PSYC 843: Counseling Psychology Summer Practicum
Prerequisite: Admission to PsyD program
Credit Hours: (3)
This course will provide doctoral students with the opportunity to gain actual practical
experience providing counseling, assessment, education, and other applied work in
a variety to settings. Students will provide services for approximately 16 hours per
week under the on-site supervision of a licensed professional (if providing counseling-related
services) and/or other staff member(s) (for non-counseling services) and will participate
in individual and/or group consultation about clients in the department. Training
related to cultural diversity, social justice, and evidence-based practice will be
infused throughout the course along with specific content that will vary each year.
PSYC 843 is taken twice during Psy.D. students’ first summer and during their second
summer. Students must have successfully completed all preceding practicum courses
in a given year before being allowed to register for 843 in the summer. In order
to receive credit for PSYC 840 in the first year, students must successfully complete
843 in their first summer. In order to receive credit for PSYC 841 in the second year,
students must successfully complete 843 in their second summer. This is a Pass/Fail
course.
Detailed Description of Content of Course
This course may include the following topics:
I. Professional, ethical, and legal standards of behavior in counseling, assessment,
and other applied psychological work, including consultation and documentation
II. Working with professionals from other disciplines
III. Issues of cultural diversity in mental health intervention and prevention practice
IV. Specific Therapeutic Issues
a. Serious and persistent mental illness
b. Substance use and abuse
c. Mood disorders
d. Anxiety disorders
e. Eating disorders and body image issues
f. Sexuality issues
g. Dissociative disorders
h. Empirically-supported treatments and assessments for the above conditions
V. Individual therapy
a. Developing the relationship and common factors
b. The course of the therapeutic relationship
c. Case analyses and diagnoses
d. Case conceptualization, goal setting, and treatment planning
VI. Models of therapy
a. Cognitive and cognitive behavior
b. Humanistic
c. Psychodynamic
d. Brief
e. Integrative
VII. Therapeutic Issues:
a. Crisis intervention
b. Potential harm to self or others, including possible child or elder abuse
c. Grief and death
d. Anger management
e. Social and coping skills development
f. Issues of social justice
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
This course will involve group consultation and may include individual consultation,
depending on the opportunities and requirements of the individual practicum sites.
Any individual consultation related to counseling-related services will take place
between a student and a licensed or license-eligible faculty member or an advanced
student under the supervision of a licensed or license-eligible faculty member and
will focus on the student's development and work with clients. The group consultation
will include case discussions, readings, and practical experience along with specific
content that will vary from year to year (e.g., group counseling, brief therapy, gerontology).
It will primarily be conducted as a seminar with an emphasis on student participation.
Goals and Objectives of the Course
1. Students will learn techniques for effective interviewing and listening
2. Students will be able to apply their knowledge in order to identify biological
conditions, sociocultural issues, thoughts, behaviors, and feelings that may be contributing
to difficulties
3. Students will be able to develop and evaluate progress toward short and long term
goals
4. Students will be able to identify the variables that create individual differences
in people, including biological, social, cultural, ethnic, experiential, ability socioeconomic,
gender-related, and linguistic factors, and which contribute to the need to develop
unique strategies for intervention with each client
5. Students will be able to identify the important systems in the client’s life, and
will understand how conflicts and strengths within these systems are contributing
to the client’s current functioning
6. Students will become familiar with a variety of counseling strategies that can
enhance client’s behavior, including the development of problem solving skills, conflict
management skills, and self-monitoring techniques
7. Students will learn to work effectively with families and other community members
to provide comprehensive services for clients
8. Students will learn how to accurately assess and diagnose mental disorders
9. Students will learn to link assessment information directly with evidence-based
intervention strategies in order to help clients - and develop a conceptualization
and treatment plan that reflects these skills
10. Students will be able to evaluate the extent to which their intervention contributed
to the outcome of a case, and will be able to identify what factors contributed to
the successful outcome of a case
11. Students will be able to identify effect prevention and intervention programs
that promote the health and well-being of clients; this includes wellness-oriented
programming in addition to programming for high risk problems and crisis response
12. Students will be able to identity social justice issues that arise when working
with particular clients and their associated systems
13. Students will be able to articulate their theoretical orientation
14. Students will be able to identify and refer to appropriate community resources
Assessment Measures
Students will be assessed using several measures, which may include formal evaluation
by the on-site supervisor(s), evaluation by the instructor(s), feedback from clients,
and a final comprehensive case presentation.
Other Course Information
None
Review and Approval
December 20, 2007
Revised: November 25, 2008
Approved: December 13, 2011