Mental Health Counseling (MHC)

This is an introduction to the roles that death, loss and meaning-seeking play in counseling. Counseling issues can be addressed on at least three levels: the presenting behaviors, the social and personal meanings that are attached to such behaviors, and the existential issues that underlie virtually all human behaviors and concerns. The course is organized around the four main themes of existential counseling and psychotherapy. These are: death, freedom, isolation, and meaning.

This course provides an overview of the range of clinical treatment approaches and methods employed in prisons to provide clinical counseling strategies to treat offenders while incarcerated and beyond. Students will gain insight into the role of the correctional counselor, understand theories associated with institutional counseling, and develop hone clinical skills to counsel such clients.

This course will provide a broad overview of clinical practice with adolescents. Topics include: substance abuse, depression, mood disorders, eating disorders and anxiety.

This course will focus on the application of psychological concepts to the law. Topics covered range from jury selection, jury deliberation, and perception of justice.

This course is designed for graduate students who wish to explore student affairs in higher education as a possible career choice. This history and philosophy of student affairs will be explored, along with the practical side of the profession. Additionally, students will leave this course prepared to navigate the search process for entry level position in student affairs.

The course provides an introduction to the challenges veterans and service members face both socially and psychologically while exploring contemporary treatment modalities including: Cognitive Processing Theory and Prolonged Exposure. We will also address the psychosocial factors of transitioning into civilian life, stigma, co-occurring disorders, resiliency, and PTSD. Throughout the course, we will emphasize the ways in which Mental Health Counselors may advocate for veterans and service member clients and enhance overall well-being.

This course focuses on the historical background, phenomenology, etiology, longitudinal course, and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We will trace the historical antecedents of PTSD from its early origins in war experience and train accidents (“battle fatigue,” “shell shock,” railway spine”) to its present day role in the DSM-IV and V. We will examine the nature of PTSD symptoms (e.g., intrusive thoughts, nightmares, detachment) and the way they cluster together (e.g., avoidance, dysphoria, and hyperarousal). We will consider the prevalence of PTSD and the different patterns of PTSD symptoms that people exhibit over time, emphasizing resilience and individual differences. We will examine the encoding and retrieval of memories in PTSD, as well as controversies related to false and received memories of traumatic events. We will discuss the etiological factors in the development and maintenance of PTSD, including genetics, neurobiological, neuroanatomical, person-centered, and socio-contextual factors. We will finish by addressing the efficacy and rationale of interventions designed to prevent or treat PTSD, including debriefing, preventative treatment and psychotherapeutic approaches of PTSD, such as exposure and cognitive restructuring.

The course focuses on counseling interventions to help people with the loss of a loved one. Using research articles, theory, film, and nonfiction, we will discuss the nature of grief, theoretical models of grieving, distinct types of grief reactions, how to identify "complicated" grief reactions, the appropriate role of counseling for grief, and specific grief counseling techniques, Throughout we will emphasize the critical role of theory, empirical research, and general principals of intervention in guiding grief counseling approaches.

This course provides a multidisciplinary perspective of the biological, psychological and sociocultural aspects of aging. An overview of the issues that significantly impact the older adult, their family and society is presented. The demographics profile of America's older adult serves as a basis for explaining issues related to physical and mental health changes, role transitions, care and living arrangements for the older adult.

This course examines the impact on adaptive functioning of potential traumatic events, such as bereavement, traumatic injury, life-threatening illness, military deployment, mass trauma, and disaster. We will address the role of coping strategies, positive aspects of psychological functioning, such as smiling and laughter, prior adversity and trauma exposure, psychobiological and genetics factors, whether people can actually benefit from significant adversity, the way culture shapes our capacity to cope with stress and with loss. Throughout, we will emphasize that human beings are resilient to trauma and loss, and that resilience’s emerges from a normative adaptational systems and an array of person-centered and social-contextual factors.

This course will cover social psychology, including attitudes, behavior change, group processes, multicultural and gender issues, and social perceptions. Focus will be on methods of studying social behavior and theories of social behavior.

This course is an introduction to the interaction between psychology and the legal system, which may include the roles and responsibilities of forensic psychologists, the selection/training/evaluation of police, criminal profiling, and hypothesis and lie detection in criminal investigations. Other related issues may include eyewitness identification procedures, police interrogations and confessions, alternative dispute resolution, trial preparation, jury selection, and death penalty trials and appeals.

