Course Information - New PaltzIntentional Interviewing and Counseling: Facilitating Client Development in a Multicultural Society (with CD-ROM), 7th Edition. New York, NY: Brooks/Cole

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Course Information

Course Name: Counseling Skills

Course Number: COU 515 Tuesday

3:05-5:45pm- COU515: Counseling Skills- Section 2 (Humanities Building 205)

Wednesday 4:30-7:10pm- COU515: Counseling Skills- Section 1 (Humanities Building 208)

Instructor Information Instructor: Laurie Bonjo, Ph.D.

Office: Jacobson Faculty Tower 1000A Office Hours: Tuesdays (12:30pm-2:30pm) Wednesdays (1:00 pm-4:00 pm)

Email: [email protected] Office Phone: (845) 257-2372

Cell Phone: (757)7630-7233

Course Description

This course is the initial counseling skills course for students in the school counseling and mental health counseling programs at the State University of New York at New Paltz. This course focuses on helping students learn the foundational skills that form the base of the counseling process, regardless of one’s theoretical

orientation. The primary objective of the course is to acquire and become comfortable with a set of core counseling responses, including attending behaviors, restating, paraphrasing, summarizing, reflecting,

questioning, challenging, and interpreting. Training in counseling skills also involves the application of professional ethics, working with colleagues and supervisors, and documenting clinical work. Throughout this highly experiential course students will become proficient in applying basic counseling skills with children,

adolescents, and adults by completing role-plays, conducting mock counseling sessions, and performing transcript analysis.

Course Objectives

Within the context of a multicultural society, upon completion of the course students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate counselor characteristics and behaviors that positively influence helping processes. [CACREP 2009 G.5.b.]

2. Demonstrate essential interviewing and counseling skills, including attending behavior, appropriate use of questions, immediacy, client observation, encouragement, reflection of feeling, reflection of content, reflection of meaning, reflection of discrepancy, summarization, and session management.

[CACREP 2009 G.5.c.] 3. Demonstrate approaches to crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and harm reduction.

[CACREP 2009 G.5.e.] 4. Convey an orientation to wellness and prevention as desired counseling goals. [CACREP 2009 G.5.a.] 5. Apply ethical standards of professional organizations to their professional work. [CACREP 2009 G.1.j.]

6. Demonstrate awareness of attitudes, beliefs, understandings, and acculturative experiences, including specific experiential learning activities designed to foster students’ understanding of self and culturally

diverse clients. [CACREP 2009 G.2.b.]

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7. Clearly communicate the counselors’ roles in developing cultural self-awareness and promoting cultural

social justice. [CACREP 2009 G.2.e.] 8. Demonstrate appropriate documentation needed for individual counseling sessions.

9. Implement self-care strategies appropriate to the counselor role. [CACREP 2009 G.1.d.] Furthermore, students will learn:

10. Basic attending skills, including (1) non-verbal attending, (2) paraphrasing, (3) responding to feelings,

(4) open invitations to talk (e.g., questions), and (5) summarization. [CACREP 2009 G.5.c.] 11. The core conditions of (1) unconditional positive regard, (2) genuineness (or congruence between

Thoughts/feelings and actions), and (3) empathy (the ability to understand as if you were the other)

[CACREP 2009 G.5.c.] 12. The integration of the five basic attending skills into an interview. [CACREP 2009 G.5.b.]

13. “Self-reflectiveness,” or, more specifically, the nature of "transference" and "countertransfere nce" (helper transferences of his or her own concerns) in the counseling relationship. [CACREP 2009 G.2.b.]

14. Five typical stages of many helping interviews. [CACREP 2009 G.5.b.]

15. The more directive helping skills of confrontation, directive-giving and interpretation/reframing in counseling. [CACREP 2009 G.2.b.]

16. Awareness of personal strengths and limitations as they affect this work. [CACREP 2009 G.1.d.] 17. To frame the helping act from a multicultural perspective and appreciate the importance of cultural

sensitivity in counseling work. [CACREP 2009 G.2.b.]

