Development of competency in basic counseling skills. Topics include: counselor needs/motivations, non-verbal communication, empathy (basic and advanced), identifying strengths, maintaining focus, challenging discrepancies, use of self. Emphasis on building from client strengths. Focus on learning through role-playing.
Course Objectives / Goals:
This course is designed to provide students with the listening skills necessary to establish a helping relationship and to promote the personal growth and development of people they will see in their future work. As the instructor of this class, I believe that effective helping skills can be learned. Therefore, the greatest part of the course will be spent on the teaching of basic listening skills which have been found to be critical in helping people. In addition, a benefit of this training process is increased self-awareness. It seems essential that all people who wish to help others are aware of their strengths, growth areas, needs and motivations to help others. This will be an involving course in which the demands are personal and interpersonal. It is expected that the listening skills learned in this course (as well as the self-awareness developed) will be useful both professionally and personally. Upon successful completion of this course a student should be able to:
identify her/his needs and motivations to help others.
give effective feedback to others.
demonstrate continuing responses and encourage self-disclosure in others.
accurately identify emotions exhibited by others.
define and specify the importance of empathy in counseling relationships.
effectively demonstrate the use of empathic responses.
exhibit appropriate non-verbal behavior in professional interactions.
demonstrate the use of open-ended and clarifying questions.
understand and demonstrate advanced empathy, challenging discrepancies, and immediacy.
help clients identify “core beliefs” which impact decisions and functioning.
assess personal levels of counseling skills and areas for growth.
Workload:
9 hours per week, including class time
Required Readings :
Murphy, B.C. & Dillon, C. (2003). Interviewing in Action: Process and Practice, 2nd Edition. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole.
Egan, G. (2002). Exercises in Helping Skills, 7th Edition, Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole.
