PSY 464/Theories of Counseling & Psychotherapy

Jeanne M. Slattery, Ph.D.

Our theoretical (and personal) assumptions about people and their motives influence how we see the strengths and weaknesses of our clients, the style of therapeutic relationship we develop, the kind of therapeutic goals we set, how we attempt to intervene to meet these goals, and how we study this process. As a result, it is especially important for you to develop a strong, useful theoretical viewpoint -- both for your own work as well as to understand those of other therapists.

Furthermore, this course is designed to help you begin thinking about specific approaches to treating a variety of clients. The field is rapidly moving toward a theory of differential treatment. Rather than "What is the best theory of counseling and psychotherapy?" we are increasingly thinking "What treatment, by whom, is most effective for this individual, with that specific problem, and under what set of circumstances?" (Paul, 1967). As a result we must learn a variety of treatment modalities, some of which may be less comfortable for us. We must also learn to hear and respect vastly differing worldviews.

Although we will do many applied things in this course, this is primarily a theory course. If you want to learn basic interviewing skills, take Psy 364, Intro to Techniques in Interviewing and Casework, generally offered in the Fall semester. If you want to use these skills in real world settings, take Psy 499, Internship in Psychology.

Course objectives

This is a senior level course and will require significant thinking and writing about yourself and others. I believe that you can profit significantly from this work, as will the people you work with in the future. By the end of this semester, you will begin to be able to:

1. Describe, understand, and begin to use the major foundational ideas in counseling. These include the skills of empathy, listening, and influencing, as well as recognizing worldviews.

2. Describe and understand the major psychotherapy "languages." You should be able to use the theory's terminology and concepts and apply them to yourself and others.

3. Think divergently about a single phenomenon. This course will ask you to consider multiple explanations for a person's behavior.

4. Explore social context. As we consider the change process, we will consider how issues of gender, sexual orientation, culture, class, and physical ability affect our experience of ourselves and others. As you do so, you may find that your ability to be empathic increases.

5. Apply these ideas to yourself and others. Knowledge that is unapplied is sterile. You'll apply these ideas to cases on Blackboard, to yourself and others in papers, and to case material in our very applied exams.

6. Initiate conscious self-change. Although this is not a primary goal of this course, I hope that you consider your life during this course, using the ideas presented here as a springboard for your own change. Furthermore, you will learn to use writing to support your process of growth.

Steps Toward the Goal

Class. Our course begins by exposing you to the foundations of counseling. We will use both lecture/discussion and experiential exercises to gain a general understanding of the field. Then we will begin to explore a number of theories of counseling that are used in the field and observe therapeutic styles in transcripts of therapy sessions or on film so that we can converse intelligently with co-workers, choose a theoretical approach that works well with our own style, and recognize the relationship between client issues and therapeutic approach.

Texts. Class can provide the outline, but good texts can flesh this out as well as provide a slightly different point of view. Parrott's Counseling and Psychotherapy (2nd ed.) is a clear and concise description of the therapeutic approaches. Yalom's book, Gift of therapy: An open letter to a new generation of therapists and their patients, is short and sweet, one you will want to review for years after you have begun practicing as a therapist.

I am trying to keep the cost of texts down, so have posted a number of articles and chapters on e-Reserve. The address for this class is http://library.clarion.edu/coursepage.asp?cid=29. Entry is password-protected. The password is on your paper syllabus. If you cannot access these articles from home, please use the department's Mac lab.

Exams. We will have three exams that will cover material from the texts, lectures and discussions, handouts, videos, and other materials to assess your knowledge of theoretical and therapeutic concepts. Exams will be multiple choice in format.

Make-ups can be taken at a mutually convenient time until the exam time. If you miss an exam without informing me beforehand, the timing and format of the exam (as well as penalty) will be at my discretion.

Cases on Blackboard. We will have eight cases on Blackboard that you will have to discuss with your classmates. In addition to the case material, I will post several questions to begin the discussion. You will need to make at least two posts to each case in the week allotted for each case. One of these posts must be in response to a comment made by a classmate. You will earn two points per post that is relevant to the case question, up to a maximum of 4 per case and 30 Total. Note: This means you can miss one case without a problem. Do not tell me that your computer crashed, dog died, you got the flu etc. the night before the deadline for a case. Because bad things happen, do your work ahead of time and, if this can't happen, use this as your dropped case. Students who go above and beyond on the cases, who engage with the material in a meaningful way with me and with fellow students, can earn additional points extra credit. I'll e-mail you informing you when you've done an outstanding post (one per case, eight maximum).

Why are we doing cases? I want you to think about the ideas as they apply to real people. Your understanding of the material and your grades should improve as you actively and thoughtfully engage with the course material over this semester.

Short papers. And does this material apply to you? Absolutely! I will offer a number of paper topics throughout the semester to encourage you to use and experience the ideas of this course first-hand. You must complete three of these.

Final paper. Your papers should naturally to lead to your final project, which will help you pull together the ideas from the course. This project may take one of two forms: (a) a case study, where a person is "diagnosed" and "treated" from one theoretical viewpoint discussed in this class; or (b) an analysis of the theory and techniques seen in a videotaped interview. Grading criteria, to be attached to your paper, are included in this syllabus. This paper is optional, but you will not get an A without completing it, regardless of your performance on other projects.

Papers are expected to be between 11-15 pages in length (including title page and references). At least five references should be used. APA reference style should be followed. Papers with cover pages, citations, and references using APA style in a spotless manner will earn 10 pts. extra credit. See writing website for help. Papers with only one of these sections spotless will earn prorated points for that section. Papers received after the due date will receive a 10% penalty.

