M.A. in Counseling: Clinical Mental Health Counseling

The course provides an orientation to basic mental health counseling principles, processes, counselor roles and functions, professional ethics, issues, organizations, and publications. Specific emphasis will be placed on mental health counseling with deaf individuals and deaf people with multiple disabilities, networking with other agencies, advocacy, and professional responsibilities.

This course provides graduate clinical mental health counselor trainees with an introduction to the ethical, legal, and professional practices in the field of counseling. Students will learn about relevant codes of ethics, legislation and regulatory processes relevant to the counseling profession, and models for ethical decision-making. The use of technology in counseling will also be covered. The course will include information about ethical business practices and statutory requirements for establishing and operating a counseling practice.

This course is designed for students' personal and professional development in the area of social and cultural diversity awareness development and multicultural counseling. Effective and meaningful multicultural work with culturally diverse clients, groups, and communities requires helping professionals to develop a continuing awareness of self; increased knowledge and practical understanding of others' worldviews; and an ever changing and evolving skill set for effective  engagement with diverse individuals/populations. Throughout the course, students will engage in activities and experiences in and outside of the classroom setting designed to draw out personal reflections, self-evaluation, and interpersonal dialogue on related issues of cultural relevance and social justice work as a helping professional. This course will facilitate deeper awareness, broader knowledge and understanding, and provide a framework to developing multicultural competence as a counselor all the while addressing the impact of culture and power on an individual, his/her family, community, organizational structures and systems of power that reflect culture.

This course provides graduate counselor trainees with a foundation in the counseling treatment approaches commonly used in school, community, mental health counseling settings. This course is fundamental in developing skills in assessment of client needs and application of effective preventive and therapeutic counseling interventions. This course emphasizes the appropriate application of counseling and psychotherapy theories to culturally diverse populations of children and adults.

This course is designed to review theories and principles of human development across the lifespan, and to familiarize students with current knowledge and research in the field. This course also covers areas of childhood disabilities, as well as current issues regarding deafness and human development. Developmental issues across the life span related to culture, gender, heredity and environment will also be included.

The purpose of this course is to assist students in understanding the language, principles, reasoning, and methodologies of research and to help them critically evaluate counseling research literature. Students will recognize ethical issues relevant to conducting culturally appropriate research, and how research can improve counseling effectiveness. Instruction is approached from a multicultural perspective, including through the selection of instructional materials and student assessments.

Using a multicultural emphasis, this course provides an introduction to the purposes, concepts, and techniques of assessment, including how assessment information is used in counseling and how it is communicated to others. Includes a review of foundational statistical concepts, an overview of assessment procedures, ethics, and legal implications. Includes tools and procedures for assessment of intelligence and ability, aptitude, development, personality, educational, and clinical issues. Note this course does not cover vocational and career assessment.

This is an introduction to the theory and practice of group counseling and psychotherapy, with application to group work with deaf individuals. There are didactic and experiential components in this course which provide students with the opportunity to develop an understanding of group development, dynamics, and counseling theories; group leadership styles; group counseling methods and skills; and other group approaches.

This course addresses the impact of crises, disasters, sexual assault and other trauma-causing events on individuals, schools, and communities. Students will be provided with opportunities for examining trauma and crisis counseling in school and community settings, including trauma and crisis theories; cognitive, affective, behavioral, and neurological effects associated with trauma; assessment strategies for clients/communities in crisis; and brief, intermediate and long-term culturally appropriate approaches to crisis and trauma intervention.

This course is designed to provide a foundation in the conceptualization, identification and treatment of emotional and behavioral disorders across the lifespan. Attention will be given to the specific symptoms associated with common psychological disorders such as those addressed in the current DSM and medical diagnoses that may have emotional, behavioral or learning implications for children, adolescents and adults. In addition, the course will address the impact of cultural aspects, age considerations, associated complications, and predisposing factors on diagnosis and treatment planning. This important foundation is reinforced through case studies with emphasis on case formulation, conceptualization and potential interventions. Intervention and treatment planning using a strength- and wellness-based model will be considered.

This introductory course provides students with an understanding of essential interviewing and counseling skills necessary to develop a therapeutic relationship with clients from diverse backgrounds, establish appropriate counseling goals, design intervention strategies, evaluate client outcome, and successfully terminate the counselor-client relationship. Counselor characteristics and behaviors that influence helping processes including age, gender, and ethnic differences, verbal and nonverbal behaviors and personal characteristics, orientations, and skills are covered. This course facilitates student self-awareness and sensitivity toward Deaf culture and other multicultural issues that facilitate relationships among people. Ethical issues in working with clients are reviewed. The instructional format including lectures, discussions, small group activities, and student engagement in role playing and simulated counseling sessions.

