Assessment in Counseling



University of Houston-Victoria

CED 6318: Assessment in Counseling

Fall 2008

Instructor: Jeffry L. Moe, Ph.D., L.P.C. (Ohio)

Course Time and Location: Online

Office location: UH Sugar Land, Rooms 107 or 110

Office hours: Monday through Thursday 3-4pm and by appointment

Phone: Messages can be left with the department secretary Kathi Rich at (281) 275-3370. For emergencies, you may call my cell at (281) 224-5603.

E-mail: moej@uhv.edu

Required text:

Whiston, S. (2009). Principles and Applications of Assessment in Counseling (3rd Ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

ISBN: 978-0-495-50197-8

American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (text revision). Washington, DC: Author.

*There is a desk-reference version of the above text.

Recommended texts:

American Counseling Association. (2005). Code of Ethics. West Alexandria, VA: Author

*Available online from Counselor

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to provide an introduction to the principles, concepts, methods, and applications of assessing human experience and behavior for counseling purposes. Topics included for study in this course include the history and philosophy behind measurement and assessment in counseling, statistical concepts, and common assessment formats for measuring constructs such as personality, pathology, achievement and aptitude, and career interests. The required assignments focus on the themes of assessment critique, administration and interpretation of assessment results, and incorporating assessment results into work with clients and students.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: As a result of participating in this course and of completing course requirements in a satisfactory manner, students will be able to:

1. Identify and describe major historical perspectives concerning the nature and meaning of assessment [CACREP II.K.7.a]

2. Identify, explain, and apply basic concepts of standardized and non-standardized testing and other assessment techniques including norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment, environmental assessment, performance assessment, individual and group test and inventory methods, behavioral observations, and computer-managed and computer-assisted methods [CACREP II.K.7.b]

3. Identify, explain, and apply statistical concepts as they relate to assessment, including scales of measurement, measures of central tendency, indices of variability, shapes and types of distributions, and correlations [CACREP II.K.7.c]

4. Identify, explain, and apply the concept of reliability (i.e., theory of measurement error, models of reliability, and the use of reliability information) [CACREP II.K.7.d]

5. Identify, explain, and apply the concept of validity (i.e., evidence of validity, types of validity, and the relationship between reliability and validity; [CACREP II.K.7.e]

6. Identify and describe the impact of age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, language, disability, culture, spirituality, and other factors related to the assessment and evaluation of individuals, groups, and specific populations; [CACREP II.K.7.f]

7. Identify and apply strategies for selecting, administering, and interpreting assessment and evaluation instruments and techniques in counseling; [CACREP II.K.7.g]

8. Demonstrate an understanding of general principles and methods of case conceptualization, assessment, and/or diagnoses of mental and emotional status [CACREP II.K.7.h]

9. Identify and describe ethical and legal considerations relating to assessment in counseling [CACREP II.K.7.i]

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1. Learning Objectives: You must complete short learning objective assignments for the introductory material in the course. Correct responses to learning objectives will be worth 10 points each.

2. Assessment Administration: You will administer the following assessments in order according to the procedures outlined in the manual for each assessment. Correct administration, scoring, and interpretation will be demonstrated via instructor review of your scoring protocols and your summary recommendations.

a. Bio-psycho-social initial assessment: You will conduct an initial interview and assessment with a practice volunteer (which may be a class mate) using the provided format. Responses to the provided questions will be summarized into a problem statement. (20 points)

b. Mini-Mental Status Exam (10 Points)

3. Assessment Review, Critique, and Administration: You must identify, describe, and critique one assessment provided by the University that you will need to check out and return when you are finished. This assignment is worth 30 points. Some assessments available for check out are:

i. The Connors’ Ratings Scales

ii. The Beck Depression Inventory

iii. The Beck Youth Inventories

iv. The Children’s’ Depression Inventory

v. The Beck Suicide Ideation Scale

vi. The Career Maturity Inventory*

vii. The Adult Career Concerns Inventory*

viii. The Career Decision Inventory*

ix. The Saliency Inventory*

*available at

4. Comprehensive Treatment Summary & Plan: Using the results from the Bio-psycho-social assessment plus at least one other assessments, you will formulate a comprehensive clinical summary, multi-axial DSM-IV based diagnosis, and counseling plan. The comprehensive summary should highlight the issues and problem areas that would be the focus of counseling intervention, and the plan should include one to three overall goals and two to three concrete treatment objectives for each goal. This assignment is worth 30 points.

