COUN 5354:  

Basic Techniques in Counseling

Fall 2006

Instructor: Dr. E. A. Schmidt

Phone: 512-245-3979                                                            Office: Education Building, Suite 4012, Room 4016

E-mail: es17@txstate.edu                                                     Office hours: M 11-3:30, T 12-3:30

Course Description:

This course is designed to introduce the student to basic counseling skills via role-play and videotape. The course also provides a general model of effective counseling, including basic communication skills and theory techniques.

Prerequisite: COUN 5350 or COUN 5328

Course Objectives:

In the process of gaining competency in basic communication/counseling skills, the student will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of what a person communicates.
• Clearly and completely articulate one’s understanding of what a person is communicating and do so in a professional, coherent manner, including reflection of content, reflection of affect, affective vocabulary, tone, pitch, nonverbal communication, paraphrasing, summarizing, immediacy/communicating felt experience. (CACREP IIK: 5b)

3.      Demonstrate an awareness of personal communications such as self-awareness and impact on clients.

4.      Demonstrate an understanding of nonverbal counselor skills such as attending and listening.

5.     Demonstrate understanding of awareness of self as the primary vehicle for providing mental health assistance to others.

6.      Demonstrate knowledge of different theoretical counseling approaches.

• Demonstrate the ability to conceptualize a client within a systematically derived theoretical model(s). (CACREP IIK: 5c)

        8.      Demonstrate an understanding of issues and considerations associated with human diversity.   (CACREP

                IIK: 2b)     

        9.      Understand one’s own value systems and one’s own level of moral development and the impact on therapeutic work.

• Identify and demonstrate behaviors and attitudes that communicate respect and value of others.

        11.    Demonstrate thoughtful, responsible, and mature behavior when in a professional setting.

• Demonstrate congruence between professional and personal life.
• Recognize, validate, and affirm diversity.
• Create a safe and secure therapeutic environment within the bounds of professional and ethical standards, including unconditional positive regard, accurate empathy, rapport and physical setting. (CACREP IIK: 5g)
• Demonstrate commitment to further expand his/her knowledge base of diversity and multicultural issues. (CACREP IIK: 2b)
• Identify cultural and diversity issues that affect professional relationships. (CACREP IIK: 2c)
• Demonstrate respect for the values and attitudes of clients. (CACREP IIK: 2b)
• Demonstrate the ability for self-assessment of skill usage and development.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the interview stages and process. (CACREP IIK: 5b)
• Identify, assess, and evaluate counselor and client characteristics and behaviors that influence the helping process. (CACREP IIK: 5a)
• Use appropriate procedures to identify dynamics that impact the counseling relationship. (CACREP IIK: 5a)
• Display a beginning ability to understand and handle challenging counseling situations and display a beginning ability to identify difficult clients and skills to deal with same.
• Demonstrate a commitment to continually acquire knowledge of the field.
• Maintain a professional demeanor.

Methods of Instruction:

Lectures via multiple multimedia formats (e.g., class discussions, powerpoint, handouts, etc.), outside activities, small group role plays, and experiential exercises.

Required Text:

Meier, Scott T. & Davis, Susan R. (2005). The elements of counseling (5 th Ed.). Pacific Grove, CA:

        Brooks/Cole.

Handouts provided by professor

Course Requirements:

• Attendance: Students are expected to come prepared to practice skills and discuss theoretical concepts. Students should be prepared for class discussion regarding the content of the readings and the experience of class exercises. Three (3) or more absences will result in a failing grade.
• All students will keep a journal regarding their personal reactions and growing self-awareness to the experiential process you’ll encounter in this class. The journal will be due at each class period, beginning on the second class day. Final journals will be due the week before the final class. I will be looking for YOU in the journal (not a summary of class readings). I want your FEELINGS/OPINIONS/REACTIONS reflecting your experience in the course.
• EMAIL - please give me your email address and phone number. If you do not have an email address, contact computing services. As a student, you are entitled to free access to a computer and a free email account. Please provide me with an email address by the second class.
• There will be three video-recorded experiences during the semester. Each video-recording will be evaluated on a specific set of criteria (see Listening Skills Mastery Evaluation - LSME). In addition to the professor’s ratings of session tapes/CDs, students will rate their own tapes/CDs using the LSME. The criteria begin with the most basic elements of communication, and build toward more complex skills and knowledge with each succeeding session. Students will supply own video tape(s)/CDs. The tapes/CDs will be returned after being reviewed by professor. However, bring tape/CD to next class meeting, as sessions will be shown and processed in class. See below for specific recording/transcribing instructions. This is an experiential class. Recordings will be done with students playing both counselor and client roles. These recordings will be shown in class in order to demonstrate strengths and weaknesses of the counselor's skills. THEREFORE, WHILE IN THE CLIENT ROLE, CHOOSE APPROPRIATE TOPICS TO SHARE IN SESSIONS. With this in mind, personal "stuff" will still come up. This is part of the program and part of the process. Learning about yourself, and learning by learning about others is imperative to your development as a therapist.
• Any assignments submitted past the due date will be lowered one letter grade. Once a student has submitted an assignment late, no other tardy assignments will be accepted from that student.
• The professor will complete a Professional Counseling Performance Evaluation on each student. A minimum of “meets criteria” must be obtained in all areas scored for the student to pass this course. Failure to interact with peers, facilitators, clients (as applicable), or faculty in a manner consistent with the performance expectations of a professional counselor may result in a failing grade in the course and a referral to a faculty review committee. Each student is responsible for making a mid-term appointment with the professor to address strengths and weaknesses. For this appointment, the student will bring a tape of a role-played session, both performance evaluations (one completed by the student and one completed by professor), and, most importantly, courage to hear.

