Students will learn and evaluate current legal and ethical guidelines used in the counseling profession and in sport psychology profession. Students will apply ethical decision-making models and formulate effective, evidence-based collaborative strategies used to resolve ethical dilemmas and legal issues that arise when working with individuals, couples, families, groups, teams, and organizations. Students will also learn what it means to integrate a professional counselor identity into their lives.
- Instructor: Tamara Harris
This course will introduce the five forces of counseling theories: Psychoanalytic, Cognitive-Behavioral, Existential-Humanistic, Multicultural, and Social Justice, including history, key values, therapeutic relationship, process of change, therapeutic content, and interventions. Students will evaluate the relationships between specific theories, counseling techniques, interventions, and research on evidence-based practice.
- Instructor: Kevin Feisthamel
Students will engage with content, discussions, and assignments emphasizing the importance of research in the counseling profession, including analysis of published literature on evidenced-based practices. Students will become critical consumers of research by learning about qualitative and quantitative research assumptions, methods, and program design considerations. Steps of program evaluation are also featured. Students learn language, theory, and assumptions related to descriptive, correlational, and inferential statistics.
- Instructor: Trent Nguyen
Students will engage with content, discussions, and assignments emphasizing the importance of research in the counseling profession, including analysis of published literature on evidenced-based practices. Students will become critical consumers of research by learning about qualitative and quantitative research assumptions, methods, and program design considerations. Steps of program evaluation are also featured. Students learn language, theory, and assumptions related to descriptive, correlational, and inferential statistics.
- Instructor: Michelle Cox
Students learn the basic elements of the group process, including special ethical, procedural, and practical issues related to maintaining therapeutic alliance with multiple clients. The course also trains students to facilitate therapeutic relationships between clients. The course includes introduction to a variety of group approaches as well as stages of group work. Students learn best practices promoted by the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW).
- Instructor: Trent Nguyen
Students develop foundational lifestyle and counseling skills and engage in professional career counseling activities. Students examine the major models of career development and the ways clients’ interests, aptitudes, lifestyle, social interests, family responsibilities, and life transitions may impact lifestyle and career development process. Students also discuss legal and ethical issues associated with career counseling practice.
- Instructor: Amy O'Hana
This course introduces theory and research related to culturally competent counseling, including multiculturalism, crossculturalism, intersectionality, social justice, and advocacy. Students consider the characteristics of diverse populations as they inform counseling and advocacy practices that promote optimal wellness and growth for individuals, couples, families, and groups. Students also assess the influence of their characteristics, attitudes, and beliefs on the counseling process. Students will examine their roles in promoting social justice at multiple levels and evaluate approaches for prevention of clinical mental health issues in a diverse society.
- Instructor: Jacey Coy
- Course Facilitator: Kaylan Smith
This is a series of four clinical treatment planning courses aligned with the series of Clinical Internship courses. Students enrolled in an internship course must be co-enrolled in a Treatment Planning course. Treatment Planning allows students assistance with design, implementation, review, and editing of treatment plans with actual clients and client diagnoses.
- Instructor: Constance DelGiudice
This course provides an understanding of the basic classifications, indications, and contraindications of commonly prescribed psychopharmacological medications including the identification of effective dosages and side effects. Topics include neuropharmacology, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. A review of different classes of psychoactive compounds, including drugs used in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, will be examined. Ethical considerations regarding scope of practice are highlighted.
- Instructor: Michelle Cox
This is a series of four clinical internship courses during which students fulfill 700 total required contact hours in a mental health setting local to each student. Of the 700 total hours, students must complete 280 hours of direct client contact and a minimum of 44 hours of face-to-face contact with field supervisors. The internship provides students with specific clinical skills in interviewing, assessment, intervention, documentation, and consultation with individuals, couples, families, and groups. Grading for this course is P/NP. Students must be responsible to research and comply with the specific clinical experience requirements of their states. Online, weekly supervision with program faculty and live, weekly onsite supervision are requirements.
- Instructor: Constance DelGiudice
The clinical practicum is an online-directed, supervised field experience in a mental health counseling setting local to each student during which students engage specific clinical skills, including interviewing, assessment, intervention, documentation, and consultation. Students use fundamental communication and interviewing principles and perform intake, initial assessments, and verbal histories with individuals, couples, and/or families. This course requires 100 hours of clinical field experience, which must consist of no less than 40 hours of direct client contact, and no fewer than 11 hours of face-to-face contact with field supervisors. It is the student’s responsibility to research and comply with the specific clinical experience requirements of their states.
- Instructor: Melanie Roedel