18. The importance of ongoing supervision and feedback in counseling work. [CACREP 2009 G.1.g.]

Required Readings (Texts are posted on BB for free)

Ivey, A.E., Ivey, M.B., & Zalaquett, C.P. (2010). Intentional Interviewing and Counseling: Facilitating Client Development in a Multicultural Society (with CD-ROM), 7th Edition. New York, NY:

Brooks/Cole. Corey, G. (2001). The art of integrative counseling. Belmont, CA: Brooks-Cole/Wadsworth. American Counseling Association. (2005). ACA code of ethics. Alexandria, VA: Author.

American School Counselor Association. (2004). Ethical standards for school counselors. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Additionally, you will need to provide your own video or audio recorder and flash drive to record sessions for class assignments. Please bring these materials with you to each class session. Because your “clients” may indeed be discussing personal, sensitive experiences, it is important you observe ethical

standards, particularly those regarding confidentiality. Please label your recordings, and keep a record of which sessions (date, skill, etc.) are on the tape. All tapes will be erased upon completion of the course.

Instructor’s Approach

I am excited to be teaching this foundational course and am looking forward to a semester of learning and

growing together. I view the classroom as a laboratory for testing hypotheses, trying new things, and learning new skills. As this occurs, we are bound to stumble from time to time and we must embrace the idea that we

cannot be perfect in order to grow as professionals. As your professor, I believe that we learn through the process of making mistakes. It is when we make mistakes and decide to be open to seeing and learning from these mistakes that we learn and grow. Without taking risks and making mistakes, we cannot grow and change.

If you embrace risk taking and vulnerability, you will have opportunities to grow in ways you may not have anticipated.

Class Process

The learning model for this class is based upon successive approximation and acquisition of a set of counselor

behaviors and responses. As such, the class will proceed from micro-specific skills using demonstrations and group discussion of response alternatives to broader, more real and immediate, responses through role-playing

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and out-of-class sessions with mock clients. Effort and progress will be emphasized and rewarded, and outcome

will follow naturally.

Throughout the class you will be expected to participate as a client, counselor, and observer at different points during the class. When you are the counselor, you will receive feedback from your client, observers, and the class instructor. As the observer, you will be free to focus on the interaction between client and counselor, as

well as imagine yourself with that client. As client, you will gain a sense of how various counselor responses sound and feel as well as what it feels like to be a client. Often students wonder about what to talk about as

clients. It is helpful to create a few CLIENT PROFILES that you can use throughout the semester. You will have class time to create a few profiles, but you are welcome to add to your portfolio as your inspiration drives you.

A FEW NOTES ON COURSE CONTENT AND PROCESS

The Personal Challenge. This experience is likely to be one of the most personally challenging courses that you will take. It will not only require the use of the “intellect--” this course asks the student to learn in both the

“cognitive” (thinking) and “affective”(feeling) domains – each being central to how humans make meaning in the world. You will actively learn to help others to make new meaning of their experiences and to change

behavior. You will regularly do “practice” interviewing. You will struggle to let go of the need to impose your views, to tell your “truths,” to direct others, and to attempt to quickly solve problems. You will try patient, intensive listening, which will be harder work for most of you than many traditional academic tasks. Many of

you might transform your way of knowing as a result of this course, from an external, largely directive orientation, to a more empathic interest in others’ experiences.

A Way of Living. This course is about more than skills alone, as this helping approach begins with a fundamental belief in each person's worth and dignity and his or her ability to make positive meanings for

himself or herself or zirself. The helping interview, as taught in this course, is grounded in an egalitarian, as opposed to an authoritarian, approach to interpersonal relations and learning.

The Nature of the Helping Interview. The understandings and skills to be gained through this course are applicable to both professional and personal relationships and can be considered essential to effective family

and organizational life. This helping interview contrasts to journalistic interviews, job interviews, investigative interviews, performance evaluation interviews, and even typical medical interviews. Note this definition of the helping interview, in all of its complexity: “a dynamically evolving behavioral,

verbal, and cognitive interaction that [occurs] through language and discussion. Through the course of

dialogue, a co-constructed meaning of the problem and a co-negotiated definition of the behavioral roles that

the counselor and the client play begins to emerge” (Sexton & Whiston). In other words, there is no script. It is further assumed that the helper does not change the client, because the client has to construct new meanings and try new behaviors for him/her/zir self. However, we can of course trigger such changes. Respect,

genuineness, and regard are considered essential to this relationship.