Grading:

Calculation of grades (Student will receive a final grade):

Attendance                                                                                            20%         (40 pts)   

Counseling Recording #1                                                                    15%         (30 pts)

Counseling Recording #2                                                                    20%         (40 pts)

Counseling Recording #3                                                                    25%         (50 pts)

                Journal                                                                                                    20%         (40 pts)

Total:     200 pts    

A=200-180                            B=179-160                            C=159-140                            D=139-120                            F=119-100

Taping Instructions:

Student will supply own video tape(s)/CD(s). Student will transcribe each session, submitting transcription, personal evaluation and tape/CD on due date. Transcribe only 20 consecutive responses for the last 2 recording assignments. It doesn't matter which 20, as long as they're consecutive. When submitted, tape/CD should be such that when professor places it in the VCR or computer, it should begin at the first of the 20 consecutive responses. At the end of the transcript, please include a summary of the session (your strengths, things you would have liked to have done better, what you would change, how you felt during the session, etc.).

Recording 1 - The role-played session is to be 10-15 minutes in duration. All responses are to be labeled.

Recording 2 - student will label responses and provide a “better” response for each actual response. This

    role-played session will be 20-25 minutes in duration.

Recording 3 - Student will provide rationale for each response, as well as a “better” response. This role

    played session will be 40-45 minutes in duration. For example of a rationale, see sample

    transcript on next page.

Through this program, you will learn how to become an effective therapist. By developing a unique relationship, you will be impacting people in very meaningful and powerful ways. My personal ethics require that I be certain that you are aware of, prepared and capable of handling that responsibility. It is upon those premises that the entire class is predicated.

In-class: Each student will be expected to participate, attend and learn during each class meeting. Please be prepared to do all three each week. At times, I will challenge you directly and openly during class discussions. Not every answer you give will be the correct one, and not all questions have only one correct answer. Sometimes you will have no choice but to "make a guess." You'll find, throughout the course of the program, that guessing is a very powerful tool for a therapist. Start using it now. Guessing results from one's courage to take risks. Taking risks is one of many characteristics of an effective therapist. Risk-taking is a lot easier when we rely on each other for support. Let's offer that to one another.  

Example of Transcription:

Recording 1 – Transcribe ENTIRE session

Ct:           "I just feel so nervous when by boss comes in the room. I don' t know why, but I hate that."

Co:           "You feel nervous when your boss comes around and you can't figure out why."

Label:      Restatement

Recording 2 – Transcribe any 20 consecutive responses ONLY (not the entire session)

Ct:           "I'm a teacher, and I have this child in my class who's just always angry, destructive and sometimes abusive toward me, if you can believe that. I finally got fed up and I wrote a letter asking that he be removed from my class. What about the other kids I have to teach? I have a responsibility to them, too.

Co:           As a teacher, you recognize the responsibility you have for your students, but you're caught between the "angry" child, and the rest of the class. You made a decision and wrote a letter based on the welfare of the whole class.

Label:      Reflection of content

Br:           You feel obligated to all of your students, and you also realize that you can't sacrifice the whole class just for one child.   You're feeling guilty and somewhat disappointed, wondering if you just gave up on the "angry" child.

Recording 3 – Transcribe any 20 consecutive responses ONLY (not the entire session)

Ct:           "Well, I don't know if I should say this, but she just pisses me off. I can't stand the little tramp. All she does is whine, whine, whine, and all my husband does is listen. Why doesn't she go whine to her own husband."

Co:           You feel resentment toward her. You feel angry because you see her as using your husband to "whine" to. You're unhappy with the fact that they have a relationship.

Label:      Reflection of feelings and content

BR:          You feel angry with her and resentment for her, as well. You also feel threatened, mostly due to her relationship with your husband.

Rationale:              Client's anger is obvious. However, it seems that she is mostly angry because of the "relationship" her neighbor has with her husband. I sensed that the client felt threatened, primarily because of her last sentence. Rereading that, it becomes more obvious that client feels jealous as well. From this, it's apparent that most of client's insecurities are resulting from some difficulty she's experiencing in her relationship with her husband.

NOTE:   In these examples, I transcribed every word the client spoke so that the response would make sense. On your transcript, DO NOT transcribe client's statements verbatim. Simply include the first and last few words.

Tentative Schedule:

Date                         Topic                                                                                       TOPIC/ASSIGNMENT

8-23                          Introduction                                                                           Constructive Feedback, Performance

Evaluation, Anxiety, Ethics, Listening skills Evaluation Form   

8-30                          Know Thyself/Role Play                                                     FIRST JOURNAL DUE

                                Johari Window

                                Microskills

9-6                            Attending Behavior - Beginning                                                                       

                                Response Labels

9-13                          Observation Skills                                                                 TAPE 1 DUE                                                                                                                          Reflection (Content/Feeling)              

9-20                          View tapes in class                                                              

                                Responses - Reflection (Feeling)                                                      

9-27                          Reflection (Feeling)/Empathy

10-4                          Reflection (Content)                                                            

10-11                        Confrontation                                                                        TAPE 2 DUE

                                Integrating Skills  

10-18                        Being directive                                                                     

                                Self-Exploration

10-25                        Theoretical Foundations – Why have theory?

11-1                          Role Play Humanism/Person Centered (Rogers)                                             

11-8                          Role Play Directive Therapies                                             TAPE 3 DUE

                                                                                                                                LAST JOURNAL DUE

11-15                        Role Play in class                                                 

View tapes in class

Wrap up                   

11-22                        THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

• NO CLASS – TCA CONFERENCE IN SAN ANTONIO

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 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.