INTERVIEWING AND COUNSELING IN SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY

Catalog description

This course is designed to help students develop a foundation in interviewing and psychotherapeutic skills to obtain clinical and functional information about children and adolescents, determine appropriate diagnoses and/or special ed. classifications, establish effective therapeutic relationships and promote positive behavior change. In addition, the course is designed to increase students' knowledge and understanding of theories, techniques, and practices of counseling and psychotherapy. Students will be introduced to basic skills in conducting and managing a clinical interview with children, adolescents, parents and families. Students will acquire an understanding of foundations of therapeutic psychology, including major approaches that are currently used in real-life settings. In addition, the course will provide an overview of the process of counseling and introduce students to specific techniques and strategies to facilitate positive outcomes for clients. Students will gain an understanding of how these techniques and strategies are applied with clients, particularly children and adolescents, develop skills in case conceptualization, and learn about a variety of characteristics and factors that influence the therapeutic relationship. Other topics to be addressed include assessment and diagnosis, goal-setting, barriers to change, ethical issues that influence the process and outcomes of counseling and psychotherapy, Lastly, the role of cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, linguistic, and other background factors and perspectives will be explored so students can acquire understanding of the influence of diversity issues on the counseling process.