Attending. We begin the course with "basic attending skills." "Attendere" in Latin means "to stretch forward, to give heed to." "Attending" is defined in the dictionary as "the ability to keep one's mind closely on something/mental concentration," "thoughtful consideration for others," and "an act of devotion." Attending is

covered in the first half of the course as the integration of five "skills," for teaching purposes, but we quickly and continuously integrate these skills into a coherent interview. And More… In the second half of the course

more advanced skills and concepts are learned, from pointing out client contradictions to giving directives. Throughout the course, conceptual and theoretical material is woven, such as discussions of the nature of empathy.

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Teaching Method. The instructional methods employed in the course include student reading of the topic

before the class, brief lecture, demonstration, discussion, practice, critical review, and out-of-class application. A large portion of the time spent in class will be dedicated to experiential learning, that is, role play and

feedback in groups of two or three. The exchange of considerate, respectful feedback in the small practice groups is essential to learning in this course. The instructor hopes to model dialogical learning by having students offer input each week into the course design and content, and by demonstrating the helping interview

and receiving feedback from the class.

Class Structure

During the first part of the course, students will receive intensive training in basic counseling skills (e.g., paraphrasing, summarizing, restating, reflecting, challenging, questioning, interpreting, etc). During this time,

students will engage in structured role-play sessions where they will be taught the aforementioned basic counseling skills. Ethics and confidentiality will be reviewed and students will practice opening a session,

closing a session, and assessing risk of harm to self and others. Documentation using case notes will also be discussed. After the intensive training has taken place, students will complete four 45-minute mock counseling sessions with an undergraduate student and four 45-minute mock counseling sessions with a child or adolescent.

These sessions are not counseling sessions. Instead, they are designed to provide counselors-in-training with an opportunity to apply the basic listening skills that they have learned with children, adolescents, and adults. Of

the eight sessions, students will choose three sessions to transcribe. The student will select a 15-20 minute segment to transcribe. Client responses will be summarized, counselor responses will be transcribed verbatim. For every counselor response, an explanation and an alternate response must be provided.

Ethics and Confidentiality

In this class you will be practicing basic counseling skills and will adhere to your respective professional ethics

codes, specifically with regard to protecting the confidentiality of the individuals who will be participating in mock sessions and in-class role-play sessions. In line with the American Counseling Association and the

American School Counselor Association’s professional ethics codes, as professionals we must all respect confidentiality by not discussing what has been said during role-play sessions outside of class. You will not discuss personal content with anyone other than the class instructor outside of class and the individual’s names

will be changed on all case notes submitted for this class.

Evaluation Criteria Grading will be based on the accumulation of points awarded for various assignments, activities, and evaluations. The aforementioned assignments are presented below.

Assignments Possible Points

Class Attendance and Participation 100 Initial transcript 100 Midterm transcript 100

Student Counseling Evaluation (mid-term & final, 50 pts each) 100 (Student self-evaluation and instructor evaluation)

4 Child/Adolescent Mock Sessions and DAP/SOAP/DAP notes [25 pts ea X 4 sessions] 100 4 Adult Mock Sessions with DAP/SOAP/DAP notes [25 pts ea X 4 sessions] 100 2 Supervision sessions with instructor, bring tape 100 points each 200

Final exam/transcript: Case Presentation & Transcript 100 10 Reflections 100

A [930 -1000] A- [900-929] B+[870-899] B [830-869] B- [800-829] C+ [770-799]

C [730-769] C- [700-729] D+[670-699] D[630-669] D-[600-629] F [Below 600]

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Class Attendance and Participation: The success of each student, and of the class as a whole, is highly

dependent on the extent to which students prepare for class and actively participate during class. The class will be most beneficial to students when the group, including each individual member, is focused

on learning and growing and helping each other learn and grow. Therefore, it is expected that students will attend and participate in each class. Active participation and group cooperation are required, as they will increase what you gain from this class. Additionally, you will be asked to show recordings of

yourself practicing skills for supervision. Your attendance and class participation grade will be based upon regular attendance, active participation during class discussions and activities, and your

participation in the roles of counselor, client, and observer during role play sessions. Consistent attendance and thoughtful class participation are highly encouraged. Points will be deducted for more than one course absence.