This course will consist of an individualized, mentored research experience with a faculty member in psychology. Students will be involved in the "in lab" practical realities of conducting research studies in psychology, attend a weekly lab meeting with their paired faculty member and other research assistants, and throughout the semester meet with other faculty members to learn about the depth and breadth of psychological research and discuss topics, methodologies and techniques in psychological science. Requires permission of the instructor.

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most widely recognized and practiced brief therapies. Learning the methods of CBT can equip counselors with pragmatic, empirically tested tools to treat a wide range of mental health problems. This practice-oriented course will introduce students to the basics of cognitive-behavioral theory and therapy and teach them how to conceptualize clients and plan and conduct treatment within the CBT model. Students will learn to use some of the most commonly used CBT techniques for mood and anxiety disorders in adults through a combination of lecture, role play, discussion, video, homework and clinical case presentations.

Students will be introduced to general theories and basic skills used in counseling. The students will be asked to do research and to use audio and videotaping to achieve the skills goal. An understanding of counseling and consultation processes will include and introduction to ethical issues and to the client-counselor relationship.

This course will acquaint students with major approaches to psychological counseling and allow them to develop elementary proficiency in applying them to the counseling and consultation process. Special topics include: ethical considerations, confidentiality, and legal issues (e.g., professional liability).

Students completing this course will critically examine various models for understanding the causes of alcoholism and substance abuse and their implications for treatment. The students will become familiar with treatment approaches based on these models. Special emphasis is given to: 12-step and other self-help programs, relapse prevention and psychopharmacology.

The intent of this class is to look at some fascinating, and often controversial, issues of childhood and adolescence in a deeper fashion. Specifically, we will examine the research (or lack thereof) behind many proclamations. Some of the prospective issues will be: 1) Are the first three years of life generally the most important? 2) Can we make babies smarter by exposing them to enriched environments? 3) Are there negative developmental effects when mothers work during early infancy? 4) Are peers more important than parents during development?

This class will focus on intensive skills training. We will practice applying several specific techniques for application to both general counseling and particular issues encountered in counseling and psychotherapy. Careful analysis of one's presentation and technique will be emphasized.

This class explores a variety of perspectives on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered issues, all of which provide the basis for current research and practice in the fields of counseling, education and psychology. Many professional organizations in the field have developed formal ethical guidelines requiring non-discrimination and are active in promoting and abiding by them. The class will provide an introduction to LGBTI issues while examining heterosexism and homophobia as well as the social constructions of identity. A wide-range of concerns for LGBTI clients, including but not limited to: career development, health concerns, family counseling, the role of difference in identity, and religion/spirituality, will be discussed.

This course will be devoted to a particular domain of research and clinical application, known as “positive psychology”. The first part of the course will touch upon some of the fundamental issues in positive psychology, particularly the study if happened and human flourishing. We will try to address a number of different questions, including: Why are some people happier than others? What are the factors that allow people to excel across situations (work, relationships, traumatic events, etc)? How other factors associated with the god life-meaning purpose, gratitude, etc-related to well-being? The second half of the course will look at how our empirical understanding of well-being can be applied to counseling. Examining both research and different treatment modalities, we will review ways to implement positive interventions into therapy.

This course will facilitate students' preparation of a "professional development plan." Topics include: managing course/internship schedules to optimize career goals including certification and licensure; roles of professional organizations; professional code of ethics and legal considerations in practice; role identity in counselors; fee structures and the impact of fees on the counseling relationship. Parallel topics include APA style writing and presentation as well as general professional writing skills and critical thinking.

The students will acquire an understanding of the prominent models (e.g., 12-step, therapeutic community, et al.) of alcoholism/chemical dependency and how individual and group counseling are adapted in working with this population. Students will gain knowledge of the range of individual and group interventions that are appropriate to stages in the recovery process. Students will acquire knowledge of treatment modifications with special populations (e.g., cultural) and will gain an understanding of the treatment of related disorders involving compulsive behaviors. Relapse prevention is covered in depth.

Students will acquire an understanding of the principles of family treatment as they apply to work with chemically dependent/alcoholic families. Students will learn advanced group counseling techniques. The student will acquire an understanding of co-dependent relationship patterns and issues facing children of alcoholics. Students will be able to integrate principles of twelve-step recovery programs and counseling techniques and will gain knowledge of methods of self-development and stress reduction for counselors.

