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.

Sperry, L., Carlson, J., and Kjos, D. (2002). Becoming an Effective Therapist. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. [Chs. 1-3 of this text, which is also used in PSYC 534, PSYC 514 and GUCO 510, will be covered in this class.]

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.

Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:

Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class 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.


1. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND CLASS PARTICIPATION (15)

Each class member will be expected to formulate questions synthesized from the readings. These should be questions that interest you and will stimulate class discussion. Class discussion will be evaluated on the basis of quality of contribution and demonstration of the following:
a. Comprehension.
b. Transformation of ideas and materials through critical interpretation.
c. Affective skills that reflect empathic sensitivity to others.

2. CLASS EXPERIENCE REACTION PAPER (30. 10 each)

Each class member is to write three, 3-5 page class experience reaction papers related to classroom activities. You will assess your own self-awareness (i.e., thoughts, feelings, behaviors) through class participation in experiential activities and report your observations of critical behaviors and possible thoughts and feelings of others. Specifically, you will:
a. describe your own self-awareness gained through participation in the class activity*;
b. discuss your observations of critical behaviors of others' involvement in the activity;
Plus you will do two of the following:
c. describe elements of a helping relationship (e.g., attending skills, effective responses, questions, etc.) and applicable techniques that you used and/or observed, or that might have been appropriate to use;
d. identify possible influences of culture, gender, and individual differences on the counseling process,
e. and describe your personal strengths and areas of improvement as a potential counselor
The first paper is due on November 12th. The second paper is due on December 3rd. The third paper is due on December 17th. Late papers will not be accepted.

*You are expected, although not forced, to participate in all in-class experiential activities. Although unlikely, if an activity causes you distress or discomfort, you will be excused from participation without need for explanation at that time. In this case, your reaction paper will need to respond to your awareness of the issues involved in your reactions to the activity.

3. SELF-AWARENESS/SELF-CARE PROJECT (15)

Each class member is to complete a Self-Awareness/Self-Care Project. This exercise is designed for you to set a goal in order to fulfill a desire, accomplish a task, or develop a creative skill in a special area of interest to you. The project is to be associated with your specific personal and professional aspirations.
The intent is 1) to increase your own self-awareness and self/care skill, and 2) to simulate the risk taking and growth that clients experience when they set goals and follow through.

The details of this assignment will be discussed in class. A contract for this project is due no later than the morning of November 12th. The written portion of this project is due on December 17th. Class discussion of projects will be on December 18th.

4. TOPIC PRESENTATIONS (20 points)

You will be assigned a chapter from the Neukrug text in one of the following topics: Family Counseling, Group Work, Life-Span Development, Abnormal Development and Diagnosis, Career Development, Testing and Assessment, Research and Evaluation, or Multicultural Counseling. You will present this topic to your classmates on the day assigned for your chapter. Your presentation will consist of:
a. a 1-2 page written outline of main points to be distributed in class.
b. a brief oral discussion the important points and issues for this topic.
c. a demonstration using one exercise from Chs. 7-10 in the Sperry,Carlson, & Kjos text and one exercise from the Neukrug workbook.
d. class participation and discussion. Allow time for feedback from the class at the end of your presentation.
Total chapter topic time is 50-60 minutes. Presentations should take approximately 25 – 30 minutes. Discussion and feedback should also take approximately 20 – 30 minutes.

5. FINAL EXAMINATION (20 points)

An open-book final examination will be given in class on December 18th. The questions will be drawn from the text readings, the lecture notes, and the course assignments and handouts.