Syllabus

Course Number:COUN 633Course Title:Counseling and Psychotherapy Techniques

Session:Fall 2011Instructor:Radha J. Horton-Parker, Ph.D., NCC, NCSC

Coaches: LaShauna Dean-Nganga and Jennifer Bridges

Course Description:A course focused on developing knowledge, attitudes, and skills essential to effective counseling. Emphasis on experiential learning of interviewing strategies.

Purpose of Course:In this course, you will learn to help others make new meanings of their experiences and to change their behaviors. You will struggle to let go of the need to impose your views, to tell your “truths,” to direct others, and to attempt to quickly solve problems. Instead you will try patient, intensive listening, which will be harder work for most of you than many traditional academic tasks are. Some of you might begin to transform or evolve in your general way of knowing as a result of this course, from a more external, directive orientation, to a more empathic interest in empowering others.

Course Objectives/Competencies:

Upon successful completion of the course, students will learn:

  • Basic attending skills, including (1) non-verbal attending (including minimal encouraging), (2) paraphrasing, (3) responding to feelings, (4) open invitations to talk (e.g., questions), and (5) summarization.
  • The core conditions of (1) unconditional positive regard, (2) genuineness (or congruence between thoughts/feelings and actions), and (3) empathy (the ability to understand as if you were the other)
  • The integration of the five basic attending skills into an interview.
  • “Self-reflectiveness,” or, more specifically, the nature of "transference" and "counter-transference" (helper transferences of his or her own concerns) in the counseling relationship.
  • Five typical stages of many helping interviews.
  • The more directive helping skills of confrontation, direction-giving and interpretation/reframing in counseling.
  • Awareness of personal strengths and limitations as they affect this work.
  • To frame the helping act from a cultural perspective and appreciate the importance of cultural sensitivity in counseling work.
  • The importance of ongoing supervision and feedback in counseling.
  • Ethical issues in applying helping skills.

Course Requirements:

  1. Midterm Exam –October 12
  1. Final Exam – December 14
  1. Project - Consists of (1) videotape of a twenty-minute interview, (2) typed transcript and commentary, and (3) emailed attachment of the typed transcript and commentary. This assignment is intended to provide an opportunity for students to practice the skills of the helping interview, to receive feedback, and to engage in self-evaluation. The project is due November 9.

4.Class attendance and active participation in: (a) classroom demonstrations and practice sessions; and

(b) supervision with a doctoral student coach. Please note that practice sessions in class should be recorded, and it is the student’s responsibility to bring recording equipment and tapes to class each week. The protection of confidentiality is expected of all students.

5.E-mail Access: Students must have a working ODU student e-mail address which they will check prior to each class.

Accommodating Students with Special Learning Needs: In accordance with University policy, a student who wishes to receive some instructional accommodation, because of a documented sensory and/or learning disability, should meet with the instructor to discuss those accommodations.

Attendance and Participation: Attendance and active participation are mandatory in this course, and students will be expected to be fully engaged – from both the perspective of counselor and “client” – in the assigned activities. In the role of “client”, students will be asked to decide on a self-change project which will serve as a focus of discussion within the practice sessions. Please be aware that missing more than one class or supervision meeting (for any reason) will significantly impact the student’s final grade.

Grading:

Point Spread for Grade Determination:

92 to 100 = A82 to 87 = B72 to 77 = C

90 to 91 = A-80 to 81 = B-70 to 71 = C-

88 to 89 = B+ 78 to 79 = C+Below 70 = F

Final Grade:

1) 25% for 1st test.3) 30% for project.

2) 25% for 2nd test.4) 20% for attendance and participation in all required activities.

Honors Pledge:

“I pledge to support the Honor System of OldDominionUniversity. I will refrain from any form of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware that as a member of the academic community it is my responsibility to turn in all suspected violators of the Honor Code. I will report to a hearing if summoned.”