This course is designed to introduce mental health counseling students to theory, research, and evidence-based practice in health psychology, with a focus on health promotion and health behavior change. Students will learn about different medical disorders and health concerns and their impact on functional impairment, quality of life, and emotional well-being; the influence of personality, gender, cultural difference and social support on coping with acute and chronic illness; evidence-based interventions for specific health problems (e.g., insomnia, obesity, chronic pain); theoretical models and strategies for health behavior change (e.g., Prochaska and DiClemente's Stages of Change Model, Motivational Interviewing, behavioral goal setting); and ethnic disparities in health and illness. Content will be presented through lectures, discussion, video, experiential exercises, field activities, and reading and writing assignments.

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This course will examine the phenomenon of domestic violence within our society from practical and psychological perspectives. The causes and impacts of this brutal and frequently fatal interaction will be explored as well as society's response. A more complete understanding of this behavior, its perpetrators and its victim, is the goal of this course. This course will be conducted in a lecture forum with the assistance of visual aids and guest speakers to accentuate the significant features and aspects of this topic.

This course is designed to familiarize students with the life and work of Alfred Adler and his disciples. Topics such as social interest, Adlerian contributions to individual and group therapy, education and parenting will be explored. Course will be both lecture-oriented as well as experiential.

This course will consist of two parts: counselor supervision and psychopharmacology for the counselor. The first part will be a review of the literature on counselor supervision and discussions of the role of the counselor in a clinical supervisory relationship. The second part will be an introduction to psychopharmacology for counselors with an emphasis on psychotherapeutic medications.

This course will cover how different addictions: drugs, alcohol, food, sex, and more effect relationships. Issues of codependency along with family or origin will be discussed. Students will learn the definition of addictive behavior and characteristics of an addict. Students will learn about drug addiction, food addiction, and relationship addiction along with their consequences.

Experts from various domains of the field will present on their area of expertise. Participants will be introduced to relevant theory, research, and practice in the area of child psychotherapy. In this interactive course, comprehensive approaches will be introduced with discussion given to the critical roles played by counselors and clients. Topics include, but are not limited to: child psychopathology as defined in the DSM-IV-TR; ethical and legal considerations in working with children; overcoming resistance in children and/or their parents; and working with specific populations, including children with ADHD, children who are aggressive, medically fragile, or domestic violence and trauma survivors.

Experts from various domains of the field will present on their area of expertise. Participants will be introduced to relevant theory, research, and practice in the area of child psychotherapy. In this interactive course, comprehensive approaches will be introduced with discussion given to the critical roles played by counselors and clients. Topics include, but are not limited to: child psychopathology as defined in the DSM-IV-TR; ethical and legal considerations in working with children; overcoming resistance in children and/or their parents; and working with specific populations, including children with ADHD, children who are aggressive, medically fragile, or domestic violence and trauma survivors.

The primary objective of this course is to provide a broad overview of the field of development psychology and relate this knowledge to your role as future clinicians. The semester will encompass four major areas: (1) Historical Precedents and Fundamentals Principles-first we will examine the philosophical underpinnings of developmental psychology and related conceptualizations of human nature; (2) Learning and Cognition-we will focus on human learning, examining theories and research that have attempted to explain how humans process information throughout development; (3) Theories of Personality Development; and (4) Issues in Development-here we will take a more focused look at various issues across the life course and how they night affect an individual’s life and present themselves in mental health counseling.

This course will address two major areas related to counseling for effective parenting. This focus would be on understanding children's "normal" misbehavior. Students will learn how to teach parents to have a healthier and more effective interaction with their children. Typical conflicts that arise in parenting will be addressed with practical, realistic solutions. The second major focus will be on developing the necessary counseling skills for working with parents whose children have exhibited significant problems at home and/or at school, including behavioral and leaning problems. These skills will be developed from a cognitive-behavioral model. The class will use didactic presentation, source readings, group interaction, and role-plays.

Students will acquire an understanding of individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation. Emphasis is placed on psychiatric diagnosis (DSM); psychological testing and evaluation in the context of alcoholism and substance abuse; and assessment of functioning, course of treatment, and treatment recommendations with particular applications to substance abusing populations.

