PP 6201

Masters Practicum I

Fall 2007

INSTRUCTOR:

Charles E. Davis, Ph.D.

PHONE:

(312) 777-7684

EMAIL:


FAX:

ALT PHONE:

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Title / Essential Psychotherapies Theory and Practice
Author(s) / Gurman, A.S. & Messer, S.B., eds.
Copyright / 1995
Publisher / Guildford Press
ISBN / 1572302232
Edition
Title / Psychoanalytic Case Formulation
Author(s) / McWilliams, N.
Copyright / 1999
Publisher / Guildford Press
ISBN / 1572304626
Edition

This Course Requires the Purchase of a Course Packet: YES NO

PP6201 Masters Therapy Seminar

Charles E. Davis, Ph.D.

2007-2008 Academic Year

SYLLABUS

Course Description

The practicum provides supervised clinical field experience, in addition to meeting weekly in a practicum seminar led by a core faculty member. The overall practicum experience will include assessment and intervention.

Mission Statement of the Master of Arts Program in Clinical Psychology

The Master’s Program in Clinical Psychology has been designed to educate and train students to enter a professional career as MA level practitioners. Argosy University/Chicago Campus provides students an educational program with all the necessary theoretical and clinical elements that will allow them to be effective members of a mental health team. The program introduces students to basic clinical skills that integrate individual and group theoretical foundations of applied psychology into appropriate client interactions and intervention skills

In addition, the Program offers excellent preparation for those considering application to the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology.

The therapy seminar meets weekly for the fall and spring semesters and summer 1. The majority of class time will be used for the presentation and critique of the therapy tapes. There will be some didactic presentations and discussion on clinical interviewing and case conceptualization, treatment planning and intervention and ethical issues.

Attendance to the seminar is mandatory. In the instance of an unforeseen absence, the student should notify the instructor the day of the missed seminar meeting. If any student misses more than one seminar during the course of a semester, they will be required to make up that time at their own expense, or receive a grade of “No Credit”.

Presentations

All students will be expected to have a tape available for presentation approximately once per month. It is advisable to tape as many therapy sessions as possible. Tapes should include the entire session and not be edited. The tapes should be audible so that the group as well as the instructor can hear the material to be reviewed and evaluated. It is important to check the equipment that you will use to insure it is adequate to produce an audible tape. To minimize any disruption in the flow of the seminar, students next on the schedule to present a tape are asked to have their tape ready one week in advance to serve as a backup. Consent forms must be completed prior to taping, and tapes must be erased in a timely fashion. Students presenting tapes must bring in the consent form on the day of the presentation. No student will present a tape without a signed consent form.

Written Reports

Students will be required to submit a written summary prior to each presentation. This summary will include:

a)demographic information

b)relevant background information

c)case formulation

d)goals for treatment

e)goals for this session

f)assessment of the existing therapeutic alliance

g)self evaluation, i.e. what went well and what would you do differently

Required Texts

Gurman, A.S. & Messer, S.B., eds., Essential Psychotherapies Theory and Practice, Guildford Press, 1995.

McWilliams, N., Psychoanalytic Case Formulation, Guildford Press, 1999.

Course Outline

Fall Semester:

Weeks 1-2Initial phases of treatment, interviewing, and assessment, ethical issues

Weeks 3-15Review of tapes

Spring Semester:

Week 1Treatment issues (sporadic attendance, resistance, crisis management, getting stuck, etc.)

Weeks 2-15Review of tapes

Practice CEC is due in mid January

CEC is due in March

Summer I:

Week 1Termination issues

Weeks 2-6Review of tapes

Evaluation

Attendance is required. An unexcused absence from a class or failure to have a tape on the day scheduled or to bring an inaudible tape will affect a student’s evaluation. To pass the course, students must perform acceptably in attendance, taped presentations, and written reports.

Criteria for evaluation of therapist’s skills will include:

1.Listening and communication skills

2.Conceptualization and intervention skills

  1. Self reflection and responsiveness to feedback

Disability Statement

It is the policy of Argosy University/Chicago to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disability, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If a student with disabilities needs accommodations to complete the instructor’s course requirements, the student must notify the Director of Student Services. The procedure for documenting student disability and the development of reasonable accommodation will be provided to students upon request.

The Director of Student Services will notify students when each request for accommodation is approved or denied in writing via designated form. It is the student’s responsibility to present the form (at his or her discretion) to the instructor in order to receive the requested accommodation in class. In an effort to protect student privacy, Student Services will not discuss the accommodation needs of any students with the instructors.

Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism Statement

The University seeks to foster a spirit of honesty and integrity. Any work submitted by a student must represent original work produced by that student. Any source used by the student must be documented through normal scholarly references and citations, and the extent to which any sources have been used must be apparent to the reader. The University further considers resubmission of a work produced for one course in a subsequent course or the submission of work done partially or entirely by another to be academic dishonesty. It is the student’s responsibility to seek clarification from the course instructor about how much help may be received in completing an assignment or exam or project and what sources may be used. Students found guilty of academic dishonesty or plagiarism shall be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal for the University.