Dr. Horton-Parker’s Office Hours: Wed.: 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.; 9:50 p.m.–10:30 p.m.; by appt. E-mail: Office: Education 165-3 Phone: 683-3334/3221

Jennifer Bridges’ Email:

LaShauna Dean-Nganga’s Email:

Texts:

Ivey, A. E., Ivey, M. B., & Zalaquetta, C. P. (2009). Intentional interviewing and counseling: Facilitating client development in a multicultural society (7th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks Cole. (Required)

Benjamin, A. (2001). The helping interview with case illustrations. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (Recommended)

Additional Requirements:A large envelope, an inexpensive video recorder, and a means to provide a copy of recordings to the instructor and/or supervisor.

TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE

Topic / Readings
Class 1
8/31/10 / Introduction
Review Syllabus
Ethics, Multicultural Competence, and Wellness / I 1-2
B 1-2
Class 2
9/7/10 / Attending / I 3
Class 3
9/14/10 / Questions / I 4
B 3,5
Class 4
9/21/10 / Observation / I 5
Class 5
9/28/10 / Active Listening / I 6
Class 6
10/5/10 / Reflecting / I 7
B 4
Class 7
10/12/10 / Midterm Exam
Class 8
10/19/10 / Advanced Interviewing / I 8
Class 9
10/26/10 / Confrontation / I 9
Class 10
11/2/10 / Multiple Perspectives
Project Due / I10
B6
Class 11
11/9/10 / Client Values and Beliefs / I 11
B 7
Class 12
11/16/10 / Change Strategies / I 12
B 8
Class 13
11/30/10 / Skills Integration / I 13
Class 14
12/7/10 / Theoretical Considerations
Developing a Personal Style / I 14
I 15
Class 15
12/14/10 / Final Exam

* This syllabus and course calendar offer a tentative guide for the course. Changes in dates may be made at the discretion of the instructor.

I: Ivey, Ivey, & Zalaquett; B: Benjamin

Guidelines for the Project

This project will consist of your conducting a twenty-minute interview in which you respond to the client using both basic and advanced skills. There will be two dimensions: the interview itself, as represented by a videotape and averbatim transcript of the interview, and a typed commentary (introduction, ongoing comments, and conclusion) accompanying the transcript.

General Directions for the Project:

  • Videotape a 20-minute session (no longer!), preferably with someone whom you have interviewed before. Make sure the tape represents your best work. Make sure the tape is audible and that both participants are visible. NOTE: Do not have a bright light, such as a window, behind you. It will cause you and your client to be in shadow. Make sure that you and the client can be seen and heard. You may have to sit closer than usual for that purpose.
  • Go through all stages of an interview during the twenty minutes, in the process demonstrating some of the skills practiced thus far in the course. Make sure the session has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It is preferable that this not be an intake session or a termination session, but a session in the middle that reflects your ongoing work with this “client” (i.e., it would be good if you are able to refer to a previous session and possible recurring patterns). Label the tape with your name before handing it in.
  • Type the interview and comment on it, using the three-column table format. (Reminder: include page numbers). Place both the tape and commentary in a clearly labeled envelope to insure that they will not become separated when submitted to the instructor.

[Suggestion: The classmate who is your interviewee should know that it is possible that we will listen to some of the taped session in class after it is returned.

Technical Guidelines for the Project:

  • Set up and tape a helping interview session with a “client” in which you respond empathically to the person. It is best if the interviewee presents a "real" concern.
  • Type the interview itself up (including page numbers) and add the commentary, using a three-column format.

Reminders and Specific Directions for the Commentary:

  • Write an introduction and conclusion. The commentary should include comments

both on your work and on the client himself or herself. Do the following:

  1. Before: a brief introduction to the segment (e.g., who the interviewee is (e.g., first name), other background information (demographics/cultural background, such as gender, age, race, religion, ethnicity, disability, social class, and/or sexual orientation) where you are in the interview)
  2. During:ongoing naming of every skill you are using, reflections/critiques on the choice and nature of your statements, and comments on what you understand about the client (i.e., third column of format presented in Appendix A).
  3. After: a conclusion on the whole session (Share your overall perceptions of it and your choices.)

I recommend that you add commentary that refers to any of the other material from the course, as it seems relevant to you (e.g., from class discussions or from Benjamin or other parts of the Ivey readings).

