COURSE NUMBER: PP 6202 C2

COURSE NAME: Master’s Therapy Practicum Seminar

TERM:Spring 2008

INSTRUCTOR:

Ben Gorvine

PHONE:

312-777-7708

EMAIL:


FAX:

ALT PHONE:

847-570-5661

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Wachtel, E.F. (2004). Treating Troubled Children and Their Families (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford. ISBN # 1593850727.

RECOMMENDED READINGS

N/A

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

PP 6201 C2 (1088) - Master’s Therapy Practicum Seminar

Argosy University/Illinois School of Professional Psychology – Chicago Campus

2007-2008

Thursdays, 8:00 AM – 9:15 AM, Rm. TBA

Faculty: Ben Gorvine, Ph.D.

E-mail:

Office Phone: 312-777-7708

Home Phone: 847-570-5661 (no calls after 10 PM, please!)

Office Hours: Rm. #1337 – Mondays, 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM; Thursdays, 12:30 PM – 4:30 PM,

and by appointment

Short faculty bio: Dr. Gorvine, a graduate of the clinical psychology program at the University of Michigan is a new assistant professor in the Clinical Psychology Program. Prior to coming to the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, he taught for two years in the Psychology department at AuroraUniversity, and trained as a postdoctoral clinical fellow at the Family Institute at NorthwesternUniversity. He currently maintains a clinical practice as an affiliated psychotherapist at the Family Institute at Northwestern in Evanston. His research interests include fathers in poverty and young children's social development.

Course Description

This one-year practicum provides supervised clinical field experience. In addition to the required hours working at the assigned training site, students enrolled in practicum meet weekly in a practicum seminar led by a core faculty member. The overall practicum experience includes assessment and intervention experience.

Course Objectives

The practicum seminar provides an opportunity for students to meet together and reflect on their training experience as a group during the academic year. The focus will be to explore general clinical issues as well as to develop specific skills in diagnostic assessment and therapy. Students will review their clinical work together in order to improve their abilities to evaluate the needs of clients and make appropriate recommendations for interventions, and to broaden their own skills in treatment techniques. Relevant cultural issues will also be explored over the year.

It is important to remember that the seminar does not constitute “supervision.” Your site supervisor remains your sole supervisor and holds responsibility for your clinical work throughout your practicum experience. This seminar provides a structure for additional consultation and training. If you feel confused or experience conflict because of differences in perspectives or interventions between the site supervisor and the seminar group, please discuss such feelings openly and directly with the seminar group, your supervisor, or with the instructor.

The majority of class time will be used for the presentations and feedback discussions of the therapy tapes. There will be some didactic presentations and discussion on clinical interviewing, case conceptualization, treatment planning and intervention, and ethical and cultural issues. Some time will also be spent on professional development issues.

During the middle of the academic year, we will focus on our preparation for the Clinical Evaluation Competency (CEC). In addition, we will explore various issues that will arise in the later interviews such as issues concerning the therapeutic relationship and working with culturally diverse populations. During the spring semester, each student will complete a written Clinical Evaluation Competency (CEC), which involves the submission of a therapy tape (which is presented orally in seminar) and an accompanying write-up. This assignment provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate their competence both in conducting psychotherapy, as well as doing formal written case descriptions and self-critique of their work. The CEC outline (which can be downloaded from the training department’s website) provides details on the format of the written presentation. Toward the end of the year, we will spend more time on termination issues.

MA Program Outcomes

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.

Course Assessment

Attendance & Skill 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 your evaluation. To pass the course you must perform acceptably in attendance, taped presentations, written assignments, and seminar participation.

Criteria for evaluation for therapist’s skills will include:

1. Listening and communications skills

2. Conceptualization and intervention skills

3. Self reflection and responsiveness to feedback

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, if you are next on the schedule to present a tape, you 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. When presenting tapes, you must bring in the consent form on the day of the presentation. No student will present a tape without a signed consent form.

If you have a strong desire to present your work with someone you cannot tape, you may present highly detailed process notes. Such notes essentially constitute a verbatim recording of everything you and your client said, which you construct from memory immediately after the completion of a session. Process notes can be extremely valuable in studying therapy process without the introduction of any artificial means. While such notes do not provide everything you might hear on a tape, with practice, you will be able to reproduce substantial portions of your work. If you choose to present process notes instead of a tape, you must consult with the instructor and must obtain prior authorization.

Written Reports

You 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(s)

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

Verbal Presentation

Present a concise, clear, well-organized, and comprehensive clinical presentation of your client to the group. Your verbal presentation should include the following:

1. Describe the setting and conditions that make up the context of your session (type of setting, referral, course of therapy, fee, policies, any critical recent interactions).

2. Describe your understanding of your client or cleints’ concerns, struggles, and hopes in your own and the client(s)’ words. Explain why the client(s) is/are seeking therapy now.

3. Discuss any goals you and your client(s) have identified. Explain how and why you reached these goals.

4. Describe any recommendations or interventions you have made to your client(s). Explain why you chose these recommendations/interventions and how you presented them to the client(s).

5. Describe your own feelings and thoughts about the client(s). Describe initial reactions, reactions over the course of the session, as well as thoughts and feelings upon reflecting on the session. Explain why some of your reactions may have altered over time and interactions.

6. Share any specific questions or concerns you have about the client(s), the hour you presented, and your interactions, interventions, or recommendations to the client(s). It is helpful to think about these questions ahead of time and write them down.

7. Present your taped material and participate in the group discussion. All members should attempt to respond to the specific questions the presenter raised as well as share their observations, hypotheses, and suggestions for interventions.

8. Group members will provide you with feedback and suggestions in the seminar during and after your presentation.

Disability Statement

It is the policy of the Argosy University/Chicago 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 to complete the instructor’s course requirements, the student must notify the Director of Student Services. Procedure for documenting student disability and the development of reasonable accommodation will be provided to students 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. It is the student’s responsibility to present the form (at his or her discretion) to the instructor in order to receive the requested accommodations in class. In an effort to protect student privacy, Student Services will not discuss the accommodation needs of any student with 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 a 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 from the University.

Technology Statement

ArgosyUniversity encourages the use of technology throughout the curriculum. This course uses the following: video tapes, cassette tapes, online syllabus and articles. Students may use overhead projector and PowerPoint program for their group presentations.

Required Reading

[Schedule of reading to be determined over the course of the semester]

Wachtel, E.F. (2004). Treating Troubled Children and Their Families (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford. ISBN # 1593850727.