EPSY 7393 Masters Field Practicum (Section 10673)

First Semester, Fall 2016

Instructor: Consuelo Arbona, Ph.D.

Department of Educational Psychology

Counseling Psychology

FH 410 713 743-9814

When possible, and in accordance with 504/ADA guidelines, we will attempt to provide reasonable academic accommodations to students who request and require them. Please call ext. 35400 for more assistance.

EPSY 7393 is a required course in the Counseling masters program. Students in Counseling Psychology take EPSY 7393 after having completed the following prerequisites: EPSY 6325 Theories of Counseling, EPSY 6315 Career Counseling, EPSY 6335 Group Counseling, EPSY 6391 Intro Lab, and EPSY 6343 Ethical and Legal Issues. This course meets the following standards: the Examination for the Certification of Educators in Texas (ExCet), Field 152-School Counselors: Domain I Understanding Students- Competencies under 001, 002, 003; Domain II Planning and Implementing the Developmental Guidance and Counseling Program- Competencies under 004, 005, 006, 007; Domain III Collaboration, Consultation and Professionalism- Competencies under 008, 009, and 010 (See Appendix I); American Psychological Association (APA) Learner-Centered Psychological Principles: Cognitive and Metacognitive Factors 1,2,3,4,5,6, Motivational and Affective Factors 1,2,3, Developmental and Social 1,2 Individual Differences 1,2,3 (See Appendix II); and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards: 1.2.1, 1.2.3, 1.2.4, 2.2.1, 2.3.2 (See Appendix III). In addition, this course is designed to satisfy the practicum requirements for the Licensed Professional Counselor Act in Texas.

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE

The purpose of the practicum is to provide students an opportunity to integrate classroom learning with practice in counseling clients under close supervision. Students are expected to refine their interviewing and conceptualization skills in actual counseling encounters. These experiences will take place in a counseling agency selected by the student and approved by the Practicum Coordinator.

CLASS MATERIALS

Instructor’s web site: http://faculty.coe.uh.edu/arbona/

Copies of all practicum materials are included in the instructor’s website. Once you open the web site click the Courses tab, and the EPSY 7393 tab. You will find the documents under the Forms tab.

ON-SITE REQUIREMENTS

1. Spend a minimum of 330 hours on the agency site during the two practicum semesters. (Approximately 12-16 hours per week for a total of 165 hours per semester- minimum # of hours for semester 1 = 150 – for a 150/180 split). This needs to include a minimum of 100 direct client contact hours (approximately a minimum of 50 per semester).

2. Engage in activities essential to the growth of a counselor in training such as: individual counseling, group counseling, case management, outreach and educational interventions, consultation, professional development, case conferences and supervision.

3. Meet with the on-site supervisor for at least one hour a week for individual supervision.

4. Keep a weekly log of the actual day-to-day activities at the practicum agencies. Make copies of the weekly log to hand in to the instructor at the monthly seminar meeting. The weekly log should be initialed by the on-site practicum supervisor.

5. Adhere to the ethical principles guiding the profession (APA or ACA guidelines) as well as to the ethical guidelines set up by their practicum agencies.

7. If you experience any problem at your site or you need to be absent from the site for any amount of time or believe that you will not be able to fulfill your two-semester commitment, please contact the instructor and your site supervisor immediately to discuss the situation. Do not stop attending your site or decide to stop your attendance to the site without first conferring with the practicum coordinator.

SEMINAR MEETING DATES:

September 15, October 13, November 10 and December 8, 2016 at 3:30 PM Room FH 490

Attendance to practicum meetings is a course requirement. At every meeting, students’ are expected to place in their folders the completed practicum logs, initialed by their supervisors, and the corresponding assignment.

Practicum contract signed by your supervisor and proof of insurance are due on the September meeting

CONFIDENTIALITY

Confidentiality extends to social media. It is inappropriate to post any information or comments regarding your practicum experiences in any form of social media. This restriction applies even in situations in which you are not disclosing information about a specific client.

ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment 1A (Due September meeting): Read the following chapter and jot down your reactions to the different developmental stages described in the chapter for class discussion (not for turning in)

Stoltenberg, C. D. & McNeill, B. W. (1997). Clinical supervision from a developmental perspective: Research and practice. In. C. E. Watkins (Ed.), Handbook of psychotherapy supervision (pp. 184-202). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (found in instructor’s website)

Assignment 1B : Paper related to My Expectations for Practicum (about 2-3 double spaced pages).

Due on September Meeting

In this paper you will describe your expectations for the practicum, such as:

· What are your goals (personal, professional) for this first practicum experience? How may you attain these goals?

· What areas in counseling and specific skills would you like to learn or further develop in this practicum? What needs to happen in order for you to develop these skills?

