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Psych 631 – COUNSELING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY

3rd Trimester, SY 2020-2021, Saturday, 8:00 – 11:30 MPL
Cebu Institute of Technology-University

Graduate Program
Professor: Michelle A. Cellona, PhD, DM, RPsy
Email: mikaelajuliana@yahoo.com

Course Outline

Course Description:

The course will enable the graduate students to revisit and master the basic concepts
and techniques of the various therapies, go through the whole process of psychotherapy, and
evaluate themselves as psychotherapists.

General Objectives:

At the end of the course, the students are expected to:

1. be familiar with the basic concepts and techniques of each style of therapy;
2. strictly adhere to ethical standards in the practice of psychotherapy;
3. examine themselves as therapists through reflection and evaluation;
4. demonstrate the technique in conducting psychotherapy highlighting each
model/approach; and
5. identify one’s own philosophy in conducting psychotherapy.

Topic Outline

1. Introduction to Psychotherapy
2. Basic techniques in psychotherapy
3. Advanced techniques in psychotherapy
4. Integrative approaches to psychotherapy

Teaching Methods/Strategies:

1. Lectures
2. Assigned readings
3. Practice sessions for different kinds of therapy
4. In-depth discussions of student’s experiences of the sessions for each kind of therapy
5. Reflections
6. Personal sharing

Requirements

1. Regularity in attendance and punctuality in all meetings

2. It is the student’s lookout to ask for notes on the lecture and the exercise done on the day
he/she was absent.
3. You will be paired off. For each therapy style, you will conduct your own therapy on each
other. Length of session: 1 hour. Record the session. Each student will write a report on it.
2-3 pages long only.

As the therapist, the report will contain:

a. Theory or Therapy style
b. Reason for referral and Treatment goals
c. Progress Report: Summary of session
d. Measurements of success (go back to treatment goals) and further
recommendations
e. Transcript of session (full, including basic counseling skills). Please use full words
and not text spellings. Moreover, do separate sessions for each therapy style. Do
not mix them.
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Transcript Basic counseling skill

Therapist: So what did you do? Gathering information

Client: Nothing!
Therapist: Uhuh… Minimal prompts
Client: What I mean to say is…

Basic Counseling skills are:

1. Physical attending
a. mirroring
2. Gathering information
a. Open questions
b. Closed questions
3. Active listening skills (through verbal attending)
a. Minimal prompts
b. Reflecting feeling
c. Reflecting content
d. Silence
e. Paraphrasing
4. Encouragement Skills
a. Marking behaviors
b. Eliciting positives
5. Summarizing
6. Interpreting

f. Reflection as therapist
- effectiveness of techniques
- transference/countertransference
- this involves the Internal Attending skill

As the client, the report will contain

a. Theory or Therapy style
b. Reason for referral**
c. Progress Report: Summary of session
d. Measurements of success (go back to treatment goals) and further
recommendations
e. Reflection as client
- effectiveness of techniques used
- transference/countertransference
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Important: Deadline of submission for every report is 2 weeks from time of assignment.
Any submission after the deadline will not be accepted.

4. There will be one book review for each student. It could be any book written specifically by
the theorist (Freud, Ellis, Beck, Yalom, Perls, Rogers, Jung, Skinner, et. al.). This will be 3-5
pages long, double-spaced, Arial, font 12. This will be read/reported in class as an
introduction to the Therapy to be discussed that evening. A book review contains the
following:

a. About the author

b. Summary of the book (which can include format—no. of pages, no. of chapters,
when published then summary of contents and perhaps why it was written by the
author)
c. Critique of the book (Both its strengths and areas of weakness. What are its
contributions to the world of psychology or psychotherapy. How it has helped/not
helped you or other psychotherapists.)
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Requirements and Grading System:

All written submissions 60%

- Intake Interview
- Reports/Transcripts for all Therapies
- Reflection paper as Psychotherapist
- Reflection paper as client
Book review 20
Final Exam: Take Home 20
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100%

Minimum competency level required is 75%

1. The student is encouraged to recite and to engage actively in the discussions.

2. The student is required to attend all meetings and to come to each meeting on time. It is
the student’s lookout to ask for notes on the lecture and the exercise done on the day
he/she was absent.

References:

Corey, G. (2013). Counseling and Psychotherapy: Theory and Practice 2 nd Ed.

Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd

Howard, S. (2010). Skills in Psychodynamic Counseling & Psychotherapy.

SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd

Nystul, M. S. (2011). Introduction to Counseling: An Art and Science Perspective 4th Ed.
Pearson Education, Inc.