ArgosyUniversity, Chicago Campus

MA Community Counseling

PC6104 Counseling Skills

Section Spring 2009

Tentative Syllabus

FACULTY Name: Dr. Tadesse Giorgis

Phone: (312) 777-7657

E-mail:

Office Hours: By appointment

MEETING DATESFull semester; week of January 10 – to week of Aproil23

CLASS SCHEDULEMonday6-8:45pm (Starting January10)

Course length: 15 Weeks

Contact Hours: 45 Hours

Credit Value: 3.0

MASTER OF ARTS IN COMMUNITY COUNSEING MISSION STATEMENT

The Master of Arts in Community Counseling Program has been designed to provide students with a sound foundation for eventual practice of professional community-based counseling. The program introduces students to basic counseling skills that integrate individual and group theoretical foundations of professional psychology into appropriate client interaction and intervention skills. The program emphasizes the development of attitudes, knowledge, and skills essential in the formation of professional counselors who are committed to the ethical provision of quality services.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The Counseling Skills I course is a fundamental study of the helping relationship. This course provides a broad understanding of philosophic bases of helping processes: Basic advanced helping skills, client and helper self-understanding and self-development and the facilitation of client change.

COURSE DELIVERY FORMAT

This course has been designed to meet weekly on Thursday evenings, 6 – 8:45pm. This is primarily an experiential class, so the emphasis is on practicing specific counseling interventions. Lecture, quizzes, discussions, role play and other methods may also be used to supplement methods.

TECHNOLOGY:

Pentium III CPU/ Windows 98; 128MB RAM printer; Microsoft Office: Acrobat (full version); Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 (PC), 5.0 (MAC), or Netscape Navigator 4.08; Norton Antivirus.

PROGRAM OUTCOMES

The program outcomes of our Master of Arts in Community Counseling program are rooted in the CACREP standards. Each learning objective in this syllabus is tied to the program outcomes and each program outcome corresponds to a specific CACREP standard (the exact standard is delineated by numeric representation, i.e. CACREP Section II.K.2.a & II.K.5.b.c. & Community Counseling Section C.7, etc.).

Program Outcome One: Professional Identity
Competency 1. Understand and value all aspects of professional functioning, including history, roles, organizational structures, ethics, legalities, standards, and credentialing.
Program Outcome Two: Social and Cultural Diversity
Competency 1. Apply core theory and research regarding the cultural context of relationships, including current issues and trends in a multicultural and diverse society, to the practice of professional counseling.
Program Outcome Three: Human Growth and Development
Competency 1. Apply core theory and research regarding the nature and needs of individuals at all developmental levels to their work as professional counselors.
Program Outcome Four: Career Development
Competency 1. Apply core theory and research pertaining to career development, the psychology of work, and related life factors to the practice of professional counseling.
Program Outcome Five: Helping Relationships
Competency 1. Exhibit the knowledge base and skills needed to ethically and effectively deliver a range of professional counseling and consultation services.
Program Outcome Six: Group Work
Competency 1. Understand the theoretical and experiential foundations of group purpose, development, and dynamics and will apply group counseling methods and skills to the practice of professional counseling.
Program Outcome Seven: Assessment
Competency 1. Understand principles of testing and measurement and will apply both individual and group methods of assessment and evaluation to their work as professional counselors.
Program Outcome Eight: Research and Program Evaluation
Competency 1. Understand how research methods, statistical analysis, needs assessment, and program evaluation are conducted and the role of these practices in the counseling profession.
Program Outcome Nine: Communication Skills
Competency 1. Communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing.
Program Outcome Ten: Interpersonal Effectiveness (IE)
Competency 1. Develop and improve positive relationship skills via effective communication, respect for others, appreciation of diversity and cultural sensitivity, and awareness of their impact on others.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1.Articulate and describe the personal qualities of effective counselors as they pertain to the process of conducting effective counseling (e.g., appropriate responses and styles of interacting, including verbal and non-verbal interactionswith clients, as well as recognizing and appropriately responding to one’s own reaction/affective response to clients’ expressed experience and narrative based upon non-directive, micro-skills, and other directive forms of counseling). This relates to CACREP Section II.K.5.a.c.

2.Articulate what current research states regarding how to effectively integrate strategies for ensuring that counseling is conducted in a multicultural sensitive manner. This relates to CACREP Section II.K.2.a.

3.Demonstrate skill development via both non-directive and directive forms of counseling. Appropriate modes of responding verbally and non-verbally to clientswithin the context of both non-directive and directive counseling formats will be demonstrated. This relates to CACREP Section II.K.5.a.b.c. Community Counseling Section C.7.

