When the opportunity came up to send faculty to the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Fellowship Training at the Boston University School of Social Work for a special Social Work Faculty Immersion Training (SWIFT) Program, Assistant Professor Jeffrey Lacasse and Associate Teaching Professor Jane Dwyer Lee were eager and ready to go. Part of the challenge presented to attendees of the training was to come up with ways to integrate their training into core clinical practice courses. This challenge coincided with Lacasse and Dwyer Lee’s interest in modifying the FSU College of Social Work course “Chemical Dependency” to a more comprehensive and innovative course titled “Substance Use and Misuse” covering many of the growing issues surrounding addiction and substance abuse currently going on in the United States.

During the training, Lacasse and Dwyer Lee were encouraged to use Dr. L. Dee Fink’s taxonomy of significant learning as a part of their teaching methods by approaching course creation through “backward course design.” This method starts first with what the desired outcomes or results teachers wish to foster in their students, rather than a content-driven approach that may inhibit information retention.  “It’s important to both of us to promote critical thinking and to avoid dichotomous thinking on the subject of substance use disorders,” Dr. Lacasse said. “We firmly believe that if students are trained in the classroom to think more deeply, that once they enter the field as clinicians, they will treat persons with addiction more effectively.” Integral to this approach is the presentation of differing viewpoints and encouraging healthy debate in the classroom while still providing consistently evidence-based foundational content.”

“Attending the SWIFT training was very affirming,” Professor Dwyer Lee said. “We both already include much of the content presented at the training, but the training also sparked several ideas on how we can improve and enhance the educational content we currently provide.” Lacasse and Dwyer Lee are already integrating SWIFT materials into current substance abuse-related courses like Human Behavior and the Social Environment, and Psychopathology.

Professor Dwyer Lee has already gone a step further and joined forces with a team from FSU Libraries to develop an alternative textbook for the “Substance Use and Misuse” course, incorporating several multimedia aids, along with journals and periodicals.

“As an example, I will be using Margaret Talbot’s recent article in The New Yorker magazine “The Addict Next Door,” which highlights the ravages of rampant heroin use in a small West Virginian community,” Professor Dwyer Lee explained. “And in class, we will listen to the NPR Fresh Air interview with the journalist with the hope of having a lively discussion on topics like social and economic factors, family effects of use, community response to use, healthcare and treatment options or lack thereof, to the negative stereotypes faced by addicts and cumulative examination of the interconnectedness of all these factors.”

Students will also utilize integrated learning activities like group discussions, written critiques, and papers. They will even be able to attend an open Twelve Step Meeting of their choosing, followed by writing a reflective paper about their experiences.

This new course, to be taught by Professor Dwyer Lee would provide an overview of all major drugs, alcohol, cannabinoids, opioids, stimulants, sedatives, hallucinogens, inhalants, and nicotine.

Both faculty members emphasize establishing a professional, yet casual atmosphere that lends itself to learning and for students to feel safe so they can freely express themselves. “It is imperative that students feel safe to freely express themselves,” Professor Dwyer Lee stressed. “I insist they challenge their prejudices and allow new doors of self-awareness to be opened at every opportunity. It is also mandatory that we discuss multicultural perspectives as they will all be working with a variety of populations in the field.”

She also emphasized that at the core, social work believes that every human being can change and that social workers champion this belief that every human being has worth and is deserving of dignity. “I want my students to step into the field with confidence knowing they possess the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective helpers and advocates for those struggling with addiction.”