UMUC-EUROPE GRADUATE PROGRAMS
BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY

PSYC502 Syllabus

Course Title Principles and Philosophy of Counseling
Term TERM 2, 2004/2005
Education Center KAISERSLAUTERN-KAP-GRAD
Faculty Member James Boeringa - aboering@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

Faculty Contact Information:

Faculty Contact Information: Alexander Boeringa,Ph.D.,ABDD
Aboering@faculty.ed.umuc.edu or aboer108@yahoo.com
Phone 160 231-1853 (handy; leave message)

Consultation:

Office Hours 1/2 hour before class or by appointment

Required Texts and Readings:

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, APA.

Neukrug, E. (2003). World of the Counselor. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Neukrug, E. (2003). World of the Counselor Workbook. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Supplementary Readings:

All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/.The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available.  The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students’ research and writing skills.

Recommended Journals:

A variety of full-text, online, free-of-charge and pay-per-view academic journals are listed on the Counseling Webboard at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/graduate/webboards/

Course Description:

Historical, philosophical, psychological, and sociological basis of counseling in different settings(school, agency, and community) and with different populations will be explored. Intervention strategies, theoretical models, working contexts, relationships to other professions, ethics, obstacles to service delivery, and personal qualities of counselors are reviewed. Students may receive credit for only one of the following courses: PSYC 502 or EDCP 610.

Course Goals:

This course introduces students to the field of counseling including specializations, professional ethics, relevant credentialing legislation, and current issues. It also provides an introduction to the basic counseling theories and skills.

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.

Grading Information:

Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
 
    A     92%
    B     80 – 91%
    C     70 – 79%
    F     Below 70%
 Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion.  Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available in your local Education Center or online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs.

Course Requirements:

Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.
 
In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to:
 
Participate in classroom discussions            20%
Write graduate level papers or case studies     20%
Exercises or presentations                      20%
Complete one or more written examination(s)     40%

Description of Course Requirements:

Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class ON TIME prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner. Usually this requires two to three hours of additional for every hour of a face-to-face class and approximately ten hours of preparation per week for a DE class. Any absences MUST be explained in writing in order to be considered for an excused absence and,whenever possible, approval obtained beforehand.
Missed exams or late papers without prior permission or appropriate documentation of an emergency or duty assignment will result in a grade of Zero.


Write graduate level papers or case studies: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC, UMUC-Europe or BSU), partially or in its entirety, is not acceptable in this course and will result in an automatic failure on the assignment. Plan on committing approximately 150 hours over the duration of this course to producing professional level deliverables. 

Orally/visually present prepared material: You are required to present your research in a professional manner. In a face-to-face course, this typically means an oral presentation accompanied by appropriate visual material. In a DE class, this means creating a visual/textual presentation for your instructor and classmates.

Complete one or more written examination(s): The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary to successfully passing the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. The questions used for this course will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as though to be included on a comprehensive exam.

Course Schedule:

This schedule presents 16 units or modules, with each unit corresponding to a half-day on weekends. Classes with be at Kapaun from 0900 to 1600 on 30/31 Oct; 13/14 Nov and 4/5; 18/19 Dec.
Initial meeting:
      Introductions
      Review of syllabus
      Clarification of goals, objectives and requirements
      Orientation to subject 
  
Weeknd Two:

Weekend Three:

Weekend Four:
 

Academic Policies:

Note: Any written assignment in this course may be submitted to TurnItIn.Com. This statement constitutes prior notice.

The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: "Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi."

Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course and to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:

Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities

Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center.

Faculty Bio:


Dr. Boeringa was born in Chicago, served two years in the Army, and received a BA in Psychology from Hope College, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. He holds a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology awarded by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). He was an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Medical School in Galveston and has also taught in part time adjunct faculty positions at several colleges and universities. He has several research and clinical publications. Much of his career was with the Veterans Administration and for the past 10 years he was the Chief of Psychology Service at the Houston VA Medical Center. Of particular relevance to this course is his varied experience as a psychotherapist in several different agencies and in private practice.


Last updated by James Boeringa: September 15, 2004, 3:12 pm
Find this syllabus linked from the schedule at: http://www.ed.umuc.edu/schedule