Counseling

Classes

COUN 5100: Topics

A special topic is investigated in a group setting with graduate faculty leadership. This specific topic is subject to the approval of the Graduate Committee. Course may be repeated with a new topic. Only 6 credit hours of topics courses may be applied to the master of education degree.

COUN 5303: Cultural Foundations

The course will examine the social foundations of American education and how these foundations interact with the current historical, social, and political forces in shaping American education. Special emphasis will be given to the opportunities for students to investigate special educational problems and issues.

COUN 5304: Introduction to Counseling Methodology

This course is an orientation to the profession of counseling, its history, professional standards, code of ethics, credentials, areas of specialization, and the development of skills necessary to create a helping relationship. It covers the counselor’s professional identity in a variety of settings and roles. Opportunities are provided for students to discover through self-awareness their suitability for the helping profession.

COUN 5305: Intro to Community Mental Health

This course is an orientation to the profession of counseling, its history, professional standards, code of ethics, credentials, areas of specialization, and the development of skills necessary to create a helping relationship. It covers the counselor’s professional identity in a variety of settings and roles. Opportunities are provided for students to discover through self-awareness their suitability for the helping profession.

COUN 5310: Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling

This course outlines the ethical standard of American Counseling Association, American School Counseling Association, Social Justices Principles. These ethical codes will be used teach (1) ethical management of counseling programs, (2) how to provide ethical consultation, (3) how to address ethical complaints, (4) facilitate risk management, and (5) make ethical decisions to optimize services provided in counseling programs.

COUN 5312: School Responses to Typical and Atypical Development

This course is designed to train school counseling students to design, implement, and evaluate developmentally appropriate responsive services consistent with state and national models of the comprehensive developmental guidance program. The emphasis of this course is on the acquisition of knowledge and skills related to providing intervention strategies for students.

COUN 5314: Consultation in School Settings

This course is designed to train school counseling students to provide indirect services to children and adolescents through effective consultation with parents, teachers, administrators and external referral sources. The emphasis of the course is on the acquisition of skills that follow a logical consultation model. The course has a didactic and experiential learning component. Students will become sensitized to socio-cultural diversity issues as they impact consultation, and to the ethical and legal issues pertaining to working in the schools. Current research will be used to guide the consultation process.

COUN 5316: Family Counseling with Children and Adolescents

Course content will facilitate understanding of parent-child interactional patterns across the life cycle and development of educational and therapeutic strategies to prevent and/or treat difficulties in the parent-child relationship. Topics include assessment issues, children and teens in larger contexts, developmentally appropriate interventions, and special problems and populations.

COUN 5318: Developmental School Counseling

Includes the study of historical trends in counseling, theory, ethics and practice of comprehensive developmental guidance and counseling programs including, but not limited to, a consideration of counselor as advocate, advisor, collaborator, coordinator, and consultant.

COUN 5325: Psychopathology and Human Behavior

This course is intended to provide an introduction to emotional, mental and behavioral dysfunction. It is designed to increase the counseling student’s knowledge of the various disorders, psycho-pharmacological treatments for mental health disorders. Course content also includes an overview of the DSM criteria for mental health diagnoses and the theories of psychopathology.

COUN 5335: Multicultural Populations

Investigation of curriculum needs in a culturally plural society. Explores concept of multi-cultural education; implications for educational programs; effects of cultural differences on teaching and learning.

COUN 5340: Play Therapy

This course provides an overview of the essential elements and principles of play therapy, including history, theories, modalities, techniques, applications, and skills. Further, an experiential component focuses on basic play therapy skill development within the context of ethical and diversity-sensitive practice. It also includes assessment and techniques for working with children and adolescents in personal and family systems along with parent/guardian involvement interventions.

COUN 5345: Trauma Counseling

This course introduces students to an understanding of the personal and systemic impact of trauma-causing events. Students will learn specialized response models that encompass sensory-kinesthetic, perceptual, emotional, cognitive, social-relational, and spiritual dimensions of experience, with a focus on body- and brain-based approaches to treatment and on post-traumatic growth. Central to this class is the exploration of the counselor’s response to trauma and vicarious traumatization. The instructor uses a life-span developmental holistic perspective in presenting the course material.

COUN 5346: The Business of Counseling

This course introduces students to the basics of starting a private practice. Students will learn to evaluate the pros and cons of private practice; identify barriers to starting a private practice; and how to secure insurance panels; how to market the practice; identify legal considerations; pay the IRS; and myths about starting a private practice. Students will also develop a business plan that will require them to consider defining ideal customers, creating a digital presence, and developing policies and forms.

COUN 5357: Guidance Service

Includes the study of historical trends in counseling, theory, ethics and practice of comprehensive developmental guidance and counseling programs including, but not limited to, a consideration of counselor as advocate, advisor, collaborator, coordinator, and consultant.

COUN 5358: Grp Procedure Dynamic Grp Coun

Includes developing proficiency in the theories and techniques of small group counseling including major elements related to group dynamics and methods for conceptualizing and effectively dealing with common group issues. Students participate in an educational group as leader and member.

COUN 5359: Lifestyle & Career Development

Includes the study of the major theories of career development and occupational choice including major types of career assessment instruments, procedures of career related decision making, and practice in techniques of career counseling.

COUN 5365: Socio-Cultural/Family Issues in Counseling

Includes the study of the major theories and research involving the counseling of families in social and cultural context. The Locke Paradigm is the framework in which the social, cultural, and family issues in counseling are investigated. Substance abuse issues and treatment are investigated. This course includes the study of substance abuse issues and treatment.

COUN 5366: Counseling Theories and Approaches

Includes the study of the principles, assumptions, techniques, and procedures associated with the major counseling theories and approaches, skills for establishing and maintaining an effective counseling relationship, and procedures for conceptualizing client issues and setting counseling goals. Development of the counseling microskills is a focus.

