms and paperwork required for field placement as well as participate in the selection process for field placement.

Elective general education courses appear in your program of study as GNED 0000. This is called a “placeholder.” This placeholder is replaced by an actual course that you will select from a list of available "elective" general education courses when you register in the relevant semester.

Please note that the type and number of elective courses available will vary from semester to semester and from year to year.

Please visit the General Education website for more information.

This course provides students with an introduction to the basic theory and skills necessary for effective interviewing and counselling.  A micro-skills approach to intentional counselling is taken.  Throughout this course, students use role-play situations to practice skills, concepts, and methods designed to develop concrete competencies in interviewing and counselling.

Psychology is the study of human behaviour. This course is designed to increase student understanding of the basic principles that underlie behaviour.  Through practical examples, students will be introduced to important psychological concepts and key research findings.  The course examines such processes as: biology and behaviour, sensation and perception, learning and memory, emotion and motivation, consciousness, and social psychology.

This course introduces students to the professional, ethical and legal issues facing the Social Service Workers or Child & Youth workers.  A process for ethical decision-making will be explored and this process will be applied to a wide variety of complex professional dilemmas.

This experiential learning course is based on the Life Skills Coaching model.  It allows students an opportunity to participate in a therapeutic group intended to promote personal growth through the development of some core interpersonal skills.

This course provides students with an introduction to human hormonal and neurochemical processes as they relate to human behaviour and substance use and abuse. Students learn about the organization and functioning of the central nervous system, its relationship to motivation and behaviour and the effects of various “drugs.” The course focuses upon the “fundamental concepts” associated with the study of addictive behaviour and mental health and relates these to personal and societal biases regarding psychoactive drugs and drug use. The information gained in the course provides students with the ability to assess the impact of drug use on psychosocial functioning.

This course is designed particularly for students who work or will be working in the human services areas.  The focus will be on effective written communication skills.  Students will be introduced to record keeping and report writing which will include client case notes, client treatment plans, incident reports, and other documentation related to the human services field.  Students will be encouraged to develop an approach to writing which is based on the writer’s purpose, audience and the context of the communication.  Samples of each type of report will be produced by the student.

This course examines crisis intervention theory and its application. The material builds on the student’s general knowledge of counselling and related issues and focuses on concepts central to crisis work. By way of introduction, students learn to distinguish between long-term counselling and crisis intervention. Following this, crisis related assessment techniques and relevant intervention strategies are studied. Potentially violent situations common to Human Service agencies are explored and the concept of professional burnout as a crisis issue is covered in some detail. In conclusion, the course examines various dispositional crises, ranging from suicide to sexual assault.

Field placement allows students the opportunity to integrate Social Services Worker theory into practice.  The student is required to complete the assigned hours of field work in a community setting which provides direct client service.  Field Placement Seminar is a mandatory 1 hour timetabled class at the college.  In the seminar class, the student will have the opportunity to discuss issues pertaining to field placement.

Elective general education courses appear in your program of study as GNED 0000. This is called a “placeholder.” This placeholder is replaced by an actual course that you will select from a list of available "elective" general education courses when you register in the relevant semester.

Please note that the type and number of elective courses available will vary from semester to semester and from year to year.

Please visit the General Education website for more information.

This course is a continuation of Interviewing Skills I (COUN 1500).  The micro-skills approach to intentional counselling is used.  In addition, students are introduced to a variety of major theoretical perspectives on counselling.  Emphasis is placed on experiential learning and students have the opportunity to continue to integrate theoretical concepts with their emerging counselling skills.

Sociology is the study of people and how they interact with each other and various social groups. This course deals with the study of people's lives, their relationship to society as a whole, and how people are affected by the society in which they live. The concepts, theories and methods of the discipline will be introduced and discussed, with particular emphasis on the dynamics of Canadian society and Canadian social problems.