· What are your expectations for supervision? How can your supervisor and the supervision process help you grow as a counselor and person? How can you contribute to the supervision process to make the best out of it?

Assignment 2: Theoretical Approaches Due on October Meeting

Materials: Selective Theory Sorter and other relevant resources from EPSY 6325 Theories of Counseling Class (document emailed to students)

Answer these questions in writing to discuss in class and hand-in:

1. Print, complete and score the Selective Theory Sorter activity (that was sent via email); then, identify the theories that you scored highest and lowest.

a. What do the results say about your theoretical orientation?

b. Is it what you expected?

c. To what extent do you think your preferred theory or theories are useful in working with clients at your site?

Select the two theories that you scored the highest on and review their major themes, concepts and interventions. Then, respond to the following questions in writing: (Be specific in your answers.)

a. Provide a brief description of the population that you are working with in practicum, including the nature of the services that you provide.

b. Regarding the two theoretical approaches that you identified above:

1. Describe the theories’ basic assumptions about human beings regarding healthy functioning and origin of problems among the specific population you work with (e.g. alcohol abuse, grief). In other words, how does the theory explains how people develop specific problems and/or what factors help maintain these problems.

2. Treatment goals from the perspective of the two theoretical approaches that would be appropriate for the population you work with.

3. Specific interventions from the perspective of the two theoretical approaches that would be appropriate for the population you work with

Assignment 3: Case Notes, HIPPA and Confidentiality Issues in Psychotherapy - Due on November meeting

Readings (found in the website):

· Cameron, S. & turtle-song, i. (2002). Learning to write case notes using the SOAP format. Journal of Counseling and Development.

· Griffin, M. (2007). “On Writing Progress Notes,” The Therapist, March/April

· Jensen, D. (2003), “HIPAA Psychotherapy Notes and You,” The Therapist, Jan. /Feb.

· The following website includes examples of case notes in the SOAP format

· http://www.become-an-effective-psychotherapist.com/Clinical-Case-Notes.html

Select a client and assume that you have seen him/her in individual counseling, even if you only have seen the person in a group setting. Given what you know about the client:

1. Write case notes to keep in the clients’ record, following the SOAP format including the information that you may have gathered during the intake and first session.

2. Write a few psychotherapy notes about your work with the client that would correspond to a few sessions following the initial encounter.

3. Indicate where you would keep these notes.

To refer to the client do not use her/his name; use two letters that are not the client’s initials.

Final Supervision Paper (about 6-8 double spaced pages). Due on December Meeting

The major purpose of this paper is to provide an opportunity for you to reflect on your supervision experience, which will hopefully enhance your supervision experience next semester. In this paper you need to provide in writing a reaction to your reading of the developmental supervision framework provided by Stoltenberg, C. D. & McNeill, B. W. (1997), based on your counseling and supervision experiences this semesters. This initially assigned for the September meeting.

In the essay address the following issues :

1. Based on your supervision experiences during the semester, to what extent you think that the various stages described in the chapter are consistent with your experiences in as a counselor.

2. What happened during supervision? Describe the activities that typically took place during the hour.

3. Identify and describe critical incidents in supervision that facilitated your learning and professional growth. To what extent are these experiences consistent or not with Stoltenberg’s supervision framework?

4. What was it like to receive positive and negative feedback regarding your counseling work from your supervisor? Provide some examples. How were these incidents helpful or unhelpful to you?

5. Were there things that you would have liked to discuss during supervision or share with your supervisor but you didn't? Can you describe them? What might have prevented such discussions?

6. What would you like to change, in your behavior or the supervisor's behavior, in order to make supervision more productive in the future? To what extent are experiences consistent or not with Stoltenberg’s supervision framework?

7. Include general comments or other issues of importance.

EVALUATION

· The on-site supervisors evaluate students at the end of each semester using the evaluation form provided by the program. The on-site supervisor is encouraged to discuss this evaluation with the student. At the end of each semester, students must bring the completed evaluation to the instructor.

· Hand in written assignments on time.

· Grading for the Field Practicum is on a Pass/No Pass basis. While the evaluation of the on-site supervisor weights heavily on the final grade, the instructor assigns grades based on an overall observation of the student's performance. Attendance to monthly seminars is required.

In order to receive a grade for the first semester of Practicum at the end of the semester:

1. All paper work must be in the folder by the end of the December 2014 meeting, and

2. The record must show a minimum of 150 hours on site of which at least 45 hours must be in direct service

The paper work includes:

1. All written assignments and final supervision paper,

2. Weekly Logs,

3. Final Log (for the Fall term).

4. Supervisor’s Evaluation Form.

If the record is not complete or the minimum hours have not been reached, you will receive a grade of Incomplete (I) until these requirements are met. Students with a grade of I in any class, including practicum are not allowed to take the comprehensive exam.

EPSY 7393 First Semester