This is the preliminary (or launch) version of the 2025-2026 VCU Bulletin. Courses that expose students to cutting-edge content and transformative learning may be added and notification of additional program approvals may be received prior to finalization. General education program content is also subject to change. The final edition and full PDF version will include these updates and will be available in August prior to the beginning of the fall semester.
SWMH 491. Introduction to the Treatment of Individuals with Serious Mental Illness. 3 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online or face-to-face). 3 credits. Enrollment is restricted to students with junior status in the social work and mental health minor or by permission of the program director or course instructor. The course provides students introductory knowledge regarding the treatment, care and support for individuals with serious mental illness, including psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, major depression with psychotic symptoms and treatment-resistant depression. The course utilizes evidence-based, trauma informed and recovery oriented models to understand the mechanisms of treatment for individuals with SMI through a strengths-based, collaborative and anti-racist approach across contexts and levels of social work practice. The course is taught through an anti-racist, trauma-focused, healing-centered lens. Readings, podcasts, assignments and lectures will be taught/delivered through this lens.
SWMH 493. Introduction to Trauma and Social Work. 3 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online or face-to-face). 3 credits. Enrollment is restricted to students with junior status in the social work and mental health minor or by permission of the program director or course instructor. The course will provide a foundational understanding of trauma's nature, effects and treatment. The impact of social, structural, cultural, economic and environmental principles on determinants of health and quality of life will be addressed, including the influence of factors such as race, gender, sexual orientation, geography, ability, biological and epigenetic factors. It will include the levels of trauma (individual, collective and community trauma, and vicarious and secondary trauma) as well as how trauma is discussed and understood in various cultural contexts. The course will briefly discuss the impact of trauma on different populations, including veterans, refugee populations, the LGBTQIA community, indigenous populations and marginalized groups. The course is taught through an anti-racist, trauma-focused, healing-centered lens. Readings, podcasts, assignments and lectures will be taught/delivered through this lens.
SWMH 494. Spirituality and Social Work. 3 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online or face-to-face). 3 credits. Enrollment is restricted to students with junior status in the social work and mental health minor or by permission of the program director or course instructor. The course is designed to explore and examine the connection between spirituality and improvements in mental health. Emerging research shows there is a link between spiritual activity and reductions in anxiety and post-traumatic recovery, as well as helping cope with stress and adverse life events. The course will consider and evaluate the treatment models that connect spirituality and social work and evaluate ways to engage with communities. The course is taught through an anti-racist, trauma-focused, healing-centered lens. Readings, podcasts, assignments and lectures will be taught/delivered through this lens.
SWMH 495. Mental Health and Criminal Justice: An Intersection of Practice and Policy. 3 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online or face-to-face). 3 credits. Enrollment is restricted to students with junior status in the social work and mental health minor or by permission of the program director or course instructor. The course is designed to explore social work practice and policy at the interface of the public mental health and criminal justice systems and to provide instruction in the following topics: (1) evidence-based practices for justice-involved people with mental illnesses; (2) jails, prisons, and community supervision and people with mental illnesses; (3) criminal and specialty courts for people with severe mental illnesses; and (4) behavioral health and criminal justice policies and people with severe mental illnesses. The course is taught through an anti-racist, trauma-focused, healing-centered lens. Readings, podcasts, assignments and lectures will be taught/delivered through this lens.
SWMH 496. Mental Health Case Management and Skills. 3 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online or face-to-face). 3 credits. Enrollment is restricted o students with junior status in the social work and mental health minor or by permission of the program director or course instructor. A practice-based course where information is taught and delivered through a case study-based model. The course will review the problem-solving and decision-making tools required when working in the field of mental health. The course will review stigma and mental illness, assessments, crisis planning and advocacy. Also included is the intersection of mental illness and the carceral system, and special populations, how providers can engage in recovery based practices, and what family work in mental health practice looks like. The course is taught through an anti-racist, trauma-focused, healing-centered lens. Readings, podcasts, assignments and lectures will be taught/delivered through this lens.
SWMH 497. Substance Use and Co-Occurring Disorders: Screening, Assessment and Treatment. 3 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online or face-to-face). 3 credits. Enrollment is restricted to students with junior status in the social work and mental health minor or by permission of the program director or course instructor. The course will provide a foundational understanding of substance use disorder and other co-occurring conditions. The impact of substance use on co-occurring mental health conditions will be explored through the lens of race, gender, sexual orientation, geography, biological and epigenetic factors. The course introduces the prevalence of co-occurring disorders. Students learn how to conceptualize co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders and how their interaction affects screening, assessment and treatment. The course will briefly discuss and describe common mental health disorders that frequently co-occur with substance use, including depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity, post-traumatic stress and personality disorders. The course also describes treatment considerations and interventions, including treatment planning, assessment, and evidence-based practices utilized in treating SUD and co-occurring disorders. The course is taught through an anti-racist, trauma-focused, healing-centered lens. Readings, podcasts, assignments and lectures will be taught/delivered through this lens.
