Social Work

Faculty Mentors Name: Susan Elswick EdD and Greg Washington PhD

Faculty Mentor's Department: Social Work

Email Address & Phone Number:

Topic: The Music Club: An Expressive Arts Intervention for Addressing Needs of At-Risk Youth

Project Description: The State of TN has granted appropriations to the University of Memphis to address the needs of at risk children and families who have experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences. The Department of Social Work is one of the components at U of M who have been granted a year appropriation and Dr. Susan Elswick and I will be leading the effort to address the needs of youth in Memphis by developing, implementing and evaluating a community-based evidence intervention. This intervention will be strength-based and include pyramid mentoring in this effort to reduce risk for youth exposed to trauma. Another primary effort is to integrate trauma-informed practice models into public education system. The intervention will be a 12 week evidence-based intervention called Cognitive Behavioral Interventions for Treatment in Schools (CBITS), and we will additional create an expressive arts supplemental curriculum which will include African Drumming and Dance Movement activities.

Requirements for Student Applicants: Skills in the field of social behavioral sciences (major psychology, sociology, counseling, social work, etc.), or an interest in these majors, in good academic standing within the honors program, ability to interact and work with a large variety of people of different ages and backgrounds, established writing abilities, organized, available before and after classes for activities and interventions, and a passion for leading expressive arts based interventions, assessments, and analyzing data (with support and supervision from faculty mentors).

Application or Interview process: Submit Cover letter, resume, one letter of reference from professor or previous employer, small essay on why the student is interested in the research topic, activity, and purpose. Once reviewed a meeting will be scheduled to interview interested students.

Starting Date: Immediate if possible

Hours per week: 20-25

Method of Compensation: Volunteer

Faculty Mentor: Susan Elswick EdD and Vasile Rus PhD

Faculty Mentor's Department: Social Work and Computer Science

Email Address: selswick@memphis.edu

Topic: BE-PAL: A Data-driven Behavior Personal Assistant for Classroom Learning and Its Impact on Academic Performance and Teaching and Learning Experiences Project Description: Behavioral excesses, such as off-task behaviors, talking out, and out of seat behavior can negatively affect learner's academic performance, experience, and overall environment, e.g. such behavior excesses negatively impact the learning performance and experience for all students within the classroom setting.

Requirements for Student Applicants: Must have the ability to go to local locations/ sites (schools) to interview, assess, data analysis, and monitor data collection of participants in this study. This will be during daytime hours. Students will have to attend an orientation process that teaches needed skills for this work.

Application or Interview Process: Interested students should contact Dr. Susan Elswick, and she will describe the application requirements and processes. Application and resume will be required. Also an interview will be completed.

Starting Date: Spring 2018- 3 year grant-2021

Method of Compensation: Will count as Volunteer hours or Honors Academic Credit/ Contract

Faculty Mentor: Susan Elswick EdD

Faculty Mentor's Department: Social Work

Email Address: selswick@memphis.edu

Project Description: "The School of Social Work was provided seed funding to develop a Tele-behavioral health Training and Treatment Center. The center will be led and overseen by Dr. Susan Elswick and Licensed mental health contract clinicians. The purpose of the tele-behavioral health training and treatment center is to provide the following to the community: 1) direct mental health supports to at -risk youth via a tele-health platform (provided by licensed clinician); 2) training, consultation and support to the local community around best practices in tele-behavioral health and programming (provided by licensed clinician and Dr. Elswick); ""warm-line"" services from 8:00am-12:00pm Tues and Thursday 1:00pm-5:00pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday throughout the academic year August-May. There are summer options also.

The BA Research Fellow/ Honors Student will provide direct support to the ""Warm-line."" A warmline is a telephone service (aka a call line) for people who are looking for someone to discuss their daily struggles. Warmlines are staffed with peers who have lived experience of mental health struggles themselves and who are open to sharing their stories of challenging situations, recovery, and perseverance. The U of M ""warm-line"" will provide some of this BUT will mostly focus on supporting local consumer needs and linking them to services and supports for behavioral/ mental health (connections to local agency provided) or for supporting their basic needs (housing, food, job, etc). The BA student will be given training on ""warm line"" protocol, resources to provide the consumer, a script for the calls, what to do in a crisis call (if it happens), and the student will also keep data on satisfaction of the consumer with the service in addition to the number of consumers supported with this ""warm-line"" intervention. The BA student will make follow up contacts with consumers they have be in contact to determine level of continued need and to see if the linkage to service was established and helpful."

Requirements for Student Applicants: Student should be familiar with social work and the helping professions (psychology, counseling, human services, etc)

The student must have good verbal and written communication skills

The student must be able to multi task (talk on the phone and look up supports on the computer)

Must be proficient in Microsoft word, gmail, and zoom

Must be in good academic standing

Must have the ability to learn how to navigate the needs of consumers who call in on the ""warm line"" and link them to needed services (housing, food supports, jobs, mental health services) as well as answer simply questions asked by the consumer. If the consumer is need of additional supports, the student must be able to navigate referring them to me or another assigned clinician in the clinic.

Student will need to have the ability to effectively communicate with the community about their needs and use provided resources to link them to services as needed. A resource directory, training on manning the "warm line" and answering basic questions about local supports will be provided prior to the student starting.

Professional skills necessary

Ability to share lived experiences with consumer when appropriate but also not provide suggestions from personal experiences but rather HOPE for future and connect them to services.

Application or Interview Process: Resume, Letter of Interest/Cover Letter, Unofficial Transcript, Interview

Hours per Week: 20

Starting Date: September 18th