4.Demonstrate a facility with developing a therapeutic relationship (developing and sustaining rapport, identifying and responding to the expressed needs of the client—including an appropriate sensitivity to affective states expressed or demonstrated),as well as determining goals and utilizing intervention strategies appropriate to at least two different theoretical approaches; skill will also be demonstrated related to integrating multicultural sensitive interventions into counseling interactions. This relates to CACREP Sections II.K.5.a.b.c. & II.K.2.a; Community Counseling Section C.7.

5.Describe and demonstrate types of counseling interventions that promote client decision-making related to enhancing the quality of their lives from both directive and non-directive theoretical perspectives. This relates to CACREP Section II.K.5.b.

6.Apply relevant ACA ethical standards affecting counselors and the counseling relationship in the decision making process regarding clinical situations. This relates to CACREP Section II.K.5.g.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Ivey, A. E., (2007). Intentional Interviewing and Counseling: Facilitating Client Development (6th Ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company

CLASS POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS

Attendance

For a foreseeable or necessary absence from class meetings, or inability to complete online assignments and activities, students are required to notify the instructor prior to class meetings, or the due dates of online assignments.Only with the instructor’s consent can a student make up missing assignments after the absence.

Students who miss one day (6 hours) or more class meeting times will be required to withdraw from the class. Whether the student will get a refund depends on the reasons for the absence(s).

Students who miss 2-3 hours of the class time will automatically get a grade reduction from the final grade unless the student can successfully negotiate and complete a remediation plan to make up the deficit in class attendance.

Late Work

Will be assessed a reduction in grade (e.g. A to A-) for each day the assignment is late. Students should notify the instructor ASAP of any problems with completing their work on time.

Classroom Etiquette

It is to be expected that the instructor will treat all students with dignity and respect -- it is also expected that the students will treat both the instructor and other students with this same respect. In order to more effectively facilitate this, do the following: 1) turn offall pager and cell phones before class; 2) abstain fromtext messaging in class; 3) keep side conversations to a minimum; and, 5) be respectful in allinteractions

COURSE REQUIREMENTS/ASSIGNMENTS

Quizzes: Each week, except week 1,at the beginning of class there will be a multiple choice quiz on the current week’s reading assignment. There will be approximately 10 items/chapter. Your overall score will be adjusted to 100 points. There will be no “make up” quizzes without prior agreement of the instructor.

Taping Participation: You will be expected to tape with your small group (dyad, triad) on a weekly basis and have tapes ready for review on a weekly basis.

Portfolio: You will keep a binder with all of the feedback you receive from your clients after your interview sessions, and your self-analyses. You will hand in the self-analyses weekly for feedback from the instructor and then keep that form and other corrections you make in the binder. For the mid-term and final evaluations include a two-page summary of your experience to-date as follows: 1. Growth: how and what have you improved upon? 2. Limitations: what do you still need to improve and how will you do that? 3. Key Learnings: what are the most important three things you have learned?

The portfolio will be graded at mid-term and at the last class, 25 points each time. More information will be provided in class.

Mid-term and Final Recordings:Select your best video-taped session (20 minutes long minimum). Include atranscription of the first 10 minutes of the session. Highlight your three best interventions and your three worst. For the worst interventions indicate what you would do differently now. For the Final Recording the transcription can be of any contiguous 10 minute segment of the tape. An example of a transcription will be provided in class.

Confidentiality: You will be expected to adhere to the ethical rules of confidentially. For this class this means that you will not discuss things that are disclosed to you within your practice sessions with anyone outside of the instructor and your small group and these discussions should only take place in settings that would foster confidentiality. Failure to abide by this standard may result in a reduction of grade, failure of the course and/or recommendation of other remedial action. (Examples of violations (but not limited to these): discussing session content with others outside of your small group or with your group when others are present; reviewing your practice tapes at home with family present; reviewing your practice tape with other counseling professionals (without your instructor’s prior approval); having someone else type up the verbatim.)

Quizzes 100
Portfolio 50

Mid Term Tape 50
Final Tape 100

Total 300 Points

GRADING SCALE:

100 to 93% = A

92 to 90% = A-

89 to 88% = B+

87 to 83% = B

82 to 80% = B-

79 to 78% = C+

77 to 73 = C

72 to 70 = C-

69 & below = F

***Incomplete and Incomplete in Progress:

Only due to extenuating circumstances, and only if at least 67% of the course requirements have been completed, can a student be given a grade of “I” or “IP” by the instructor’s discretion.A student who receives an “I” will need to complete the remaining course requirements within 10 days after the end of semester. A student in this situation can also be granted an “IP” (“Incomplete in Progress”) if the instructor perceives student’s difficulties in completing all the work within ten days after the semester ends. In this case, the student will need to fulfill all the course requirements by the end of the following semester. An “I” or “IP” will automatically change to an “F” grade if it is not made up by the required completion date.

