Clinical Mental Health Counseling

This course provides a base of knowledge about the counseling profession, its history, philosophy, and identity. Also covered are the roles & responsibilities of the professional counselor in working competently with diverse populations through personal challenges and crises and toward wellness and prevention.

Examines the stages of individual development as they occur in the context of the family life cycle. Consideration will be given to how various tasks, transitions, and events impact individuals and families at different stages of life. Students will integrate a linear individual perspective to human development with a systemic family perspective.

Examination of the major individual, marital, and family assessment strategies and instruments. Students will receive training in the use of both testing and non-testing approaches to assessment and appraisal. Attention will be given to the relationship between assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning. Fee $200.

Survey and analysis of research methodology and program evaluation in the counseling profession. Topics include current trends in counseling research, Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed methods design, implementation, and data analysis. Evaluating research and writing research reports will be also be addressed. Recommended pre-requites include COU5301 Introduction to Clinical Mental Health and/or COU 5361 Techniques of Individual and Family Counseling.

Focuses on the development of a professional attitude and identity as a marriage and family therapist and a professional counselor. Areas of consideration will include professional socialization, the role of professional organizations, licensure and certification, legal responsibilities and liabilities of clinical practice and research, family law, confidentiality issues, codes of ethics, the role of the therapist in court proceedings, and inter professional cooperation. 

Detailed overview of psychopathology and analysis of psychopathology in educational and clinical counseling settings. Students will receive training in the use of the DSM-IV and its application. Diagnostic and treatment planning skills will be facilitated through the use of case studies.

Examines psychiatric diagnoses and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, theories of psychopathology, treatment planning, case conceptualizing and basic knowledge of psychopharmacological medications. Fee: $100. 

Examination of the major theories and models of counseling. Ethical and culturally relevant issues of in-person and technology-assisted relationships and the impact of technology on counseling is examined. Students expected to develop a coherent theoretical rationale for their therapeutic interventions.

Introduction to the skills involved in developing effective helping relationships. The processes, principles, and techniques associated with counseling are explored. Experiential component fosters the development of basic interviewing, listening, and counseling skills. Additional techniques and resources are reviewed and evaluated.

Reviews concepts, issues, and trends in the field of career counseling and career education. It is designed to consider the role of the counselor in the career decision-making process of individuals across the lifespan. Consideration will be given to the relationships between work, career development, and family functioning. Fee: $100.

Study of theoretical foundations of group counseling and group work. Emphasis on dynamics associated with group process and development. Ethical and culturally relevant strategies for designing and facilitating groups. Students are provided direct experiences to participate as group members and leaders in small group activities. Fee: $100. 

Study of crisis with emphasis on appropriate behaviors and responses to crisis. Applied therapeutic counseling in general and crisis intervention are presented along with strategies to alleviate crisis and deal with crisis aftermath. 

Supervised experience in counseling through role-playing, recorded interviews, observation analysis, evaluation of interviewing techniques.

Comprehensive overview of the various theories and models of marital and family therapy. Consideration will be given to the therapeutic skills and assumptions associated with the following treatment approaches: cognitive-behavioral, inter-generational, narrative, solution-focused, structural, and strategic. Students will participate in an in-depth exploration of their own families of origin. 

Intensive overview of therapeutic strategies for working with children, adolescents and their families. Consideration will be given to developmental psychopathology. Techniques and strategies from Adlerian, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, psychodynamic, and systemic approaches will be presented. Fee: $100.

Study of definitions of addiction, substance abuse and dependence, and counseling persons with substance abuse disorders and process disorders. Holistic approach to treatment and recovery is emphasized. Assessment, initial treatment, and intervention techniques are explored for rehabilitation of substance use disorders.

Review of multicultural counseling literature. Focus on promotion of self-awareness and self-knowledge, facilitation of the construction of cultural knowledge to increase awareness and sensitivity to issues affecting multicultural populations, identification of intervention strategies applicable to multicultural clients, and promotion of development of a personal philosophy of substance abuse disorders. 

Integration of didactic and clinical material in the supervised practice of individual, group, marital, and family therapy. Weekly group and/or individual supervision sessions are included. PRE: Approval of Department Chair. Fee: $60.

Integration of didactic and clinical material in the supervised practice of individual, group, marital, and family therapy. Weekly group and/or individual supervision sessions are included. PRE: Approval of Department Chair. 

Integration of didactic and clinical material in the supervised practice of individual, group, marital, and family therapy. Weekly group and/or individual supervision sessions are included. PRE: COU 5392 and approval of Department Chair. 

Comprehensive, computer based examination for a graduate degree in CMHC. To be taken during the last semester, in conjunction with COU 5393.