I have sample papers on file for those students who would like to see strong papers written in the past.

Why might you choose to do an optional paper? Because you:

• want an A in this course
• write better than you take tests and think this can raise your grade
• want to practice and develop your analytic skills in a safe environment
• have heard that I comment on the quality of written products in letters of recommendation and you are considering asking me for one.

Class Participation. This is a pre-professional course. That means that I will have the same expectations of you that I would have if you were working for me. I expect you to come to all classes prepared to discuss ideas raised in class. Participating well also means being able and willing to challenge your previous views of the world, bringing in related issues from other sources, and discussing these with me or your peers inside and outside of class.

You will lose four points for each class you miss beyond three. These three are for any reason Ð strep throat, sick child, or some other sort of crisis. Use these absences wisely. In the Spring of 2005, 72% of my students in my Theories class missed three or fewer classes.

Confidentiality and Ethics

This course may require you to be involved in a fair amount of role-playing and practice interviewing. In the course of your discussions your partner may say something personally important and confidential. It is your duty to maintain this confidentiality and trust. Papers which do not disguise the identity of your partner will be returned. Similarly, papers turned in that do not indicate that you have the permission of your partner to turn in your paper, will not be accepted. Finally, any student failing to maintain another student's confidentiality or treat another student respectfully will earn an automatic "F" in this course.

FOR YOUR OWN CONSIDERATION IN YOUR ROLE PLAYS AS A "CLIENT": You have the right and personal responsibility to share only what you wish to share. All exercises are optional and you may stop participating at any point without penalty. At the same time, if you frequently find yourself wishing to avoid many exercises, you may wish to drop this course. This course, by its very nature, is experientially oriented.

Mandated reporting

Clarion University is mandated by federal and state laws to report crimes occurring on campus or in campus-related functions. In order to comply with these laws, I am required to report information about university-related crimes to Public Safety. If you tell me of a crime that meets university criteria (especially assaults, sexual assaults, robbery, or hate crimes), I will report it. I am not required to identify either victims or witnesses by name. I will, of course, inform you before making a report.

Letters of Recommendation

Psychology is a career that generally requires at least a master's to enter and "practice." (You can work as a caseworker with a bachelor's degree.) If you haven't begun thinking about this process yet, you should now!

Many of you, especially those of you applying to clinical or counseling kinds of programs, will probably consider asking me for a letter. These are some of the things I consider as I write my letters:

• performance in class
• the nature of questions raised and answers given
• attitude and motivation, including persistence and attendance
• quality of writing or analysis in your writing
• ability to continue to perform even as you experience stressors in your life
• other relevant interactions we have had and how you have performed there, including in Psi Chi, on research with me, or on departmental committees

Be aware of these and present your best face. I am not asking that you be "perfect," but that think about these issues, profit from experience, and behave professionally.

Grades

Grades will be determined as the percentage of the available points earned. These will come from four sources: (a) the sum of the percentages from your tests (300 pts.); (b) the number of points earned on your papers (40 pts. each, 120 pts. total); (c) responses on BlackBoard (up to 4 pts. per case; 30 pts. maximum, plus a possible 8 pts. extra credit), and (d) the number of points earned from your final assignment (100 pts., opt.); less (d) three points for each class missed beyond three. Your total earned can be compared with the following scale:

If you choose not to do the final paper, compare your performance with the following scale:

Notice that this class demands significant effort beyond performance on exams. It is to your advantage to begin this work early.

I do not curve grades. I want you to demonstrate that you understand this material. I am more than willing to help you if you run into problems with it, however. Please talk to me early, though, when we are able to do more to help you with your performance in this class. If you are troubled by test anxiety or if this class raises issues for you, please call the Counseling Center (2255). If you need modifications in lecture, discussion, or testing conditions, please let me know early in the semester.

American Psychological Association. (2002). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Retrieved on November 13, 2003, from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code2002.html

Beck, A. T. (1995). An interview with a depressed and suicidal patient. In D. Wedding & R. J. Corsini (Eds.), Case studies in psychotherapy (2nd ed., pp. 116-134). Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock.

Lazarus, A.A. (1993). Tailoring the therapeutic relationship, or being an authentic chameleon. Psychotherapy, 30, 404-407.

May, R. (1995). Black and impotent: The life of Mercedes. In D. Wedding & R. J. Corsini (Eds.), Case studies in psychotherapy (2nd ed., pp. 136-148). Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock.

McIntosh, P. (1989, July/August). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Peace and Freedom, pp. 10-12.

National Center for Cultural Competence. (2002). Promoting cultural competence and cultural diversity in early intervention and early childhood settings. Retrieved on May 25, 2005, from http://gucchd.georgetown.edu//nccc/nccc7.html

Rigazio-DiGilio, S. A. (1993). Family counseling and therapy: Theoretical foundations and issues of practice. In A. E. Ivey, M. B. Ivey, & L. Simek-Morgan (Eds.), Counseling and psychotherapy: A multicultural perspective (pp. 333-358). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Rogers, C. R. (1980). A way of being (pp. 5-26). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Slater, L. (2003, November, 2). The cruelest cure. New York Times Magazine, 34-37.

Slattery, J. M. (2004). Counseling diverse clients: Bringing context into therapy (pp. 135-165). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Three Rivers, A. (1991, September/October). Race: Cultural etiquette: A guide. Ms, 42-43.

Yi, K. Y. (1998). Transference and race: An intersubjective conceptualization. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 15, 245-261.

University / Department / Home / Syllabi / Skills / After graduation / Schools

A total of people have accessed this page since February 12, 1998.

Page by jms
URL= http://psy1.clarion.edu/jms/cptsyll.html

Last updated January 13, 2006