Evaluation and grading:

I will judge "subtractive," “interchangeable,” and "additive" interventions. Empathy, support, and challenge are three general ingredients that should be woven into the session. You judge which skills to use in the session.

The assignment will be rated separately for:

(1) Demonstration of skills:

  • The ongoing, consistent and appropriate use of the basic attending skills over the 20 minutes, which are presented in chapters 1 – 12 of Ivey. The interview should include a demonstration of at least one of each of the following skills: (1) non-verbal attending, (2) minimal encouragers, (3) paraphrasing, or "reflection of content," (4) reflection of feeling, and (5) open invitations to talk (e.g., questions).
  • The ability to respond empathically to the other person’s perspective, allowing her or him to explore facts, feelings, and/or meanings.
  • The appropriate use of some of the so-called "advanced skills," which are presented in chapters 8 - 13 of Ivey. You are not expected to demonstrate each of the specific microskills in this 20-minute interview, as it may not be appropriate or possible to do so. Using your current repertoire, judge which interventions to use, based on your ongoing response to the client.
  • Movement through the five stages of an interview (even though some of this movement may seem forced, given the time allowed).
  • The following general dimensions ("macroskills") of an effective helping interview:
  • SHOWS INTEREST AND APPRECIATION
  • ENCOURAGES EXPLORATION
  • DEEPENS THE SESSION
  • ENCOURAGES CHANGE
  • DEVELOPS THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP
  • MANAGES THE SESSION

(2) Insightfulness and completeness of commentary, including introductory and closing comment.

  • A beginning brief introduction to the session.
  • Your ongoing commentary on the right hand side of the page or between the lines, which will consist of your reflections on your interventions, and suggestions for alternate responses on your part and observations (sometimes “hunches”) on the client and his or her situation
  • A closing statement (of at least one paragraph) on the interview - its nature and relative effectiveness and on the client.
  • ADD to this closing statement: A short paragraph on how you perceive your interviewing to be different now (if at all…) than it would have been on the first day of class. Give specifics.

Review of the Transcript and Commentary Requirements:

  • An introduction
  • In the columns themselves, the following:
  • Your and the interviewee’s words (but not every “umhm” or other similar minimal response)
  • An ongoing commentary including:
  • The name of the skill(s) used (e.g., open question, closed question, reflection of feeling, interpretation, confrontation), some responses may be uncategorizable).
  • Periodic reflections (e.g., praise, observations, and other critique) of your choices and what you were thinking/feeling
  • Periodic observations of the interviewee, such as her perceptions, situation, and/or characteristics, as you see them (i.e., your hunches about “what’s going on” with the interviewee, on or below the surface.
  • A conclusion

NOTE: You should name each skill used, as best you can, but you need not comment on EVERY statement that either you or the interviewee makes. Use your judgment.

You will hand in the tape, a paper copy of transcript and commentary, and and electronic copy of the transcript and commentary on a CD or flash drive. This interview will be graded largely for your ability to demonstrate empathic listening, and to help and respond to the interviewee (including experiences that the interviewee himself or herself is not aware of), using the basic and advanced listening skills. The skills to be emphasized are: empathic responding, paraphrases/reflections of content, reflections of feeling, questions (especially some open questions), and minimal encouragers (including silence). You must demonstrate at least one of each. I recognize that these skills are often mixed within one counselor response. I will use “+” for a well done empathic response and “-” for a non-empathic one. The symbol “~” means an interchangeable response – it doesn’t subtract nor add, in my view. In addition, advanced skills (e.g., confrontation, interpretation) should also be included. Please note that your use of grammar and spelling (not in the verbal utterances, of course, but in the writing) will be evaluated. Spelling WILL count. Watch spelling and grammar in the commentary sections. Including there/their/they’re, effect/affect, its/it’s, and your/you’re. Points will be subtracted for these and other similar errors.

Appendix A

Format for Project

Introduction: [provide a description of cultural identities of client, presenting issue, etc.]

