COUN 474: Internship II: Community Counseling

Spring 2000


Instructor: Anita Thomas, Ph.D.
Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 3-6 p.m.
Office phone: (773) 794-2847
E-mail: a-thomas7@neiu.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is a continuation of COUN 464 and further involves the intern in the implementation of the role of the counselor in a community service program, family guidance clinic, community mental health center, hospital, substance abuse treatment program, aging center or court services setting.  Interns will be working under the supervision of a site supervisor and a counselor education faculty.  The course will require the intern to complete 300 hours of field related activities, including participation in an on-campus seminar every other week.

PREREQUISITE:
COUN 464, Internship I: Community Counseling

REQUIRED TEXT:
      Kottler, J.A., Sexton, T.L. & Whiston, S.C. (1994) . The heart of healing: Relationships in therapy.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

FIELD EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
1. Three hundred hours of documented field related activities will be selected from, but not restricted to, those areas listed under Field Activities.
2. A minimum of 120 hours of field activities will involve direct service to clients in the areas of career, educational, and personal and social development and intervention.  A minimum of forty hours of individual counseling and fifteen hours of group counseling is required.
3. The intern will engage in a supervisory session with the onsite supervisor for at least one hour per week.
4. The intern will be available for one on site supervisory sessions with the designated university supervisor.

ON-CAMPUS REQUIREMENTS
1. The intern will engage in supervisory sessions with the assigned counselor education staff member.  The sessions will involve a review of activities including those constituting direct service of students.  At least three individual/group counseling tapes will be submitted for critiquing during the semester.  Additional tapes will be required as needed.
2. The intern will participate in a seminar session every other week.  Seminar sessions will focus on case presentations, tape critiques, and the acquisition of information skills relevant to environmental concerns.  Suggested topics may include, but not be limited to, the following: issues in sexuality, Gay and lesbian counseling, counseling with African Americans, issues in counseling Hispanic families, psychopharmacology and counseling, community organizational issues, restructuring treatment environments, politics and counseling, relations with cooperating mental health professionals, AIDS counseling, cults and counseling, counseling in a hospice, geriatric counseling, parenting and child discipline, depression, stress and counselor burn-out. Additional topics may be identified by interns and/or supervisors.
3. Written assignments
a. Case summary- Students will write a case study according to the presentation format used for case presentations during Practicum.  As students are completing the clinical experiences, the case study should include a more advanced case conceptualization, treatment goals, and treatment summary.
b. Capstone Experience paper- Students will write a comprehensive paper that summarizes and synthesizes experiences in the Masters of Counseling program.  Students should discuss important teachings and clinical experiences.  The paper may address the following questions:

 1. What are the most important theoretical orientations or approaches and why?
 2. Why is developmental counseling important?  How do you integrate developmental
 concepts into clinical work?
 3. What are the most important professional counselor values and why?  How have you
 incorporated counselor values with my personal and moral values?
 4. What have been the most important teachings in the masters program?  How have the
 courses influenced your clinical work?
 5. Discuss the most important ethical and legal issues confronted by counselors.  How
 have you resolved any ethical dilemmas in the training program and/or internship?
 6.  What does it mean to be a community counselor?  Why are outreach, advocacy, and
 prevention so important?
 7. Discuss your role as a professional counselor.  How have you found (or will you find)
 balance between your professional and personal lives?  How will you maintain balance?
 8. What are some critical countertransference issues that you have faced during
 internship?
 9. Discuss the importance of cultural sensitivity.  How will this influence your clinical
 work?
 10.  Discuss your short and long-term professional goals?  Have they changed during
 internship?  (I have goal statements from the Fall term.)

FIELD ACTIVITIES
1. Involvement with community, business, and government representatives as they relate to program activities and goals;
2. Providing direct service to clients through informational, experiential, group and individual counseling;
3. Working with related staff, psychiatrists and outside mental health support services to assist in achieving individual client and program goals;
4. Acquiring additional specific knowledge pertaining to the special issue of clients served at the site;
5. Designing, implementing, and interpreting evaluation efforts pertaining to individual and program success;
6. Providing information and making recommendations regarding research findings that relate to client development and program issues;
7. Recognizing field research opportunities and assisting colleagues in the design and execution of action-oriented research studies pertinent to the site;
8. Participating in on-site or professionally related workshops or in-service training to improve professional skill development;
9. Working closely with the university and on-site supervisor to identify areas of personal and professional growth;
10. Reviewing audio and video taped samples of the intern's interactions with clients under the supervision of the university supervisor.

EVALUATION
The interpersonal and professional behavior of students will be evaluated in counseling and supervisory sessions and seminars. Students are expected to:
1.be self initiating;
2. be introspective, open, and receptive to feedback;
3. be flexible in making appropriate changes in response to feedback;
4. be aware of and demonstrate behavior consistent with the ethical standards of ACA and of a calibre necessary to maintain effective professional relationships;
5. demonstrate the ability to integrate and put into practice concepts and skills relevant to required role behaviors;
6. maintain acceptable written records and reports of professional activities as required by the campus and site supervisors.

Mid-term and final evaluations of the intern's progress and proficiency will be conducted by campus supervisors in conjunction with site supervisors.  A grade of "A" or "B" is required.  Credit earned at "C" level or below cannot be applied for programmatic credit.

GRADES
Grades will be determined by
1. attendance on-site and attendance and participation at university seminars;
2. evidence of improvement of skills as shown on audio tapes;
3. completion of counseling log
4. Counseling session summary sheets;
5. evaluation of on-site supervisors;
6. demonstration of qualities and attitudes listed in the evaluation section of this syllabus.

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