This is an introduction to the dynamics of the healing process as it is facilitated through creative art (CA) therapies such as music for Alzheimer’s patients or the use of humor with clinically depressed individuals. Learning experiences include in vivo opportunities in the CA disciplines. Learning opportunities also include: CA practitioner speakers, video demonstrations, films and involvement in local clinical settings. Current research in expressive therapies will be reviewed and studied.

This course is designed to provide students a practical and theoretical understanding of group development, dynamics, and group counseling methods and skills. Students completing this course will be able to effectively participate in and lead groups. These goals will be accomplished via presentation and discussion of group models and research study outcomes, through participation in experimental exercises in group processes, and through skill training in observation, leadership, and participation in groups. A special focus will include comparing and contrasting the dynamics and methods used in such groups as substance abuse counseling and others in more general contexts.

This course is designed to assist the mental health practitioners in caring for their own mental health and emotional well-being; preventing “caregiver burn-out”; assisting them in educating clients and/or personnel within various systems-in practices of good mental and emotional well-being. Topics relating to emotional health and well-being include: stress management/prevention of burn out; importance of life purpose and vision; the role of exercise, nutrition, and physical health, prioritizing and balancing one’s needs; transforming negative emotional states into positive ones; connecting with self and others, partnering for emotional and physical support. This class is experiential and cognitive, with assigned readings, classroom discussions, and the role play.

This course will introduce basic concepts in the field of death, dying and loss. Course topics will be taught through a combination of formal lectures, and experimental exercises. The course will provide cultural, historical perspectives, and psychological insights into the experiences of death and dying. Special emphases include: the impact of death and loss on personality development, on family systems and survivors of loss.

This course focuses on the different therapeutic interventions to assist others through bereavement experiences. Models of loss, grief, and mourning will be examined for their use in counseling with special attention to complicated mourning. Lectures, experiential work, and case studies to be used. Each student will lead, under supervision, a short-term grief counseling group.

This course places the experiences of loss and grieving in the context of the cycle of individual and family development. The impact of death on families and on the development of the family members will be examined. Special emphasis is placed on the influence of loss and bereavement on the meaning structures of families and individuals.

This course is designed to inform the counseling student about the strategies that are available to them as counselors in working with youths and their parents that prevents or greatly reduces the probability of youths being involved in violent incidents. The focus will be on prevention, rather than cure, but will also deal with strategies for working with youth and their parents should any form of violence occur, in spite of best efforts to prevent it. We will look at the problem of “bullying” and gangs and how to deal with these problems. The course will also cover how to spot and deal with potentially deviant “outliers” –i.e. , youth who may be depressed and suicidal or otherwise mentally ill, and who may be potential perpetrators of violence, and also with depressed youth less inclined to outward-directed violence, but considered suicide. We will also look at best strategies for dealing with and ameliorating the traumatic effects of these and other forms of violence, should they occur.

This is a course designed to assist students in developing the knowledge base, skills, and confidence to develop a successful private counseling practice. It will touch on getting the experience and supervision necessary before beginning one’s own practice, and the will concentrate on what is needed to successfully start one’s own practice, maintain, and/or expand and diversify it.

This course is an introduction to psychological and biological aspects of AIDS and other chronic illnesses. Students will have an opportunity to learn counseling skills related to disease issues with a variety of populations.

This course is an introduction to the nature of the counseling process with emphasis on major theoretical approaches, supervised practice, and application using play therapy with children, students will learn process of enhancing the relationships with children by using play media to facilitate expression, self-understanding, and personal growth and development. Observation and supervised experience in play therapy are an integral part of this course.

This course will explore an important and often neglected aspect of counseling; the client’s spiritual/religious beliefs. Topics to be covered include spiritual explanations for suffering: counseling perspectives of the major spiritual/religious traditions; special needs and problems of religious client; the counselors own belief system; and, the clinical use of the client’s belief. The course will employ didactic lecture, group discussion and exercises, case study presentations, and role-plays of counseling sessions.

This course is a survey of the major approaches to couples counseling. Emotion focused, cognitive-behavioral and couple’s group counseling approaches are reviewed. Observation of videotaped sessions, role playing of sessions, and application of technique is emphasized.

