CPSE 702
1
Philosophy and Theories of Counseling Psychology
CPSE 702
Fall 2010
Aaron P. Jackson
340-J MCKB
Office Hours: M 9-10, W 9-10, and by appt.
O 422-8031
C 636-3745
aaron_jackson@byu.edu
Course Objectives
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7.
Strengthen understanding of philosophical constructs and their application to counseling
psychology.
Develop an integrated philosophy of science and practice.
Become familiar with the history and philosophy of counseling psychology.
Learn and apply a metatheoretical approach to critically analyzing theories of personality and
treatment.
Understand the implications of one’s philosophy and theory for multicultural issues in counseling.
Improve scholarly writing skills.
Improve academic presentation skills.
Tentative Schedule
Date
Topic
Readings
Assignment Due
8-30
9-1
9-8
9-13
9-15
9-20
9-22
9-27
9-29
10-4
10-6
10-11
10-13
10-18
10-20
10-25
10-27
11-1
11-3
11-8
11-10
11-15
11-17
11-22
11-24
11-29
12-1
12-6
12-8
Introductions, Syllabus, Philosophy
Idols; Levels; Axiology
Slife (1999); Mintz, et al. (in press)
The Nature of Law
Fischer; Yanchar & Smith (2005)
I Haven’t A Clue
I Haven’t a Clue
Suffering & Pain
Gantt; Gleave (2005)
Human Agency
Judd; Williams (2005)
The Nature of Truth
Richards; Slife & Reber (2005)
Human Identity
Smith & Draper; Moss (2005)
Theory Presentation
Assigned Reading
Theory Presentation
Assigned Reading
Theory Presentation
Assigned Reading
Theory Presentation
Assigned Reading
Theory Presentation
Assigned Reading
Theory Presentation
Assigned Reading
Relationism
Jackson (2005)
Midterm Exam
Review 1st Draft of Integration Paper
Integration Paper
Philosophy Presentation
Philosophy Presentation
Philosophy Presentation
Philosophy Presentation
Philosophy Presentation
Review 2nd Draft of Integration Paper
Philosophy Presentation
No Class—Thanksgiving Break
Book Review—missed books
Program Proposal
Values & Theory
Morrow, 2000
Book Review—missed books
Agency & Theory
Williams, 1992
Integration Paper
12-15
11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Final Exam
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*Readings
There are three types of readings for the course. You will be asked to report on the
timeliness and thoroughness of your reading—i.e., did you read the whole thing and did
you read it on time? Your report will be considered in assigning grades.
1. Assigned readings—most of the readings during the first few weeks of class come
from Turning Freud Upside Down (Jackson & Fischer, 2005), the only required
text for the class. A few other readings are listed on the schedule. These will be
made available to you.
Jackson, A. P., & Fischer, L. (2005). Turning Freud upside down. Provo, UT: BYU Press.
2. Psychotherapy Theory Readings—each of you will make a presentation and lead
a discussion on a theorist of your choice. Your preparation for the discussion will
include reading at least one original work (book) by the theorist and preparing a
summary of key concepts, quotes, etc. for the rest of the class. A good
foundational reference for this assignment is Personality and psychotherapy,
Joseph Rychlak
3. Philosophical Readings—select a philosophical work from the list below, or
another work that you and I agree upon. Read the book and prepare an engaging
presentation for the class on the key concepts in the book and their implications
for counseling psychology in general and your work as a counseling psychologist
in particular. (A good foundational resource for this assignment is What’s behind
the research, Brent Slife & Richard Williams)
Philosophical Readings
The triumph of the therapeutic, Phillip Rieff
The great psychotherapy debate, Bruce Wampold
I and thou, Martin Buber
Beyond freedom and dignity, B.F. Skinner
Critical issues in psychotherapy, Slife, Williams, & Barlow
Otherwise than being, Immanuel Levinas
Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a world of strangers, Kwame Anthony Appiah
Psychology for the other, Gantt & Williams
Witnessing: Beyond recognition, Kelly Oliver
The question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud debate God, love, sex,
and the meaning of life, A. M. Nicholi
Critical thinking about psychology, Slife, Reber, & Richardson
Truth and method, Hans-Georg Gadamer
Psychology and the question of agency, Martin, Sugarman, & Thompson
Ethics and values in psychotherapy, A.C. Tjeltveit
Toward a philosophy of the act, Mikhail Bakhtin
Constructing the self, constructing America, Philip Cushman
Re-envisioning psychology, Richardson, Fowers, & Guignon
Relational Being, Kenneth Gergen
Virtue and Psychology, Blaine Fowers
(Other possible philosophical readings are attached to this syllabus)
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Assignments
I Haven’t A Clue Paper—Write a brief paper defining a philosophical term with which
you are unfamiliar. Define the term citing appropriate sources. Demonstrate how the
term is used by applying it to issues in counseling psychology. (50 points)
Theory Discussion—Lead a discussion of a theorist of your choice. Use the Levels of
Explanation model as a metatheory to discuss the theory. Read at least one original work
by the theorist and prepare a summary of key concepts and quotes for the rest of the class.
