Skill Development for Generalist Practice: Exercises for Real-World Application

Skill Development for Generalist Practice by Christina E. Newhill, Elizabeth A. Mulvaney, and Bobby F. Simmons offers an array of competency-building exercises addressing foundational social work knowledge as well as skills and values across micro, mezzo, and macro levels of practice. Designed to be actively used during class time, exercises embrace the diverse range of clients encountered by social workers in various practice settings and reflect a commitment to serving those who are the most vulnerable, at risk, disadvantaged, and marginalized from society.

Bobby F. Simmons earned his MSW from the University of Pittsburgh; an MS from the University of Tennessee in vocational rehabilitation evaluation; and a BA from Knoxville College in psychology. He began working at the University of Pittsburgh after a long career in adult mental health where he held various clinical and administrative positions. Before he accepted the position as director of career services/lecturer, he worked for many years as a field education coordinator. As a faculty member, he enjoys teaching the generalist social work practice course in the MSW program and the introduction to social work course in the BASW program. He is a licensed social worker and a member of NASW.

Elizabeth Mulvaney earned her MSW from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BA in psychology from the University of Virginia. As a lecturer, she focuses primarily on teaching within both the MSW and BASW programs. She holds clinical social work license in Pennsylvania and has 14 years practice experience as a gerontological social worker providing medical, care management and program administration services, with experience in long-term care including behavioral care planning, dementia care, and end of life care. Current research and practice interests include geriatric workforce development, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, ethics, palliative care and problem gambling prevention for older adults. Mulvaney served as the School’s first Coordinator for the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education from 2005-2011 and continues to assist with that program.

Christina E. Newhill earned a PhD in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley; a master’s degree in social work from Syracuse University; and a BA in sociology from the State University of New York, Binghamton. Dr. Newhill is Professor of Social Work with a joint appointment with the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and teaches in the MSW and Ph.D. programs. In 2008, she received the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, Pitt’s highest teaching honor. Professor Newhill’s primary research interests are community mental health services, the psychosocial treatment of individuals with serious and persistent mental illness, and improving the assessment of violent behavior. She is currently examining the relationship of borderline personality disorder and emotion-regulation problems with the expression of aggression and violence. Newhill has more than 10 years of community mental health practice experience, primarily in psychiatric emergency and inpatient settings. She has conducted training workshops on client violence and social worker safety at the local, state, and national levels for many years and authored “Client violence in social work practice: Prevention, intervention and research”, published in 2003 by Guilford Press and recently translated into Chinese and Korean. Her new book entitled “Interventions for serious mental disorders: Working with individuals and their families” was published by Pearson/Allyn & Bacon in January, 2014. She is currently working on two additional books: the first is a concise guide for risk assessment and social worker safety under contract with NASW Press, and the second (with Irene H. Frieze, Ph.D.) addresses understanding the dynamics of violence in close relationships. Professor Newhill is a licensed clinical social worker in California and Pennsylvania.