November 18, 2003

Boise State Offers Academic Credit For Mexico Social Work Workshop

A workshop focused on working with Mexican clients will be held from June 20-July 9, 2004, in Cuernavaca, Mexico, known as “The City of Eternal Spring.” Boise State University’s School of Social Work will offer three undergraduate or graduate academic credits or continuing education credits to attendees. The purpose of the workshop is to help professionals in the health, mental health and education fields learn about contemporary Mexican issues to improve their work with Mexican clients who have recently immigrated to the United States. Using Mexican professionals as guest lecturers, the workshop will provide more than 45 hours of course content in the following areas: ethnically sensitive practice with Hispanic clients; gender issues; the political, religious, historical and socio-economic context of work with Hispanic clients; Mexican/U.S. relations; and theories of behavior and diagnostic processes sensitive to the Hispanic experience. Two well-known social work educators will lead the workshop: Bill Whitaker, a professor and master of social work program coordinator at Boise State; and Morley Glicken, director of the Big Sky Institute for Personal Growth. In addition to the workshops, participants will live with Mexican families and take 60 hours of immersion Spanish. They can also participate in several low cost field trips to such destinations as the Anthropological Museum in Mexico City, the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, the homes of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, and the famous mural by Rivera at the Presidential Palace in Mexico City. Cost is $1,245 plus airfare and fees for academic or continuing education credits. For more information, contact the Boise State University Division of Extended Studies, 1015 Grant Ave., Boise, ID 83725-1120 or call 208 426-1709. -30- Contact Bill Whitaker Social work 208 426-2579 Media Contact Kathleen Craven communications and marketing 208 426-3275