COUN 5350: Professional Orientation and Ethics

Spring 2006

Instructor: Dr. John L. Garcia                                                                              Classroom: AV 123

Phone: (512) 716-4553                                                                                           Office: AV 464Z

E-ma il: jg12@txstate.edu                                                                                      Office Hours:   Th 3–5:30 pm or

                                                                                                                                by appointment

Course Description:

An introduction to the counseling profession as practiced in a variety of clinical and human service settings. Emphasis is placed on the philosophical and psychological foundations of mental health counseling, personal/professional traits and skills of effective counselors, professional ethics, licensure, credentialing and professional regulation, and contemporary professional issues.

Prerequisites:   Official admission to the EAPS Professional Counseling Program

Course Objectives:

• To establish a foundation for professional identity both intra-professionally and inter-professionally including licensure, credentialing, advocacy, private/public policy-making, and affiliation with professional organizations, their histories, benefits of affiliation and structure; emphasis given to the American Counseling Association (ACA).   (CACREP IIK: 1b, 1d, 1e,1f; CC: A2, A4, B1)

• To familiarize the student with the history and foundational philosophies under girding the counseling profession.   (CACREP IIK: 1a, 1d; CC: A1, A5)

• To render more congruence in one’s own personal and characterological traits as they will impact proficiency in the helping profession including awareness of diverse cultural definitions and attitudes concerning mental health. (CACREP IIK: 2c, 5a; CC: A2)
• To foster a basis for self-care that will provide life-long efficacy in a helping profession (CACREP IIK: 2c, 5a).
• To foster in the student an understanding of the purpose of a code of ethics and an awareness of behavior consistent with all relevant ethical codes and standards of practice, and to foster a personal working apparatus of moral reasoning in human affairs. (CACREP IIK: 1h, 5g; CC: A2, A4).
• To foster technological competence and computer literacy in the practice of counseling. (CACREP IIK: 1c)

Methods of Instruction:  

Lecture, discussion, writing of autobiography, and TRACS Discussion Board.

Required Text:

Neukrug, E. (2003). The world of the counselor. (2 Ed.). Pacific Grove,

                                                CA: Brooks/Cole.

(Recommended Only):

Neukrug, E. (2003). Experiencing the world of the counselor. (2 Ed.).

                                                Pacific Grove, CA:   Brooks/Cole.

The professor will provide a number of articles and handouts. Most will be made available via Blackboard. If you are not familiar with Blackboard and need some assistance, see professor.

Course Requirements:

                                Total attendance and participation. Deduct 5 points for the first absence from the total score. Deduct 8 points for the second absence. Three absences will result in               an automatic “F” for the course.

                                Write your autobiography. This story of your life is to be no more than 25 pages in length, APA format (white paper, typewritten, stapled in upper left hand corner, no binder, etc.). The paper is to include: a genogram, a recognizable connection between your personal history and a calling for the counseling profession. Photographs are encouraged, but are not to be considered as contributing to the length of the paper. The professor cannot ensure the safekeeping of valuable photos, so copies are suggested. The instructor will maintain the privacy of the submitted document and will abide by the established precepts of confidentiality for written student assignments.

                                Complete successfully two (2) written examinations as scheduled. See calendar below.

                                Compliance with all applicable criteria of the EAPS Professional Performance Evaluation (PPE, revised 2005).      

                                An active Texas State e-mail account.

                                Grading:

                                 Evaluation and Procedures

                                                Autobiography                                                                                     100 points              

                                                Two (2) written, objective-format examinations

                                                @ 50 points each                                                                                  100 points

                                                                                                                                                ∑              200 points

                                                GRADING SCALE:   200 – 180   A         179 – 160   B          159 – 140 C

Below “C” Course Must Be Repeated. Absences are deducted from total points earned. The student may be withdrawn from the class for non-compliance with the EAPS Professional Counselor Evaluation criteria (attached). See Student Handbook for Faculty Review procedures.                       

                                Tentative Course Schedule:

Note : The professor reserves the right to make alterations in the calendar necessary to facilitate                                  the delivery of the course.

DATE              TOPIC                                                                                     READING

Jan 19              A Working Definition of Counseling                                Ch 1                        

26             Roots of Social Change and Activism                               2; handout(s)                                                                        

Feb 02             Is Counseling A Profession?                                              handouts)              

        09             Who Goest There?                                                               handout(s)

                16             Models of Helping and Coping                                         4,6,7,8,17,18; handout(s)

23             Why Counseling and Why Now?                                     9

     Mar   02               When Helping Starts to Hurt                                             handout(s)

     Mar 09                                    MID- TERM EXAM

12 – 19                         SPRING BREAK

                23             Ethics: Where Personal Becomes Public                                 3; handouts

                30             The Categorical Imperative (Kant)                                            handouts        

     Apr   06               ACA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice                     handouts

                13             Therapeutic Failures                                                                    handouts

             20                ACA Code of Ethics & Standards of Practice        handouts        

27            Resolving Ethical Dilemmas                                                       handouts

AUTOBIOGRAPHY DUE

      May 04              FI NAL EXAM

Texas State University seeks to provide reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with disabilities. This university will adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student’s responsibility to register with Disability Support Services and to contact the faculty member in a timely manner to arrange for appropriate accommodations.

Please, no cell phones or other disruptive devices in this classroom.