UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

Maryland in Europe Distance Education Programs

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Instructor:     Dr. Scott E. Borrelli

E-Mail Address: scott.borrelli@dial.pipex.com; sborrel@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

APO Address:     PSC 41, Box 2128
                           APO AE 09464

Residence:     Flat 1, 10 Becmead Avenue
                       London SW16 1UQ, UK

Phone/Fax: [44] (0) 208- 696-7661
 

Welcome to this essential course in adult development offered by the University of Maryland’s Counseling and Personnel Services Program (CAPS), European Division. The course will be delivered exclusively through distance education, utilizing the highest internet communication and learning technology to bring together students from all over the globe.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course explores the adult experience using developmental and interdisciplinary perspectives. We will focus on characteristics arising through the adult life cycle. All along, we will be comparing and contrasting notions of developmental stress and stressors with psychopathology, attempting to ‘normalize’ or ‘depathologize’ a number of symptom patterns, thereby establishing the professional counselor as a distinctive helping professional. The many complex issues of change and continuity facing adults at different points in their lives include marital and familial dynamics, physical and occupational transitions, identity, attachment, existential and life style concerns. We will examine these and other adult life-span issues within the context of the self, interpersonal relationships, and the life course. Significantly, contextual, gender and cultural considerations will be integrated throughout the course. The course provides awareness, knowledge and skills, all of which can be applied in various professional roles, including as counselor, educator and administrator. Current diagnostic and assessment issues will be examined from the constructivist-developmental counseling point of view. The DSM-IV will be reviewed and assessed for it’s value in providing assessment information and developing creative counseling interventions. Specific strategies for assessing and treating adult transitional stress will be studied.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course enables students to:

1. Identify and understand the major developmental life challenges facing adults, and the themes of growth, change, and adaptation that emerge through the adult life span.

2. Understand the major theoretical approaches to adult development and current research trends.

3. Become familiar with the major writers on adulthood and change.

4. Develop insight into one’s self as an adult "change agent" and link effective counseling strategies to these.

5. Develop insights into the meanings of personal developmental experiences.

6. Identify and apply strategies for intervening with adults in transition and/or crisis.

7. Perceive and work with clients from a positive, integrative, and eclectic perspective.

8. Consider both traditional and alternative intervention approaches.

9. Practice and learn formal transition assessment strategies.

10. Practice and learn a variety of interview and counseling skills with adults.

TEXT, READINGS, AND RESOURCE MATERIAL:

Required:

Lemme, Barbara Hanson. (1999). Development in Adulthood, 2nd edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Schlossberg, N. (1994). Overwhelmed: Coping with Life’s Ups and Downs. New York: Lexington Books.

The transition coping guide and questionnaire: A new way to think about change (1993). MN: Personnel Decisions, Inc. (to accompany the Schlossberg text).

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4^th ed.). Washington, DC.

A GOOD WORKING AUDIO CASSETTE RECORDER IS REQUIRED OF EACH STUDENT FOR INTERVIEW RECORDING PURPOSES.

Recommended:

The following are highly recommended as reference and resource materials. We will attempt to make the professional journal articles available via the internet:

Schlossberg, N. (1984). Counseling Adults in Transition. New York: Springer.

Ivey, Allen E. , Ivey, Mary B., (1998) Reframing DSM-IV: positive strategies from developmental counseling and therapy. The Journal of Counseling and Development. 76, 334-350.

Morgan, B., MacMillan, P. (1999) Helping clients move toward constructive change: A three-phase integrated counseling model. The Journal of Counseling and Development. 77, 153-170.

Fong, Margaret L., Silen, Karen A. (1999). Assessment and diagnosis of DSM-IV anxiety disorders, The Journal of Counseling and Development, 77, 209-217.

Spruill, David A., Benshoff, James M. (1996). The future is now: promoting professionalism among counselors-in-training. The Journal of Counseling and Development, 74, 468-471.

