Social Work

UTA CAPS Mission and Focus of Social Work Field Education:

Our mission within CAPS is to provide the highest quality outreach and clinical services to promote the emotional, relational and academic potential of all students including preparing the student to build capacity in the community and advance social justice.

We provide a safe, non-judgmental environment in which you can openly explore your concerns and professional development. CAPS is committed to addressing mental illness stigma and the complexities of intersectional identities by creating a welcoming and affirming environment for the UTA community. We celebrate and honor the uniqueness and diversity of all individuals. We promote social justice and inclusivity throughout UTA and the broader global community through our clinical, outreach, and training services.

CAPS utilizes a short-term model, and our services are goal-focused and brief. Our services focus on evidence-based resources, solutions and strategies to effectively resolve personal and academic challenges and assist in restoring mental wellness functioning. We also assist the student by referring them to practitioners in the community if their identified areas will improve with long-term care.

CAPS is committed to assisting students in understanding a range of psychological concerns holistically that impact quality of life, academic performance and influence the social determinants of health. We strive to provide opportunities to work at the micro and macro level to develop and implement effective interventions, programs, and policies specific to addressing mental illness stigma and improving mental well-being to assist our student population in thriving.

The practitioners’ partner with trainees to improve their skills in evaluating, selecting, and implementing appropriate assessment, intervention, and evaluation tools for use with diverse student population while utilizing interpersonal skills to engage in collaborative, therapeutic relationships. The staff is committed to providing supportive yet stimulating supervisory and mentoring relationships, to create an environment rich for growth, increased self-awareness and enhanced diversity, social justice and equity consciousness.

This program is implemented primarily in a hybrid model (meaning we will meet both in person in the office and on campus at outreach and community events), placing a shared responsibility upon the student for coming fully prepared to engage in outreach activities, staff meetings, presentations or resources you find applicable or interesting. This explores the intersection of the mechanisms of scientific thought, epistemological and exploratory questions and its generated informed and evidence-based knowledge, and culture, but the quality of this setting is primarily dependent upon your preparedness and willingness to engage in thoughtful discussion, advocacy, critical thinking and, thereafter, raising challenging questions that will assist in GETTING YOU TO GRADUATION and fully prepared to enter the workforce!

The training programs at UTA CAPS are built on the premise that successful preparation of mental health professionals is dependent on the on-going development of professional competencies, including understanding the various aspects of diversity. Our training model includes a focus on profession-specific skills that are developed through the provision of outreach services and participation in targeted training activities which emphasizes the importance of cultural competency, professional self-reflection and growth.

Training Hours:

Fall (15 Week Semester)

Spring (16 Week Semester)

Semester)

Summer (11 Week

 

 

 

 

Block: 32 hours/week

Block: 30 hours/week

Block: 44 hours/week

 

 

 

Split: 15 hours/week

Split: 16 hours/week

Split: 22 hours/week

 

 

 

*Field placement hours are a mandatory part of the School of Social Work program, and due to social work licensing guidelines and program accreditation, exceptions cannot be made. Please see CSWE Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards for further questions by following the link.

Reference: https://www.uta.edu/academics/schools-colleges/social-work/programs/field-education/field-faqs

WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY AND ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICE (CAP) CONCENTRATION AT UTA’S SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK?

CAPS partnership with the UTA School of Social Work's Community and Administrative Practice Concentration is the choice of students interested in developing skills in designing, running, and evaluating programs in the community. It is based on the social work principle that the larger environment is a central part of the reason why individuals thrive or encounter problems and challenges to advancement. CAP students learn to engage in leadership roles within organizations and communities in order to improve the world.

The training opportunities graduate student’s will receive from CAPS exposes them to broad professional activities that exist in our service-oriented agency. Professional identity development and growth of the trainee are fostered through multiple outreach training experiences including a curriculum designed to deliver ethics, values and scope of practice. Trainees have the opportunity to develop close working relationships with many staff members and are exposed to diverse theoretical orientations and approaches.

CAPS provides advanced social work students with information, skills, and expertise relevant to social work practice in mental health and primary care in mental health integrated settings. Students specializing in Community and Administrative Practice focus on working with students in classroom and community outreach settings. Students learn how to help students understand mental illness and various treatment options, intervene in crisis situations, and serve as student advocates. In addition, students focus on the promotion of health and wellness at both the individual and community levels.

CAPS provides advanced social work students the opportunity to focus on assessment and intervention while training students to collaborate on recovery, and advocate for social justice for persons across the life span who have adverse childhood experiences that often result in mental and substance abuse disorders, as well as to deliver services and support policies to prevent such disorders.

Outreach Programming

The UTA Counseling and Psychological Services department supports emotional and personal growth while valuing intersecting identities of students served. Outreach offers you the opportunity to begin to put into action the skills, practice principles, and ethics you have learned in the classroom. CAPS offers a variety of outreach services to the university community with the goal of creating and maintaining a healthy, psychologically-minded student population. Our programming is geared towards primary prevention of mental illness, enhancement of academic success, and personal and social empowerment through awareness and knowledge. We also work to integrate multicultural and developmental perspectives into our programming to promote equity and be more inclusive and relevant to all students. Faculty, staff, and student organizations frequently request presentations. Additionally, interns represent the Student Counseling Center at university functions or awareness tabling events.
*Requirements for presentations will be dependent on available opportunities.

Practicum Supervision

UTA Counseling & Psychological Services provides practicum and clinical supervision experiences for Masters level Social Work students who focus on the Community and Administrative Practice concentration through the UTA School of Social Work.

In the fall, spring and summer semesters, interns will be the primary individual supervisee for a practicum therapist, with the intern’s provision of supervision being supervised by an LCSW-S. Responsibilities will include monitoring their supervisee’s outreach assignments, providing constructive feedback, evaluating their supervisee’s competence, professionalism and awareness of the intersectionality of diversity, and additional administrative responsibilities. Interns will meet with their practicum supervisor/field instructor one hour a week (with the exception of initial supervision meetings, evaluations, and termination meetings which may require longer supervision sessions).