Family Counseling: Theory and Practice

Catalog description

Conceptualization and application of family counseling frameworks to EC-12 school settings are learned in this course. CN ED 530CN ED 530 Family Counseling: Theory and Practice (3) Family functioning is paramount in the educational, personal/social, and career development of children and adolescents. This course prepares school counselors and other counselors for helping children and adolescents in the context of family. Several theories and models of family counseling are presented, focusing on application of these frameworks to work in EC-12 schools. Through experiential activities connected to the course, counselor-trainees are encouraged to relate experiences in their own families to their functioning as counselors. The course is required for a master's degree in elementary or secondary school counseling. Evaluation includes multiple-choice tests and a self-reflection project. The course objectives follow: Students will: 1 . know the terminology and basic concepts associated with systems thinking and family counseling. 2. adopt a family systems frame of reference and understand the family counseling perspective. 3. know the history and development of family counseling. 4. conceptualize the social constructionist perspective of family counseling and human functioning, including perspectives on substance use and abuse, gender, lifestyle, socioeconomic conditions, sociopolitical conditions, relations among diverse groups, and culture and identity. 5. understand and apply various frameworks of family counseling to the school counseling and school context, including Bowenian theory, attachment theory, experiential/humanistic approaches, structural and strategic approaches, cognitive-behavioral approaches, solution-focused therapy, narrative therapy, and integrative models. 6. grow in their own self-awareness with regard to their families of origin. 7. understand the use of self in counseling and learn and apply this knowledge in experiential activities and personal and professional functioning. 8. understand the wounded healer concept and attachment theory implications for counselor functioning. 9. comprehend and delineate the relationships among family systems, schools, and community systems. 10. understand racial-ethnic, gender, cultural, socioeconomic, and lifestyle issues in the context of family, school, and community and institutional systems. 11. know how families, schools, and communities interact to influence students' development. 12. understand strategies used to promote effective teamwork among counselors, educational professionals, students, parents, schools, and communities. 13. understand communication, collaboration, and consultation with parents, educational and mental health professionals, guardians, and community members for promoting students educational, career, and personal development. 14. know and understand the structure of parenting styles and outcomes associated with each parenting style. 15. understand research on parenting styles and contrast the traditional view of adolescent development with the contemporary view. 16. apply parenting styles for various prevention and intervention strategies. 17. know research support for various prevention and intervention strategies, understand measurement associated with various theories and models, and understand research traditions and methods associated with various theories and models.