Portland State University

Counseling Course Descriptions

(course numbers link to current syllabi when available)

Internship (COUN 504)

Students are offered the opportunity to integrate academic and clinical skills while placed in community-based settings and working with clients who manifest a variety of personal issues and problems.

Current Issues in Counseling (COUN 507)
(see list at bottom of page for previous offering syllabi)
A selection of courses in the COUN 507 series, Current Issues in Counseling, is offered each quarter. Courses are offered based on a combination of student interest and issues in the profession. The following are examples of previously offered COUN 507 courses.

Practicum: Counseling (COUN 509)

No course description at this time.

Practicum: Group Counseling (COUN 509)

No course description at this time.

Guidance for the Classroom Teacher (COUN 525)

A study of the responsibilities and procedures of teachers for guiding students at all levels in becoming more effective and capable persons.

Effective Teaching (COUN 526)

This course is designed to meet the education and student teaching requirements for Track II School Counseling students. Topics covered include effective teaching strategies designed to help school counselors-in-training meet the Teachers Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC) prescribing teaching competencies: planning for instruction, establishing a classroom climate conducive to learning, implementing instructional plans, evaluating pupil achievement, fostering professional relationship and addressing organizational expectations. Students are required to complete a 200 hour teaching practicum in the field (125 hours of observation and 75 hours as classroom teacher) and complete a work sample. Students are expected to complete two credits per term during one school year.

Counseling Individuals with Diverse Needs (COUN 527)

This course is designed to prepare counselors to provide collaborative services for individuals with diverse needs in elementary, secondary and postsecondary educational settings. Topics include the legal mandates that impact educational requirements and services for students with disabilities, including eligibility and various types of disabling conditions related to educational success. Issues related to counseling students and family members, transitional planning and collaborating with special educators and other services providers will also be covered.

Abnormal Personalities (COUN 530)

This course covers the causation, criteria, diagnosis and classification of the major psychiatric disorders. Emphasis is placed on both the traditional medical model and on the psychosocial model of diagnosis. Developmental aspects associated with abnormal personalities will also be discussed.

Foundations of Substance Abuse Counseling (COUN 531)

This course provides an overview of the biological, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions of substance abuse and dependency. Addictive behaviors are presented as part of a continuum of mental and emotional disorders. The course emphasizes the biological substrate and developmental course of addictions as well as the relationship of addictive behavior to common psychological disorders. Models and theories of addictive behavior that the professional counselor needs to understand when treating clients with addictive and co-occurring disorders are reviewed.

Introduction to Counseling (COUN 541)

This purpose of this course is to introduce students interested in school, community, rehabilitation or couples, marriage and family counseling to the broad spectrum of counseling as well as its history, theories, procedures, professional issues, ethical standards, accreditation, licensure and major specialties.

Interpersonal Relations I (COUN 543)

This course looks at the development of the self with an emphasis on creative growth and the nature of interaction with others. Topics include communication and belief systems in relation to self-acceptance.

Youth at Risk (COUN 545)

This course is designed to provide participants with an overview of information focused on counseling and teaching youth at risk. Emphasis will be placed on identifying youth at risk for depression, suicide, eating disorders, pregnancy, AIDS, use and abuse of alcohol and drugs, homelessness, gang membership and several other at risk behaviors. Ideas for primary, secondary and tertiary prevention from individual, family, school and community perspectives will also be presented. Particular attention will be paid to guidelines for development of tragedy response plans for school campuses in conjunction with the topic of tertiary prevention. Presented in a varied format structured to include lecture/discussion, audio-visual presentations, participant self-evaluation of their own at-risk behaviors, role-plays and small group discussion.

Theories and Interventions I (COUN 551)

This course is designed for those who wish to increase their understanding of counseling theory, interventions (techniques/strategies) and research. The Psychoanalytic, Jungian, Adlerian, Client-Centered and Gestalt approaches to counseling will be studied with the focus on the three parameters mentioned above. Course content can be applied to both individual and group counseling.

Theories and Interventions II (COUN 552)

This course is designed for those who wish to increase their understanding of counseling theory, interventions (techniques/strategies) and research. The Transactional Analysis, Rational-Emotive, Reality and other cognitive behavioral approaches to counseling will be studied with the focus on the three parameters mentioned above. Course content can be applied to both individual and group counseling.

Advanced Therapeutic Strategies (COUN 553)

This course focuses on advanced interventions for clients seeking personal counseling. Emphasis is focused upon cognitive-behavioral, brief therapy and selected experiential interventions and their use in treatment planning. The theory and research connected with the application of these interventions in the treatment planning process is also addressed.

Counseling Children and Youth (COUN 555)

This course provides a theoretical overview of the growth and development of children and youth. Emphasis is placed on translating theory into practice through a "person-environment interaction" conception of counseling, consultation, and educational intervention in school settings.

