Syllabus

Introduction to Counseling and Psychotherapy
Utah Valley University
PSY/SWK 4300; Fall 2008, 3 Credit Hours
CS 412, 9:00 - 10:00AM MWF

Instructor: Matthew R. Draper, Ph.D. HSPP Office: LA 026b
Office Phone: 863-8323
Home Phone: 627-2976
Mobile Phone: 310-0955
E-mail: matthew (dot) draper (at) uvu.edu
Office Hour: TBA & By appointment

Course Description:
Surveys concepts and practices of major therapeutic systems. Introduces students to the major therapeutic models. Addresses basic counseling issues including ethics and professionalism. Develop knowledge about relationship development, interviewing, initial assessment and intake procedures.

Method of Instruction:
This course will be predominantly lecture-based. There will be time during each course for discussion and group exercises. As the course continues I will post many of the lecture notes and similar information to Blackboard.
Required Textbooks
Corsini, R. & Wedding, D. (2000). Current Psychotherapies, 6th ed. IL: F.E. Peacock
Publishers, Inc.
Wedding, D. & Corsini, R. (2000). Case Studies in Psychotherapy, 3rd ed. IL: F. E. Peacock Publishers, Inc.
Supplemental Readings
Richardson, F. C., Fowers, B. J., & Guignon, C. B. (1999). Re-envisioning psychology: Moral dimensions of theory and practice. CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Rychlak, J. (1981). Personality and Psychotherapy: A Theory-Construction Approach. MA: Houghton Mifflin Company
Slife, B.D. & Williams, R. N. (1995). What’s Behind the Research? Discovering Hidden Assumptions in the Behavioral Sciences. CA: Sage Publications.

Goals and Objectives:
The first objective of this class is to help you begin to become familiar with critical thinking tools that you can use to analyze different theories. The textbooks and lectures will be the major source of this information. The second objective of this class is to give you the opportunity to apply these critical thinking skills in order to select the theoretical orientation that is closest to your own.

In this course it is important that you read your textbook, and to take the opportunity to check out the suggested readings. The lecture is synergistic with the reading material, so I will not be covering the readings in the lecture. Often times the lecture will serve as an analysis of, and historical background to, each theory.

Mid - Term Paper
You are asked to write a paper on "The Nature of Humanity". This paper will be a major thought piece where you begin to examine your beliefs about people and how they operate. All papers are to be in American Psychological Association (APA) format, should be word processed or typed (appearance plays a role in grading, whether I am aware of this consciously or not). You are required to have this paper edited by a competent editor before you turn it in. You may have your paper edited by a graduate student, the writing center, a professional writer. You will be required to hand in the rough draft of the paper with the final draft.

Please take this as an opportunity to introspect and to think critically and creatively about your own beliefs and experiences. This paper and the rough draft are due on Monday September 22nd
Page length: 5 - 10 pages.

Here are some brainstorming ideas to help you to articulate your beliefs. Please do not simply go through and answer these questions in your paper, but use them instead as brainstorming tools.

- What has caused you to change and grow in your life?
- What is the person? Are you a person? How did you become a person?
- Do you feel you have basic needs? If so, what are they? What creates or causes these needs?
- Are the needs you have universal?
- Do you have any agency about your behavior? If so, how? If not, why not? Are you controlled by external forces, or can you make your own choices?
-What role can or does the "spirit" or “spirituality” play in your life?
-Do you believe there such thing as “good” and “evil” or are such things antiquated notions? If you do believe in them, can you think of an example of what is good or evil?
-Are you aware of your reasons for doing things? Do you have an unconscious? What role does it play in your life? Does this mean you have choice about your behavior or not?
-What role do other people play in your life, such as significant others, acquaintances, or strangers?
-Are you a happy person, or are you a discontent person? What makes you happy? What makes you sad? What has caused chronic problems in your life?
-What would it mean to be healthy or unhealthy? What causes health or sickness?

