The Swedish Model: Challenges for social work with mental un-health, alcohol and drug-abuse, 15 ECTS

This course is intended as a general introduction to the emergence and development of the Swedish welfare state with a focus on the welfare states importance for social work. The course consists of three parts. A first part where the historical context and political circumstances that form the basis for the Swedish model is highlighted. This part covers key areas of political economy and welfare policy, social rights, relationships and power relations in the labour market, gender aspects of welfare policy, welfare state organization and distributional outcomes and changes in conditions in the Swedish model. The second part covers current perspectives within social work concerning prevention and treatment of alcohol and drug abuse, the social complexity of the field and critical reflections regarding alcohol and drug problems and hence the challenges for social work. A third part covers mental illness and mental disabilities in the historical and current welfare context and how this context influences the living conditions of the target group. The central concepts of the field; recovery, normality, illness, social integration and collaboration are permeating the discussions in the course.