The School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Anthony Halter for Excellence in Teaching Award

We invite you to nominate a teacher within the School of Social Work for the Excellence in Teaching Award. This person is someone who demonstrates consistent, excellent performance in the classroom, has had a positive impact on students, and upholds the values of the profession and the School of Social Work. Some of the things that may be considered when choosing this person include innovative approaches to teaching, evaluation of teaching practices, availability to students, engagement with students and influence on practice. Any fulltime clinical or tenure-track faculty with classroom teaching responsibilities who has been on staff for a minimum of two years will be eligible.

Nomination deadline: January 31, 2010. Click here to download the form.

Please send your completed form to Kathy Dysart, University of Illinois, School of Social Work, 1010 W. Nevada, Urbana, Illinois 61801, forward by email to kdysart@illinois.edu, or place it in her mailbox.

Register Now for CEU Workshop on Narrative Therapy: Supporting Children and Youth Beyond Trauma

Thursday, February 11, 2010
1:00 - 4:00 pm

Presenter: Susan A. Cole, LCSW, PhD, Associate Professor

Located at the School of Social Work. $30 fee, FREE for SSW Students.

To register, please call 217-244-8464 or complete the registration form.

Narrative therapy is an effective intervention strategy that is used by social work practitioners throughout the world to assist vulnerable children and youth in coming to terms with the effects of the trauma they experience in their lives. Through the use of narrative therapy, children and adolescents develop skills to confront their experiences as victims of trauma and move toward positive development. Reframing the story (narration) of the present acute or ongoing traumatic experience in the context of the strengths and struggles of their lives provides them with the confidence they need to develop the new skills they need to successfully confront subsequent traumatic experiences. Narrative therapy has been used successfully to address the effects of trauma with child and adolescent refugees in Africa and children experiencing abuse, neglect, and out-of home placement in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain and the United States.

Learning Objectives: There are four main aims for the workshop: 1) to describe the basic components of Narrative Therapy (i.e., theoretical base, therapeutic components); 2) to provide examples of narrative tools found to be effective in their use with children and adolescents; 3) to provide the participants with experience in applying literature to address trauma in individual and group practice; and 4) to discuss the applicability of narrative therapy for social workers and clients.

For more information, please call 217-244-1064 or send email to messenge@illinois.edu.

Please note that parking is limited to metered spaces. Please plan accordingly with coins and extra time for parking.

Bachelor of Social Work Program Proposal Approved

The Illinois Board of Higher Education has given the green light! Starting in Fall 2010, the School will begin admitting students to the BSW program. Dr. Brenda Lindsey has accepted the position of Director. We offer our congratulations and thanks to all who have worked so hard to make this program a reality.