The following is an illuminating story of one woman’s look back on the "growing up" process:

Dillard, A. (1987). An American Childhood. New York: Harper and Row

INSTRUCTIONAL/LEARNING PROCEDURE:

The course will be delivered via the internet utilizing the University of Maryland’s Web Tycho system. Students will be assigned regular readings, chapter questions, cases, and other assignments affording opportunities to learn, reflect and apply material, according to the syllabus. Weekly exchange and discussion on the internet is required, to include substantive contributions. Major term assignments to include written projects will provide opportunities to integrate and apply various learnings and strategies about the experiences of adults in transition and/or crisis. Regular web searches will help us to develop a broad based set of resources.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:

1. INTRODUCTION - Initial autobiographical sketch and developmental timeline. (ungraded).

2. PROJECT I - Development of Structured Interview Format - i.e., a proposed set of interview questions (ungraded).

3. PROJECT II - Structured Developmental Interview (25%).

4. PROJECT III - Counseling session - Transcript and write-up (25%).

5. PROJECT IV: Transition Coping Assessment (25%).

6. COURSE PARTICIPATION: Completion of 12 weekly chapter Discussion Questions (DQ’s) and additional online activities (25%).

Further instructions and guidelines for assignments provided during first week of class.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

The course will take place over two terms (terms 3 & 4), from 22 January to 11 May, 2001. Specific and additional topics, readings, activities and assignments will be distributed throughout the class. The professor reserves the right to modify the syllabus, requirements, due dates etc,. Changes will be minor, and students will be given appropriate notice. Changes will be made to enhance the course content and to reflect individual and class interests as they emerge and change, reflecting a "developmental" approach to the course experience.

Students are responsible for providing detailed and thoughtful responses to the weekly chapter DQ’s, and to respond to at least two other student’s comments. "Weeks" run from Monday am to the following Sunday pm. The initial reading and DQ response is to be made during the relevant week, due no later than Sunday pm. Responses to other’s comments are due by the end of the FOLLOWING week. Therefore, each Weekly Topic actually runs over two weeks.

WEEK 1 (22-28 January, 2001): Read Preface and Chapter 1 (Lemme).

A. Introduce yourself by providing an autobiographical sketch and timeline in the appropriate CONFERENCE area. Tell us about some developmental highlights in your personal and/or professional life. Explain your goals for this course, where you are now, and where you hope to be in the future. Ask eachother some questions in the CAFÉ.
B. Review the texts to see what you’ve gotten yourselves into! How do they look?
C. See if you can begin to locate some of the professional articles listed under ‘texts, readings, and resource materials’.
D. Start reading Schlossberg’s book on transitions, and make comments throughout the course on your insights and discoveries in the appropriate Conference area.
E. Introduce Webliography: Complete a web search and contribute two useful sites on career assessment and/or counseling, including a brief description of the value of these sites.

WEEK 2: Read the Preface and Chapter 1 in the text: The Study of Development in Adulthood.
Respond to the following DQ1 (chapter Discussion Question) in the Week ONE Conference area:
"Identify and describe your understanding of the key elements of the life-span developmental perspective, and how these relate to your work as a professional counselor."

WEEK 3: Read Chapter 2: Theories of Psychosocial Development.
Respond to DQ 2: Complete the Critical Thinking Question case example regarding Ecological Systems theory found on p. 46 in the text.

Project I DUE.

WEEK 4: Read Chapter 3: The Self - Development and Issues of Culture, Gender, Ethnicity, and Age.
Respond to DQ 3: Complete the Critical Thinking Question on self-efficacy found on p. 94.

WEEK 5: Read Chapter 4: Cognitive Processes in Adulthood I.
Respond to DQ 4: Complete the Critical Thinking Question on the development of expertise found on p. 153.

WEEK 6: Read Chapter 5: Cognitive Processes in Adulthood II.
Respond to DQ 5: Identify the major psychosocial variables known to be related to cognitive development in adulthood. Describe any personal and/or professional experiences with some of these.

Project II DUE.

WEEK 7: Read Chapter 6. Social Development, Friendship, and Mate Selection.
Respond to DQ 6: Complete the Critical Thinking Question on p. 226 regarding the distinctions between leaving home psychologically and physically.

WEEK 8: Read Chapter 7: Family Ties, Transitions, and Challenges.
Respond to DQ 7: Why do people have children, and how do children influence the family and marital system. Use some examples.