Student Evaluations: There will be two clinical evaluations over the course of the semester. Feedback

will be given in 30-45 minute individual meetings with the instructor. During this meeting, you will come prepared to review a 15 minute segment of a taped mock counseling session. In addition to reviewing your tapes, these evaluations will assess your progress in class, your readiness to counsel

clients, and your integration of skills demonstrated in class with academic learning, ethical and professional behavior, and self-awareness. It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SCHEDULE A

MEETING WITH THE INSTRUCTOR. Please be sure to schedule your individual meetings with the instructor at least 2 weeks before the student evaluation is due.

Mock Sessions and DAP/SOAP/DAP/TRANSCRIPT Notes: After obtaining appropriate written consent, students will conduct eight 45-minute mock counseling sessions (4 with a child or adolescent and 4 with an adult) using the basic counseling skills that they have learned in the class. Each session

will be video and/or audio taped for supervision purposes. Students will submit a written case note (SOAP/DAP/DAP/SC-Transcript note) for each session.

Case Presentation with Verbatim Transcript: When you present a video in class, please come prepared to discuss high points and low points during the session, questions or concerns you may have

about your role as a counselor, the individual you’re working with, etc.. In addition to presenting your taped recordings to the class approximately three times, you will also submit a 15-minute verbatim

transcript that presents a word-for-word typed version of your mock counseling session. In this assignment be sure to:

▪ Highlight parts of the session that you think went well as well as parts of the session that you

found difficult ▪ Label all the interventions that you used during the interview. Discuss why you used each

intervention and consider its effectiveness. ▪ Write a counselor recall of the session. That is, recall your experience during the interview

process: include what you were thinking and feeling at each point in the interview in which you

intervened. Discuss what you think your client wanted from you. Consider what you did (and wished you hadn’t done) as well as what you didn’t do (and wished you had).

▪ For the second and third transcripts, you will also compare and contrast your first session with your current session. Note differences in your interventions, style, and feelings.

*Please be sure to bring enough printed copies for everyone in the class to have their own copy to review.

Sample Verbatim Transcript:

Dialogue Intervention & Analysis ALTERNATE

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Intention RESPONSE

Client (VERBATIM OR SUMMARY) I don’t

think I made any difference with my

brother at all. He just talked right over me.

Counselor

(VERBATIM!!!

EVERY

UTTERANCE!!!): And

what was it like for you

to have that happen in

when you were so

emotionally involved? Client: Well, it was

frustrating – sometimes my brother just talks and

talks and nothing ever changes.

Counselor: And you get

frustrated with the lack

of change.

Client: Well, yeah, he is

so annoying. I can see why he’s having relationship trouble.

Counselor: That’s an

interesting point -

maybe he’s responding

to you the same as he

does his girlfriend.

Client: Oh, that’s

interesting, I hadn’t thought about that

I used an open-ended question to help foster

self-awareness

I attempted a reflection of feeling

to help the client identify the link between her feelings

and the behaviors of her brother

I was offering a possible conceptualization

here (an attempt at reflection of

content/meaning) - but I didn’t really want to go in that

direction, I wanted to follow-up on the

client’s frustration

It was successful in that the client did identify her

feelings.

This wasn’t very effective

– the client stayed focused on the her brother, not herself

This was successful in terms of giving the client a new perspective, but

that wasn’t what I wanted to do and it distracted me

from the process work I wanted to do, so I wish I would have followed up

on the lack of change and the frustration of that

instead.

Have there ever

been times when you have felt like your brother really

heard you? Can you tell me about when

that happened?

There seems to be a sense of defeat in

your voice right now.

What is it like to watch him enact

these behaviors with other people?

Journal Entries: You might consider writing about (a) what you’ve learned about others and yourself during a particular class; (b) topics you want to discuss or have avoided discussing with others; (c) things that you are learning about yourself in the course; (d) things you are struggling with or growth

experiences you have had in the course; and (e) concrete changes in your attitudes, values, and/or behaviors that you would like to make as a result of your introspection. I will grade these entries on

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completion; I will respect all reasonable ethical boundaries concerning your confidentiality with regard

to these entries.

