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Social Work History, Ethics, Values, and Practices

Online Module

This module is the very first step of the Veterinary Human Support Certificate Program. This short module provides a brief introduction to social work history, ethics, values, practices and self-care. The module takes approximately 2hrs to complete. You can pause and resume as needed.

Register Here

This module is available year round. If you do not already have an account with us, you will be prompted to create one upon registration.

Presenters

Ragan Schriver, PsyD, MSW

Director, MSSW Program, Knoxville Campus and
Assistant Professor of Practice

Research Interests:

  • Management and Community Practice
  • Policy Advocacy
  • Resource Development
  • Welfare Policy Practice
  • Non-profit management

Courses Taught:

  • Social Work and Social Welfare Policies and Programs (SW510)
  • Introduction to Macro Social Work Practice (SW512)
  • Introduction to Direct Social Work Practice (SW522)
  • Resource Development and Management (SW545)
  • Program Development and Continuous Improvement (SW549)

Personal Statement

Social Work is such a great profession to be a part of! This is a chance to make the world a better place for others. I believe that the Social Work education process is more of a “formation” than just training to do a job! This formation process opens us up to people, places, experiences, and ideas that we may never have encountered before. Not to mention the parts of ourselves that we may have never known previously. The process makes us better able to serve others with our lives and hopefully to create a desire to learn more as the social work career begins and grows. I am excited to be a part of the formation of so many people willing to give their lives to make the world a better place.

Sonya Snyder, MSSW, Phd Candidate 

After graduating from UT with her MSSW and VSW certificate, Sonya began working on her PhD in counseling psychology (August 2018) at Florida State. She is working on a research team that investigates various aspects of childhood trauma, including bullying. Her personal primary research interests are childhood trauma, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and also the potential benefits of animal-assisted therapy for adolescents with histories of trauma or ACEs. Throughout her program, she plans to continue conducting research on these topics.

After she completes her PhD, she would like to become licensed as a psychologist and perhaps start a program partnering high school-aged adolescents who have experienced trauma with hard-to-adopt shelter dogs. Through the program, clients would be able to receive counseling and take part in dog training and socialization. Sonya hopes to create partnerships with schools in her community so that the program can be integrated within public or alternative schools. She would also like to work in academia, researching and teaching about ACEs and the human-animal bond. Sonya is also looking into becoming involved in Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare’s Animal Therapy Program, possibly as a volunteer and is looking to see if she could complete one of her practica there for her PhD.

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