Course Descriptions

CN433C - Multicultural Issues - 3 crs.
Multicultural Issues for Counselors / Educators reexamines the social phenomena of minority / majority interrelations in society and the school system. Students will learn techniques for understanding and entering these sub cultural systems for the purpose of improving the educational / counseling environment.

CN455C - Group Process - 3 crs.
A theoretical course and experimental laboratory in which students will become involved in working with small groups while concomitantly learning the theoretical aspects of the public and private group structure, dynamics, process and leadership roles. During the program, students are provided with an opportunity to participate in planned and supervised small and large group activities designed to promote and improve students' self-understanding, self-analysis skills and interpersonal skills. The activity is not used or intended to provide counseling or therapy for students. Emphasis will be on the leader's role as a facilitator within the group setting. The course introduces the students to specific "hands on" group leadership skills which have wide applications for the counselor / educator / administrator.

CN457C - Career Development: Theory & Practice - 3 crs.
The psychology of work and theories of career development will be covered. Vocational interest tests and the uses of various counseling techniques will be explored. The emphasis of the course is on career counseling and guidance through the life span.

Text Required: Sharf, Richard S. (2002). Appliying Career Development Theory to Counseling, 3rd edition. Montetery, CA: Brooks/Cole.

CN465C - Introduction to Substance Abuse - 3 crs.
With drug and alcohol use beginning in school children as young as 8 or 9 years old, the problems for educators and counselors have increased. This course will emphasize methods for understanding the dynamics of this dysfunctional behavior; early identification and prevention; influences and effects; decision making skills; and techniques for treatment.

CN469C - Building Resilience& Youth Leadership - 3 crs.
Based on the Search Institute research on developmental risk factors and asset building, this course will explore how to develop children's resilience through games, school / community / family intervention, youth networks and leadership, recreation, arts, play and structured groups. Course material will combine experiential exercises as well as lectures.

Text Required: Starkman, Scales & Roberts (1999). Great places To Learn; How Asset Building Schools Help Students Succeed, Search Institute

CN473C - TA Theory & Practice - 3 crs.
As an analysis of human personality and communication - Transactional Analysis provides a practical understanding of human behavior. This insight can facilitate increased self knowledge, and improved interpersonal counselor/counselee, teacher / student, and administrator / staff relationships. Transactional Analysis is an immediately applicable tool for teachers, counselors and administrators to use in interactions with students, colleagues, parents and clients.

CN474C - Clinical Mental Health Issues of Children, Adolescents & Adults - 3 crs.
To be discussed are childhood depressions, eating disorders, anxieties and phobias, compulsions, medical / physical problems, developmental disorders, and the disruptive disorders of ADHD, ODD, CD and antisocial behavior. This course will include selected readings, lectures, group discussions and video programming as ways to identify those at risk and how to respond.

Text Required: Frances, A. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders-fourth edition - text revision - (DSM-IV-TR). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

CN477C - Suicide of the Young - 3 crs.
Suicide has increased in recent years at an alarming rate. It is believed that suicide is a preventable public health problem. This course is designed for educators / counselors to help understand and respond to this crisis. The student will learn prevention, intervention and postventions.

Text Required: Schneidman, Edwin S. The Suicidal Mind

CN478C - Coping With Loss - 3 crs.
Starting with the premise that the only predictable occurrence in life is change, clients and students are confronted daily with changes in their bodies, their relationships with others, their family, and their environment. In one way or another, all changes include some kind of loss. In some changes, the loss is obvious; but even changes that we look forward to involve loss. This course will provide information and theoretical considerations about the process of loss and how counselors / educators can facilitate the process of loss resolution for their clients, students and themselves.

Text Required: Viorst, J. (1990). Necessary losses. New York: Ballantine Books

CN480C - Indirect Motivational Strategies - 3 crs.
This course is designed to enable the counselor / educator to bypass resistance when attempting to promote behavioral change. The learning objectives are as follows: To learn the reasons for using metaphors. To learn how to motivate an individual through the use of metaphors. To learn how to use representational systems when utilizing metaphors. To learn the different structures of metaphors. To learn the various ways of building a metaphor.

CN482C - Gender Development & Sexuality - 3 crs.
This course is designed for both educators and counselors. It covers gender development and sexuality from early childhood through adolescence and adulthood, addressing gender behaviors for each state of development. The effects of gender development and sexuality on psychological development will be a central theme of the course.

CN483C - Abuse of the Young - 3 crs.
This course is designed to increase knowledge and awareness of the causes, signs and symptoms of child abuse. All forms of child abuse will be considered with special emphasis on child sexual abuse. Students will be introduced to the many ramifications of abuse, including the impact on the child and family. Students will become aware of the social and legal systems that pertain to abuse of children.

