Group/Family Counseling

Catalog description

This course examines practical skills of group and family counseling for use with both mentally ill and chemically dependent clients. Upon identifying the developmental stages of families, students will discuss the cultural, social, and economic variables that affect the development of family dynamics.  Moreover, students will discuss traditional views of pathology, with a focus on the role family dynamics play in the formation, maintenance, and treatment of mental illness and chemical dependency.   Furthermore, students will discuss patterns of group dynamics more broadly, particularly as they relate to the therapeutic group process.  Moreover, they will distinguish traditional approaches to family therapy from traditional approaches to individual and group therapies.   Through role-playing activities, students will analyze diagnostic theories and techniques relevant to working with families and groups.