Introduction to Psychological Services
Human Development and Psychological Services 201-0
Fall Quarter, 2017
Class Time: Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30am-10:50am
Location: Annenberg Hall 303
Instructor: Gustavo R. Medrano, Ph.D.
Phone: 847-733-4300 x633
E-mail: (Note: subject line should always start with “HDPS 201-“)
Office Hours: by appointment only
Teaching Assistant: Taylor Moore, B.A.
E-mail:
Office Hours: by appointment only
Course Description: Welcome to Introduction to Psychological Services! This survey course will provide an overview of professional degrees, sites and various populations in psychological services. Introduction to the most common mental disorders and counseling fundamentals used in mental health careers will also be covered. To achieve this breadth, the course is divided into 3 modules: history and careers in psychological services, approaches and practice in counseling, and common mental disorders.
Required Course Materials: Required readings will be drawn from the course textbook and articles uploaded to the course's Canvas site.
The textbook has been ordered and should be available at the Norris Bookstore. Additionally, the textbook is available for purchase (hard copy or eBook) and rental at www.cengagebrain.com.
Kottler, J.A. and Shepard, D.S. (2015). Introduction to counseling: Voices from the field (8th Ed.). Stamford, CT, USA: Cengage Learning.
Scientific articles and chapters will be made available by the week before the content is covered in lecture on the class' Canvas site (www.canvas.northwestern.edu). Additionally, the course's Canvas site will also contain announcements, lecture outlines, optional readings and grades. You will also be required to submit discussion questions and your reflection paper to this site.
Therefore, familiarity and regular access to the course's Canvas site are requirements of this course. By going to the site, you will find the names of the courses you are currently enrolled in, including this one. There will be a Canvas link listed under the name of this course, and clicking on it will take you the course site. If you require assistance with the use of Canvas, click on the "?" icon on the Canvas Dashboard or call NU's Canvas Support at (855) 680-0126.
Course Requirements:
Class attendance: Attendance to all lectures is required, and attendance will be taken. Students may miss one lecture without penalty, with each subsequent absence resulting in 3% deduction in class grade. Exceptions to this policy will rarely be made and will be up to the discretion of the instructor. Exceptions will normally require documentation and an appointment with the instructor. Additionally, 2 late arrivals will be considered equal to one absence.
Attendance is a point of emphasis for multiple reasons. Key and difficult topics from the textbook and article readings will be covered during lectures. Outlines of the lectures will be made available via the course's Canvas site prior to class, but essential information will be missing as the outlines are meant to maximize engagement and retention. Additionally, students' discussion questions (see below) will be used in class to generate class discussion, enrich learning and these questions may be used on exams. Consequently, students who attend all lectures will likely perform better on exams, earn a better grade in the course and contribute to and enjoy a richer class experience.
Assigned readings/Discussion questions: Students are responsible for reading the assigned material before coming to class. Students should refer to the schedule below for due dates on textbook readings, and refer to the course's Canvas site for the required articles.
In addition, students will be required to submit two discussion questions regarding the week's readings to the course's Canvas site. These questions will be due at 9am CST on the first day of the week in which the material is being covered (i.e., usually Monday; refer to Canvas site), and tardy submissions will not be accepted. Each question will be worth two points, and will be graded for completion and quality. For full credit, discussion questions must make reference to specific parts of the text, quoting or paraphrasing as needed, to show engagement and thoughtfulness with the material. These discussion questions may be used during that week of class to generate class discussion, and some may be used on exams.
Exams: There will be two exams, each consisting of multiple choice and short answer questions. Exams will be based on material covered in the textbook, articles and lectures. Neither exam will be cumulative so the final exam will only cover the latter half of the course's content. Both exams will take place in class.
Missing an exam earns a grade of zero. Please note that make-up exams will rarely be given, and only at the discretion of the instructor. To determine if a make-up exam will be granted, the student must make an appointment to see the instructor as soon as possible after the date of the missed exam. Make-up exams will normally require documentation of the reason for the absence, and will be graded without the class curve (if one is used).
