SOCW625A Capstone Project I
This is the first course in a three-course sequence in which students will conduct an individual culminating degree project on a topic within the area of culturally informed behavioral health practice with individuals, families, or small groups. In this first course, students will define their project and learning objectives, write a research project proposal, and obtain institutional review board approval or exemption for the study. The purpose of the project is for students to apply the knowledge and skills gained during the MSW program to address a culturally oriented practice problem or need for a specific population and to further hone their professional skills and competencies. Students will identify a practice problem for a specific population and conduct a small qualitative or mixed methods study at their field placement or other agency to generate knowledge to address the problem. Projects will be structured based on students’ self- assessments of their own professional development needs. One type of project is to choose and culturally adapt an evidence-based practice, or develop a new intervention informed by the research literature, and provide the intervention, in English or another language, to clients and evaluate it and one’s own clinical effectiveness. Another type of project is to evaluate how an existing service or intervention can be provided with more cultural sensitivity for a specific population. All projects will involve reviewing the research literature and interviewing behavioral health professionals about the problem and best practices, collecting, and analyzing data involving participation of clients and/or professionals, and writing a research report. Sample projects are cultural considerations for clinical case management with adult Afghan refugees; developing, providing, and evaluating a group cognitive-behavioral trauma intervention for immigrant Mexican American adolescents; and culturally informed psychoeducation with Southeast Asian immigrant families with children experiencing onset of schizophrenia spectrum disorders.