COURSE OUTLINE AND ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE

Week / Due Date / Themes/Topics / Readings / Assignments
1 / Introduction / Preface & Ch. 1
2 / Multicultural & Attending / Ch. 2-3 / Quiz Ch. 2 & 3
3 / Observation & Active Listening / Ch. 5 & 6 / Quiz Ch. 5 & 6
4 / Reflecting / Ch. 7 / Quiz
5 / Questioning / Ch. 4 / Quiz
6 / Integrating Listening / Ch. 8 / Quiz
7 / Confrontation / Ch. 9 / Quiz, Mid-Term Transcription & Portfolio
8 / Exploring the Story / Ch. 10 / Quiz
9 / Values & Beliefs / Ch. 11 / Quiz
10 / Influencing Skills / Ch. 12 / Quiz
11 / Overall Integration / Ch. 13 / Quiz
12 / Thanksgiving
14 / Theoretical Style & Integration / Ch. 14-15 / Quiz Ch. 14 & 15
15 / Final Transcription & Portfolio

UNIVERSITY POLICIES AND STATEMENTS

Library

All resources in ArgosyUniversity’s online collection are available through the Internet. The campus librarian will provide students with links, user IDs, and passwords.

Library Resources: ArgosyUniversity’s core online collection features nearly 21,000 full-text journals and 23,000 electronic books and other content covering all academic subject areas including Business & Economics, Career & General Education, Computers, Engineering & Applied Science, Humanities, Science, Medicine & Allied Health, and Social & Behavior Sciences. Many titles are directly accessible through the Online Public Access Catalog at Detailed descriptions of online resources are located at

In addition to online resources, ArgosyUniversity’s onsite collections contain a wealth of subject-specific research materials searchable in the Online Public Access Catalog. Catalog searching is easily limited to individual campus collections. Alternatively, students can search combined collections of all Argosy University Libraries. Students are encouraged to seek research and reference assistance from campus librarians.

Information Literacy: ArgosyUniversity’s Information Literacy Tutorial was developed to teach students fundamental and transferable research skills. The tutorial consists of five modules where students learn to select sources appropriate for academic-level research, search periodical indexes and search engines, and evaluate and cite information. In the tutorial, students study concepts and practice them through interactions. At the conclusion of each module, they can test their comprehension and receive immediate feedback. Each module takes less than 20 minutes to complete. Please view the tutorial at

Academic Policies

Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism: In an effort to foster a spirit of honesty and integrity during the learning process, ArgosyUniversity requires that the submission of all course assignments represent the original work produced by that student. All sources must be documented through normal scholarly references/citations and all work must be submitted using the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition (2001). WashingtonDC: American Psychological Association (APA) format. Please refer to Appendix A in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition for thesis and paper format. Students are encouraged to purchase this manual (required in some courses) and become familiar with its content as well as consult the ArgosyUniversity catalog for further information regarding academic dishonesty and plagiarism.

Scholarly writing: The faculty at ArgosyUniversity is dedicated to providing a learning environment that supports scholarly and ethical writing, free from academic dishonesty and plagiarism. This includes the proper and appropriate referencing of all sources. You may be asked to submit your course assignments through “Turnitin,” ( an online resource established to help educators develop writing/research skills and detect potential cases of academic dishonesty. Turnitin compares submitted papers to billions of pages of content and provides a comparison report to your instructor. This comparison detects papers that share common information and duplicative language.

Americans with Disabilities Act Policy

It is the policy of ArgosyUniversity to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If a student with disabilities needs accommodations, the student must notify the Director of Student Services. Procedures for documenting student disability and the development of reasonable accommodations will be provided to the student upon request.

Students will be notified by the Director of Student Services when each request for accommodation is approved or denied in writing via a designated form. To receive accommodation in class, it is the student’s responsibility to present the form (at his or her discretion) to the instructor. In an effort to protect student privacy, the Department of Student Services will not discuss the accommodation needs of any student with instructors. Faculty may not make accommodations for individuals who have not been approved in this manner.

The ArgosyUniversity Statement Regarding Diversity

ArgosyUniversity prepares students to serve populations with diverse social, ethnic, economic, and educational experiences. Boththe academic and training curricula are designed to provide an environment in which students can develop the skills and attitudes essential to working with people from a wide range of backgrounds.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE SYLLABUS

I have read and understand the syllabus and the course requirements of PC 6104, Counseling Skills,taught by Dr. ______for Spring, 2009.

______

Student signature date

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Name in Print