Reflection paper: Besides learning the content of this course, the other major goal of this course is to help students decide if a career in mental health could be a good fit for them. To help in this process, students will be required to write a four-to-five page paper (Times New Roman, 12 font size, double-spaced, one-inch margins, plus cover page) that compares and contrasts two theoretical orientations and two specialty fields (e.g., individual adult or child, couple, assessment, family, addictions) in terms of goodness of fit for that student. Students will need to cite material from the textbook and articles in informing their positions (in APA format), and are welcome to interview mental health professionals. A grading rubric of this reflection paper will be posted on the course's Canvas site during the quarter that will offer more specific guidelines. Papers will need to be submitted both to the course's Canvas site and in person the day of the class. Tardy submissions will be penalized with 15% deduction for each day that the assignment is late.
In order to give assist students in the development of their paper, students will be required to turn in a paragraph (i.e., several sentences) briefly describing their upcoming reflection paper. This proposal will need to describe the theoretical orientations they are comparing, the specialty fields they are comparing, and the possible setting/career that would be a hypothetical match to their theoretical and specialty preferences. This proposal paragraph will be due on 10/30/17 at 9am CST, and will be graded as a discussion question assignment. Students will then receive feedback to assist in their writing of their reflection paper. Paper is due 11/15/17 at 9am CST on course's Canvas site, and paper copy at the beginning of class that day.
Extra credit: Extra credit opportunities may be offered during the quarter, and they will be announced on the course's Canvas site. One such extra credit assignment will involve interviewing a mental health professional. A grading rubric of this extra credit assignment will be posted on the course’s Canvas site during the quarter and will offer more specific guidelines. This assignment will be due on 5/30/17 at 9am CST on course’s Canvas site, and paper copy at the beginning of class the next day day.
Grading: The final grade for the course will be based upon the scores of the discussion questions (20%), reflection paper (20%), and of the two exams (30% each), with aforementioned deductions for absences and tardy submissions. Scores will be posted on the course's Canvas site, and the following percentage scale will be used to determine letter grade.
Grade / Percent EquivalentA / 92-100%
A- / 90-91%
B+ / 87-89%
B / 84-86%
B- / 80-83%
C+ / 77-79%
C / 74-76%
C- / 70-73%
D / 60-69%
F / 59%
Accommodations for students with disabilities: Any student requesting accommodations related to a disability or other condition is required to register with AccessibleNU(; 847-467-5530) and provide professors with an accommodation notification from AccessibleNU,preferably within the first two weeks of class. All information will remain confidential.
Academic Integrity: Students in this course are required to comply with the policies found in the booklet, "Academic Integrity at Northwestern University: A Basic guide". All papers submitted for credit in this course must be submitted electronically unless otherwise instructed by the professor. Your written work may be tested for plagiarized content. For details regarding academic integrity at Northwestern or to download the guide, visit:http://www.northwestern.edu/provost/policies/academic-integrity/index.html
Course schedule:
(Note: Schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor. Changes to the schedule will be announced in class as well as on the course's Canvas site.)
Dates(Mondays and Wednesdays) / Topics / Assignment/Exams
9/20 / Introductions, Syllabus, What is counseling? / Chapter 1 (no discussion questions)
9/25 and 9/27 / Foundations of counseling and Settings for counselors / Chapters 2 and 3, discussion questions due 9/25
10/2 and 10/4 / The therapeutic relationship / Chapter 4, discussion questions due 10/2
10/9 and 10/11 / Insight oriented approaches / Chapter 5, discussion questions due 10/9
10/16 and 10/18 / Action oriented approaches / Chapter 6, discussion questions due 10/16
10/23 and 10/25 / Family, couples and sex counseling / Midterm Exam (10/23), Chapter 10 but no discussion questions due
10/30 and 11/1 / Neuroscience, addiction, psychopharmacology / Chapters 10 and 12, discussion questions due 10/30
Reflection paper proposal due 10/30
11/6 and 11/8 / Counseling diverse clients and Assessment, testing, diagnostic process / Chapter 13 and 8, discussion questions due 11/6
11/13 and 11/15 / Depression and Bipolar / Article readings, discussion questions due 11/13
Reflection paper due 11/15
11/20 (Thanksgiving break starts on 11/22) / Anxiety Disorders / Article readings, discussion questions due 11/20
11/27 and 11/29 / PTSD and catch up/review / Article readings, discussion questions due 11/27 (as well as extra credit interview of MH professional)
12/4 and 12/6 (Finals Week) / Final Exam Date and Time TBA