Graduate Programs – Europe Counseling and Personnel Services (CAPS)

COURSE: EDCP 610: Professional Orientation to Counseling

Instructor: J.  Alexander Boeringa, Ph.D., ABBP

Contact: aboering@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

Phone: 0160.9500.7336

Dates and Time: Term IV: Weekends at Heidelberg from 09:00 to 16:00     April 6/7; 20/21; May 4/5; 18/19

Office Hours: One hour before Class or by appointment.

 CREDIT. This is a required course for the Master of Education and Master of Arts in Counseling and Personnel Services of three (3)-semester hours credit. It must be taken during the first three terms of graduate study.

 COURSE MATERIALS:                                                                           

• Neukrug, E. (1999). The world of the counselor: An introduction to counseling. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. 
• Neukrug, E. (1999). The world of the counselor: An experiential workbook for developing professional competencies. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. 
• American Psychological Association. (1994). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author

.In addition this course will be Technologically Enhanced and a Web Board will be utilized which will require Internet access and an e-mail account.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to provide an overview of counseling strategies, concepts, and practices. Students are provided a review of the work of counselors who function in a broad variety of professional settings such as community and government agencies, schools and private practice.  Assignments are designed to provide an overview of counseling as a profession as well as an orientation to graduate study in professional counseling and to stimulate self-knowledge in these areas. This course assists students to determine if the nature of the counseling profession and pursuing a graduate counseling degree are compatible with their individual strengths and motivations. The anticipated goal is that, at the end of the course, students will have identified the strength of their desire and ability to pursue a career in the helping professions.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this course are for students to gain an information base and demonstrate competence in: 

 

1.The historical antecedents and current definitions of the counseling profession.

2.The standards of counseling as a regulated profession including awareness of professional issues, ethics, and credentialing.

3.The theories and basic counseling and interpersonal skills of communication associated with the counseling relationship. 

4. An understanding and appreciation of various populations with whom counselors work and a multicultural and diversity focus in counseling skills and advocacy.

5. Familiarity with appropriate assessment procedures, community resources and intervention strategies and skills, and awareness of the specialty areas of counseling and their various settings.

6.An awareness of future trends, particularly the expanded role of technology, and emerging concepts and theories in counseling.

7 Enhanced self-awareness of personal strengths, interests, and abilities.

 

EVALUATION:

 Due dates for assignments will be provided during the orientation.  Specific information regarding each assignment will be provided to all students well in advance of the due dates. In addition, personal communications with the instructor are encouraged at any stage of assignments for guidance.  Students will practice basic counseling skills with fellow students in three simulated counseling interviews. Written assignments include: an autobiographical statement, reaction papers relating to the weekend sessions and reviews of journal articles or reports.  The final self-examination will consist of an essay on what has been gained in the course and the student’s interests, aptitudes and motivation to continue with the academic and professional preparation necessary to become a professional counselor.

Attendance and Participation --------20 points

Autobiography -------5

 Reaction papers (3@ 10 each)-----30                                                          

Journal/ Report (5@ 2 each)-----10                                                               

Final Self Exam-----35                                                            

TOTAL----------100 points

Letter grades will be assigned as follows:

A = 90-100 points;  B =80-89;  C= 70-79;  D = 60-69;  F(a) below 60 

Class Policies and Procedures:

Attendance: terms are short and regular class attendance and participation is expected. These are difficult times and flexibility is required but academic standards must also be maintained; good communication is the key.  When possible, please let the instructor, and as a courtesy, your classmates, know beforehand if a missed class is unavoidable. It remains your responsibility to obtain information covering the material covered and upcoming assignments.

Assignments: If you must miss an announced due date for assignments or a scheduled presentation for duty reasons or illness, you must provide documentary proof to be permitted to obtain credit.

Academic integrity: Plagiarized papers, reports, or exams will receive a grade of 0 (zero) when copied in whole or in part. Please make it clear when you are legitimately quoting other sources within the body of your work.

Confidentiality: This course by its nature and relevance to the participants may invite self-disclosure. This is NEVER required, and any shared life experiences are strictly voluntary. Students should remember to be discrete in terms of what is appropriate to share in a classroom setting. Any personal information that is disclosed by others as part of a class discussion should be considered to be done in confidence. This means it is not to be shared with anyone not a member of the class, and not outside the classroom. You want to be free to talk and not become the subject of some “juicy gossip”; please also respect the privacy of your fellow class students. The trust we place in each other encourages open communication and enhances the learning process.

 

INSTRUCTOR:I was born in Chicago, served two years with the Army, received my BA from Hope College and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. I subsequently was awarded a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology (ABPP). Over the years I have had extensive clinical, research, and applied experience in a broad variety of positions including those in Hospitals, Medical Schools, Private Practice, and Community Mental Health Clinics. My last 20 years were spent working for the Veterans Administration. My teaching includes having been an Assistant professor at the UT Medical School in Galveston and having taught as a part time adjunct faculty at several Colleges and Universities. For the past 10 years I was the Chief of Psychology Service at the Houston VA Medical Center. In addition to heading a large staff of active clinicians, we had an APA Accredited Internship and Post-Doctoral Training Site as well as numerous Masters Level Practicum Students. Staff and students came from both Clinical and Counseling Programs. In addition to administrative duties I participated in personal counseling and related activities throughout the hospital and was the direct supervisor of a Counseling Psychology and Job Placement Section.

610 Class assignments

 

Autobiographical Statement

Please begin with some simple demographic information about you, your present situation, family of origin information and any other relevant history you may choose to include. But this is not a resume but rather the tale of a journey.

 I would like to have the first installment written before the class and handed in on the first Saturday. I will read it and return it to you on Sunday maybe with questions or comments. By the second class you should revise or add to the paper based on either my responses, or your own, or both.

The intent is to get to know you a little and so, of course, I will respect what you write and it will remain confidential. I expect in the class that you will get to know me better as well.

 

Reaction Paper

Write a reaction paper of at least two typed pages following each of the first three weekend classes about what you learned about he subject and/or yourself. What about the experience might be personally and professionally useful? What has not been useful and what might be covered or done in the course to make it better? Other than this there are no rules of style; you could equally write an analysis, a poem, or a critical exegesis of the text. The idea is for you to think about what happened, process it, and try to, well, react to it.

 

Journal Articles and Reports

In the course of the class I will assign specific topics for you or the class as a whole to research using electronic or printed recourses or perhaps a mini-experiment or set of observations. Alternately you may choose to pursue a topic relevant to this course that especially interests you or will be helpful in your career decision process.

 

Interview

Age/sex

Degree and Career Goals

Past and present jobs

Motivation for this field

Courses taken so far

Difference in Graduate study

Theory of Counseling

Personal Challenges

Personal Growth

Most rewarding aspects of career

Best moment so far

Down side?

Ideal position

Any advise?

What would you like to be asked?

           

As in any good listening situation the Interviewer should be prepared to be flexible and follow the interests of the Interviewee – while at the same time be ready to pull them back to the task at hand should they begin to ramble too far in unproductive or irrelevant areas. Part of the challenge of interviewing is being abler to differentiate between these. One example, reminiscence about their happiest or saddest moments should be encouraged with quiet attention. A discussion about why their favorite team player should not have been traded will receive a discrete pull back to the topic.

 

Self Examination

Graduate students will write a final essay paper in class consisting of their self-interests, aptitude, and motivation to continue with the academic, professional, and personal preparation necessary to become a professional counselor. They should begin to make notes or outlines and prepare for this throughout the term. The reaction papers can be one possible inspiration but the emphasis will be on current impressions and future aspirations.