Psy. 428 Spr., 2015
Maria Hess PhD, MFT
Office Hours: Stevenson 3083.
Tuesdays 11 – 1 and Thursdays 12 – 1:00 Please sign up on my office door.
Contact Information: SSU: 664-2413. Private office: 824 – 9902.
Email: maria.hess@sonoma.edu
INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING
“The deepest hunger of the human soul is to be understood.
The deepest hunger of the human body is for air. If you can listen to another
person, in depth, until they feel understood, it’s the equivalent of giving them air.”
~ Steven Covey
Course Description
This class is an introduction to the theory and practice of psychotherapy and
counseling including the view that this form of helping is a healing art. The
course is taught as an experience and will include lecture, didactic exercises,
role-plays, videos, group projects and class discussion.
Working with others is based on our own knowledge of ourselves. We will be
identifying and working with our own skills; recognizing and expressing feelings,
communicating, problem solving, giving and receiving feedback, listening, being
aware of cross cultural and other diversity issues, and relaxing.
Throughout the course, we apply the concepts to our own lives and
experience. Most students find that studying and working with this material
brings their own feelings, issues, and conflicts to the fore. Part of this classroom
experience is to learn how to safely explore, understand and work with this. If
self-exploration seems too much at any time, remember you always have a
choice in the matter. Please see the instructor if an assignment is too emotionally
sensitive.
Course Objectives
At the end of this course the student will:
1. Be able to describe and discus the basic principals and theories of the primary
schools of psychotherapy and counseling.
2. Articulate and expand on major concepts such as; containment, mirroring,
empathy, transference, counter transference, listening skills, compassion, to
name a few.
3. Illustrate and give examples of the importance of culture and diversity issues
for themselves and their clients.
4. Explore and amplify personal issues at work and understand their import in
the counseling experience.
5. Develop and practice relaxation and meditation techniques to aid the quality of
the therapeutic exchange.
Prerequisites
Personality theory, or Psychology 306 is a prerequisite. Psychology 425 is
recommended and can be taken concurrently; Junior, Senior, or Graduate status.
CLASS IS LIMITED TO 24 STUDENTS. PREFERENCE IS GIVEN TO SENIORS
AND MA CANDIDATES.
Required Texts
Corey, G. Theory and Practice of Counseling & Psychotherapy 8th or 9th Ed.
Blank, unlined journal
Recommended Texts
Being a Brain-Wise Therapist. Badenoch, B.
Bad Therapy. Kottler, J. and Carlson, J.
The Client Who Changed Me. Kottler, J. & Carlson, J.
Drama of the Gifted Child. Miller, A.
On Being a Therapist. Kottler, J.
Thoughts Without a Thinker. Epstein, M.
Back to One. Kopp, S.
Love’s Executioner. Yalom, I.
Power in the Helping Profession. Guggenbuhl-Craig, A.
Eros on Crutches. Guggenbuhl-craig, A.
The Heart of Healing. Kottler, Sexton, Whiston.
The Gift of Therapy. Yalom, I.
The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy. Cozolino, L.
The Making of a Therapist. Cozolino. L.
Letters to a Young Therapist, Pipher, M.
Daring Greatly. Brown, B.
Classroom Environment:
A safe environment is necessary for the development of trust and selfdisclosure. Mutual respect is one way to nurture a contained and trusting place
for learning and growth. If we all work together towards respecting the
parameters of the course our experience will be enriched.
* As we will be sharing and developing a close working alliance with each other
it is important to be aware of one’s behavior in a learning circle. You will use
your check-in time to practice listening and learning about self-disclosure.
During check-ins please do not read, draw, check any electronic devices,
sleep, or chat with your neighbor. Think about how you want others to listen to
you!
* Laptop use is prohibited during class.
* Please turn off your cell phones and put them away.
* You are welcome to bring drinks, but eating is not appreciated during class
time.
ALL SHARING DONE IN CLASS AND COUNSELING SESSIONS IS
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL (Breaking confidentiality will result in
being asked to leave the class).
Requirements
Attendance is mandatory as missed material is difficult to recapture.
Students should notify the instructor beforehand if their schedule requires an
absence. You are allowed one absence, after which you will be docked 3 points
for each thereafter.
Each class will begin with an attunement. If you are late, please wait outside
of class until the attunement and writing is over. Coming in late, and/or leaving
early, missing a counseling session, a class session, or not completing
homework assignments WILL affect your grade.
Students are expected to participate in 8 weekly co-counseling sessions
outside of class (dates indicated on schedule with an asterix *). You will be
working in triads as counselor, client, and witness. All sessions must be audio
recorded and kept in a secure and private place. Weekly notes on the
experience of counseling and being counseled should be kept. NOT doing so
will make the writing of your final paper INFINITELY more difficult.