Students completing this course will be familiar with activities that bring services together within a planned framework of action for achieving treatment goals in the context of alcoholism and substance abuse. Demonstrated knowledge will be expected in the following areas: client education and preventive action, outreach referral services crisis intervention and consultation, client record keeping, and discharge planning.

Nonviolent Communication or NVC, also known as Compassionate Communication is a powerful theory and system of interpersonal communication and conflict resolution developed over the past 40 years by the psychologist Marshall Rosenberg. This system has been used throughout the world, helping people in over 40 countries, to resolve the conflicts that divided them. As a system of communication, NVC requires a paradigm shift in the way people typically communicate with one another. It is one that is far more effective in helping people to connect with each other, and as a result, to resolve their differences. As a theory of behavior, Nonviolent Communication, draws upon the best in client-centered, cognitive-behavioral, gestalt, existential and psychoanalytic self-psychology and is an effective system for psychological healing, as well as for promoting personal growth and change. This course will introduce the basic theory and practices of this system, experientially as well as cognitively, and show how these practices can be applied in home and counseling settings.

This course will allow students to become proficient in the understanding and use of psychiatric terminology and in the forming and testing of hypotheses about using criteria set forth in DSM-IV. Upon completion of the course, students will have knowledge of the principle pharmacological and psychological approaches to treatment of the disorders discussed.

This course will examine the key issues related to domestic violence: differentiating partner abuse from an unhealthy relationship, motivation for maintaining abusive relationships, legal issues, Feminist Activist Model vs. Mental Health Model and counseling techniques and strategies to help.

s: This is, in most cases, one of the final courses in your master’s degree program of study. In it, we will bring together key topics you have learned as well as selected special topics for review and examination, the specific objectives of the course are: (1) to reflect on and examine your own views on personality, psychopathology, and counseling & psychotherapy, as these are informed by different theories and techniques; (2) to identify your vales as these might affect your work as a counselor; and (3) to understand professional and ethical issues in counseling by reviewing relevant ethical codes and legal requirements. Students must have taken 42 credits before registering.

This is a 600-hour internship in Mental Health Counseling (e.g. Substance abuse counseling, grief counseling, or other approved counseling) setting under the clinical supervision of a site supervisor. The seminar students meet weekly with faculty.

A 600-hour internship in a substance abuse counseling, grief counseling, or other approved setting under the clinical supervision of a site supervisor. The seminar students meet weekly with faculty.

This is an introduction to research methods, basic statistical analysis, needs assessment, and program evaluation. Topics include: the importance of research, descriptive statistics, research methods, the use of computer technology, principles, models and applications of needs assessment and program evaluation, use of research to improve counseling effectiveness, and ethical (legal) considerations in research.

This is an introduction to understanding career development and related life factors. Topics include: career development theories and decision-making models; career, educational, and labor market resources; career/educational planning, assessment instruments and technologies; career development program planning; interrelationships among work, family, and other life roles; career counseling processes, and ethical (legal) considerations.

An introduction to family counseling. Beginning with a brief history of this approach, it covers philosophical and etiological premises of family counseling. This course constitutes a survey of some of the major approaches to family therapy that are in use today. An important segment of this course covers the NYS-mandated training in recognition and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment.

This course provides an understanding of the cultural context of relationships, issues and trends in a multicultural and diverse society related to such factors as culture, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, sexual orientation, mental and physical characteristics, education, family values, religious and spiritual values, socioeconomic status and unique characteristics of individuals, couples, families, ethnic groups, and communities including: multicultural and pluralistic trends, attitudes, beliefs, understandings, and acculturative experiences, strategies for working with diverse populations, social justice, advocacy and conflict resolution, theories of multicultural counseling, and ethical and legal considerations.

This course integrates individual and group approaches to interviewing and appraisal techniques, including an understanding of individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation, including historical perspectives to assessment, general principles of case conceptualization, reliability and validity and statistical concepts and basic concepts of various assessment techniques, as well as ethical and legal issues. Diagnostic assessment involves the selection, administration, scoring, and interpretation of various types of tests used in a counseling setting and the factors related to the assessment and evaluation of individuals, groups, and specific populations.

This course is a study of the historical, philosophical, societal, and cultural dimensions within mental health practice, including: professional identity issues, functions, and concerns facing mental health practitioners, principles, theories, and practices of community intervention and the human services network, administrative management programs, public polity and governmental relations impacting mental health services.

