COURSE DATES: Terms III & II Tuesdays, 1800 - 2100

COURSE LOCATION: RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom

TEXTS:

--Corey, G. (1996). Theory and Practice of Counseling and

Psychotherapy. (5th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

--Egan, G. (1998). The Skilled Helper. (6th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA:

Brooks/Cole.

The accompanying Student Manuals for both texts are also required.

Additional materials will be provided by the Instructor.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Counseling is both an art and a science, and professional preparation reflects this dual concentration. As a counseling graduate student, you must have a clear understanding of and appreciation for the rigors of the scientific approach that provides the foundation of our work. This knowledge will help you to select the best strategies for specific people and issues. You must also have a clear understanding of and appreciation for the diversity of human living, and hone intuitive skills within relationship with others. The art of observing and listening well is crucial for the counselor dedicated to the wellness of individuals and society. This course in the theory and practice of counseling explores the major philosophies, theories and techniques for professional counseling. Human nature, coping styles, and developmental issues will be examined from different theoretical perspectives. The importance of personal growth and self-awareness for the developing counselor will be emphasized throughout the course. Students will continue the process of integrating personal style and philosophy into an effective counseling approach. The development of basic counseling skills will be accomplished through in and out of classroom practice by recording and critiquing relationship building counseling sessions.

Upon completion of this course, CAPS Graduate students will have had the opportunity to gain mastery in the following areas:

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

In order to benefit fully from the technological enhancements to this course, students are strongly encouraged to have reliable email and Internet capabilities as a course website will be established.

Students will be responsible for completing the following requirements:

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS:

Interview with Counseling Professor: It will be your responsibility to contact a counseling professor in the CAPS Program (European Division, Asian Division, or College Park) or in another equivalent program and to conduct either a face-to-face, telephone, or electronic interview. You will be responsible for determining the primary area(s) of focus in relation to the topics we will be covering regarding counseling theory and practice. You must include, however, some aspects of multi-cultural counseling theory and practice. You must then organize and synthesize your interview findings and your learning from the assignment and present them in a written report to the class and Instructor.

Interview with Professional Counselor: It will be your responsibility to contact a licensed/certified professional counselor or other human services provider and to conduct either a face-to-face, telephone, or electronic interview. You will be responsible for determining the primary area(s) of focus in relation to the topics we will be covering regarding counseling theory and practice. You must include, however, some aspects of theoretical orientation and relate your findings to Egan's "Problem Management Approach to Helping". You must then organize and synthesize your interview findings and your learning from the assignment and present them in a written report to the class and Instructor..

Corey and Egan Workbook Exercises: In the accompanying workbooks for each of the course texts, you will be responsible for selecting five assignments, one each from five different chapters for each workbook. Your written responses to the exercises will be shared with the Instructor and your classmates for feedback.

Personal Inventory of Values: For this assignment, you must consider Egan's "Values in Action" construct a personal examination of your value system as related to the helping professions. You must also choose one value that you hold that may be incongruent with being a counselor in a multicultural society, and define its current status, its preferred status, and action strategies that will assist change toward "valued" outcomes.

Reaction Journals: You will be responsible for choosing one chapter from each of our texts and providing a written translation of the main points in your own words along with reactions, applications, and learnings you have gleaned. You will also need to cross-reference the material with at least one other source from our course website or its equivalent.

Responses: You will be responsible for choosing one of your classmate's Reaction Journals and providing a written response to it, including comments on their translation, analysis and synthesis of your thoughts and theirs, and learnings you have gleaned. You will also need to cross-reference the material with at least one other source from our course website or its equivalent.

Peer Counseling and Critique: Each student will conduct an audiotaped or videotaped brief counseling session with a peer. A multi-modal assessment (Lazarus) will be completed, as well as three pages of transcript and analysis of counseling skills, and a summary of the experience including a personal assessment of strengths and areas needing improvement, and a plan for improvement of skills.

Oral Presentation: Either individually or in pairs, students must organize and present a "lesson" to the rest of the class dealing with some aspect(s) of the weekly topic on the syllabus that corresponds with their sign-up date for the presentation. The presentation must include action-oriented class involvement to promote learning.

Final Examination/Final Project: Students must choose to complete either a Final Examination or a Final Project. Students electing to take a Final Examination will be responsible for completing a number of essay questions related to the course material as a take home exam.

Students electing to complete the Final Project must prepare a simulated case study that either: a) emphasizes and illustrates the integrative theoretical nature of working with a particular client, or b) demonstrates the various stages/processes of Egan's model.

COURSE POLICIES:

Students should be aware of all relevant University of Maryland Graduate Programs and CAPS policies as well as the following course policies:

ASSIGNMENTS are due as indicated in the Schedule of Assignments and must be completed on time. Unexcused late assignments will result in lower grades. All assignments must be carefully proof-read, typed, double-spaced and follow the latest APA style writing format;

CLASS ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION must be regular and continuous in order to benefit from and contribute to the learning process;

CLASS ENVIRONMENT expectations include following the highest ethical standards from both the Instructor and the students in terms of confidentiality and respect for human rights, safety, and welfare.

NOTE that sometimes the material and topics covered in this course can cause students to question the counseling needs of the student, a family member or friend. If diagnosis and treatment issues arise, the Instructor will assist with referral to an appropriate source outside the educational setting as this course is for academic rather than clinical purposes;

GRADES OF "I" (INCOMPLETE) will be granted only in extreme cases where illness, family emergency, or military duty interferes with course completion;

SPECIAL NEEDS accommodation for students with a disability or exceptionality must be discussed with the Instructor. Students are also encouraged to discuss any classroom situations that cause them discomfort or uncertainty.

GRADING: Grading will be as objective as possible with grades given for mastery of the material. Students will not be in competition with each other for grades but will be in competition with themselves in terms of mastery of the course material.

Letter grades will be assigned as follows:

Seession 1: Introduction to Counseling Practice Corey, Chs 1,2

Session 2: Ethical Issues Corey, Ch 3

Session 3: Psychoanalytic & Adlerian Therapies Corey, Chs 4,5

Session 4: Existential & Person-Centered Therapies Corey, Chs 6,7

Session 5: Gestalt & Reality Therapies Corey, Chs 8,9

Session 6: Behavior & Cognitive-Behavior Therapies Corey, Chs 10,11

Session 7: Family Systems Therapy Corey, Ch 12

Session 8: Multi-Cultural Therapy (Sue; Arredondo) (TBA)

Multi-Modal Assessment (Lazarus)

TERM BREAK

Session 9: Introduction to The Skilled Helper Model Egan, Chs 1,2

Session 10: Values and Valuing in Counseling Egan, Ch 3

Session 11: Basic Communication Skills Egan, Chs 4,5,6

Session 12: Stage 1: Helping Define the Status Quo Egan, Chs 7,8,9

Session 13: Stage I: Challenging the Status Quo Egan, Chs 10,11,12

Session 14: Stage II: Helping Define a Future Commitment Egan, Chs 13,14,15

Session 15: Stage III: Helping Build a Bridge Egan, Chs 16,17,18

Session 16: Summary/Review/Evaluation Egan, Ch 19

COURSE SCHEDULE CHANGES

The Instructor reserves the right to make minor changes in the course schedule and assignments in order to improve the learning experience.