Graduate Centre for Applied Psychology - GCAP 685
Advanced Counselling Practicum
Overview
GCAP 685 (Advanced Counselling Practicum) provides students with an extensive practicum experience. The initial portions of the practicum is designed to provide an introduction to counselling practice, with a specific focus on the application of counselling skills in a supervised applied practice context. As students move through the practicum, they will have an opportunity to integrate content (i.e., counselling theories, ethics, diversity) that they have already acquired into practice; learn to manage workplace demands in counselling agencies; and build the foundation for lifelong professional development and reflective practice.
The practicum includes direct service experience in both individual counselling and group work. The GCAP 685 course work complements the clinical supervision provided in the practicum site by addressing a range of issues related to counselling practice. Through both field placement and course activities, students will become familiar with a variety of professional activities (e.g., record keeping, supervision, referral processes, collaboration, and professional development) and variety of professional resources (e.g., assessment and intervention processes, a wide range of professional resources, and research). Student development as a practicum student and as a professional is a primary focus throughout the course. The assignments and learning activities are designed to nudge, and even push their process of reflection and stimulate development in areas such as their theoretical orientation, ethical decision-making, and self-awareness.
- Method of Delivery: Paced Study, Online and Intensive Seminars, and Field Placement
- Credit Weight / Area of Study: 6 credits - Graduate Studies
- Prerequisites: GCAP 631, GCAP 632, GCAP 633, GCAP 634, GCAP 635, and GCAP 671
- Precluded courses: GCAP 681 and GCAP 682
- This course must be taken through GCAP
- Permission of the program is required
Outline
The course is divided into 26 weekly lessons, spanning two semesters, and structured as follows.
Semester I
- Lesson 1: Orientation to the Practicum
- Lesson 2: Self-Monitoring Performance
- Lesson 3: Common factors, Part I: Client Characteristics and Relationships Factors
- Lesson 4: Common factors, Part II: Model and Technique and Expectancy / Hope
- Lesson 5: Developing your Theoretical Orientation
- Lesson 6: Utilizing Supervision
- Lesson 7: Counsellor Professional Identity
- Lesson 8: Preparation for the Intensive Seminar / Case Conceptualization
- Lesson 9: Debrief from Intensive Seminar
- Lesson 10: Clinical Record-keeping
- Lesson 11: Risk Assessment
- Lesson 12: Dilemmas of Practice: Ruptures in the Working Alliance
- Lesson 13: Reflections on Semester I
Semester II
- Lesson 14: Ethical Dilemmas
- Lesson 15: Self-care
- Lesson 16: Secondary Traumatic Stress and Vicarious Traumatization
- Lesson 17: Diversity in Practice
- Lesson 18: Collaborating with Other Professionals: Navigating Larger Systems
- Lesson 19: Dealing with Therapeutic Failure
- Lesson 20: Learning from clients
- Lesson 21: Professional Development and Continuing Competence
- Lesson 22: Preparation for Intensive Seminar / Case Conceptualization
- Lesson 23: Debrief from Intensive Seminar
- Lesson 24: Counsellor Professional Identity Revisited
- Lesson 25: Theory Revisited
- Lesson 26: Person of the therapist/personal transformation
Evaluation
The advanced counselling practicum will be graded based on the following course activities, with the percentage weighting of each activity as indicated. Final grades for the course will be a composite mark based on student performance on these course activities. Students must obtain a grade of 70% overall on components graded by percentage. To receive credit for GCAP 685, students must also receive a pass on each of the pass/fail components of the course.
Course Assignments
The assessment structure for GCAP 685: Advanced Counselling Practicum is based on the following course activities.
Course Activity Weighting Participation in Online Discussions 20% Assignment 1: Case Conceptualization and Video Presentation I 20% Assignment 2: Case Conceptualization and Video Presentation II 20% Assignment 3: Theory of Counselling Paper 25% Assignment 4: Reflective Journal, Portfolio, and Exit Interview 15% Practicum Evaluation (with completed hours) P/F Total 100%
For pass / fail components of the course, full completion of the tasks is required to obtain a pass on that component.
Other Course Requirements
Attendance at weekend seminars
Students are required to attend both 4-day intensive seminars in their entirety. Weekend seminars are scheduled from 8:30 to 4:30 Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and 8:30 to 2:00 Sunday. Students are required to make travel plans so that they can attend for the entire duration of the seminar. Students who do not attend the entire seminar will be required to withdraw from the course and practicum.
Satisfactory Completion of Required Direct Client Contact Hours
Students are required to complete the required direct client contact hours with a satisfactory evaluation.
Academic Accommodation Policy
Students with a disability, who require academic accommodation, need to register with the Access to Students with Disabilities Centre at Athabasca University. Notification of the need for academic accommodation must normally be provided to the program office no later than fourteen (14) days prior to the first day of class. It is the student's responsibility to register with the Disability Centre to request academic accommodation if required and to notify the instructor that such accommodation has been requested. Every reasonable effort will be made to accommodate individual student needs. However, because GCAP courses are paced, all student are required to participate weekly in the online discussion forums. There are also several courses where online exams are required.
Page last updated: August 30, 2010 @ 10:05:30 AM