Appraisal Instruments (COUN 566)

This one credit course accompanies COUN 567 and is intended to be an evaluation and application practicum of tests used in each counselor education specialty track.

Using Tests in Counseling (COUN 567)

The course is a graduate level introduction to testing. It offers the student the option of test usage in the counseling process and introduces issues related to such usage. The course acquaints the student, through hands-on experience, with test taking, scoring, norming, profiling and interpreting.

Career and Lifestyle Planning (COUN 568)

This course examines the theoretical research foundation for career choices, factors that influence choices, the role of information, the skills and practices of effective helpers, the exploration/testing/labor market information sources which contribute to the value choices that are made and related issues and problems.

Developmental Foundations of Counseling (COUN 569)

This course provides a theoretical overview of life-span growth and development emphasizing cognitive-intellectual, cognitive-moral, emotional-self, and social aspects of developmental growth in the human being. Emphasis is placed on translating theory into practice through a "person-environment interaction" conception of counseling, consultation, and educational intervention.

Ethical and Legal Issues (COUN 570)

This course is designed to further develop the professional identity of counselors by studying the content and application of the ethical standards of the American Counseling Association, the American Psychological Association and related professional organizations. In addition, the course addresses legal issues in counseling and laws that affect the practice of counseling.

Group Counseling (COUN 571)

This course includes the study of group guidance, group counseling, and group therapy in both school and agency settings. Topics such as membership roles, leadership styles, stages of group life, nonverbal communication in groups, ethical and professional issues relating to groups, theoretical models for group work, group practice with special groups and research on group process and outcome will be presented. Students enrolled in the course also will be expected to participate in a co-facilitated, ongoing small group experience which will require sensitivity to the contributions of other group members.

Systemic Perspectives on Human Sexuality (COUN 572)

This course examines the expression of human sexuality and intimacy across the life span, attitudes about sexuality, common problems of sexual functioning and therapeutic interventions. Students will assess personal values and the process of sexual value development as well as review outcome research on current treatment models and controversies in the field.

Contemporary Couples, Marriage and Family Systems (COUN 573)

This course focuses on contemporary marriage and family systems as they exist in American society today. Students explore the past, present, and future of these systems including changing demographics and their implications for professionals.

Family Life Cycle and Transitions (COUN 574)

This course examines family development as a foundational framework for family therapy. Students gain an opportunity to consider symptoms and dysfunctions as related to tasks and challenges of reorganization at transition points within the developmental context.

Foundations of Couples, Marriage and Family Counseling (COUN 575)

This course constitutes an introduction to the theory and methodology of marriage and family counseling. Attention is given to the major family interactional patterns which lead to family system breakdowns as well as the development of skills in the identification of such patterns. Topics include family process assessment techniques, beginning work with families, dealing with resistance in family counseling, use of "self," doubling, sculpting, etc., are interventions which are taught using an experiential format.

Parents, Families and Communities in Schools (COUN 576)

This course examines effective methods for including parents, families and communities in schools. It emphasizes a systems perspective that includes consultation and collaboration in addressing academic, career and personal/social success for all students. Family dynamics and influence on school success will also be addressed. Application of school counseling consultation, collaboration and family support for all students will result in a school-based project integrated into a school's comprehensive counseling program.

Family Therapy (COUN 577)

This course analyzes the range of normative/paranormative problems experienced by family members, particularly in parental and parent/child relationships. Students examine family case studies and participate in role playing activities geared to enhance family therapy skills.

Couples Therapy (COUN 578)

In this course students learn to conceptualize and intervene systematically with couple units. Attention is given to maintaining therapeutic balance, developing an intersystem treatment plan, and asking systemic/interactional questions. A major emphasis is supervised skill practice through role play.

Advanced Systemic Interventions: Couples and Families (COUN 579)

This course analyzes current therapeutic assessment tools and interventions grounded in systemic theory/research as they pertain to family transitions. Success in this course builds upon requisite mastery of major systemic concepts that have to do with systemic function, structure and motivation as related to assessing similarities and differences between normative and paranormative marriage and family transitions. Appropriate systemic assessment integrates with systemic therapeutic interventions in resolving crisis resulting from family transitional difficulty, chronic illness, divorce, separation, remarriage or death.

Supervision (COUN 580)

This course presents a systemic model of clinical supervision and its application to the supervisory process. The relationship of the model to existing conceptual and empirical literature is also overviewed. Techniques and skills for debriefing and mentoring supervisees are also addressed.

Multicultural Perspectives in Counseling (COUN 581)

A study of the human, ecological and societal forces influencing the provision of counseling services to culturally diverse students and other clients in educational and community settings. Current issues, problems and trends will be examined. Increased competence in individual and group counseling strategies and techniques will be emphasized, using didactic and experiential approaches.