Total points available: 140

GRADING:

92-100% A 60-69% D

82-91% B 59% or below F

70-81% C

Class policies:

On-line technical support: For technical support and all issues related to WebCT, students may contact Mr. Lawrence Nelson (361) 570-4253, edutechhelp@uhv.edu.

Plagiarism Any student who represents the written work of another person as his or her own for an assignment will receive a grade of zero (0) for said assignment and may face disciplinary action through the University.

Attendance/Participation: Students are expected to complete and submit all assignments by the due dates outlined in the course schedule. As per University policy, exigent and dire circumstances may excuse students from adhering to the posted due dates for assignments. Should such exigent and dire circumstances arise, students must contact me (Dr. Moe) or leave word with Ms. Kathi Rich (department secretary) at the contact information provided above.

Extra credit: Students are afforded sufficient credit opportunities by fulfilling class requirements. Some extra credit assignments will be used for this course as a means to allow interested students to demonstrate advanced understanding of the material. Barring these, extra credit assignments will not be given.

Incompletes: Incompletes will only be given under extreme circumstance. An incomplete represents that a student was able to complete almost all of the course requirements, but was not able to finish the remaining requirements due to exigent circumstances. In accordance with University policy, all incompletes must be completed in the semester following the one in which they are received. If this is not done, the grade reverts to Failure.  

Professionalism and Diversity: Acting within the bounds of professionalism and the student code of conduct is required. Encountering new ideas, new ways of knowing, and interacting with people different from us are pillars of the college and professional training experience. Intimidating (e.g., Racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, etc.,) language will be challenged in this classroom. Students will be encouraged and expected to be mindful of this and other diversity related issues.

Accommodations: Students requiring personalized arrangements for test taking, classroom access, or other accessibility concerns should notify the Office of Student Relations so that the University may provide appropriate support services to facilitate your learning.  Additional information is provided in the Student Handbook.

Electronic devices: Ringing and beeping devices are expected to be set on vibrate or non-audio during class time in order to reduce disruption.

Course changes: I reserve the right to modify assignment structure, re-arrange topic discussion, and to make as needed changes to the course.

Post-Ike Revision of Tentative Course Schedule and Outline of Topics

|Unit 5 |Assessment Procedures: Identifying, evaluating, selecting, administration, |

|Week of October 6th |result interpretation, and communication of results to participants |

| |(Whiston Ch. Five; Appendix B) |

| |DUE October 10th: Learning Objectives for Unit Five |

|Unit 6 |Intake Interviewing and Initial Assessment; Mental Status Examinations |

|Week of October 13th |(Whiston Ch. Six) |

| |DUE October 17th: Mental Status Examination |

|Unit 7 |Assessing specific constructs in counseling; Intelligence Testing |

|Week of October 20th |(Whiston, Ch. Seven) |

|Unit Ten |Assessment of Achievement and Aptitude (Whiston Ch. Eight) |

|Week of October 27th |DUE October 31st: Bio-psycho-social initial intake assessment |

|Unit Eleven |Assessing Career and Vocational Interests |

|Week of November 3rd |(Whiston Ch. Nine) |

|Unit Twelve |Approaches to the Assessment of Personality and Character |

|Week of November 10th |(Whiston Ch. Ten) |

|Unit Thirteen |Assessment in Couples and Family Counseling (Whiston Ch. Eleven) |

|Week of November 17th | |

|Unit Fourteen |Introduction to Diagnosis; Formulating a multi-axial Diagnosis |

|Week of November 24th |(Whiston Ch. Twelve) |

| |DUE November 24th : Assessment Critique and Administration Report |

|Unit Fifteen |Using Assessment to facilitate Case Conceptualization and Treatment Planning |

|Week of November 31st |(Whiston Ch. Thirteen) |

|Week ending December 5th |Ethical and Legal Issues in Assessment (Whiston Ch. Fourteen; Appendix D) |

|Week ending December 12th |Multicultural Issues and Assessment (Whiston Ch. Fifteen; Appendix E) |

| |DUE by Dec. 12th : Comprehensive Assessment Summary and Treatment Plan |

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