Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Students examine analytic, phenomenological, existential, behavioral and cognitive approaches to counselling, and the philosophical and personality theories upon which they are based.

COURSE DETAILS:

Course Description:

Students participating in this course will explore the role of theory in counselling practice. The goal of the course is to enable participants to formulate and articulate a workable theoretical framework to guide their counselling practice. Towards this goal, learners will: investigate their own values and beliefs about humans, our social worlds, and human change processes; study the major theories of counselling and psychotherapy; examine how theories emerge from, align with, and reflect assumptions about humans, our social worlds, and change. To support the process of selecting and/or integrating commensurable theories,  students will: critically evaluate the evidence base for counselling or psychotherapy in general, and for particular approaches or applications; identify research approaches used to evaluate the effectiveness and efficacy of counselling; examine evidence for the therapeutic alliance as a key common factor; examine approaches to integrating psychotherapeutic approaches; critically reflect on the application of theories to counselling from ethical and social justice perspectives in the context of Canada's stated commitments to the rights of Indigenous people, pluralism and human rights.

Basic familiarity with the major theories of counselling (e.g., psychodynamic, gestalt, person-centred, cognitive-behavioural) is a prerequisite for this course. This course does not provide a historical survey of theoretical schools. Instead, emerging, current and foundational theories are explored through questions: 1) What constitutes healthy human functioning or well-being? (i.e. view of humans and health) 2) What constitutes problematic or maladaptive functioning that can be addressed through counselling? 3)  How do humans change? 4) What role do counselling and counsellors play in producing or influencing change? 5) How does counselling proceed? 6) How is the effectiveness of counselling understood and evaluated?

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Student participating in this course will: 
1) Articulate and apply a working theory of counselling. i.e. Use current scholarship to formulate and articulate a working theory of counselling that will guide their counselling practice. Conceptualize the therapeutic change process through their working theory.

2) Demonstrate professionalism and ethics in relationships consistent with a counselling professional-in-training  

1) Articulate and apply a working theory of counselling.

To support this objective, students will:

1. Engage in close reading of the major psychotherapeutic theories in use today, their philosophical underpinnings, supporting evidence, and psychotherapeutic applications.
2. Compare, contrast and critique theoretical approaches in relation to their epistemology, ontology, view of humans, change process, supporting evidence, and ethics. 
3. Engage in critical self-reflexivity to understand how their own social positionality, values, and experience relate to their working theory of counselling;
4. Critique theories from Indigenous, critical multicultural or social justice perspectives for their application in schools or community counselling settings in Canada.
5. Critically read and evaluate evidence of efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapies.
6. Examine approaches to integration of theory into practice.

Academic competencies will be practiced and developed in the course of articulating a working theory of counselling. Students will:

1. Read, synthesize, analyse and interpret scholarship related to counselling theories 
2. Conduct a thorough review of the literature relevant to a theory of their choice.
3. Demonstrate clear, compelling academic writing that adheres to APA style guidelines. 
4. Prepare a well-organized and thorough oral presentation of a theory
5. Guide an experiential or participatory practice exercise based on one of the counselling theories

 

2) Demonstrate and develop professionalism and ethics in relationships

Students are asked to conduct themselves as professionals- in-training in all of their cohort and classroom interactions. Norms will be discussed early in the term in order to generate shared intentions. To support the goal of professional conduct, students will practice:

• respect and integrity in relationships
• self-reflexivity
• willingness to engage in feedback (offer, receive, respond and integrate)

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

RECOMMENDED READING:

REQUIRED READING NOTES: