In the 21st century, human services professional practitioners must be adept at working with a diverse range of families to assess their needs and connect them with appropriate resources. In this course, students explore the skills needed to build relationships with families, as well as the cultural, ethical, and legal considerations inherent in those relationships. Students directly apply their knowledge and skills to family scenarios and ultimately generate an in-depth plan for one fictional family. Students also consider human services careers associated with children and families that they may work toward.

Human services professional practitioners work in many different settings, such as schools, juvenile correctional facilities, and child welfare agencies, where they encounter children and adolescents in crisis. Therefore, practitioners must be prepared to apply appropriate interventions to help them feel safe and stable in the moment and cope with the crisis over time. In this course, students examine the signs and symptoms of mental health crises in children and adolescents compared to those in adults. They also apply psychological first aid and other non-clinical interventions to authentic case studies and role-play exercises that occur in the context of adjudication, family issues, human trafficking, and bullying. As they do so, students consider the unique ethical and legal issues related to working with children and adolescents in crisis as well as the parental issues that may arise.

By understanding the relationship between children's health, culture, and socioeconomic status, in addition to related trends and issues, professionals who work with school-age children are in a better position to address and respond to these issues and related challenges effectively. Education professionals in this course critically examine selected issues and trends related to school-age children, such as technology/media, bullying, gender, abuse prevention, drugs/alcohol, obesity/eating disorders, stress, peer relationships, and school success. They demonstrate their understanding of course concepts through various applications, including the creation of an informative brochure for the purpose of explaining topical issues on health and wellness to parents and other stakeholders.

Physical changes and social pressures make adolescence a challenging time for many teens; therefore, it is important for professionals to be aware of current trends and critical issues that affect the mental and physical well-being of this age group. Education professionals in this course examine and discuss selected issues and trends related to adolescents, such as technology/media, cyber-bullying, gender, sexual orientation, drugs/alcohol, obesity/eating disorders, depression, self-injury, suicide, teenage pregnancy, and school success. Applying course concepts, education professionals engage in practical exercises, such as research analyses through which they explore the connections between topical issues and the larger world as they affect adolescents and their transition into adulthood.

Humans experience many developmental changes throughout the lifespan, but those of greatest significance occur from conception to young adulthood. In this course, students examine key theories related to various aspects of development in infants, children, and adolescents. Students apply social, biological, and cognitive maturation processes and perspectives to better understand their own development and personal experiences. They also discuss related topics, such as cross-cultural issues, attachment and temperament, language and personality development, and puberty and sexual development.

Popular culture involves a variety of influences for youth today. With this in mind, the meaning of popular culture will help to inform and shape the lives of children and adolescents. This course will explore the relationships among popular forms of cultural expression and how they potentially influence child and adolescent human development regarding identity, body image, self-esteem, relationships, and parenting. Topics also include the intersection of gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity within popular culture. Forms of popular culture include graphic novels, music, television, cinema, video games, social media, and other aspects of society today. Students will examine opportunities to promote healthy consumption of pop culture.

This course is designed to give you a general understanding of how a developmental approach can add to your knowledge of psychopathology that can occur in children, adolescents, and emerging adults. Specific diagnostic categories, assessment tools, and treatment approaches will be examined. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the etiology and treatment of atypical development through research and theory. Case studies will also be used to better understand specific forms of psychopathology. This course will help to increase your understanding of how societal factors influence developmental disorders, and how you can advocate for youth with atypical development.