Coaching MSW Students on Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) Using Simulation-Based Learning (SBL): Developing Competencies in Clinical Social Work Practice

ABSTRACT

In training clinical social workers, it is critical for students to practice implementing their skills and knowledge about treatment approaches while being closely coached by instructors. This paper illustrates how this type of learning was accomplished in an MSW course through simulation-based learning in a flipped classroom. Using Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), one of the core modalities of clinical social work practice, we illustrate how we created the course for students to practice core IPT skills – Intervention Inventory and Communication Analysis.

KEYWORDS:

• Clinical social work
• Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
• simulation-based learning
• flipped classroom
• social work practice competencies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This project is funded by the Provost’s 2019 Instructional Technology Innovation Fund (ITIF), University of Toronto (PI: E. Lee, Co-PI: T. Kourgiantakis).

Notes on contributors

Eunjung Lee

Eunjung Lee, PhD, MSW, RSW is an Associate Professor and Endowed Chair in Mental Health and Health at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto in Canada. She is a psychotherapy process researcher focusing on cross-cultural clinical practice in community mental health. Using critical theories in language, discourse and power, her research focuses on everyday interactions in clinical practice and simulation-based learning in social work education, as well as immigration, transnationalism, and politics of multiculturalism and welfare state.

Kathryn Bowles

Kathryn Bowles, MSW, RSW, is a front-line social worker at the Withdrawal Management Centre, Michael Garron Hospital working within the mental health and addiction system in Toronto. Kathryn is passionate about expanding research on clinical modalities, and applying this to her work with in day and residential programs for mental health and addiction recovery.

Toula Kourgiantakis

Toula Kourgiantakis, PhD, RSW, CCFT is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream with the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. Her research interests include family-centred practices in addictions and mental health, social work education, building competencies in social work practice, and simulation-based learning.  Dr. Kourgiantakis is a Registered Social Worker and Certified Couple and Family Therapist with over 25 years of clinical experience that informs her teaching and research.