COUN 5367: Appraisal Techniques

Includes but is not limited to the study of the principles of standardized testing, measurement, types and uses of assessment, principles of test administration, and skills for interpreting test scores, test bias, and other types of assessment. Differential statistics include but are not limited to measures of central tendency, measures of variability, standard deviation, and z-scores. Inferential statistics include but are not limited to the study of correlation coefficients, confidence intervals related to a mean, significance of sample size, p-value, effect size, power of a test, and ANOVA. Statistics are applied to understanding test score reports.

COUN 5368: Counseling Practicum

Counseling Practicum is the first of two semesters required for the capstone experiences. Students will be enrolled in a 3 credit counseling practicum class which meets once a week for one semester. Students must complete supervised practicum experiences that total a minimum of 100 clock hours during the semester. At least 40 clock hours of direct service with actual clients will contribute to the development of counseling skills. Weekly interaction that averages one hour per week of individual or triadic supervision with a site supervisor is required. Consultation regarding counselor practicum students between the counselor educator and onsite supervisor is required every two weeks. Evaluation of the student's counseling performance throughout the counseling practicum, including documentation of a formal evaluation after the student completes the practicum.

COUN 5369: Professional Counseling Issues & Ethics

Includes the principles, assumptions, techniques, and procedures associated with professional issues and ethics in counseling. Skills for applying these issues and ethics in counseling settings are investigated. Students become familiar with salient legal considerations and professional organizations. The relationship between ethical practice and language difference, historical privilege or oppression, and other potential client variables are a focus.

COUN 5375: Addiction Counseling

This course covers the theory, research, and practice of addiction counseling. The course covers topics such as the addiction process, addiction prevention, and methods of intervention including self-help and professional intervention strategies. The course also addresses the exploration of the behaviors, feelings and defenses as positive/negative adaptive methods of coping.

COUN 6302: Trends and Techniques in Counseling

Trends and Techniques in Counseling will coach students in the various counseling techniques used in the counseling profession in the context of the many trends in counseling. Techniques from a variety of theories practiced to address crisis, trauma, suicide, sexual orientation, and adoption issues.

COUN 6305: Counseling Internship

Counseling Internship is the second of two semesters required for the capstone experiences. Students will be enrolled in a 3-credit counseling internship class which meets once a week for one semester. This courses requires completion of a supervised internship of 600 clock hours in students' designate program areas, begun after successful completion of the counseling practicum. The internship is intended to reflect the comprehensive work experience of professional counselors appropriate to the designated program areas. Students' internship includes all of the following: (1) At least 240 clock hours of direct service, including experience leading groups. (2) Weekly interaction that averages one hour per week of individual or triadic supervision throughout the internship performed by the onsite supervisor. (3) One class per week in the 3-credit Counseling Internship class. (4) The opportunity for students to become familiar with a variety of professional activities and resources in addition to direct services (for example, record keeping, assessment instruments, supervision, information and referral, in-service and staff meetings. (5) The opportunity for students to develop program-appropriate DVD recording for use in supervision or to receive live supervision of their interactions with clients. (6) Evaluation of students' counseling performance throughout the internship, including documentation of a formal evaluation after students complete their internship by the professor of the counseling internship class in consultation with the onsite supervisor.

COUN 6320: Research Seminar - Proposal

Designed to develop a knowledge base in quantitative and qualitative research in order to conduct and execute investigative projects. Topics include an introduction to research questions or focus and proposal completion; a literature review, ethical issues in research, introduction to research designs and methods, basic data analysis, interpretation of data, strengths and limitations in the conduct of quantitative and qualitative research. (Replaces EDUC 5301)

COUN 6321: Research Seminar, Action Research-Study and Findings

Designed to further investigate quantitative/qualitative research designs and research methods appropriate to different research contexts in educational settings. Topics include: representing statistical data and qualitative interpretation to scholarly and practitioner audiences; representation of data, describing data by using inferential and descriptive statistics as well as qualitative approaches , interpreting data and making recommendations. Prerequisite: EDUC 6320.

COUN 6326: Educational Research and Scholarly Writing

Designed to introduce graduate students in Education to scholarly writing and research process. Topics include exploration of different literary styles in educational research, mastery of APA style, and analysis, synthesis, and critique of peer-reviewed literature.

COUN 6327: Educational Research Design and Data Analysis

Designed to introduce quantitative and qualitative research designs, methods, and data analysis techniques in education. Topics include ethical issues in research, construction and evaluation of measurement tools, critical analysis of research methods, use and interpretation of descriptive and inferential statistics, and analysis and synthesis of qualitative data.

COUN 6328: Advanced Research Thesis I

Designed to facilitate the completion of an advanced research thesis proposal. Coursework involves writing a literature review on a selected topic, developing a research proposal, obtaining Human Subjects Committee and individual institution approval to conduct the research, and orally defending the proposal before a thesis committee.

COUN 6329: Advanced Research Thesis II

Designed to facilitate the completion of an advanced research thesis. Coursework involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data, developing evidence-based recommendations, and orally defending the final advanced research thesis before a committee.

COUN 6335: Community Mental Health Practicum

This course offers a practicum experience of 150 or more clock hours, including direct service to clients, in a community mental health setting. The course engages the student in group supervision to accompany a field placement. Through reading, supervision, and counseling experience, students will become more familiar with their own professional identity and role as licensed professional counselors.

COUN 6335: Community Mental Health Practicum

This course offers a practicum experience of 150 or more clock hours, including direct service to clients, in a community mental health setting. The course engages the student in group supervision to accompany a field placement. Through reading, supervision, and counseling experience, students will become more familiar with their own professional identity and role as licensed professional counselors.