PITTSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Education
Department of Psychology and Counseling
Pittsburg, KS
PSYCH 845: Practice in Family Counseling
Spring 2010
T 3:00 – 7:00
INSTRUCTOR: Lori Chalmers, MS, LPC, NCC
lstukey@pittstate.edu
(620) 235-4528
PRE-REQUISITES:
PSYCH 819 Techniques of Counseling and Psychotherapy and permission of instructor.
PSYCH 817 Theories of Family Counseling and Therapy strong recommended. May be
repeated.
DESCRIPTION OF COURSE:
This course is for the advanced student who wishes to study family therapy in greater
depth.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
a) The primary goal of this course is to provide students the opportunity to observe
and practice clinical skills.
b) Emphasis is placed on the counseling relationship, systemic issues within the
family, good communication, and basic counseling techniques.
c) After completion of the course, the student will be able to:
a. Demonstrate the use of a variety of counseling skills in family therapy
situations
b. Identify counselor strengths and limitations
c. Develop a treatment plan for family counseling
METHOD OF INSTRUCTION:
Instruction is provided in the form of immediate supervision through an ear piece during
family therapy intervention. This cutting edge technology allows for direct feedback to
be given while live therapy is taking place. Instruction on paperwork compliance is done
on an ongoing basis after each client is seen.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES FROM TREATMENT FOR CLIENTS:
Families complete this program and complete treatment when four primary objectives are
met:
1) Children have no tardies from school per school report for a period of 2
months
2) Children have no absences from school per school report for a period of 2
months
3) Children have all passing grades per school report for a period of 2 months.
4) Families attend all family therapy sessions scheduled. As a general rule, 6
sessions are required.
A quarterly report is run to analyze the effectiveness of the intervention by looking at
rates of success. Every family is “staffed” at session 4 to determine if the program is
effective for the family and/or what treatment changes need to occur.
REQUIRED TEXTS/READING:
There is no required text or reading. This class is primarily focused on family counseling
practice. However, each month a new treatment planning form is introduced to the class
along with an evidence-based practice technique that will be chosen and taught by the
instructor based on current research and current counseling practice.
STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION CRITERIA:
The course grade is based upon the following activities:
a. Participation in family counseling
b. Participation in family counseling team
c. Completion of documentation necessary when seeing a client
a. Introductory paperwork including but not limited to consent forms,
releases of information, and fee agreements
b. Case notes
c. Treatment planning
STUDENT EVALUATION OF THE COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR:
At the conclusion of the semester, the students have the opportunity to evaluate their
instructor and the course. This is an anonymous assessment and is used as a means to
improve instruction, course content, and the Pittsburg State University Counseling
program. This feedback is taken seriously and contributes to the overall improvement of
the program.