A Two Page Autobiography is due on Feb.11th the week prior to your
choosing co-counselors. All students will read each other’s autobiographies in
silence until everyone has read each other’s work. These papers are to be in
bullet format addressing some of the major highlights and turning points of your
life. This is a way you are becoming more known to each other to help facilitate
your triad choice. There is no need to “sell the farm” in your disclosure, yet
superficial sharing has been dissatisfying to most students who have chosen that
route. Please include at the end of your work the hours you are available for cocounseling.
Take Home Assignments will be given five times over the semester. They
are various inventory style, written projects that are not graded for content, but
each are worth five points for completion. One of those assignments is a
Personal Inventory Paper that is due on Feb 25th. A worksheet will be made
available to you to give a framework to this assignment.
Integration papers. Integration papers are 2 - 3 pages written to show how
you understand the material you are learning in class. Use the course material;
reading, videos, discussions, and lectures to elaborate particular points of
interest, and punctuate these points with personal material; your own thoughts,
experiences, and feelings on the matter. These are NOT book reports, or a
regurgitation of class notes. I want to know how YOU are connecting the dots.
Please use APA format and include a reference page, but you do not need an
abstract, cover sheet, or running head. Due: Mar. 4th and Apr. 15th (20 points
each)
The major paper for this class is your co-counseling paper. This work
should reflect your experience and understanding of your co-counseling
relationship. You are to address what theoretical tenets you found present in your
sessions, along with your own sense of how the process unfolded. I don’t want
you to analyze your client, but more what you noticed in yourself while you
listened to your client and thought about them in between sessions, etc. You are
to explore all three experiential aspects of your triad (counselor, client, witness).
Use excerpts from your own tapes as counselor to punctuate your academic
and clinical understanding, along with any other material introduced in class that
is relevant. Include a ten consecutive minute transcript of your work as a
counselor in an appendix.
This paper is to be 8 - 10 pages, not including your transcript, with references
to course material. You are to use APA format for referencing and citations, and
please double space for comments. This requirement is 35 points and due on
May 6th.
All integration papers, co counseling papers, and other written work are to
be hard copy only. No emailed papers.
LATE PAPERS ARE NOT ACCEPTED.
Grading:
Take home assignments
Integration papers
Co-counseling paper
Total points =
25 pts.
40 points
35 points
100
Autobiography is not graded.
You should expect to spend 2 - 4 hours per week outside of class on this
course for reading, co-counseling, thoughtful consideration of process and
participation, and for writing.
All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date indicated.
Reading and Assignment Schedule:
 = Indicates co-counseling week
To supplement the more theoretical aspects of counseling your textbook
covers, there are well written articles to be found on my homepage
www.sonoma.edu/users/h/hessm and to which you are assigned to read below.
Please bring your questions about your reading and your co-counseling
experience to class.
Wk 1 Jan. 21 Introductions
Wk 2
28 Ch 1 & 2
Read: Self-disclosure. G. Egan (1976)
Watch on-line: Dr. Brene Brown. The power of vulnerability. At
http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html
and Listening to Shame
http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame
Wk 3 Feb. 4 Ch 3 & 4
Read: Symptoms - Voices of the Soul. T. Moore (1992)
Wk 4
11 Ch 5 Two page autobiography
Read: Attending and Listening. G. Egan
Wk 5
18 Ch 6 Choose co-counselors
Read: Resistances. G. Egan
Wk 6*
25 Ch 7 Personal Inventory Paper
Read: Accurate Empathic Understanding: creating a climate of support. G.
Egan.
Wk 7* Mar 4 Ch 8 Integration Paper
Read: Transference. G. Weinberg (1984)
Wk 8*
11 Ch 9 & 10
Read: Confrontation. G. Egan
Wk 9
18 Spring Break!
Wk 10*
25 Ch 11 & 12
Wk 11* Apr 1 Ch 13
Wk 12*
8 Ch 14
Wk 13*
15 Ch 15 Integration Paper
Wk 14*
22 Family Sculpture (will be done in class)
Wk 15
29 Ch 16
Wk 16 May 6 Co-Counseling Paper Due
Begin class closure.
Wk 17
13 Final: 8-9:50 am Finish closure and Good-byes
Access for students with disabilities: Students who have disabilities and
require classroom accommodations should meet with me (within the first 2 weeks
of class) during my office hours to make these arrangements. Please bring an
accommodation authorization from the Disability Resource Center with you.
Academic Integrity: It is the responsibility of each student to be apprised of the
requirements of the psychology department and university regarding academic
honesty. The parameters are outlined in your student handbook and online at
http://www.Sonoma.edu/psychology/AcademicHonestyPolicy.html.