Final Paper
You will write your second paper on your chosen theoretical orientation. Choose an existing theory of counseling and psychotherapy. You will be graded according to the standards outlined for paper #1. You will be required to cite other sources extensively in this paper. I want at least 10 sources (and at least 5 of those should be from the theoretical orientation you have chosen). Please try to be coherent and somewhat comprehensive in writing this paper. I freely acknowledge that your thinking at this time will evolve over time as you gain more experience, but this is an opportunity for you to articulate some of the beliefs you have about what is good counseling. You are required to have an editor for this paper like you are for the first paper. This paper will be due with the rough draft on December 3rd
Page length: 5-10 pages.

Exams
There are two exams for this course, a midterm and a final. Both exams will be multiple-choice only, and will cover concepts from the lecture notes as well as from your assigned readings in the Corsini texts. Each exam will be 40 questions in length. The first exam is on October 13th. The final exam is on December 10th and will cover the materials in the second half of the semester.

Extra Credit Opportunities:
There are two extra-credit opportunities throughout the course of the semester. If you do well on both you could conceivably earn 5% of your total grade (½ a letter grade).
Bonus Paper: You can earn 2.5 points by going to an event hosted by the multi- cultural center. You will then write a one-page paper letting me know which event you attended, and a cross-cultural issue with counseling theory.
Pop-Quizzes: Throughout the course of the semester I’m going to hit you with pop-quizzes. These quizzes will usually be 5 questions at the very beginning of class. The questions will cover the topic of the day.


THIS SYLLABUS IS A WORK IN PROCESS AND IS SUBJECT TO REVISION

Grading Criteria for Papers
Grammar 10%
Style 10%
Clear Thesis 15%
Development 15%
Cogency 50%
Total 100%


Point Breakdown
Exam 1 25
Exam 2 25
Midterm "Nature of Humanity" 20
Final "Counseling Theory” 30
Total 100



Grades: A = 90 – 100; B+ = 85 – 89; B = 80 – 84; C = 70 – 74; C+ = 75 – 79

DATE Topic Due
W Aug 27 Introductions
F Aug 29 Why Think?
M Sep 1 Holiday Labor Day
W Sep 3 Assumptions Have Implications
F Sep 5 Causality
M Sep 8 Causality
W Sep 10 Epistemology
F Sep 12 Epistemology
M Sep 15 Epistemology
W Sep 17 Ethics/Morality
F Sep 19 Ethics/Morality
M Sep 22 Ethics/Morality C&W 1 PAPER 1
W Sep 24 Psychoanalysis C&W 2
F Sep 26 Psychoanalysis
M Sep 29 Psychoanalysis
W Oct 1 Putting it into practice Case 1
F Oct 3 Individual Psychology C&W 3
M Oct 6 Individual Psychology
W Oct 8 Individual Psychology
F Oct 10 Putting it into practice Case 2
M Oct 13 Person-Centered Therapies C&W 5 EXAM 1
W Oct 15 Person-Centered Therapies
F Oct 17 Fall Break Holiday (16-17)
M Oct 20 Person-Centered Therapies
W Oct 22 Putting it into practice Case 4
F Oct 24 Behavior Therapies C&W 7
M Oct 27 Behavior Therapies
W Oct 29 Behavior Therapies
F Oct 31 Putting it into practice Case 6
M Nov 3 Cognitive Behavioral Therapies C&W 8 and 6
W Nov 5 Cognitive Behavioral Therapies
F Nov 7 Cognitive Behavioral Therapies
M Nov 10 Putting it into practice Case 7 and 5
W Nov 12 Existential Therapies C&W 9
F Nov 14 Existential Therapies
M Nov 17 Existential Therapies
W Nov 19 Putting it into practice Case 8
F Nov 21 Gestalt Therapies C&W 10
M Nov 24 Gestalt Therapies
W-F Nov 26-28 Thanksgiving Holiday
M Dec 1 Gestalt Therapies
W Dec 3 Putting it into practice Case 9 PAPER 2
F Dec 5 Dialogics
M Dec 8 Dialogics
W Dec 10 Final Exam EXAM 2

C&W = Corsini & Wedding Text
Case = Case Studies Book