Psy. 428 Fall, 2013
Maria Hess Ph.D., MFT
Office: Stev. 3083. SSU office phone: 664-2413. Private office phone: 824-9902.
Tuesdays. 2 – 4:45, and Thursdays 1 – 2:30. Please sign up on my office door for appointments. Alternate Weds. 12 – 1:45, drop-in.
E-mail address:
INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING
“The deepest hunger of the human soul is to be understood.
The deepest hunger of the human body is for air. If you can listen to another person, in depth, until they feel understood, it’s the equivalent of giving them air.”
~ Steven Covey
Course Description
This class is an introduction to the theory and practice of psychotherapy and counseling including the view that this form of helping is a healing art. The course is taught as an experience and will include lecture, didactic exercises, role-plays, videos, group projects and class discussion.
Working with others is based on our own knowledge of ourselves. We will be identifying and working with our own skills; recognizing and expressing feelings, communicating, problem solving, giving and receiving feedback, listening, being aware of cross cultural and other diversity issues, and relaxing.
Throughout the course, we apply the concepts to our own lives and experience. Most students find that studying and working with this material brings their own feelings, issues, and conflicts to the fore. Part of this classroom experience is to learn how to safely explore, understand and work with this. If self-exploration seems too much at any time, remember you always have a choice in the matter. Please see the instructor if an assignment is too emotionally sensitive.
Course Objectives
At the end of this course the student will:
1. Be able to describe and discus the basic principals and theories of the primary
schools of psychotherapy and counseling.
2. Articulate and expand on major concepts such as; containment, mirroring,
empathy, transference, counter transference, listening skills, compassion, to
name a few.
3. Illustrate and give examples of the importance of culture and diversity issues
for themselves and their clients.
4. Explore and amplify personal issues at work and understand their import in
the counseling experience.
5. Develop and practice relaxation and meditation techniques to aid the quality of
the therapeutic exchange.
Prerequisites
Personality theory, or Psychology 306 is a prerequisite. Psychology 307 and 425 are recommended and can be taken concurrently; Junior, Senior, or Graduate status.
CLASS IS LIMITED TO 24 STUDENTS. PREFERENCE IS GIVEN TO SENIORS AND MA CANDIDATES.
Required Texts
Corey, G. Theory and Practice of Counseling & Psychotherapy 8th or 9th Ed.
Blank, unlined journal
Recommended Texts
Being a Brain-Wise Therapist. Badenoch, B.
Bad Therapy. Kottler, J. and Carlson, J.
The Client Who Changed Me. Kottler, J. & Carlson, J.
Drama of the Gifted Child. Miller, A.
On Being a Therapist. Kottler, J.
Thoughts Without a Thinker. Epstein, M.
Back to One. Kopp, S.
Love’s Executioner. Yalom, I.
Power in the Helping Profession. Guggenbuhl-Craig, A.
Eros on Crutches. Guggenbuhl-craig, A.
The Heart of Healing. Kottler, Sexton, Whiston.
The Gift of Therapy. Yalom, I.
The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy. Cozolino, L.
The Making of a Therapist. Cozolino. L.
Letters to a Young Therapist, Pipher, M.
Classroom Environment:
A safe environment is necessary for the development of trust and self-disclosure. Mutual respect is one way to nurture a contained and trusting place for learning and growth. If we all work together towards respecting the parameters of the course our experience will be enriched.
* As we will be sharing and developing a close working alliance with each other
it is important to be aware of one’s behavior in a learning circle. You will use
your check-in time to practice listening and learning about self-disclosure.
During check-ins please do not read, draw, check any electronic devices,
sleep, or chat with your neighbor. Think about how you want others to listen to
you!
* Laptop use is prohibited during class.
* Please turn off your cell phones and put them away.
* You are welcome to bring drinks, but eating is not appreciated during class
time.
ALL SHARING DONE IN CLASS AND COUNSELING SESSIONS IS
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL (Breaking confidentiality will result in
being asked to leave the class).
Requirements
Attendance is mandatory as missed material is difficult to recapture. Students should notify the instructor beforehand if their schedule requires an absence. You are allowed one absence, after which you will be docked 5 points for each thereafter.
Each class will begin with an attunement. If you are late, please wait outside of class until the attunement and writing is over. Coming in late, and/or leaving early, missing a counseling session, a class session, or not completing homework assignments WILL affect your grade.
Students are expected to participate in 8 weekly co-counseling sessions outside of class (dates indicated on schedule with an asterix *). You will be working in triads as counselor, client, and witness. All sessions must be audio recorded and kept in a secure and private place. Weekly notes on the experience of counseling and being counseled should be kept. NOT doing so will make the writing of your final paper INFINITELY more difficult.
Each counseling triad is expected to have a thirty-minute Supervision session with the instructor during the 8 weeks of co-counseling. Sign up on my office door Stev. 3083. Every triad will have the opportunity to be video-taped for class review.