Research and Program Evaluation in Counseling (COUN 582)

This course covers the areas of research design, basic psychometric principles and statistical procedures, test/scale construction, program evaluation, needs assessment, process/outcome measurement and writing research reports. Specific applications to community, rehabilitation and school counseling settings are made throughout the course.

Job Placement and Development (COUN 583)

This course is designed to provide students with a solid undertaking of job placement principles, practice and knowledge needed to assist people with disabilities in securing and maintaining employment, job development and marketing techniques required for seeking both competitive and supported employment.

Diagnosis and Treatment Planning I (COUN 585)

First in a sequence of two courses introducing students to the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders as outlined in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Emphasis is on diagnostic reasoning, basic map and thinking process embedded in the current DSM. Students will also look at the use of decision trees to arrive at accurate diagnoses and an overview of conditions covered in the DSM will be discussed.

Psychopharmacology and Mental Illness (COUN 586)

This course examines important psychotropic medications and their therapeutic applications. Topics include drug efficacy, side effects, treatment of specific disorders such as anxiety and mood disorders, psychoactive substance use disorders, and schizophrenia.

Foundations of Mental Health Services (COUN 587)

This course examines community mental health movement, policy, service sequence, and related legislation; organization and delivery of mental health services at the federal, state, and local levels; influences and trends in service delivery.

Diagnosis and Treatment Planning II (COUN 588)

Second in a sequence of two courses that examines the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders as outlined in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.

Action Research in Counseling (COUN 589)

This course is designed to enable counselors to conduct action research in counseling settings. Students have the opportunity to develop an action research project directly related to improving comprehensive counseling programs. This course emphasizes developing research projects that address the academic, career and personal/social success of all students.

Foundations of Rehabilitation Counseling (COUN 590)

This is an introductory course for students pursuing graduate study in rehabilitation counseling and is also oriented toward students with a more peripheral interest in related human service fields. The course is intended to provide a broad overview of the profession of rehabilitation counseling with an emphasis on both theoretical and practical aspects of the field.

Medical Aspects of Disability (COUN 591)

This course covers the most common physical, sensory and mental disabilities encountered by the rehabilitation professional. The major symptomatology, diagnostic procedures, treatment modalities, functional implications, and psychosocial and vocational correlates of each disabling condition will be discussed.

Psychosocial Aspects of Disability (COUN 592)

This course covers the psychological and social aspects of adjustment and adaptation to a variety of disabling conditions. Theoretical and practical issues relating to various types of physical, psychiatric, mental and social disabilities will be examined and discussed.

Case Management (COUN 593)

Students will study case management systems and skills as used in both public and private rehabilitation and related other human service agencies. Topics include case identification, referral, eligibility determination, assessment, goal setting, plan development, intervention strategies, case monitoring, inter-agency coordination, advocacy, promotion of self-advocacy by client, software systems, information flow, organizational structures, time management, critical case management skills, funding sources and billing as well as other topics of interest to the student.

Occupational Analysis/Vocational Evaluation (COUN 594)

Content and experiences presented through this course are design to familiarize the student with the basic principles and imperatives of occupational analysis and vocational evaluation and how these are applied and used in real world settings. Didactic instruction, experiential research, and collegial participation will be used to help students integrate course teachings into a core of personal and professional understanding which can then be applied to many different settings or systems.

Contemporary Issues and Applications in Rehabilitation Counseling (COUN 595)

This course covers contemporary issues in the field of rehabilitation counseling as well as recent applications of rehabilitation theories, technologies, assessment procedures and counseling modalities to a variety of rehabilitation settings and across rehabilitation populations.

Foundations of School Counseling (COUN 596)

This is an introductory course for students pursuing graduate study in school counseling. The course is intended to provide a broad overview of the school counseling profession with an emphasis on both theoretical and practical aspects of comprehensive school counseling programs. Field study required.

Portfolio (COUN 599)

Professional portfolio is designed for students who have completed a master's degree in counseling, social work, psychology or other mental health related field and whose program of studies was clinically focused and accredited. Professional portfolio is also designed to assist candidates for a Continuing School Counselor License who have to submit a portfolio documenting their fulfillment of the licensure requirements defined by OAR 584-070-0090. The goal of the portfolio is to assess the educational and experiential background of students to define additional counseling courses that will enable them to meet license standards in the State of Oregon. Permission of instructor or admission into Licensure Only option.
 

Current Issues in Counseling COUN 507

A selection of courses in the COUN 507 series, Current Issues in Counseling, is offered each quarter. Courses are offered based on a combination of student interest and issues in the profession. The following are examples of previously offered COUN 507 courses.