IMPORTANT POLICIES

Statement of Academic Integrity: As outlined in the SUNY New Paltz Faculty Handbook, “Students are

expected to maintain the highest standards of honesty in their academic work. Cheating, forgery, and plagiarism are serious offenses, and students found guilty of any form of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary

action” (p. 14). Students caught violating academic policy in this way will be penalized according to the severity of the offense. Possible penalties range from grade reduction on the particular paper or examination to failure for the entire course. You may wish to examine the Sojourner Truth Library’s website dedicated to

understanding and avoiding plagiarism: http://lib.newpaltz.edu/assistance/plag.html.

Notice Regarding Students with Disabilities: Students with documented physical, learning, psychological and other disabilities are entitled to receive reasonable accommodations. If you have a disability and require

accommodations for this course, please contact the Disability Resource Center [Student Union Building 205; 257-3020]. The Disability Resource Center will provide forms verifying your need for accommodation and will assist you with making appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodations. Students are encouraged to

request accommodations as close to the beginning of the semester as possible. As soon as the instructor receives the form, you will be provided with the appropriate accommodations.

Ethics and Professionalism: Mental health practitioners are expected to maintain a consistently high level of

ethical and professional behavior. As part of this, all students must keep absolute confidence concerning any and all communication from their clients (even if they are role plays with a fellow student) as well as any communications which they hear or see relating to the clients of anyone else in this class. A violation of this

confidence will result in the immediate dismissal from class and the assignment of a failing grade. Any violation of other ethical standards will result in disciplinary action and may result in the immediate dismissal

from class and the assignment of a failing grade.

Cell Phone Policy: The use of cell phones, pagers, or other electronic communication devices during class is disruptive and is consequently prohibited. Additionally, these devices should not be visible during class time. Given the disruptive nature of these devices, if any of these things are seen during class time, 50 points

will be deducted from your final grade. This is a grade-killer, folks. Please note that if you have an emergency and must respond to an electronic device during class, it is your responsibility to have this approved

by the instructor prior to the start of class.

Counselor Development: Professional, personal, and academic development are essential to counselor training. Counseling training requires that trainees be self-reflective, open to new and challenging ideas, willing to

examine their own assumptions, able to receive feedback, and generally willing to engage in personal growth. Thus, to pass this class, students must not only excel academically, but must also (a) adhere to the professional and ethical standards of the profession, (b) demonstrate adequate counseling skills and competencies, and (c)

attend to their personal development as it impacts their ability to work effectively and ethically as counselors. Students in this course will be evaluated on the following twelve areas as part of their in class performance:

1. Openness to new ideas 2. Flexibility 3. Cooperativeness with others

4. Willingness to accept and use feedback 5. Awareness of own impact on others

6. Ability to deal with conflict 7. Ability to accept personal responsibility 8. Ability to express feelings effectively and appropriately

9. Attention to ethical and legal considerations 10. Initiative and motivation

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11. Development of Professional Skills and Competencies

12. Psychological Functioning and Self-Management

Student Evaluation of Instruction: You are responsible for completing the Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI) for this course and for all your courses with an enrollment of three or more students. I value your

feedback and use it to improve my teaching and planning. Please complete the form during the open period on-line. Tentative Course Schedule

Date Topic(s) Readings Assignments Due

08.27.2013

& 08.28.2013

Introductions

Worst counselor ever activity

Learn the observer/client/counselor

structure for practicing in class

“Why I want to be a Counselor”

Expectations: Self & Class

None None

09.04.2013 &

09.05.2013

Overview of Microskills

Ethical Issues

Confidentiality Competence

Informed Consent

Worldview

Open Questions

Closed Questions

Intentional Interviewing and Counseling chapter 1

The Art of Integrative

Counseling chapter 1 Professional Ethics Codes:

ACA & ASCA

REFLECTION #1 : 500-word reflection on 15 minutes of

questions with an unsuspecting partner.

09.10.2013

& 09.11.2013

Getting Started

Power and Privilege

RESPECTFUL & ADDRESSING Interview

Attending Behaviors

Intentional Interviewing and

Counseling: chapter 2

The Art of Integrative Counseling: chapter 2

REFLECTION #2: 500-word

reflection on an hour-long conversation in which you say

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about yourself.

