Argosy University, Chicago

COURSE SYLLABUS

PP8033

Advanced Person-Centered Therapy & Supervision

Summer 1 2011

Faculty Information

Faculty Name: Margaret S. Warner, Ph.D.

Campus: Chicago

Contact Information:

Office Phone Number: 312-777-7701

E-Mail:

Office Hours: Tuesdays 3:30 – 5:00. Appointments preferred.

Course Catalogue Description:

The participants, through engaging in a person-centered group process, determine the specific therapeutic interests or problems that become the focus of the class. Examples of topics the group may select for attention include the following specific problems of individual therapy: person-centered group or couples therapy; issues relating to person-centered theory; study of taped or filmed sessions, or therapy demonstrations by participants. The general aim of the course is to examine theory more closely and the capability for creating therapeutic, empathic relationships. Students should have at least one client or practice client during the course.

Course Pre-requisites: PP8021 – Person Centered Psychotherapy

Required Textbooks:

Cooper, Mick, O’Hara, Maureen, Schmid, Peter, and Wyatt, Gill, 2007. The Handbook of

Person-Centred Psychotherapy.

Cooper, Mick, Watson, Jeanne C. and Holldam, Dagmar ,2010. Person-Centered and

Experiential Therapies Work.

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.

Course length: 7 Weeks

Contact Hours: 45 Hours

Credit Value: 3.0

Course Objectives:

Course Objectives / Program Goals / Method of Assessment
Students will develop a more sophisticated conceptualization of the theory and greater clarity regarding the practice of client-centered therapy. / Goal 1 (Assessment), Goal 2 (Intervention), Goal 4 (Scientific foundations), Goal 5 (Scholarship) / Reading assignments, lectures, class discussion, oral presentation and written assignments
Students will experiment with the adequacy of the theoretical concepts in their application to clinical data. / Goal 1(Assessment), Goal 2 (Intervention) / Live demonstrations and videos of client-centered practice and written assignments
Students will engage in examining their own counter therapeutic and therapeutic reactions, experiences and behaviors with clients. / Goal 3 (Diversity), Goal 2 (intervention) / Case presentations and discussion
Students will integrate a greater appreciation of some of the barriers to service experienced in some populations. / Goal 3 (Diversity) / Discussion and reading about various kinds of difference

Purpose:

The aim of this advanced course is to encourage a deeper investigation of the evolving theoretical and empirical work in the area of client-centered therapy and the person-centered approach in order to encourage your further development as therapists.

At the conclusion of the course, students should demonstrate greater clarity about the conceptual and practical boundaries of “client-centeredness.”This greater clarity should allow the student therapist to function with more confidence in sessions.In addition to traditional case formulations and hypotheses, students should demonstrate an ability to experience and express their awareness of the phenomenal world of the client and the client’s perceptions and understanding of her own world.Students should report a declining tendency to “judge” or to “instruct” clients, and a growing acceptance of the uniqueness of persons.This maturation and growth in the attitudes should lead to more ease and competence in clinical situations and in the ability to respond to clients’ questions, requests, and difficulties in the therapeutic relationship.

Assignments:

Required readings will be available online, on reserve, and in handouts.

Course requirements

1. Regular attendance. In the event of illness or emergency, contact me both at my home number 773-896-6719 and at school, 312-777-7701

2. Completion of readings by the day on which they are assigned. In a small seminar, it is essential that you stay up to date on these reading assignments. The level of intellectual quality of discussions correlates with your completion of these assignments.

3. The Midterm assignment requires each student to present a case to the class involving case formulation and therapy. The case can be presented through a taped session or notes from the clinical work. The presentation will include appropriate theoretical constructs.

4. 10 - 20 page paper (APA style) on a subject of interest to you stimulated by discussion or readings in the course. This paper must be typewritten and contain no spelling or grammatical errors in order to receive a final grade. This paper must consider the latest research available regarding the topic as well as the evidence regarding the clinical implications. If you need assistance in writing, please speak to me about it by midterm. Please try to aim to write a paper which would be publishable in the Person-Centered Journal.

Course Schedule:

Week / Topic / Readings / Assignment
1 / Introduction to course. Discussion of learning objectives and course requirements. Development of topics for the rest of the course;
Practice in empathic responding
Description of available resources on internet. / In class discussion
2 / Practice in empathic responding; Discussion topic #1; General varieties of person-centered practice / Readings relating to Discussion topic #1
3 / Practice in empathic responding; Discussion topic # 2: Relationship issues and personal boundaries in person-centered psychotherapy / Readings related to Discussion topic #2 / Statement of orientation considering relevant personal and theoretical issues (2-5 pp); 20 min tape of empathic responding with transcript
4 / Topic(s) to be chosen by class
5 / Topic(s) to be chosen by class
6 / Topic(s) to be chosen by class / Complex case formulation or paper on person-centered issue of choice (12-20 pp.)
7 / Topic(s) to be chosen by class

Recommended Readings:

Bohart, A. and Greenburg, L. 1997. Empathy reconsidered. New directions in psychotherapy.

Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Decety, J. & Ickes, W. (Eds.) 2009. The Social Neuroscience of Empathy. Boston: Massachusetts

Institute of Technology.

Farber, B., Brink, D. and Raskin, P. (Eds.) 1996. The psychotherapy of Carl Rogers. New York:

Guilford.

Rogers, C. (1951) Client-centered therapy. Houghton-Mifflin.

Rogers, C. (1962) On becoming a person. Houghton-Mifflin.

Rogers, C. (1985). A Way of Being. Houghton-Mifflin.

Grading Criteria:

Grading ScaleGrading Requirements:

A / 100 – 93
A- / 92 – 90
B+ / 89 – 88
B / 87 – 83
B- / 82 – 80
C+ / 79 – 78
C / 77 - 73
C- / 72 – 70
F / 59 and below
Class participation / 20%
Mid-term Presentation / 40%
Final Paper / 40%
Total / 100%

Library Resources

Argosy University’s core online collection features more than 21,000 full-text journals, 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.All electronic resources can be accessed through the library’s website at User IDs and passwords are distributed during orientation, but can also be obtained at the circulation desk, calling 312-777-7653, or by e-mail at .

In addition to online resources, Argosy University’s onsite collections contain a wealth of subject-specific research materials searchable in the Library Online 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: Argosy University’s Information Literacy Tutorial was developed to teach fundamental and transferable research skills, including selecting sources appropriate for academic-level research, searching periodical indexes and search engines, and evaluating and citing 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, Argosy University 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). Washington DC: 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 Argosy University catalog for further information regarding academic dishonesty and plagiarism.

Scholarly writing: The faculty at Argosy University 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 Argosy University 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 Argosy University Statement Regarding Diversity

Argosy University prepares students to serve populations with diverse social, ethnic, economic, and educational experiences. Both the 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.