Supervision in Family & Couples Therapy

PP 7640

Supervision in Family & Couples Therapy

Fall 2007

INSTRUCTOR:

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

PP 7640 – Supervision in Family & Couples Therapy

Fall 2007

David J. Van Dyke, Ph.D.

Phone: 312.777.7699

Email:

Office Hours: by appointment

Catalogue Description

An opportunity is presented to provide supervision in couple/family therapy to another therapist under the supervision of the instructor. Both individual and small group supervision skills are learned and practice.

Course Objectives

1. Developing a supervisory alliance.
2. Cultural, gender, and sexual orientation sensitivity in supervision.
3. Explore and identify parallels between therapy model and supervision model.
4. Handling transference and counter-transference in supervision.
5. Provide weekly supervision and videotape.
6. Begin developing clinical supervision competency.

Course Assessment

1. Meeting

We will meet every other week for 90 – 120 minutes.

1. Supervision Practice (250 points)

You will be assigned at least two supervisees from PP8050 Family and Couples Therapy courses. You will provide supervision weekly for 45-60 minutes focusing on beginning therapy skills and conceptualization (e.g., engaging couples & families, family assessment, problem identification), attending to family of origin issues and countertransference, supervision relationship (including paperwork) and attending to diversity issues. Please videotape each supervision session if possible. Students are required to bring own assessment of tape (and the tape itself) to each supervision session for discussion.

1. Interface Competency (75 points)

Write a 2-page (maximum) paper in which you identify specific interface issues with your supervisees (include individual issues as well as systemic – FOO issues, institutional, etc.). Then outline how you plan to address differences constructively.

1. Genogram Supervision (50 points)

You will provide feedback to your supervisee regarding their genogram and possibly interface issues. Have them provide you (if willing) with a copy of their genogram to you for consultation. We will discuss issues regarding the genogram construction or analysis (as well as interface issues for supervisor and supervisee).

1. Supervision Philosophy/Application (125 points)

This is the final for this semester. Write a 5-8 page double spaced paper (maximum) on your philosophy of supervising therapist who work with families or couples. How do issues of alliance, gender, racial, ethnic, culture, and sexual orientation enter in? Please make a copy for each class member and the instructor.

Required Readings

Todd & Storm (2003). The complete systemic supervisor: Context, philosophy, and pragmatics. Authors Choice Press. ISBN: 0595261337

Storm & Todd (2003). The reasonably complete systemic supervisor resource guide. ISBN: 059526137X

AAMFT. Readings in family therapy supervision: Selected articles from the AAMFT supervision bulletin. ISBN#: 1931846022

Grading

Each semester there are 500 possible points, therefore the total possible points are 1000. There will be one grade provided at the end of the second semester. The final grades will be based on a 5% level (e.g., 100-96% = A; 95-91% = A-; etc.)

Course Schedule

**Meeting weeks in BOLD

Oct 5

** Tentative schedule – will meet every other week for 2 hrs., off weeks are for assignments, supervision, etc.

Program Outcomes: The Doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at Argosy University Chicago Campus is an APA accredited program (APA, 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002, 202-336-5500). This program is designed to educate and train students so that they may eventually be able to function effectively as clinical psychologists. To ensure that students are prepared adequately, the curriculum provides for the meaningful integration of theory, training and practice. The Clinical Psychology program at Argosy University Chicago Campus emphasizes the development of attitudes, knowledge, and skills essential in the formation of professional psychologists who are committed to the ethical provision of quality services. Specific objectives of the program include the following:

• Goal 1: Prepare professional psychologists to accurately, effectively, and ethically select, administer, score, interpret, and communicate findings of appropriate assessment methods informed by accepted psychometric standards and sensitive to the diverse characteristics and needs of clients.
• Objective 1a: Accurately and ethically administer and score various psychodiagnostic instruments.
• Objective 1b: Accurately interpret and synthesize assessment data in the context of diversity factors, referral questions, and specific objectives of the assessment, and organize and communicate results in writing and orally.
• Objective 1c: Examine psychometric properties of psychological assessment instruments, and use that knowledge to evaluate, select, administer, and interpret psychological tests and measures appropriate for the client, the referral question, and the objectives of the assessment.
• Goal 2: Prepare professional psychologists to select, implement, and evaluate psychological interventions consistent with current ethical, evidence-based, and professional standards, within a theoretical framework, and with sensitivity to the interpersonal processes of the therapeutic relationship and the diverse characteristics and needs of clients.
• Objective 2a: Synthesize the foundations of clinical psychology, including psychopathology, human development, diagnosis, diversity, ethics, and various therapeutic models in clinical applications.
• Objective 2b: Select, plan, and implement ethical and evidence-based interventions with sensitivity to the diverse characteristics and needs of clients.
• Objective 2c: Demonstrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes to effectively implement and participate in psychological consultation and supervision.
  Objective 2d: Demonstrate personal development and self-reflective capacity, including growth of interpersonal skills, and therapeutic relationships.

• Goal 3: Prepare professional psychologists to analyze the complexity and multidimensionality of human diversity, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to understand diverse worldviews and the potential meaning of social, cultural, and individual differences for professional psychological services.

• Goal 4: Prepare professional psychologists to examine the historical context and the current body of knowledge of biological, cognitive, affective, developmental, and social bases of human functioning.
• Goal 5: Prepare professional psychologists to critically evaluate the current and evolving body of scholarly literature in psychology to inform professional practice.

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.

Library

All resources in Argosy University’s online collection are available through the Internet. The campus librarian will provide students with links, user IDs, and passwords.

Library Resources: Argosy University’s core online collection features nearly 21,000 full-text journals and 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. Many titles are directly accessible through the Online Public Access Catalog at http://library.argosy.edu. Detailed descriptions of online resources are located at http://library.argosy.edu/misc/onlinedblist.html.

In addition to online resources, Argosy University’s onsite collections contain a wealth of subject-specific research materials searchable in the Online Public Access 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 students fundamental and transferable research skills. The tutorial consists of five modules where students learn to select sources appropriate for academic-level research, search periodical indexes and search engines, and evaluate and cite 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 http://library.argosy.edu/infolit/

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.