WEEK 9: Read Chapter 8: Work and Retirement.
Respond to DQ 8: After reading the chapter, return to the list of needs that work can fulfil found on p. 299. Rank order these for yourself as you approach your new career as a professional counselor, and describe those most important to the place of work in your life.

Project III DUE.

WEEK 10: Read Chapter 9: Physical development and Aging.
Respond to DQ 9: Compare the traditional views of aging with the new and emerging views. How might these different perspectives influence your work with the elderly?

WEEK 11: Read Chapter 10: Health, Longevity, and Prevention.
Respond to DQ 10: Diagnoses as challenges: After reading the chapter, return to the Critical thinking Question presented on p. 395 and respond.

WEEK 12: Read Chapter 11: Coping, Adaptation, and Mental Health.
Respond to DQ 11: Would you expect rates of depression to be higher among internalizers or externalizers? Why? What relevance does the locus-of-control theory have for the work of the professional counselor?

Project IV DUE.

WEEK 13: Read Chapter 12: Death, Dying, and Bereavement.
Respond to DQ 12: Review the sample of the Living Well presented on p. 449. Describe your own perspective on the advantages and disadvantages of this document, and how you would work with a client wanting one.

WEEK 14: Course Review and Assessment.

ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES FOR PROJECTS I - IV:

• PROJECT I: Structured Interview Format.

• PROJECT II: Live Interview.

Choose a collaborator/interviewee (NOT a client, family member, or classmate) who will be interviewed for about one hour and use your structured interview format (Project I). Choose a collaborator who is NOT at the same life stage as you are. You may wish to choose a collaborator who has personal experience with your Project IV plan. Write a report on this person’s adult life with special emphasis on the life stage s/he has most recently lived. In a brief report, narrate your interview subject’s life experience and analyze this life to date, using at least TWO (2) of the theories under consideration in this course.

• PROJECT IV: Audio/Video Taped Counseling Session.

FURTHER GUIDELINES FOR ASSIGNMENTS:

Papers are to be typed and double-spaced following APA Style Format (1994). Papers that are poorly written will be returned for revisions or will receive a significantly lowered grade. Assignments are expected to be submitted on time, so plan your work accordingly. Extensions are granted upon request and only in circumstances beyond the student’s control. To guard against loss, always keep a copy of your assignments in your personal file.

ATTENDANCE

It is understood that unavoidable circumstances may make absences necessary for some students. When absences occur, the students and the professor will determine how the student can compensate for the loss of time. Unnecessary absences and/or lack of class participation will lower course grades.

POLICY STATEMENTS - on Academic Credit, Grades, Academic Integrity:

Please refer to pages 25 -26 of the Graduate Catalogue for the University System of Maryland Graduate Programs - Europe (2000-2001).

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Dr. Scott Edward Borrelli , EdD, NCC, ABPP

is a professor in the UK with the University of Maryland’s Graduate Program in Counseling and Personnel Services (CAPS),and an instructor of undergraduate psychology. He is a licensed counseling and clinical psychologist (US & UK), a National Certified Counselor (NCC). Most recently, he was awarded Diplomate, Board Certification in two practice specialties, counseling psychology and clinical psychology, by the American Board of Professional Psychology. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology, human resource management and counselor education at Boston University, Suffolk University and the University of Massachusetts. He has worked in schools (as School Psychologist and Guidance Counselor), mental health clinics (as Senior Psychologist) and hospitals (as Chief Psychologist), and as a consultant to businesses and social service agencies. He is a certified clinical hypnotherapist and EMDR therapist.

Dr. Borrelli maintained a private practice as a counselor and psychotherapist for twenty years, and has worked with clients of all ages and with a variety of problems. He has special interests in adult, couples, and family counseling, stress management, multi-cultural issues, psychopharmacology and psychological assessment.

Theoretically, Dr. Borrelli considers himself a generalist and integrative practitioner, flexibly applying a client-tailored and eclectic approach to counseling and teaching, including psychodynamic, developmental, humanistic and cognitive-behavioral approaches. He emphasizes personal empowerment and self-esteem, and views the counseling relationship as one of many interpersonal strategies for contributing to individual and cultural well-being.
 
 

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