A Two Page Autobiography is due on September 12 the week prior to your choosing co-counselors. All students will read each other’s autobiographies in silence until everyone has read each other’s work. These papers are to be in bullet format addressing some of the major highlights and turning points of your life. This is a way you are becoming more known to each other to help facilitate your triad choice. There is no need to “sell the farm” in your disclosure, yet superficial sharing has been dissatisfying to most students who have chosen that route. Please include at the end of your work the hours you are available for co-counseling.
Take Home Assignments will be given five times over the semester. They are various inventory style, written projects that are not graded for content, but each are worth ten points for completion. One of those assignments is a Personal Inventory Paper that is due on September 26th. A worksheet will be made available to you to give a framework to this assignment.
Integration papers. Integration papers are 4- 5 pages written to show how you understand the material you are learning in class. Use the course material; reading, videos, discussions, and lectures to elaborate particular points of interest and punctuate these points with personal material; your own thoughts, experiences and feelings on the matter. This is NOT a book report or a regurgitation of class notes. I want to know how YOU are connecting the dots.
You are asked to use APA reference style and to include a reference page, but you do not need an abstract, cover sheet or running head. Due: Oct. 24th (25 points)
The major paper for this class is your co-counseling paper. This work should reflect your experience and understanding of your co-counseling relationship. You are to address what theoretical tenets you found present in your sessions, along with your own sense of how the process unfolded. I don’t want you to analyze your client, but more what you noticed in yourself while you listened to your client and thought about them in between sessions, etc. You are to explore all three experiential aspects of your triad (counselor, client, witness).
Use excerpts from your own tapes as counselor to punctuate your academic and clinical understanding, along with any other material introduced in class that is relevant. Include a ten consecutive minute transcript of your work as a counselor in an appendix.
This paper is to be 8 - 10 pages, not including your transcript, with references to course material. You are to use APA format for referencing and citations, and please double space for comments. This requirement is 100 points and due on December 5.
All integration papers, co counseling papers, and other written work are to be hard copy only. No emailed papers.
LATE PAPERS ARE NOT ACCEPTED.
Supervision. Each triad is required to participate in a thirty-minute meeting with the instructor. This time is to celebrate that which is going well, address that which needs improvement, or to correct that which has gone wrong. Supervision is designed to be a supportive experience to help you improve as an individual counselor-in-training and as a group member. Please come prepared with your questions, comments, and concerns.
Grading: Take home assignments 50 pts.
Integration paper 25 points
Co-counseling paper 100 points
Autobiography is not graded.
You should expect to spend 2 - 4 hours per week outside of class on this course for reading, co-counseling, thoughtful consideration of process and participation, and for writing.
All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date indicated.
Reading and Assignment Schedule:
· = Indicates co-counseling week
To supplement the more theoretical aspects of counseling your textbook covers, there are well written articles to be found on my homepage www.sonoma.edu/users/h/hessm and to which you are assigned to read below. Please bring your questions about your reading and your co-counseling experience to class.
Wk 1 Aug 22 Introductions
Wk 2 29 Ch 1 & 2
Read: Self-disclosure. G. Egan (1976)
Watch on-line: Dr. Brene Brown. The power of vulnerability. At http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html
Wk 3 Sep 5 Ch 3 & 4
Read: Symptoms - Voices of the Soul. T. Moore (1992)
Wk 4 12 Ch 5 Two page autobiography
Read: Attending and Listening. G. Egan
Wk 5 19 Ch 6 Choose co-counselors
Read: Resistances. G. Egan
Wk 6* 26 Ch 7 Personal Inventory Paper
Read: Accurate Empathic Understanding: creating a climate of support. G. Egan.
Wk 7* Oct 3 Ch 8
Read: Transference. G. Weinberg (1984)
Wk 8* 10 Ch 9 & 10
Read: Confrontation. G. Egan
Wk 9* 17 Ch 11
Wk 10* 24 Integration Paper
Wk 11* 31 Ch 12
Wk 12*Nov 7 Ch 14
Wk 13* 14 Ch 13
Wk 14 21 Ch 15 & 16 Family Sculpture (will be done in class)
Wk 15 28 Thanksgiving Holiday! Give thanks and rest!
Wk 16 Dec 5 Begin class closure. Co-Counseling Paper
Wk 17 12 Final: 8-9:50 am Finish closure and Good-byes
Access for students with disabilities: Students who have disabilities and require classroom accommodations should meet with me (within the first 2 weeks of class) during my office hours to make these arrangements. Please bring an accommodation authorization from the Disability Resource Center with you.
Academic Integrity: It is the responsibility of each student to be apprised of the requirements of the psychology department and university regarding academic honesty. The parameters are outlined in your student handbook and online at
http://www.Sonoma.edu/psychology/AcademicHonestyPolicy.html.