Interviewer / Interviewee / Commentary
[(a) Skill Used and Periodic Commentary on
(b) Interviewer Choices and/or (c) the client himself or herself (issues, situation, interviewer’s hunches, etc.)]
[Examples:]
Hi, What would you like to talk about?…… / Well, I was just thinking… / Greeting; Open question. Interviewee seems uncertain. Mistrustful? Is it because I am a White female? We’ll see.
So, I’m hearing that you are …etc. / Yes, I went to my first day of school and etc.. / Reflection of feelings. Facts. Interviewee seems to be “in her head” – intellectualizing? At this point I’m just trying to evoke the story…etc.
When you say that you are scared, I notice…etc / Um, I just think about all those other times…etc / Reflection of feelings. I noticed her look – it seemed…. I tried to…etc.

1 [page number]

Conclusion: I think that this interview flowed at first. However, I think that I got unfocused when….etc. Compared to my earlier attempts at listening, I find myself able to… However, I still …etc…

Appendix B

Feedback for Interview

Student Name ______Total Score: ______
Overall Criteria for Evaluating the Interview:
Structured the session, facilitated progress through the stages of the interview, and focused client on the essence of issues at a level deep enough to promote positive movement. Demonstrated genuineness, respect and regard.
Criteria for grading the transcript (20 pts.):
  1. Responded consistently to client’s perspective and used basic listening skills in a way that helped client to more deeply explore:______(3 points)

  1. Used reflection of content:______(3 points)

  1. Used reflection of feeling and demonstrated accurate empathy: ______(4 points)

  1. Used open questions and exploratory probes: ______(2 points)

  1. Used attentive body language and/or minimal encouragers: ______(2 points)

  1. Avoided unnecessary or inappropriate advising, self-disclosure, solution-giving, and/or solution-questioning; instead let client explore his or her own feelings, thoughts, situations, and concerns: _____ (2 points)

  1. Appropriately opened and closed the interview: ______(2 points)

  1. Helped the interviewee make progress in gaining insight and/or in achieving his or her goal: _____(2 points)

Criteria for grading the commentary (20 pts):
  1. Introduced the interview with some information on client (e.g., general or specific age, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc.): ______(3 points)

  1. Accurately named a skill or skills for each interviewer utterance, when possible: ______(4 points)

  1. Identified the stages as they progressed: ______(3 points)

  1. Showed intentions for choices and made accurate critical (positive or negative) reflections on own choices. Suggested an alternate utterance at least one time: ______(4 points)

  1. Made astute observations about the client (e.g., his or her situation, affect, possible other issues and considerations): ______(3 points)

  1. Concluded the interview with substantive overall perception of the session and choices made: ______(3 points)

Appendix C

Self-Change Project Guidelines

In order for you to effectively participate in this class, while you are in your “client” role, you will engage in a project for self-change. It is the process of the self-change project that you will discuss within your “counseling” sessions. It will be helpful to choose one or two areas of personal growth you will focus on throughout the semester. Use the “counseling” sessions to discuss your progress, your challenges and the thoughts and feelings you have related to this change.

Some possible topics (“issues”) for self-change might include:

  • Procrastination
  • Relationships
  • Habits
  • Stop smoking
  • Better study habits
  • Exercise
  • Eating healthier
  • Time management
  • Interactions with others
  • Relationship conflicts
  • discord with siblings
  • discord with boss or co-workers
  • Health problems in the family
  • Disruption of family – separation, divorce, estrangement; remarriage of a parent; Anxiety
  • Stress management
  • Grief & loss (recent)
  • Adjustment problems
  • Occupational problems
  • Unemployment
  • Threat of job loss
  • Stressful work schedule
  • Difficult work conditions
  • Job dissatisfaction
  • Job change
  • Inadequate support
  • Adjustment to life-cycle transition (such as returning to school)
  • Housing problems
  • Economic problems
  • Problems with access to health care services
  • Environmental problems: exposure to disasters, other hostilities (trauma)

DO NOT discuss the following (these areas require the assistance of a trained professional, not a peer):

  • Eating disorders
  • Addictions (e.g., alcoholism, substance abuse, gambling) and/or self-injury (e.g., cutting)
  • Sexual abuse or sexual assault
  • History of violence or domestic violence
  • Exposure to war or other major trauma

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