This course is designed to examine the major contemporary theories and approaches in couples, marital and family therapy. From this framework, candidates will also consider the applicability of these theories in working with deaf children, adolescents, adults and families with deaf members. Examined will be major concepts of family dynamics and the family life cycle, with additional emphasis on families with deaf members. Candidates will be introduced to key concepts involving 1) the understanding of functional and dysfunctional relationships which often occur within couples and families and which also may occur between the client/family and therapist or other professionals involved with deaf persons, 2) the formulation and implementation of clinical intervention techniques to modify dysfunctional individuals, couples or families and larger than family dynamics. Activities will include lecture, class discussion, case presentations, and role playing simulation sessions with post-session discussions. A major emphasis is placed on the development and becoming of the couples, marital and family therapist.

This is an advanced course in techniques and skills in psychotherapy, designed expressly for second year or advanced students in mental health counseling and related disciplines. Emphasis will be on the application of selected theoretical constructs in working with clients in general and with deaf and hard of hearing clients in particular. An important aspect of the course is on therapist attitude, techniques, and skills essential in effective treatment of clients with specific psychological problems and disorders. It is a student therapist-centered course, attentive to his or her development and growth as a therapist. The method of instruction is primarily hands-on experiential activities and will include supervised simulated therapy sessions, role play, student-therapist videotape replay and feedback, videotapes of actual therapy sessions featuring real clients and master therapists, psychotherapy case presentations, demonstrations, and live observations.

The goal of this course is to help professionals working with deaf and hard of hearing people understand the impact of drug and alcohol abuse throughout the individual's life span as well as within family and social systems. The course will examine current trends in alcohol and drug abuse; legal implications; street names and drug symptom identifiers for counselors; the medical implications for prescription and non-prescription drug abuse; substance abuse terminology; the historical context of substance abuse in American society; community responses to substance abuse; essentials of substance abuse prevention; deafness, family dynamics, and substance abuse; and substance abuse treatment strategies and service accessibility.

This course is the first in a sequence of practica and is one of major experiential components of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program. By the end of this course, students will have developed entry-level counseling skills, which include the ability to provide counseling, prepare reports and treatment plans, and to work directly with and be supervised by experienced professionals in mental health settings. Counseling skills will be reviewed by faculty and site supervisors using student self-report, recorded sessions, and/or live observation. A focus will be on students developing reflectively through the use of supervision.

This course is designed to provide students with knowledge of theories, materials, programs, and practices in the career development area. It specifically seeks to identify practices used with or potentially useful with deaf people. A central theme is the recognition of the role of career and work with the integration of personality. The course will discuss multicultural issues. Emphasis will be placed on discussing the career needs of deaf and hard of hearing people.

This course is the second in a sequence of practica and is one of the major experiential components of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program. Students build on the knowledge and skills gained in COU 742 and increase the scope and complexity of their counseling skills repertoire. They advance their counseling skills to include clinical intake interviews, individual therapy, group therapy, couples/family therapy, assessment, case management services to clients, record keeping, and information and referral. Counseling skills will be reviewed by supervisors using student self-report, recorded sessions, and/or live observation. A focus will be on students continuing to develop reflectively through the use of supervision.

This is an introduction to current psychoactive medications used most often in schools and counseling/psychiatric settings today. The course will explore the conditions which respond best to psychoactive drugs, the specific drugs used to treat specific conditions, and the typical dosages used. In addition, it will explore when it is appropriate to suggest medication and also alternative medication, side effects to be aware of, and the benefits gained from the use of psychoactive drugs.

This course is the final in a sequence of practica and is a major experiential component of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program. Students build on the knowledge and skills gained in COU 792 and continue to increase the scope and complexity of their counseling skills repertoire. They continue to advance their counseling skills with clinical intake interviews, individual therapy, group therapy, couples/family therapy, assessment, case management services to clients, record keeping, and providing information and referrals. Students will become proficient in using a variety of professional resources to enhance the provision of mental health services, such as screening instruments, technologies, print and non-print media, professional literature, and research information. Counseling skills will be reviewed by supervisors using student self-report, recorded sessions, and/or live observation. A focus will be on students continuing to develop reflectively through the use of supervision.