COURSE NUMBER: PP 8690
COURSE NAME: Brief Therapy
TERM: Spring 2010
INSTRUCTOR:
Tyree Brinson
PHONE:
312-777-7600
EMAIL:
tbrinson@argosy.edu
FAX:
None
ALT PHONE:
773-727-9417
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Title
The art and science of brief psychotherapies: a
practitioner’s guide
Author(s) Dewan, M.J., Steenbarger, B.N., & Gabbard G.O.
Copyright
Publisher American Psychiatric Publishing Guide, Inc.
ISBN
1-58562-067
Edition
2004
Title
Brief collaborative therapy: A practical guide for
practitioners
Rudolph, B.A.
Author(s)
Copyright
Publisher Westport, Connecticut: Praeger
ISBN
0-275-96745-X
Edition
1996
This Course Requires the Purchase of a Course Packet:
YES
N
Argosy University
COURSE SYLLABUS
PP 8690
Brief Therapy
Faculty Information
Faculty Name: Tyree D. Brinson, Psy.D.
Campus: Main Campus, Chicago, Illinois
Class Day/ Time: Monday/ 6:00pm – 8:45pm
Contact Information: Private Voice Mail 773-727-9417
Email: tbrinson@argosy.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
Short Faculty Bio: Dr. Brinson is a graduate of the clinical psychology program at Adler School of Professional Psychology.
He earned his Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Tennessee State University. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in
Psychology from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. His Interests include access and delivery of mental health services
to underserved populations, child and adolescent psychopathology, the structure and paradigm of community mental health
centers, the child welfare system, risk and protective factors assessment, resilience, causes and solutions to recidivism among
ex-offenders, and socially responsible servicing of clients by mental health professionals.
Course description: This course is designed to teach participants the basic structure and principal concepts of brief therapy as applied
to a wide range of problems. The emphasis will be on learning basic brief therapy skills and techniques as well as student mastery of
the core concepts of brief collaborative therapy. Other models of time-limited therapy will be surveyed in the second half of the
course.
Students will role play critical therapist tasks and also view a videotape of an actual brief therapy session. Student interaction and skill
development will be emphasized. By the end of the course, the participants should be able to structure and monitor the progress of a
brief therapy case using the principles presented in class. The student will also gain awareness of the potential impact of racial, ethnic,
religious and sexual orientation differences between client and therapist in brief therapy and learn methods for constructively
addressing these differences.
Course Pre-requisites: None
Required Textbook:
Dewan, M.J., Steenbarger, B.N., & Gabbard G.O. (2004). The art and science of brief psychotherapies: a practitioner’s guide.
American Psychiatric Publishing Guide, Inc. ISBN 1-58562-067
Rudolph, B.A. (1996). Brief collaborative therapy: A practical guide for practitioners. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger ISBN 0-27596745-X
Technology: Pentium III CPU/ Windows 98; 128MB RAM printer; Microsoft Office: Acrobat (full version); Microsoft Internet
Explorer 5.5 (PC), 5.0 (MAC), or Netscape Navigator 4.08; Norton Antivirus.; videos
Course length: 15 Weeks
Contact Hours: 45 Hours
Credit Value: 3.0
Course Objectives:
1. To provide a conceptual framework for brief therapy work
2. Train students in conducting an assessment interview and set goals for brief therapy. Objective will be assessed by in-class roleplay.
3. Train students to conduct a midpoint review session for brief therapy. Objective will be assessed by in-class role-play.
4. Train students to create a treatment plan for a brief therapy client using the goals, tasks, and bond model of brief collaborative
therapy. Objective will be assessed by in class assignments.
5. Teach basic principles of other theories of brief therapy in addition to Brief Collaborative Therapy and be able to contrast and
compare the principles of other theories to BCT principles. Objective assessed by in-class student presentation and final paper.
6. Students will become familiar with common procedures and forms utilized by managed care organizations for treatment planning
and review. Objective assessed by completion of in class distribution of forms.
7. Students will be able to apply brief therapy principles to cases in their clinical settings. Objective assessed through class discussion.
Assignment Table
Date
1/11/10
Topics
Introduction; Rationale and
assumptions of Brief-Therapy
Readings
Rudolph, Chapters 1 & 2; Dewan,
Chapter 1 & 9
In class assignments
Overview of diversity issues to be discussed!
1/18/10
1/25/10
No Class/ Holiday
-Review of Key BCT Concepts
- Assessment Interview Processes
Rudolph Chapters 3 & 4
Assessing Client Layers of Experience
1.
interview structure and areas of inquiry
2.
client self-report instruments
Role play of Assessment Interview & Goal
Clarification
Video Tape of Assessment Interview/Discussion
2/1/10
-Assessment Interview Processes
Continued
-Linking Goals, Tasks & Bond to
Client Layers of Experience
-Phases of BCT
Rudolph Chapters 5 & 6;
Identify theorist for presentation
States of Mind & Stages of Development
Case Examples/Class Discussion
Role play and Discussion
2/8/10
-Tests of the Focus & Therapist
- Tasks: Focused on Goals,
Tailored to Client
- Task Selection,
Introduction & Bond
Development
Phase 3: The Midpoint Review Assessment of Midpoint Process
Phase 4: Renewed Effort
Phase 5: Termination
Rudolph Chapters 7 & 8
Class discussion; diversity issues revisited!
Rudolph Chapters 9 & 10
Role plays & therapist actions & process
2/15/10
2/22/10
3/15/10
Distribution & Discussion of
Mid-Term assignment
- Review of BCT
therapy, Rational Emotive
Behavior Therapy).
- Midpoint Review of course
- Common Elements of All Brief
Therapies
Mid-Term DUE at the beginning
of class
- Ethnic, Racial & Cultural Issues
Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Issues
- Motivational Interviewing –
working with individuals who are
ambivalent about change!
