SYLLABUS

Course and Instructor

Course Number: COUN 534

Course Title: Counseling Children and Adolescents

Course Dates/ Online and Fridays (4-10) and Saturdays (8-5);

Times: Feb. 3 & 4, March 10 & 11, April 14 & 15

Course Location: Education Building #416

Semester: Spring 2017

Credits: 3 credits

Instructor: Laura Gallo, Ph.D., LPC, NCC

Assistant Professor
Department of Counselor Education
Office Phone: 426-1209
E-mail:lauragallo@boisestate.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays 12-2, Thursdays 9-12, or by appt

Welcome to your counseling children and adolescents course! My goal for this course is to
introduce you to the indirect student services and the responsive services component of the
ASCA National Model. This course will primarily focus on individual and group counseling
strategies for children and adolescents, consultation with parents and teachers, and crisis
counseling strategies. My responsibility is to provide you a learning environment that allows you
to grow and develop as a professional school counselor. I expect that you will participate fully in
all course activities, experiences, and requirements. If you have any concerns or questions as we
go along, please let me know as soon as possible, so I can make any necessary adjustments to the
course.

Course Accreditation, Description, Objectives, Key Assessments

CACREP Standards Addressed in the Course Key Assessments

A.6. Understands the effects of a) atypical growth and development, b) Exam
health and wellness, c) language, d) ability level, e) multicultural
issues, and f) factors of resiliency on student learning and
development.
A.7. Understands the operation of the school emergency management plan Exam
and the roles and responsibilities of the school counselor during
crises, disasters, and other trauma-causing events.
C.1. Knows the theories and processes of effective counseling and Exam
 wellness programs for individual students and groups of students.
C.3. Knows strategies for helping students identify strengths and cope Exam
with environmental and developmental problems.
C.5. Understands group dynamics – including counseling, psycho- Exam
educational, task, and peer helping groups – and the facilitation of
teams to enable students to overcome barriers and impediments to
learning.
C.6. Understands the potential impact of crises, emergencies, and disasters Exam
on students, educators, and schools, and knows the skills needed for
crisis intervention.
G.1. Understands the influence of multiple factors (e.g. abuse, violence, Exam
eating disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, childhood
depression) that may affect the personal, social, and academic
functioning of students.
G.2. Knows the signs and symptoms of substance abuse in children and Exam
adolescents, as well as the signs and symptoms of living in a home
where substance abuse occurs.
I. 5. Understands the outcome research data and best practices identified Presentation
in the school counseling research literature.
M.1. Understands the ways in which student development, well-being, and Paper
learning are enhanced by family-school-community collaboration.
M.2. Knows strategies to promote, develop, and enhance effective Paper
teamwork within the school and the larger community.
M. 3. Knows how to build effective working teams of school staff, parents, Paper
and community members to promote the academic, career, and
personal/social development of students.
M. 4. Understands systems theories, models, and processes of consultation Paper
in the school system setting.
M. 5. Knows strategies and methods for working with parents, guardians, Paper
families, and communities to empower them to act on behalf of their
children.
M. 7. Knows school and community collaboration models for crisis/disaster Exam
preparedness and response.

Technology Skills Addressed in the Course

  Instructor Student
Application Application
Utilize Blackboard technology X    X
Word process, including APA formatting   X
Use a spreadsheet and a statistical package    
Acquire graphics from the web, digital camera, X
scanner, or Microsoft media and insert them into a
poster or presentation
Create and deliver a power point presentation X
Find material on the Web and review Web sites X X
Be able to use e-mail, including document attachments X X
Be able to sign in and participate in listservs  
Be familiar with computerized testing    
Be able to use digital recording equipment
Course Description
An overview of developmentally appropriate approaches to counseling children and
adolescents in school and mental health settings. Addresses individual and group work,
expressive and talk therapies, assessment of treatment progress, working with parents and
teachers, and ethical and legal considerations in working with this population. This
course is in alignment with the conceptual framework of the College of Education.

Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course the student will be able to:

1. Describe effective counseling approaches for counseling children and adolescents in

individual and group settings.
2. Demonstrate understanding the effects of atypical growth and development, health
and wellness, language, ability level, multicultural issues, and factors of resiliency on
student learning and development
3. Describe appropriate strategies in emergency situations and awareness of appropriate
crisis counseling approaches.
4. Demonstrate and identify skills in counseling with children and adolescents through a
service learning project.
5. List several methods to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions used with children
and adolescents.
6. Critically evaluate research to determine evidence-based practice in working with
children and adolescents.
7. Demonstrate knowledge of consultation models used with parents and teachers.
8. Identify ways to collaborate with school staff, parents, family members, and
community to help advocate for needs of children and adolescents through service
learning.
9. Experience the power of altruism and how giving back to the community is a
component of the service we provide as counselors.