This course examines the dimensions of human sexuality and intimacy that bear on the role and function of today’s counselor. Topics include: human sexual development, defining healthy expressions of intimacy and relatedness, an overview of effects of abuse and violence in relationships including sexual abuse, incest and pornography. Also trends in behaviors related to the transmissions of AIDS and STD’s, sexual dysfunctions, treatment modalities and sexual ethics for professional counselors.

This course examines the construct of psychological resilience in response to the acute and chronic stressors of childhood and adulthood. Theories of resilience from early in the 20th century to the present day will be reviewed in light of empirical evidence. Emphasis on resilience as a normative response to stress that is achieved in various ways and reflects arrayed person-centered and social-contextual factors. Positive psychology as a means of enhancing resilience will also be examined.

This course will expose students to numerous emerging technologies and will give them the skills to access, utilize and critique in terms of how the tools can be applied to the counseling world.

This seminar will develop skills in conducting research in the field of mental health counseling and applied psychology. The seminar examines research through readings and discussions of published research and through research projects that are conceived and initiated in this course. The students’ research projects will be mentored by faculty, and will be processed and monitored in weekly seminar meetings.

This counseling practicum is an introductory supervised clinical experience intended to enable the student to develop basic counseling skills in one-to-one and group sessions. One of the primary goals is to integrate academic training with professional experience. This course requires that students have been approved to register by the graduate coordinator and has secured an approved practicum in a mental health counseling facility in consultation with the internship coordinator and professor of the practicum course. Students will complete at least 100 hours of the 700 hours (consisting of PSY 694: Practicum in Mental Health Counseling, PSY 675: Field Experience in Counseling I & PSY 676: Field Experience in Counseling II) of supervised experience for the 60 credit degree program in Mental Health Counseling.

With the approval of the appropriate faculty member, student's advisor, and/or M.A. program coordinator, students may select topic-guided research or supervised practica not included in the regular course offerings within the M.A. in Psychology Program. This course may include practica, thesis work, or research collaborative work with faculty research. The student meets regularly with the faculty member to review progress. A research project or appropriate paper must also be submitted. (This course may be taken only once.)

Mental illness occurs across the lifespan and affects all age groups. The fastest growing age group at this time is the elderly population or individuals over 65 years of age. This course will emphasize the most frequent mental health diagnosis of the older adult. It will build on the foundation of their fundamental counseling skills, providing students with standards and specific competencies for effective interventions when counseling the older adult population.

This is a research design and statistics course for incoming students who did not have the appropriate statistics course to meet entry requirements of the program.

This course will serve as an introduction to statistics used in psychology. The course focuses on: descriptive statistics, basic inferential statistics, and nonparametric statistics. The overall goal of this course is to present the basic statistical techniques students need for simple analyses of psychological data. A second goal is to attain the skill of thinking statistically that will enable students to learn and understand analytic techniques with the aid of SPSS. Restriction/Requirement: pre-req or permission of Instructor. Student must also be in the Doctoral program majoring in Mental Health Counseling to register for this course.

This course is a continuation of the introduction to statistics used in psychology that begun in PSY 705. It will focus on nonparametric statistics, correlation, regression, discriminant analysis, and factor analysis. The overall goal of this course is to present the basic statistical techniques you might need for intermediate to advanced analyses of psychological data. A second goal is to attain the skill of thinking statistically that will enable students to learn and understand analytic techniques with the aid of SPSS.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the theories and practices of qualitative research. Qualitative researchers focus on constructing and developing in-depth descriptions of phenomena by spending time in the field and eliciting the meanings individuals give to different experiences. By the end of this course students will develop the skills to both critically read qualitative studies in counseling and conduct their own research studies.

The purpose of this course is to further advance the skills and professional development of doctoral-level mental health counseling practitioners. Via supervision, individual and group reflection, and counseling-skills exercises, students will demonstrate proficiency in a number of core areas related to mental-health care delivery.

Students will gain an advanced understanding of the critical mental health issues impacting children, adolescents and adults. The course will focus on etiology, diagnosis treatment and evidence-based research. Cultural factors, gender, socioeconomic status, education, family, race, ethnicity and genetic predisposition to mental illness will be explored. Focus will include prevention, community barriers and various forms of client treatment that will impact recovery.