Return Mid-term
Student Presentations Begin!
Student Presentations
3/22/10
Student Presentations
3/29/10
Student Presentations
4/5/10
Student Presentations
4/12/10
Student Presentations
4/19/10
Leftovers & Wrap up….
3/1/10
3/8/10
Rudolph Chapter 11, Dewan et al.
Ch. 8
variations on common problems
2.
blunders & pitfalls
3.
research suggestions & evaluation
Stages of change & motivational
interviewing techniques
Role play & Class Discussion
Methods to Address Differences
Enhancing the Collaborative Bond
Readings necessary for your
Handout, presentation, role play & discussion
presentations!
Readings necessary for your
Handout, presentation, role play & discussion
presentations
Readings necessary for your
Handout, presentation, role play & discussion
presentations!
Readings necessary for your Handout, presentation, role play & discussion
presentations!
Readings necessary for your
Handout, presentation, role play & discussion
presentations!
Readings necessary for your
Handout, presentation, role play & discussion
presentations!
Final Exam Handed out!
Final Paper Due
Assignments
Class Attendance & work submission: Class attendance is required. More than two unexcused absence is grounds for course failure.
Call the professor if you cannot attend. Late assignments will cost you 1 point per day with a failing grade if more than 5 days late
(including weekend). If you have an “exceptional” circumstance, please contact me as early as feasible to see if accommodations are
possible. Please make sure that you plan accordingly….printers have a tendency to “break down” (out of ink, paper etc…) when you
need them most – so plan for it!
Grades will be determined by student performance on the mid-term, and presentation, as well as application of therapeutic skills in
classroom exercises. The midterm will consist of a case analysis and the final project will be a student paper (7-10 pages) and a
presentation in class on a brief therapy model. We will potentially build groups for the final paper/presentation if a high number of
students enroll. More details will be given the first day of class.
Grading Criteria
Grading Scale
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
100 – 93
92 – 90
89 – 88
87 – 83
82 – 80
79 – 78
77 - 73
72 – 70
69 – 68
67 – 63
62 – 60
59 and below
Grading requirements
Participation
Mid-term case
Presentation
Final Paper
Total
20 pts
30 pts
20 pts
30pts
100 pts
Formatting Guidelines for Written Assignments
All papers must adhere to APA guidelines, TYPED, DOUBLE-SPACED, in Times New Roman 12-point, with 1” margins.
Library Resources
Argosy University’s core online collection features more than 21,000 full-text journals, 23,000 electronic books and other content
covering all academic subject areas including Business & Economics, Career & General Education, Computers, Engineering &
Applied Science, Humanities, Science, Medicine & Allied Health, and Social & Behavior Sciences. All electronic resources can be
accessed through the library’s website at www.auchicagolib.org. User IDs and passwords are distributed during orientation, but can
also be obtained at the circulation desk, calling 312-777-7653, or by e-mail at auchilibrary@argosyu.edu.
In addition to online resources, Argosy University’s onsite collections contain a wealth of subject-specific research materials
searchable in the Library Online Catalog. Catalog searching is easily limited to individual campus collections. Alternatively, students
can search combined collections of all Argosy University Libraries. Students are encouraged to seek research and reference assistance
from campus librarians.
Information Literacy: Argosy University’s Information Literacy Tutorial was developed to teach fundamental and transferable
research skills, including selecting sources appropriate for academic-level research, searching periodical indexes and search engines,
and evaluating and citing information. In the tutorial, students study concepts and practice them through interactions. At the
conclusion of each module, they can test their comprehension and receive immediate feedback. Each module takes less than 20
minutes to complete. Please view the tutorial at http://library.argosyu.edu/infolit/
Academic Policies
Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism: In an effort to foster a spirit of honesty and integrity during the learning process, Argosy University
requires that the submission of all course assignments represent the original work produced by that student. All sources must be
documented through normal scholarly references/citations and all work must be submitted using the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association, 5th Edition (2001). Washington DC: American Psychological Association (APA) format. Please
refer to Appendix A in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition for thesis and paper format.
Students are encouraged to purchase this manual (required in some courses) and become familiar with its content as well as consult
the Argosy University catalog for further information regarding academic dishonesty and plagiarism.
Scholarly writing: The faculty at Argosy University is dedicated to providing a learning environment that supports scholarly and
ethical writing, free from academic dishonesty and plagiarism. This includes the proper and appropriate referencing of all sources.
You may be asked to submit your course assignments through “Turnitin,” (www.turnitin.com), an online resource established to help
educators develop writing/research skills and detect potential cases of academic dishonesty. Turnitin compares submitted papers to
billions of pages of content and provides a comparison report to your instructor. This comparison detects papers that share common
information and duplicative language.
Americans with Disabilities Act Policy
It is the policy of Argosy University to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities, in accordance with
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If a student with disabilities needs accommodations, the student must notify the Director
of Student Services. Procedures for documenting student disability and the development of reasonable accommodations will be
provided to the student upon request.
Students will be notified by the Director of Student Services when each request for accommodation is approved or denied in writing
via a designated form. To receive accommodation in class, it is the student’s responsibility to present the form (at his or her
discretion) to the instructor. In an effort to protect student privacy, the Department of Student Services will not discuss the
accommodation needs of any student with instructors. Faculty may not make accommodations for individuals who have not been
approved in this manner.
The Argosy University Statement Regarding Diversity
Argosy University prepares students to serve populations with diverse social, ethnic, economic, and educational experiences. Both the
academic and training curricula are designed to provide an environment in which students can develop the skills and attitudes essential
to working with people from a wide range of backgrounds.