WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

PRACTICUM IN COUNSELING

CNSL 5360

Winter Term, 2009

 

 

INSTRUCTOR:  Al Smith, Ph.D.

                             210-854-8964

                             210-826-7595

                             asmith@wbu.edu

 

TEXT:        Becoming a Professional Counselor, 2nd. ed. Sheri Wallace and Michael Lewis, Sage Publications, 1998.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

                   Experience in performing the activities that a regularly employed                       community counselor/school counselor is expected to perform in a                              professional counseling setting under the direct supervision of the                     program faculty and the site supervisor.  Weekly site supervision is                       provided for observed, recorded, and reported experiences from the                              field setting.  Additional faculty supervision is provided during 4                         weekends throughout the duration of this semester. 

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES: 

                   The major function/role of counseling is to facilitate individual and                              interpersonal development throughout the life span.  There are many                          approaches to promoting the individual’s development, no one of                     which may serve all.  Counselors should mature with experience in                              their ability to critically evaluate counseling approaches to determine                     the appropriate ones to use with their clientele.  All counselors,                               regardless of work setting, should be prepared in a common core of                             knowledge and basic skills.  All counselors-in-preparation should                           engage in critical self-analysis regarding their suitability for becoming                  a counselor, their competencies, and weaknesses.  All counselors                       should engage in continuous peer and self-evaluation regarding the                              quality of their counseling services.  Through a critical exposure to a                           broad spectrum of literature and research, the reflective counselor                      becomes committed to increasing knowledge about human behavior                       and the conditions that influence it.  Through reflection, counselors                     appreciate the importance of themselves, as persons, in the helping                           process and will strive to clarify how their personal characteristics                      influence the outcomes of the helping process.  All counselors should                             understand, develop, and implement an ethical code of conduct and be               aware of their state’s licensing board requirements.  Therefore, by the                              conclusion of this course, successful students will be able to:

 

A. Accept and use supervisory feedback to improve counseling effectiveness.

B. Actively and constructively participate in peer group supervision.

C. Demonstrate appropriate use of core counseling skills (e.g., attending,           empathy, respect, concreteness, genuineness, and confrontation.)

     D. Use counseling skills and competencies

E. Conduct initial client assessments and make recommendations for counseling services.

F.  Demonstrate ability to appropriately prepare clinical documentation.

G. Learn to integrate theory with practice.

H. Continue to develop a coherent personalized counseling approach that is adequately based on accepted counseling theory and research.

I.   Critically evaluate their in-session counseling behaviors.

J.  Accurately assess their own counseling strengths and weaknesses.

K. Engage in professional and ethical conduct at all times.

L.  Demonstrate awareness, knowledge and skills in counseling clients who are culturally different, including racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation and socioeconomic differences.

 

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

          A) Case File: (20% of final grade).  You will be required to videotape an actual counseling session and assemble an actual case file for a client you are working with.  Over the course of this semester, you will sign up for which weekend you will be presenting your case and will only present one case to the classroom for discussion and constructive feedback.  Your video is to be at least 35 minutes long.  However, we may only have time to review a portion of the video in class.  The class will view this videotape (either in VHS or DVD format) with you and will ask questions, offer feedback and provide suggestions.  The purpose of this assignment is to help you polish your counseling skills.  If your agency or school will not allow for videotaping or if you cannot find a client who will give consent, then you should find someone (such as a friend, or relative, or neighbor, or another classmate) who would be willing to participate.  Be sure to get a consent form signed by the client indicating that you are a graduate student who is serving as a counselor intern and that they are aware that a graduate class and the professor will be reviewing this tape and information.  Also, please alter, mask, or blacken out any identifying information on all written documentation to protect and maintain the confidentiality of the client.  Please ask your professor during class for clarification on how to do this assignment if you are unsure.  You will be graded on your counseling skills, your ethics, your ability to discuss and conceptualize your case, and the quality of your written documentation.  Your file should include the following: 

Signed consent form

Case Conceptualization (which is a one-page double-spaced brief summary                                  of the client and their issues)

Treatment Plan (which is a one-page double-spaced statement of what problem(s) you would address, what treatment strategies you would employ, long term goal(s), and short term objectives.)

Progress Note of this session which should include the type of treatment (i.e.. individual or group), the length of the session, mini-mental status exam (i.e. client appeared alert and oriented with no evidence of psychotic features and was not currently suicidal), what the client talked about, what the therapist explored, any homework given, any progress or recommendations or concluding observations, date/time of next appointment, and clinician’s signature, title, and date.)

Self-evaluation (which is a one-page double-spaced reflection on what theoretical approach you took, how you thought you did and what you thought about your body language as well as what you should have done differently)

Your entire presentation of the video and the discussion that follows should take about 40 minutes to complete.  You will prepare and complete only one of these cases over the course of the semester.  If you do not have a video camera, consult with your fellow classmates, friends, relatives, or neighbors to borrow one for this project.

 

B) Student Log Review, Accrual of minimum required internship hours, and turning in evaluation forms as scheduled:  (50% of final grade) During each weekend that we meet, your professor will ask each student to turn in their log to sign off on their hours accrued.  The site supervisor should sign off on the student’s hours on a weekly basis.  Half of your grade in this class is determined by your ability to turn in the evaluation forms and log books as scheduled as well as complete the required 100 hours of supervised internship hours (40 of these hours are direct contact and 60 hours are indirect contact hours) as well as your ability to turn in your log book for review each Friday that we meet for class.  Your site supervisor’s comments will also be considered as well. 

You cannot take an “incomplete” for this course because this will prevent you from being able to sign up for the advanced internship course.  Therefore, in some unforeseen instance that you will not be able to accrue the required minimum hours, please consult with your professor and/or division chair on how best to address your situation.

 

C) Book Review:  (30% of final grade).  You will read and review one book dealing with direct therapeutic instruction or techniques.  This book should reflect an approach that you either attempt to utilize or an area of interest for you.  For your book review, reflect upon several of the cases from class and discuss what you learned from this experience or what you might have done differently.  Also, discuss the author’s theoretical orientation and how it fits with your own personal counseling style.  The review should be 5-6 pages in length, and you will make a brief oral presentation of the book to the class.

 

 

 

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:

 

                             Classes will meet the following weekends during the semester:

 

                             November 13 and 14

                             December 4 and 5

                             January 8 and 9

                             February 12 and 13

 

 

 

ATTENDANCE:  Attendance is critical to success in this class as well as mastery of the material and subject.  Regular attendance and participation will play a part in determining the final grade.  Only emergency situations will be considered as possible exceptions.  According to the student catalogue, “Any student who misses 25% or more of the regularly scheduled class meetings will receive a grade of F in the course.”