REFLECTION #3, 4, 5 (not really *reflections*:

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Encouraging

Reflection of Feeling Roleplays for Each Skill

Tape Record Roleplays

Assignment section on BB (3 Assignments)

09.17.2013 &

09.18.2013

Paraphrasing

Summarizing

Consent and Assent Forms Basic Listening Sequence

Structuring the Interview

Intentional Interviewing and Counseling: chapter 3



Begin to scope for *clients*

09.24.2013 &

09.25.2013

Reflection of Meaning

Interpretation

Reframing

Resilience

Self-Disclosure Providing Feedback

Information and Advice




REFLECTION #6: 500-word reflection on a half-hour long

conversation with a person under the age of 15.

10.01.2013 & 10.02.2013

Suicide Assessment NSSI

Self Care



REFLECTION #7 : Using self-evaluation tool, (handout, also posted on BB) reflect on your

counseling skills 1000 words

10.08.2013

& 10.09.2013

Confrontation

Community Genogram

Focusing

Advocacy and Social Justice

REFLECTION #8: 500-word

reflection on an hour-long conversation with a person who is significantly older than you in

which you focus on reflecting feeling, thoughts and meaning.

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INITIAL TRANSCRIPT DUE

10.15.2013

& 10.16.2013

10-15 Columbus Day, no

class

10-16: Catch up, review

Student Evaluation #1

(Self-Evaluation, Instructor Evaluation)

10.22.2013 &

10.23.2013

The First Interview with an Adult

Putting it All Together

Referrals

Treatment Planning

Case Management Relapse Prevention

Crisis Counseling

Assessing Risk to Self or Others

Self-Care

Determining Your Personal Style as a Counselor




10.29.2013 &

10.30.2013

Supervision of Mock Adult Session #1

Goals for Counseling Children

The Child-Counselor

Relationships Attributes of a Child

Counselor



1) Mock Counseling Session: Adult #1

2) SOAP/DAP Note: Adult #1

SCHEDULE FIRST SUPERVISION SESSION

WITH INSTRUCTOR FOR NEXT WEEK

11.05.2013

& 11.06.2013

Supervision of Mock Adult

Session #2

Adapting Skills to Work with Children

Observation

Active Listening




1) Mock Counseling Session:

Adult #2

2) SOAP/DAP Note: Adult #2 TRANSCRIPT #2 DUE

11

12

11.12.2013

& 11.13.2013

Supervision of Mock Adult

Session #3

Telling Their Stories Adult Termination





Adult #3


11.19.2013 & 11.20.2013

Supervision of Mock Adult Session #4

Professional Growth as an Adult Therapist

The First Interview with a Child or Adolescent

Dealing with Resistance and

Transference



1) Mock Counseling Session: Adult #4


11.26.2013 &

No class for the 27th

Review/catch up 1) Mock Counseling Session: Child/Adolescent #1

2) SOAP/DAP Note:

Child/Adolescent #1

12.03.2013

& 12.04.2013

Supervision of Mock

Child/Adolescent Session #1

Facilitating Change The Play Therapy Room

Selecting Appropriate Media

and Activities Working with Miniatures/Toys

Working through Art





Child/Adolescent #2

2) 2) SOAP/DAP Note: Child/Adolescent #2

3) Case Presentation: ________

SCHEDULE FINAL SUPERVISION SESSION WITH INSTRUCTOR

12.10.2013 & 12.11.2013

Supervision of Mock Child/Adolescent Session #2

Bibliotherapy

Termination



1) Mock Counseling Session: Child/Adolescent #3

2) SOAP/DAP Note: Child/Adolescent #3

REFLECTION #9 Use evaluation tool (BB) as a guide

for reflecting on your counseling skills (again)

1000 words

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12.17.2013 &

12.18.2013

Supervision of Mock Child/Adolescent Session #4

Feedback, wrap-up

Intentional Interviewing and Counseling: chapters 14 &

15

1) Mock Counseling Session: Child/Adolescent #4

2) SOAP/DAP Note: Child/Adolescent #4

Student Evaluation #2

(Self-Evaluation, Instructor Evaluation)

REFLECTION #10: 1000 words:Final thoughts on

the class

Documents

Course Information - New PaltzIntentional Interviewing and Counseling: Facilitating Client Development in a Multicultural Society (with CD-ROM), 7th Edition. New York, NY: Brooks/Cole