Methods of Instruction:
 Class discussion
 Small group work
 Lecture
 Demonstration
 Experiential activities
 Guest speakers
 Student presentations
 Service learning

Text and Required Reading

Required Texts
Smith-Adcock, S. & Tucker, C. (2017). Counseling children and Adolescents (1st ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

An additional book will be selected by the student from a list provided by the instructor the first
week of the semester.

Also relevant readings as recommended by instructor.

Optional Texts

Capuzzi, D & Cross, D. R. (2008). Youth at risk, a prevention resource for counselors, teachers,
and parents (5th ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

Ashby, J. S., Kottman, T., & DeGraaf, D. (2008). Active interventions for kids and teens: Adding
adventure and fun to counseling. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

Suggestions for Getting the Most from the Course

1. Read the contents of this syllabus, complete required assignments, and attend all classes.
Ask necessary questions the first part of class, rather than later.

Expectations and Academic Requirements

Readings: It is expected that you will come to class having read the chapters assigned in order
to facilitate discussion. Your opinions are important to both the class and your experience in the
program, so please bring to the class your comments and reactions to the reading.

Attendance and Participation: A rich and healthy exchange of ideas, reading, and feedback is
essential to your growth as a counselor in terms of your theoretical thinking, conceptualization
skills, and actual counseling skills. You are expected to be an active speaker as well as an active
listener, contributing usefully to class discussions. Learning to be an effective counselor involves
assessing one’s personal values and assumptions and learning to understand the values and
assumptions of others. Therefore, students will be expected to discuss their personal values and
assumptions in class.
Wise students will avoid missing class; absences will be detrimental to the student’s
grade. Missing more than 1 class will result in a one letter drop in grade. It is the student’s
responsibility to notify the instructor prior to an absence you know will occur.

Course Assignments:

1. Class Participation and Attendance. When you have assigned readings due, you are
expected to generate questions, reflections, and topics for discussion related to these
readings. Please come prepared to these classes with questions or comments over your
readings. You will be expected to share these questions/comments in class.
2. Final Exam. Crisis counseling, disaster management, substance use/abuse (A.7, C.6, G.2, M.7),
etc. Individual and group counseling; factors that influence student personal/social, academic,
and career development (A.6, C.1, C.3, C.5, G.1), etc. Online, 40 multiple choice exam, no notes
or book can be used- to be completed the week of 4/22-4/28.

3. Presentation: Best practices in school counseling. Survey the school counseling research and
identify interventions that you would plan to utilize as a professional school counselor that have
research documenting their effectiveness in the schools. Please identify at least one
intervention/curriculum/strategy within each delivery component of the ASCA National Model
(ie- guidance curriculum, individual student planning, responsive services, indirect student
services) that you will plan to implement when you are a school counselor (I.5). Prepare a
powerpoint presentation to share with your peers during class on March 11th. Please utilize 3-5
resources (from peer-reviewed journals), use APA citations and provide a reference page at the
end of the presentation. Provide a copy (paper or electronic) of the powerpoint to the instructor.
Due March 11th

4. Paper 2: Indirect Student Services. A significant and important piece of being a professional
school counselor is collaboration and consultation with school staff, parents, and the greater
community. For this paper, please research the importance of how school counselors utilize
consultation with parents/families and teachers. Describe some of the theories, models, or
processes of consultation in the school setting and the research supporting its effectiveness (M.4,
M.5). Why would you adopt a consultation theory, model, or process? (M.4, M.5). How will you
foster a collaborative team in the school setting? (M.2, M.3) What are the benefits of family-
school-community collaboration? (M.1) How does consultation and collaboration impact
student’s academic, career, and personal/social development? (M.1, M.3) Please utilize 3-5
resources (from peer-reviewed journals) and use APA style citations. Due April 28th

5. Experiential Component: Service Learning. Choose a Community Partner from the approved
list the first week of class to engage in a service learning experience. Service learning is a
teaching strategy that integrates course content with the relevant community service. Through
assignments and class discussions, you will critically reflect on the service in order to increase
your understanding of course content, gain a broader appreciation of counseling, and enhance
your sense of civic responsibility. You will participate in a minimum of 15 hours throughout the
semester with children or adolescents as a mentor, role model, tutor, friend, etc. Each week you
will reflect on the experience through guided questions that help you connect material from class
to the children and adolescents with whom you are interacting. At the end of the semester, you
will write a summary paper of the experience.

