Direct Practice in the Era of Mass Incarceration

This course explores historical, current, and emerging clinical practices with populations involved with and directly impacted by the criminal justice system. This course incorporates and examines the following components to understand these clinical practices: (1) discourses and theories embedded within and shaping clinical practices, such as discourses of rehabilitation and criminological theories; (2) both prevention and intervention focused practices; (3) individual, family, and group programs and treatment modalities; (4) the impact of criminal justice policies and correctional environments and dynamics; and (5) the role of race, gender, gender identity, and other social identities and their corresponding systems of power. Specifically, students will learn about assessment and treatment approaches for work with populations within correctional institutions and community-based settings, as well as the sociopolitical contexts shaping the intersections of clinical social work practice and the criminal-legal fields. The course will highlight key developments in practice, such as trauma-informed and gender-responsive approaches, and will include discussions of innovative directions in practice. Students will interrogate the role of social work in shaping treatment approaches, defining outcomes, and centering the wellness of populations involved in the criminal justice system.