SOPC Rubric Discussion Forum

Course Objectives

1.   Understand the historical background, core concepts, and clinical practices of major contemporary counseling and psychological theories.
2.   Critically analyze similarities and differences among major counseling theories.
3.   Explore ethical and cultural implications of different schools of thought.
4.   Develop awareness of counseling theories and practice from a social, cultural and political context.
5.   Develop an evolving personal theoretical approach to counseling.
6.   Develop an awareness of how one’s theory affects one’s behavior in counseling.

Additional Course Objectives:

1) To gain familiarity with the major theorists of counseling psychology.

2) To understand the connection between different theories and psychotherapy practices.

3) To contextualize the different theories in relationship to when, how and by whom they were developed.

4) To help you to describe and understand your own theoretical underpinnings.

Pedagogical Approach: Using lectures, discussion, role play, videos, small group presentations, etc. we will explore what theory is, why and how it is useful and important to counselors, some of the more popular theories of psychotherapy, and help you to develop your personal theory. I (with your help) will try to create an environment of safety, ease and curiosity to enhance this process.

To quote from a former students in the class (C. David Frese)
Irle, this is what  I think you really want us to get out of the class
. (PS I agree, IMG.)
“ Look, people. What I want you to do here is to think about who you really are as an individual. I want you to learn about the continuum of the psychotherapeutic tradition because you will become part of this tradition, and the larger view is fun and important and informative. To me, this is tremendously exciting, and I’d like it to be exciting to you as well. I’d like to expose you to some of the ways that people actually do therapy, and to see which appeals to you and which doesn’t. I want you to absorb the materials and form opinions about them. I don’t care if your opinions differ from mine, as long as they are informed opinions. I want you to feel the theories and put them together in a framework that you feel like you own, rather than they owning you. Understand that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way, as long as you act responsibly and authentically… “



I am interested in using the study of theories of psychotherapy to help each of you become the best clinicians you can become.
To do this, there will be three basic approaches to each theoretical area.

A) What is the theory?
1)   What are its important principles and techniques?
2)   Why did it develop when it developed?
3)   What is the relationship of its founder’s personality to it’s content?
We will use lecture, video and discussion to convey this part

B) How does this theory affect you?
We will use exercises based on the techniques of that particular theoretical school so that you can experience what the approach is like. You will organize the products of these exercises into a portfolio.

C) How can you use this theory clinically and critically, with others?
The answer to this question will come both from your life/work experiences incorporating what we have learned and from the ways you will use the techniques with your fellow students in small groups.

Course Assignments, Course Requirements and Evaluation:

1) Attendance and participation in class exercises is assumed (20%)
Completion of the assigned reading is assumed.

2) Portfolios
I want each of you to create a Theories portfolio. This will be the collection of your own creative responses/explorations to the different theories as described and demonstrated in videos, lecturettes, exercises, etc. You can use words, drawings, videos, audios, etc. etc. etc. as you develop your own theory. We will flesh this out extensively in class and in homework
3) Midterm assignment
The goal of this assignment is to get you to describe your own theory of counseling and connect it to the readings. This is basically a summary and integration of the work you will already have done in your portfolio.

.
The purpose of this 3-5 page paper is to get you to think about, understand and express what you believe about the counseling experience and how your beliefs relate to the theorists and theories we have studied. Start from your personal experience about how you were helped or helped other with a problem you or they were facing. Then relate your experience to the theories in the book.
What helps and what doesn't help? What are the important elements of the helping experience? What do you believe about what works in counseling? What theory did your counselor use? How do these relate to the different theories you read about? Make at least 3 references to specific articles from the readings.

Add to it a preface with the five most important things you have learned in this class.

And end it with a half-page feedback sheet as to how this class is working for you, what works and what doesn’t in terms of readings, discussions, experiential exercises, presentation groups, videos etc.
(30%)

FINAL: A longer paper (10-15 pages typewritten) incorporating your portfolio in describing the impact of the course material on how you do or would like to do therapy with a particular client(s) and how it relates to the different approaches we have studied. It will be a follow-up and expansion of the first paper. This is an opportunity to reflect upon how the various counseling theories as presented in class affect and relate to your way of doing counseling.(50%)


End with Feedback about the class, small groups, presentations, videos, lecturettes, books and articles, etc. (1/2 – 1 page)

Citations should be in APA format
Please make copies of all assignments for your security.
Late assignments will be penalized.


Required Texts:


Corey,G.,(2009)(Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. EighthEdition. Brooks/Cole.
ISBN-13: 978-0-495-10808-3

This text is now in its ninth edition. You do NOT need to get the more recent edition. It is expensive. Feel free to buy the seventh or eighth editions. They are much cheaper. ($6 used on Amazon).

Yalom,Irvin The Gift of Therapy. ($6-9 on amazon)


Readings ( I will send these to you).

   
1.    McConnaughy, E.A. (1987) The person of the therapist in psychotherapeutic practice. Psychotherapy(4,3)303-313.
2.   Rogers, Carl  (1972). The Characteristics of a Helping                Relationship On Becoming A Person. Houghton Mifflin Co.
a.   39-57.
3.   Shedler,J. (2010)The efficacy of psychodynamic                   psychotherapy. American Psychologist.
4.   Treadway,D. (2004, Sept/Oct.) Unanswered Questions.
i.   Psychotherapy Networker, 63-66.
5.   Wampold(2007) Psychotherapy: The Humanistic and Effective Treatment. American Psychologist,62(. Nov 2007
6.   Wylie, M., Mindsight, Psychotherapy Networker

CAMBRIDGE COLLEGE
SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY AND COUNSELING
 
Psychopathology
Fall ‘12, 3cr.
Fridays 9-5pm; 10/19, 10/26, 11/9, 11/16, 12/7


CCP 615 CA01   (Req # 28725)
CCA 772 CA01
Instructor: Irle M. Goldman, Ph.D.
                  56 Fairmont Ave.
                  Newton, MA 02458
                  617-332-3242
                           irlegoldman@gmail.com
It’s best to contact me by email with any questions or needs.

