PRACTICING WHAT WE TEACH: USING CASE STUDIES FROM 9/11 TO TEACH CRISIS INTERVENTION FROM A GENERALIST PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Populations traditionally served by social workers are experiencing increasingly severe psychosocial stressors, necessitating that students be trained in crisis intervention. This paper provides educators with a theoretical framework integrating generalist practice and crisis intervention, which is applied to compelling case studies from September 11 with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. The authors provide guidelines for discussion and teaching points to structure didactic and collaborative problem-based learning and encourage instructors to use examples from their own and their students' practice. Students learn to intervene with their clients and to appreciate the vital role that social workers assume in responding to disasters.