This doctoral-level course provides an in-depth examination of applied social psychology. We will explore topics such as the self, social cognition, attitudes, stereotyping, cognitive errors, aggression, and prosocial behavior. We will frequently draw the connection between Social Psychology and Mental Health Counseling.

This course will explore the interdisciplinary-applications nature of social psychology and the usefulness of the many fields encompassed by social psychology in the work of mental health counselors. Specific topics to be examined include attitudes, prejudice, attraction, relationships, and helping behaviors especially as these relate to counseling issues. Students will be involved in applying the concepts covered in class to real-world issues, particularly to counseling issues.

Albert Bandura has said that "The capacity to exercise control over the nature and quality of one's life is the essence of humanness." Human agency includes intentionality and forethought, self­ regulation, and self-reflection about one's efficacy and the meaning of one's life projects. In their agentic behaviors, people are producers of individual and social actions. Social cognitive theory distinguishes among three modes of agency: direct personal agency, proxy agency that relies on others to act on one's behest to secure desired outcomes, and collective agency exercised through socially coordinative and interdependent effort. In this course we will consider the self from the perspectives of psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience.

Counseling Internship provides students with opportunities to continue to develop as counselors and leaders in the field. The internship provides students with opportunities to gain additional experience and knowledge in at least three of the five core areas: •Counseling •Teaching •Supervision •Research and scholarship •Leadership and advocacy Students will be engaged in the core activities listed above in professional categories and will receive instruction and supervision in class as well as supervision in the field.

The course provides an introduction to the profession of mental health counseling and counselor education. Specific topics addressed include: (1) history and organization of the profession, (2) program accreditation standards and practices, (3) instructional theory and methods relevant to counselor education, and (4) ethical and legal considerations in counselor education.

This course examines models of counseling supervision. Critical analysis of theories of counselor supervision, techniques associated with theories, and assessment of supervision models is emphasized. Practical experience for counseling professionals who have responsibility directing personal and professional development of counselors, promoting counseling competency, and developing and implementing counseling services. This course is conducted as a seminar and includes (a) input from other “supervisors” and the instructor, as well as (b) discussion based on assigned readings and (c) in-vivo role play (d) video recordings.

This course will provide experiences that allow students to (1) assess and (2) develop their personal leadership. Students will examine the values, knowledge, and skills required for effective advocacy, consultation and collaboration. Emphasis is placed on the development of skills in planning, coordinating and delivering programs that generate systemic change. Students will learn to use data to identify needs, overcome obstacles, and mobilize resources in communities and agencies in order to increase options clients.

How do people manage the consequences of life's anticipated and realized misfortunes? Put less formally, how do people deal with the threat of negative experiences? Humans possess myriad strategies and natural tendencies that allow us to navigate threat and uncertainty, cope in the face of threat, and bounce back from negative events. The research on these self-protective mechanisms will be the topic of this seminar. More specifically, the first third of the course will cover threat management strategies for potential threats, the second third will cover threat management in the face of a misfortunate (during threat), and the last third will cover strategies following a threat. Some topics of interest include: risk perception, information avoidance, uncertainty navigation, defensive pessimism, self-handicapping, bad news delivery and responding, crisis management, psychophysiological reactions to social evaluative threat, immune neglect, emotion regulation, and social comparison, prosociality after trauma, counterfactual thinking, and denial / acceptance.

Evidence based practice refers to "clinical practice that is informed by evidence about interventions, clinical expertise, and [client] needs, values, and preferences and their integration in decision making about individual care" (Kazdin, 2008). The following course is designed to help mental health counselors develop treatment approaches based not simply in sound theory, but also established research. Why Is evidence-based practice important to counseling? What might be some of Its possible limitations? What are some of the ethical and multicultural issues in its implementation? These questions will be addressed at the beginning of the course. From there, we will examine the research in order to determine what factors have been Identified In effective treatment outcomes. Based on this evidence, we will look at two essential elements in evidence-based practice: the development of appropriate assessment strategies and treatment plans. Next we focus on specific approaches across a variety of populations. Attention will be given to studying specific treatment modalities that work with particular mental disorders and behavioral problems. Finally, we will look at methodological Issues in the study of effective counseling. More specifically, students will learn to develop ways of studying treatment outcomes, both at an individual and group level.