Please be on time as this class builds from one point to another. No credit will be given if you miss more than one class.
Be sure to do the readings before you come to class
Be sure to bring the books as you will be doing a lot of diagnosing and developing treatment plans in class.
Be sure to have enough time to prepare for this class. I expect at least two hours of reading and prep for every hour of in-class time. I strongly recommend that you read the articles in the weeks before class starts.

 You are responsible for any material that you have missed. Please be on time.  Computer use is restricted to class information. Do not use your computers or other devices to get emails, etc.

American Psychiatric Association (2000), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Text Revision, Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association,
 
Oltmanns,T.F. and Emery,R.E. (2010), Abnormal Psychology, 6th ed. Prentice Hall. (or any other biopsychosocial abnormal text based on DSM-IV-TR )
 
Jongsma, A.E., (2004), The Complete Adult Psychotherapy Treatment Planner. Wiley
And the Complete Child Psychotherapy Treatment Planner
 
Course Description
This course deals with the nature of neurotic behavior, abnormal behavior and the psychoses. Particular attention is given to ego-defensive, adaptive and sociocultural aspects of behavior and ways in which adaptive behavior becomes symptomatic. The historical contexts in which psychopathology has been diagnosed and viewed historically from early medical concepts through the currently used Diagnostic Criteria, DSM-IV, are presented. Case studies provide experience in classifying, diagnosing and categorizing various mental disorders. Discussions of treatment of mental illness include psychopharmacology, prevalent psychotherapies used in individual, family, couple and group psychotherapy and current research findings related to treatment. This course utilizes films, tapes, case studies, class presentations, lectures and group discussion.
3cr.
 
 
 
Course Content
         This course will familiarize you with the language and categories of psychopathology as described in DSM-IV. We will use case material to discuss the uses and limitations of psychodiagnosis, especially vis-a vis etiology and treatment. I will try to make this course as enjoyable and relevant as possible. We will be using your own experiences and questions as well as a wide variety of resources to learn the material. By the end of this course you will know how to diagnose and develop treatment plans (holistically)
 
In addition, this quote from a former students in the class (C. David Frese) may help you to understand what my approach is like.
“Irle, this is what  I think you really want us to get out of the class.”
. (PS I agree, IG.)
 
“ Look, people. What I want you to do here is to think about who you really are as an individual. I want you to learn about the continuum of the psychotherapeutic tradition because you will become part of this tradition, and the larger view is fun and important and informative. To me, this is tremendously exciting, and I’d like it to be exciting to you as well. I’d like to expose you to some of the ways that people actually do therapy, and to see which appeals to you and which doesn’t. I want you to absorb the materials and form opinions about them. I don’t care if your opinions differ from mine, as long as they are informed opinions. I want you to feel the theories and put them together in a framework that you feel like you own, rather than they owning you. Understand that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way, as long as you act responsibly and authentically… “
.
 
Course Objectives:
1. To familiarize students with the structure and language of psychodiagnosis and the DSM-IV.
 
2. To present etiological, philosophical, personal and treatment perspectives- including biological, psychological, family systemic and socio-cultural perspectives for many of the categories of mental disorders.
 
3. To introduce students to the process of diagnostic thinking, interviewing, mental status exam, and evaluating a client's strengths and talents in relationship to their weaknesses and difficulties.
 
4. To help students to understand and explore the uses and abuses of psychodiagnosis.
 
5. To create a safe and open atmosphere for discussion and participation  which will allow for the exploration of the nature of psychotherapeutic change across the psychopathological landscape.
 
Required Texts
 
American Psychiatric Association (2000), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Text Revision, Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association,
 
Oltmanns,T.F. and Emery,R.E. (2007), Abnormal Psychology, 5th ed. Prentice Hall. (or any other biopsychosocial abnormal text based on DSM-IV-TR )
 
Jogsma, A.E., (2004), The Complete Adult Psychotherapy Treatment Planner. Wiley

Learning outcomes for Psychopathology McKnight
1. Demonstrate a familiarity with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–5, the major classification scheme used in the United States, and its relationship to the International Classification of Diseases–10 (ICD-10).

2. Identify myths related to mental illness and positive and negative consequences when placing a diagnostic label.

3. Demonstrate ability to compile information relevant to completion of the diagnostic assessment and subsequent treatment planning and documentation.

4. Interpret factors central to the diagnostic assessment in children, adolescents, and adults with selected disorders.

5. Critically evaluate the research for treatment and prevention efficacy of the interventions used to address various mental disorders.

6. Recognize and interpret factors central to the diagnostic assessment in children, adolescents, and adults with selected disorders.

7. Examine professional values and ethics in direct practice in mental health and clinical social service settings.

8. Recognize the importance of cultural elements and take into account diversity.

Mission Statement:
The School of Psychology and Counseling at Cambridge College develops competent new practitioners in the fields of counseling and human services through a variety of programs that blend theory with practice within a collaborative, interactive learning environment composed of culturally and experientially diverse adult learners and faculty.

SOPC Learning Outcomes:
Graduates of SOPC programs exhibit understanding of theories and principles of counseling, personality, and human development within the context of a multicultural and diverse society.
Graduates of SOPC programs demonstrate knowledge of research and assessment in relation to ethical diagnosis, planning, prevention and treatment modalities.
Graduates of SOPC programs identify laws, regulations, professional guidelines and community resources applicable to mental health and counseling practices.

Prosem 1