Chestnut Hill College
Counseling Psychology and Human Services
Graduate Division
Summer II (May 18 - August 7) 1998
GRCP 499 -
Introduction to Graduate Counseling Psychology
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:00 to 10:00PM
St. Joseph's Hall, Room 148
Faculty: Jeffrey A. Schaler, Ph. D.
Telephone: (215) 402-0268
E-mail: jschale@american.edu
Office hours: (by appointment)
Course Description
From the CHC catalogue: "Reviews the general principles
necessary for doing graduate work in Counseling Psychology and
Human Services. Material covered includes an introduction to
the APA Standards for Publication, the use of Psychological
Abstracts, computer data bases searches and a brief review of
statistics. Students without an undergraduate degree in
psychology are required to take this course. Others may elect
to take the course for review purposes. This course may not be
used to satisfy degree requirements. This course is graded on a
pass/fail basis."
Professor's description of this specific course: We all
must contend with diverse problems-in-living. These include
inevitable conflicts with others, as well as problems within
ourselves--e.g. problems of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and
self-worth. The reasons for those problems are diverse, the
explanations and approaches to dealing with them even more
diverse. Being successful in the world, which includes the
physical and psychological challenges of growing older,
unexpected illness, accident and tragedy, are issues many people
never expect to have to cope with. Sometimes we refer to that
as denial--other times as existential survival. Counseling and
psychotherapy (the difference is negligible to many) are
structured conversations that many have turned to in various
forms throughout the ages for assistance in coping with livingQ
The dictum that applies here is this : It often "takes two to
see one." Effective counseling is simply honest conversation
between two human beings. There is no magic in counseling and
psychotherapy, only courage, or lack thereof. This involves
being truthful with oneself and a trustworthy other. Good
counseling has to do with the character and emotional stability
of the counselor--not gimmicks and medical obscurantism.
In this introductory course, we learn the basic issues
regarding normal and abnormal behavior, assessing reality, and
separating fact from fiction. We will discuss psychoanalytic,
cognitive, biological, humanistic, and existential approaches to
counseling and psychotherapy.
Course Objectives
1. To understand the history and development of psychotherapy
within the context of contemporary counseling psychology.
2. To learn the purpose of psychological research, scientific
methodology, and its practical, clinical, and ethical
applications in contemporary counseling settings.
3. To become familiar with the nature and purpose of the major
methods of statistical inquiry and its accurate interpretation.
4. To improve scientific and psychologically-oriented thinking
about problems in living, normal versus abnormal behavior, and
counseling psychology as problem-solving and as the "healing of
souls."
5. To comprehend the differences between contractual and
institutional counseling.
6. To recognize the difference between noble and base rhetoric
regarding human growth and development.
7. To develop skill in effective counseling
8. To write a proper research paper following American
Psychological Association (APA) style.
Course Requirements and Grades
Article reviews (3 @ 5% each) 15%
Mid-term examination (essay) 30%
Research paper 25%
Final examination (essay) 25%
Class participation 5%
Total = 100%
Required Texts and Readings
American Psychological Association. (1994). Publication manual
of the American Psychological Association Fourth edition.
Washington, D.C.: APA
Fierman, L.B. (1997. The therapist is the therapy. Northvale,
N.J.: Jason Aronson.
Jaeger, R.M. (1989). Statistics: A spectator sport. Newbury
Park, CA.: Sage.
Sharma, S.L. (1986). The therapeutic dialogue: A theoretical
and practical guide to psychotherapy. Northvale, N.J.:
Jason Aronson.
Szasz, T.S. (1988). The myth of psychotherapy. Syracuse, N.Y.:
Syracuse University Press.
Article reviews: Select three published studies/articles on any
aspect of counseling psychology you like. Turn in a one-page,
typed-summary of each study/article and be prepared to present
your summary of the article in class. You must summarize the
purpose, methodology, results and conclusion of each article.
You are then to include your opinion of the study/article.
Research Paper: You are to write a five to ten page research
paper, utilizing APA style, on a topic of your choice related
to the material we discuss in class. (Discuss your topic with
Dr. Schaler before you write your paper.) Your paper may be a
research project you are interested in pursuing. You should
include in your paper a clear statement of theory and
hypothesis, a brief review of existing literature, how you might
go about collecting research to support your hypothesis,
including pertinent methodological concerns based on the
material we have discussed in class.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Date Topic Reading
May 19 Studying behavior: The Lecture &
critical issues Discussion
in counseling psychology
May 21 Research methodology and Lecture &
statistics Jaeger 1-6
May 26 Logic of hypothesis testing Lecture &
Jaeger 8
May 28 Cognitive psychology, theory Film &
and application--Special Dr. Renee
topic: Breast Cancer Royak-
Schaler,
guest
lecturer
June 2 The history of Szasz (all)
"healing souls"
June 4 Mid-term examination
July 21 Models, values, ethics and Sharma part I
social context
July 23 Technical Issues Sharma 5-7
Types of counseling
July 28 Who's the client here? Finish Sharma
July 30 Problems in the field of
counseling and psychotherapy Fierman
(reading
assigned)
August 4 Universal Psychopathology All of
Fierman)
August 6 Final examination and papers due
-> Clear and accurate writing will be taken into account in
assigning grades, as well as participation in class
discussions. Material discussed in class, in films, and
presented by guest lecturers, and not in any of the readings,
may form the basis for questions on the examinations. One
grade reduction for over three class absences.
Students are responsible for anything covered in class during
their absence. Readings must be completed by the session to
which they are assigned. Additional readings may be assigned
during the course.
Provision for confidential use of clinical material in class:
Any material used in this class based on actual clinical
situations is disguised to protect confidential of persons
involved. By taking this course, you agree to abide by
principles of confidentiality, i.e. you agree to not to discuss
any clinical material with anyone who is not in the class.
(Note: For those of you familiar with the Internet, go to
http://rdz.acor.org/szasz/schaler/index.html on the world
wide web for information about Dr. Schaler, and go to
http://rdz.acor.org/szasz for material related to content we
will cover in the course.)
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