If available, you might include a video demonstration of counseling according to the
theory. Distribute the summary readings prior to the day you lead the discussion. The
discussion should include (1) the basic tenets of the theory, (2) the philosophical
assumptions of the theory—both personality theory and treatment theory, and (3) an
analysis of the degree to which the theory is compatible with Christian and other theistic
philosophies. The presentation will be graded for content, effectiveness, and style. (100
points)
Philosophy Book Presentation—read one of the philosophical works on the list above
and prepare a presentation for the class on the key points in the book and their
implications for counseling psychology. Write a summary of key concepts and distribute
it to the class prior to your presentation. The presentation will be graded for content,
effectiveness, and style. (100 points)
Integration Paper—Write a final paper that addresses one of the following questions—
(1) What do you see as the key philosophical/theoretical issues facing counseling
psychologists today and what needs to be done to address those issues?, or (2) How have
you integrated your professional philosophy with your theology? Illustrate this
integration through an axiological analysis of both. (100 points)
Program Proposal Participation— Work with your research team or on your own to
author or co-author a proposal for the APA Convention or some other professional
meeting. Turn in a copy of the proposal and the cover sheet. (100 points)
Tests—A midterm and final exam will be given. The test will include both multiple
choice and short essay questions taken from the readings, discussions, and presentations.
(50 points each)
All written work should conform to the APA Publication Manual (5th ed.) standards.
Attendance at class is expected and considered when assigning grades.
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Honor Code Standards
In keeping with the principles of the BYU Honor Code, students are expected to be honest in all of
their academic work. Academic honesty means, most fundamentally, that any work you present as
your own must in fact be your own work and not that of another. Violations of this principle may
result in a failing grade in the course and additional disciplinary action by the university.
It is the university’s expectation that each student will abide by all Honor Code standards. Please
call the Honor Code Office at 422-2847 if you have questions about those standards.
Preventing Sexual Discrimination or Harassment
Sexual discrimination or harassment (including student-to-student harassment) is prohibited both
by the law and by Brigham Young University policy. If you feel you are being subjected to sexual
discrimination or harassment, please bring your concerns to your professor. Alternatively, you
may lodge a complaint with the Equal Employment Office (D-240C ASB) or with the Honor Code
Office (4440).
Students with Disabilities
If you have a disability that may affect your performance in this course, you should get in touch
with the office of Services for Students with Disabilities (1520 WSC). This office can evaluate
your disability and assist me in arranging for reasonable accommodations. Please let me know of
any accommodations you may need for disabilities or special circumstances.
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Additional possibilities for the philosophy reading
E. L. Hersch, _From Philosophy to Psychotherapy: A Phenomenological
Model for Psychology, Psychiatry, and Psychoanalysis_.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0802087345/qid=1093278814/
sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-6814168-8166567?v=glance&s=books
Sigmund Koch, _Psychology in Human Context_.
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/13747.ctl
Hans Georg Gadamer, _Philosophical Hermeneutics_.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520034759/qid=1093280420/sr=ka-1
/ref=pd_ka_1/102-6814168-8166567
L. Irigaray. To be Two.
M. Merleau-Ponty, _The Primacy of Perception_.
http://nupress.northwestern.edu/title.cfm?ISBN=0-8101-0164-5
Charles Taylor, _Sources of the Self_.
http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/TAYSOX.html
M. Polanyi, _Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy_.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0226672883/qid=1093279739/sr=ka-1
/ref=pd_ka_1/102-6814168-8166567
B. Wiker, _Moral Darwinism: How we became Hedonistis_.
http://www.gospelcom.net/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=2666
J. Rychlak, _The Human Image in Postmodern America_.
http://www.apa.org/books/4316003.html\
McGuire & Tuchanska, _Science Unfettered: A Philosophical Study in
Sociohistorical Ontology_.
http://www.ohiou.edu/oupress/scienceunfettered.htm
L. K. Schmidt, _The Specter of Relativism: Truth, Dialogue, and
Phronesis in Philosophical Hermeneutics_.
http://nupress.northwestern.edu/title.cfm?ISBN=0-8101-1257-4
J. N. Downing, _Between Conviction and Uncertainty_.
http://www.sunypress.edu/details.asp?id=60178
P. Ricouer, _Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences_.
http://titles.cambridge.org/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521280028
Levinas, _Basic Philosophical Writings_.
http://www.indiana.edu/~iupress/books/0-253-21079-8.shtml