Counseling Techniques



University of Houston-Victoria

Course: CED 6333 Counseling Techniques

Summer 2008

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

Course Time and Location: Tuesday & Thursday, 4:30-6:45, Room to be assigned May 28th.

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

Course Overview: The art and science of professional counseling is grounded in the acquisition by practitioners of competency in a set of core techniques and skills. Students will come to develop a personal awareness and engagement with the core counseling and consultation techniques through interactive lecture, videotaped practice and evaluation, personal reflection, role-play, supervision, and class discussion.

Course Objectives: As a result of taking this course, students will be able to:

1. Identify and describe the characteristics and behaviors of effective counselors and consultants, including but not limited to: cultural awareness, verbal and non-verbal behaviors, self-care, reflecting and interpretation, challenging discrepancies, goal-setting and behavioral rehearsal, and termination skills [CACREP II.K.5.a, 5.b.].

2. Demonstrate awareness of, comprehension of, and basic competency in the foundational counseling micro-skills necessary for therapeutic rapport building. Students will understand the purpose of each micro-skill and be able to demonstrate adequate proficiency in the use of each micro-skill. [CACREP II.K.5.b., 5.c.].

3. Conceptualize the foundational counseling techniques from the perspective of multiple theoretical orientations. Students will integrate their personal views, competencies, and experiences with the class material and experiential activities in order to facilitate their development of a personal, integrative counseling approach. Counseling frameworks that students will explore for this class include (but are not limited to) Person-Centered/Rogerian, Cognitive and Cognitive-Behavioral, Solution-Oriented/Solution-Focused, Feminist-Multicultural, Gestalt/Process-Experiential, Existential, and Narrative counseling. [CACREP II.K.5.c.].

4. Demonstrate awareness and understanding of the importance of research in counseling practice. Students will be able to identify and discuss research on the effectiveness of various counseling theories and techniques [CACREP.K.5.c., 5.e., 8e.].

5. Identify and apply concepts related to legal and ethical issues inherent in counseling and consultation. [CACREP II.K.5.g.]

6. Discuss the implications of ethnocentric biases, sociocultural, demographic, and lifestyle diversity, substance abuse issues, and urban environments on counseling and consultation. [CACREP II.K.2.a., 2.b.; 5.a.].

7. Integrate technological strategies and applications within counseling and consultation. [CACREP II.K.5.f.]

Required Texts:

Young, M. (2009). Learning the Art of Helping (4th Ed.). New Jersey: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Recommended Texts:

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

Rogers, C. (2002). On Becoming a Person (3rd Ed.). New York: Houghton Mifflin.

Requirements:

1. Attendance and active participation are a necessary and vital part of the course. Active participation includes attending each class session, completing reading assignments prior to class sessions, and participating in peer observation and peer counseling and contributing substantive feedback. Absence from class and/or nonparticipation will result in points being deducted from your final grade. Participation will be counted primarily when students volunteer for in-class practice/lab role-plays. Participating in at least one role-play is worth 2 points, and attendance is worth 8 points (for a total of 10 points).

2. Informed Consent Statement: Students are to compose an adaptation of an informed consent statement. Achieving a client’s informed consent to enter into a counseling relationship with you is a required standard of care for professional counselors in all practice settings. The elements that need to be included in this informed consent statement will be covered in the first class period. This assignment is worth 5 points.

3. Short Reflection Essay: Development of a personal style is one of the major components of counselor education. Student will complete 2 short essays (4-6 pages total, double-spaced typed) that address some or all of the following points:

➢ Your current strengths in regard to your basic counseling skills. Be thorough, specific and concrete.

➢ Your current areas in need of improvement in regard to your basic counseling skills. Be thorough, specific, and concrete.

➢ Personal values that might affect your ability to work with specific populations.

➢ Any personal concerns regarding your development as a counselor, including an assessment of personal characteristics that may help or hinder your development as a counselor.

If students cite research or other materials in their essay, they must include an APA formatted reference page. Citations are not necessary for this assignment.

Each essay is worth 15 points for a total of 30 points.

4. Demonstration of Techniques: Students will submit three tapes and annotated transcripts of interviews lasting approximately 20 minutes in which they demonstrate appropriate use of the counseling techniques discussed in class. This is NOT to be a counseling/therapy session. Students should seek the consent of a partner to role play the client and to sign an informed consent letter. Students can pair up with other students in the class. Topics for the interview can be anything, but should contain some emotional content to enable students to demonstrate skills such as reflection of feelings (e.g., the most exciting time in my life, the saddest time of my life, an important decision I must make, etc.). Students need to demonstrate the skills listed on the Micro-skill Transcript and Evaluation Sheet in the following order-

• Tape 1: Describe the process, limits, and benefits of counseling (informed consent) and Advanced Attending/Active Listening (Minimal Encouragers, Vocal Tone, Reflection of Content, Open & Closed Questions, Clarification, and Summary)

• Tape 2: Advanced Empathy, Exploration, and Challenging: Reflecting Feeling & Meaning, Providing Feedback in the Here-and-Now (Immediacy), Challenging Discrepancy, Reframing/Encouragement

• Tape 3: Goal setting, behavioral practice and action planning, use of advanced techniques (e.g., Socratic questioning, solution-focused interviewing, Empty Chair Technique, etc.), Termination Skills

Each tape is worth 20 points

5. Exams: Two multiple choice exams will be given to assess students’ knowledge of material from texts, handouts, and class lectures and discussions.