This course introduces students to the study of development across the lifespan, from a developmental psychology perspective.  Processes and milestones of the individual from conception through adulthood are examined, with particular emphasis on behavioural and cognitive development.  Students will be introduced to contemporary developmental psychology, its theories and controversies.  The study of lifespan development allows students the opportunity to gain insight into their own development, learn how to assess “who they are”, “how they came to be this way”, and “what their future holds for them”.  Moreover, students in health and community services programs will gain information that they can apply to their client populations.

This course is an introduction to viewing and working with families from a family systems and family therapy perspective.  Students will learn to view human behaviour and behaviour problems as expressions of family interactions, dynamics and structures.  Individual therapy will be contrasted with a family systems approach and the student will be introduced to the concept of “the individual in context”.  Family dynamics will be explored as factors in the development and maintenance of various types of clinical problems including, psychopathology and mental health.  The student will be introduced to assessment and treatment planning from a family therapy perspective.

Field placement allows students the opportunity to integrate Social Services Worker theory into practice.  The student is required to complete the assigned hours of field work in a community setting which provides direct client service.  Field Placement Seminar will be a mandatory 1 hour timetabled class at the college.  In the seminar class, the student will have the opportunity to discuss issues pertaining to field placement.

This course provides students with an overview of the concepts and principles relevant to therapeutic group work. There are three main areas of focus that will be covered; types of group work, the theoretical stages of group process and ethical techniques for enhancing therapeutic outcomes. The course examines group stage-related themes such as preparing members, forming group norms, establishing member goals, addressing confidentiality and trust related issues, working with strong emotions and consolidation of learning. An experiential component of the course provides students with the opportunity to experience group process both as a group member and facilitator. Feedback on students’ involvement in group process will be provided by the professor and through related assignments. 

This course covers theoretical and practical information on the dynamics of Life Skills coaching with particular emphasis on the Saskatchewan Newstart model and subsequent developments of the theory as demonstrated through the Life Skills publications of the Y.W.C.A. Key concepts relevant to Life Skills Coaching will be examined. As well, the process and dynamics of the Life Skills I group the student participated in will be reflected on via a private and confidential format to integrate the experience into a theoretical perspective. Once students have developed a working knowledge of the model, they will conduct a group session for their peers. Students will give and receiving feedback on their application of the theory so they can enhance their assessment skills for future professional growth.

This course is designed to introduce students to the field of mental health and the study of psychopathology.  The course focuses upon the description, classification, evaluation and treatment of mental health disorders.  In addition, students will study the use of the DSM classification system and evaluate the concept of “abnormality”.  

“Addictions: Theory and Practise” is an advanced course and builds upon the skills and knowledge developed in several prerequisite courses.  Students will be introduced to models of drug dependence, treatment methodologies derived from those models and current counselling practises with clients who present with substance abuse-related issues.  The student will learn how to apply clinical assessment, referral and treatment planning principles, and counselling skills to a specific clinical population, i.e., substance abusers.  The course is intended, not only to assist the student in developing skills with clients who present with addictions-related symptomatology, but also to hone generic counselling skills and practise.

This course will help the student to develop a better understanding of the concerns and issues of culturally diverse clients and their communities. They will gain appreciation for the diversity of cultures and subcultures and their interactions in Canadian society. The course will also provide the students with opportunities to look at their personal, as well as professional values, and relationships to clients of culturally diverse views.

Field placement allows students the opportunity to integrate Social Services Worker theory into practice.  The student is required to complete the assigned hours of field work in a community setting which provides direct client service.  Field Placement Seminar will be a mandatory 1 hour timetabled class at the college.  In the seminar class, the student will have the opportunity to discuss issues pertaining to field placement.

Social Policy and Administration provides an overview of the Canadian social welfare system.  The course begins by highlighting relevant historical factors and exploring significant aspects of the social welfare system that are unique to Canada.  Then an array of current social issues will be addressed with an emphasis on the impact of relevant social policy.  The course progresses to address strategies for service delivery.  The various roles that are played by different professionals and the interplay of the social welfare and other related systems will be clarified.