CN484C - Practice Issues in Professional Counseling - 3 crs.
The general objective for this course is to provide counselors / educators employed in agencies, schools or private practice, a variety of information relating to ethics, privacy, liabilities, insurance, diagnoses, medical information and psychopharmacology. This is to facilitate and enhance interactions with other professionals, i.e.: attorneys, psychiatrists, medical doctors, psychologist, insurance carriers, etc. The assumption being that some counselors / educators with years of experience may never have received this information formally and therefore may be practicing under misinformation or outdated information.

Text Required: Frances, A. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Health Disorders - Fourth Edition - Text Revision - (DSM-IV-TR). Washington, DC: APA

CN485C - Crisis Intervention - 3 crs.
This course will explore the nature of crisis and the factors that separate this form of counseling from other forms. We will review how crisis plays out in a variety of settings and across definitions, from social / family, psychological / mental health to violence in the home, school, community. Students will have opportunities to review and build their own skills in managing crisis through games, discussion, peer consultation and the application of research and diagnostic materials. Students will be asked to create case study material to develop peer and self supervision skills important in debriefing and in preventing vicarious traumatization.

CN486C - Family Dynamics - 3 crs.
This course integrates concepts from Transactional Analysis and family systems theories to increase the student's understanding of family interactions and the different roles assumed by parents and children. Through readings, lectures and in-class experiential exercises, students are able to understand the various ways in which roles can be altered to change family dynamics.

CN489C - Traumatology: The Art & Science of Treating Traumatic Stress - 3 crs.
This course will provide an historical perspective to the development of the field of traumatology beginning with the work of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Pierre Janet and Marc Charcot and continuing into the twentieth century.

Next, this course will explore current cognitive-behavioral, neuro-biological, humanistic, and learning theory models for understanding the causes and symptoms of traumatic stress. Following this, the course will survey the current treatments for traumatic stress that have demonstrated effectiveness in the scientific literature. These include cognitive-behavioral approaches (e.g., Direct Therapeutic Exposure, Stress Inoculation Training, and Reciprocal Inhibition), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, Visual-Kinesthetic Dissociation (NLP), hypnotherapy, Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR), and The TRI Method. This course will conclude with a discussion of the potential hazards for the clinician in treating traumatic stress.

It is designed to provide professionals and paraprofessionals with a solid background in understanding the rudiments of traumatology. The participants of this course will gain insight into the special requirements for successfully treating survivors of traumatic stress.

CN492C - Stress Management - 3 crs.
Stress as a biopsychological phenomenon will be examined. Symptoms of excessive amount of stress will be covered as well as a variety of techniques for stress reduction and the theoretical underpinnings of each approach. These techniques are being used successfully with ADD, ADHD and other emotionally / educationally challenged children and adults including those recovering from substance abuse. Also discussed will be stress and it's influence on the immune system, mind and body.

Text Required: Siegel, B.S. Peace, love and healing, also Davis, M. The Relationship & Stress Reduction Workook

CN493C - Disorders of the Personality - 3 crs.
One of the most pervasive problems facing counselors / educators is the individual who has a disorder of the personality. Theories and techniques for assessment and treatment will be drawn from Kohut, Guntrip, Kernberg, Masterson and others.

Text Required: Frances, A. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders - fourth edition - text revision (DSM-IV-TR). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. Kreisman, J.L., & Strauss, H. (1989). I hate you, don't leave me. New York: Avon Press

CN494C - Psychosocial Components of Adolescent Development - 3 crs.
The organizational principle of the course is the developmental approach to understanding the growth of the individual from late childhood through adolescence. The course will address specific developmental issues that lead to healthy or difficult psychological or social development.

CN495C - Violence in the Family - 3 crs.
This course will cover the history, dynamics and contributing factors of violence, including spouse / partner abuse, and various forms of child abuse. In addition, current legislation and the social changes necessary to address these problems will be addressed.

Text Required: Wilson, K.J. When Violence Occurs at Home: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding and Ending Domestic Violence

CN496C - Conflict Resolution- 3 crs.
This course will examine both internal and external patterns of conflict. Students learn about the important components of values and ethics as they impact on conflict and social disputes. Students will practice strategies of conflict resolution such as mediation technique problem solving skills and negotiation strategies.

Text Required: Fisher, Ury & Patton, Getting To Yes

CN498C - Integrative Psychotherapy - 3 crs.
Integrative psychotherapy focuses on the integration of the individual's affective, cognitive behavioral and somatic life. Drawing on the works of Eric Berne and Richard Erskine, this course will offer a theory of human motivation, a theory of human personality and theories of therapy as a way to understand and apply the principles of an integrative psychotherapy.

PY536C - Educational and Psychological Testing - 3 crs.
This course instructs students in the use and interpretation of educational and psychological tests in the assessment of clients. The principles underlying educational and psychological tests, including validity and reliability and related statistical concepts will be reviewed.

Text Required: Drummond, R. (2000). Appraisal Procedures for Counselors & Helping Professionals, 4th Ed.: ISBN 0-13-080590-4