Each exam is worth 25 points.

6. Confidentiality: Students will respect and maintain confidentiality. Being actively involved in the class sessions and the small groups may entail some level of personal self-disclosure. Because of the nature of the vulnerability, trust, and openness needed to learn about counseling, it is extremely important that confidentiality be maintained. Revealing personal information about others outside of the classroom is a breach of confidentiality. You may share with others only your own reactions and understanding, but must avoid using names or identifying information about your classmates.

Point Scale:

Participation 10 pts.

Informed Consent Statement 5 pts.

Short Reflection Essay 1 15 pts.

Short Reflection Essay 2 15 pts.

Videotape 1 15 pts.

Videotape 2 20 pts.

Videotape 3 20 pts.

Mid-term 25 pts.

Final Exam 25 pts.

Total 150 pts.

Grading:

92-100% A 80-91% B 59% or below F

70-79% C 60-69% D

Students earning less than a B must take the course again. Students unable to pass the course with a B by the third attempt will not be admitted to the counseling program. Students may appeal their grade in which case their Final Integrative Tape as well as other evidence will be reviewed by at least two other members of the counseling faculty. If dissatisfied with the decision of the reviewers, the student may further appeal his or her grade through the University’s student appeals process.

Class policies:

WebCT:  This course is not being taught as an online course.  Our class use of WEBCT will be as a supplement only to facilitate communication between students and between the instructor and students.  WEBCT is used as part of the course and professional and ethical behaviors are expected. 

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: As per University policy, students are expected to attend every class. Exigent and dire circumstances may preclude student attendance, and should such events occur students are expected to contact the instructor via either the e-mail address provided on this syllabus. Coordinating absences with the instructor is the first step to minimizing the impact of said absences on student grades.

Extra credit: Students are afforded sufficient credit opportunities by fulfilling class requirements. Barring exigent and dire circumstances, extra credit will not be accepted or approved.

Incompletes: Incompletes will only be given under exigent and dire circumstances.

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 ourselves are pillars of the college 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. Students will always be notified in advance of said changes. Students will be asked to contribute feedback and input to changes instituted by the instructor.

Tentative Class Schedule

|Class One: |Overview of Syllabus; Characteristics of effective helpers; Text Ch. |

|June 3rd |1; Intro to experiential activities; Informed Consent; Lab |

|Class Two: |The Counselor stance: Advanced attending and Minimal Encouragers; |

|June 5th |Text Ch. 2 & 5; Lab |

|Class Three: |Avoiding Ethno-centrism; Self-Disclosure & Congruence; Text Ch. 4; |

|June 10th |DUE: Self-reflection essay one, informed consent letter; Lab |

|Class Four: |Effective inquiry; Open & Closed Questions; Humor & Encouragement; |

|June 12th |Text Ch. 3; Lab |

|Class Five: |Reflecting Content; Paraphrasing, Interpreting, & Summarizing; |

|June 17th |Information Giving; Text Ch. 6 & 8; Lab |

|Class Six: |Self-Study: Students are to use this time to prepare their tape and |

|June 19th |transcripts for class |

|Class Seven: |Viewing Tapes of Counselors, DUE: Tape One with Transcript |

|June 24th | |

|Class Eight: |Reflecting Feeling & Meaning; Immediacy; Genuineness; Text Ch. 7 & 8;|

|June 26th |Lab |

| |*Mid-Term will be distributed on this day |

|Class Nine: |Challenging & Confronting; Socratic Questioning; Paradoxical |

|July 1st |Interventions; Text Ch. 9; Lab; *DUE: Mid-term |

|Class Ten: |Self-study: Students are to use this time to prepare their second |

|July 3rd |tapes |

|Class Eleven: |Assessing progress: Research and Evidenced-based techniques; |

|July 8th |Mini-Mental State Exams; Text Ch. 10; Lab; |

|Class Twelve: |Objective and Goal Setting; Solution-oriented interviewing; Text Ch. |

|July 10th |11 & 12; Lab |

|Class Thirteen: |Action Strategies: Assigning homework; Role-plays, Biblio-therapy, & |

|July 15th |Behavioral techniques; Lab; *DUE: Tape Two |

|Class Fourteen: |Terminating Counseling; Lab |

|July 17nd | |

|Class Fifteen: |Advanced Techniques Review; Lab; *DUE: Self-reflection essay two |

|July 22th | |

|Class Sixteen: |Self-study: Students are to use this time to prepare their third and |

|July 24th |final tapes |

|Class Seventeen: |Video |

|July 29th | |

|Class Eighteen: |Final Class Period; review for final exam, Student evaluations of |

|July 31st |instructor are available on WebCT; *DUE: Tape 3; |

|Class Nineteen: August 5th |Finals and all outstanding assignments due on this date |

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