*To register for a Service Learning project you will receive an email from the Service-
Learning Program with instructions on how to select a project, sign up for an orientation
time, and log hours (all via OrgSync). If you do not receive this email then you can login
to OrgSync with your campus ID and search for your class. Once you find the class
you’ll need to “join” it in order to register for a project. Follow the directions
here https://servicelearning.boisestate.edu/students/orgsync-guide-tutorial/ 
 6. Free choice book. Students will choose a biography or autobiography to read throughout the
semester. The book will be related to a developmental issue, diagnosis, or other mental health
issue commonly found in children or adolescents. A list of possible titles will be provided at the
beginning of the semester. Students will discuss their books during class on April 14th.

Other Expectations:

 All assigned work is expected to be completed. Time involvement depends upon the pace
of the individual student. All work is expected to be original or specifically cited by
source.
 I do accept papers via email. It is your responsibility to get the assignments into me on
time.
 When you submit your assignments, you can choose to use recycled paper if you wish.
 Please be aware that if you fail a standard on any assignment, you will need to do a
make-up assignment to pass that standard, if you are an MA counseling student. All MA
counseling students must pass SLOs to move forward in the program.

Evaluation Criteria

Performance Evaluation:

Each of the following segments will be scored by means of a point system.

Class Participation/Attendance (30 points each class) 180 points
Final Exam 80 points
Presentation 65 points
Paper 65 points
Service learning total: 90 points
Professionalism, attendance, etc (10 points)
weekly journals= 6 x (10 points each)
end of semester summary paper (20 points)

Total Possible Points: 480

Grading Scale:

Grade Percentage
A+ 97-100
A 94-96
A- 90-93
                       B+        87-89
B 84-86
B- 80-83
C+ 77-79
C 74-76
C- 70-73
 Disability and Academic Integrity Statements

Disability Statement:
If there is someone in the class who has a special need that may be the result of a disability or
alternative learning style, I would appreciate hearing from you. I am reasonably certain that we
can make the appropriate arrangements if necessary to assist you. The accommodations can take
many forms, whether it is seating, testing, or the like. Please see me after class, or during my
office hours.

Academic Integrity Statement:

Academic misconduct or dishonesty such as cheating and plagiarism is unacceptable and
appropriate penalties will be imposed. This includes referencing material that has not been read
by you, such as secondary references.

Tentative Course Calendar

Session Topic Assignment/

Relevant Readings
1/9/17  Semester starts Be sure to check
online  Class expectations Blackboard for
 Syllabus review and rubrics available on important information
Blackboard about deadlines, etc

1/21/17  Counseling children and adolescents- an 1. Register for org-

online introduction sync by Jan. 21
2. Ch. 11-14 (Smith-
Adcock)
2/3/17  Introductions 1. Bring photo of self
in person  ASCA model review as a child
 Child development and culture 2. Ch. 1-2 (Smith-
 Service Learning presentation Adcock)
3. Service Learning
sign up
4. Articles as assigned
2/4/17  Culturally competent counseling 1. Ch. 4 (Smith-
in person  Ethics in schools Adcock)
 Students with disabilities 2. Articles as assigned

2/13/17  Service learning project Journal #1 due

online
3/3/17  Service learning project Journal #2 due
online
3/10/17  Crisis counseling in schools 1. Ch. 3 (Smith-
in person  Individual counseling services Adcock)
2. Choice of 1
  Group counseling services theoretical chapter
 Creativity in counseling (Ch.5-9)
3. Articles as assigned
3/11/17  Presentations 1. Presentations due
in person
3/19/17  Service learning project Journal #3 due
online
4/7/17  Service learning project Journal #4 due
online
4/14/17  Abuse, substance abuse, grief, 1. Capuzzi- Ch. 15
in person depression, divorce, children with (online)
disabilities 2. Henderson- Ch.16
(online)
 Working with parents and
3. Articles posted on
teachers/families
Blackboard
 Consultation 4. Free choice book
 Evidence-based interventions due
 Discuss free choice books

4/15/17 Service learning sharing Journal #5 due
in person

4/22/17  Service learning project 1. Journal #6 due

online  Final exam online (4/22-4/28) 2. Final exam online
(4/22-4/28)
4/28/17  Paper due 1. Paper due
online  Service learning summary due 2. Service learning
summary due
