Instructor: Mikhail Lyubansky, Ph.D.                                                             Office hours: MWF: 2:00- 3:00
Office: 201 Phil Mather                                                                                                          T,Th: 10:00-11:00
Phone: PBX 5356
email: lyubanskym@kenyon.edu
 
 

Required Texts:

Corey, G. (2001). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 6th Ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth (Brooks/Cole).
Axline, V. M. (1964). Dibs in Search of Self. New York: Ballantine Books.

There will also be a few additional readings, which will be placed on reserve at the Olin Library.
 

Course Description:

This course will examine the theory and techniques of major psychotherapy approaches and provide an introduction to basic components of the assessment and psychotherapeutic processes. Lectures, readings, films, class discussions, role-plays and other experiential class exercises will be used to facilitate the exploration of interviewing, testing, and psychotherapy.
 

After successful completion of this course, students should have an understanding of what a clinical or counseling psychologist does and the training these professions require, a basic knowledge of the theories and techniques of major psychotherapy approaches, an awareness of ethical issues associated with testing and therapy, and a growing awareness of one's own psychotherapy philosophy.
 

Class participation (25 points):

Students are expected to attend and actively participate in class. Points will be assigned on the basis of class attendance, as well as class participation that demonstrates a mastery of the assigned reading. There may also be an opportunity to participate in discussions via an email list.

Quizzes (75 points):

There will be three short quizzes on the readings every three weeks. These quizzes are NOT cumulative. Each quiz will have 10 short-answer questions (worth 2 points each) and a short essay question (worth 5 points), both taken from general concepts described in the readings. If you cannot be in class on the day of a quiz, it is your responsibility to arrange a make-up date with me, prior to the date on the syllabus. You will not be allowed to make-up any of the quizzes after they are given in class.
 

Reaction papers (25 points):

Throughout the semester, you will read (2) and watch videos (5) of different case studies of therapy. For 5 of the 7 case studies, you will need to write a short (1-2 typed pages) reaction paper, which will be due on the next day of class following the video or discussion of the book (late papers will not be accepted). In your papers, discuss what you were thinking and feeling as you were watching/reading the case study. You may write about other things as well, but please be sure to discuss the following:

• Did you think the therapy was helpful to the person? (If so, describe what about it was helpful and explain why you think it was. If not, explain why you think it wasn't)
• Did you think that the therapy was ethical (again explain why or why not)
• If you were looking for a therapist, would you consider going to the one in the case study (why or why not)

 

All students are required to submit two 5-6 page written assignments. Specific guidelines and requirements for both writing assignments will be distributed separately in class. Any assignment that is not handed in on the due date will be marked down 25% of the allotted points for each class period that the assignment is outstanding. Late means anytime past the end of the class period that the assignment is due. Thus, a paper handed in two class periods after it is due is marked down 50%. I will not accept papers after the second class period following the due date. All papers not handed in by that time will receive zero points.
 

Final exam (75 points):

There will be an in-class final exam, which will be very similar to the 2^nd writing assignment. That is, you will be given a clinical case-study at the beginning of the exam and you will be required to describe the etiology, assessment, and treatment of the client from the perspective of three different "schools" of psychotherapy. You will be allowed to use your notes and texts (i.e., Corey and Axline) during the exam, but not any other materials.

 

Grading

Attendance and Participation            25 points
Readings quiz 1                                25 points
Readings quiz 2                                25 points
Readings quiz 3                                25 points
Reaction papers (10 points each)      25 points
Writing assignment 1                         50 points
Writing assignment 2                         50 points
Final exam (essay format)                 75 points
____________________________________
Total                                             300 points

Grades will be assigned according to the following scale. I reserve the right to make the grading scale easier, but I promise not to make it harder!
 

Week 1 8/27    8/29, 8/31	What is clinical psychology?          Trull, T.J. & Phares, E.J. Chapter 1: Clinical Psychology: An Introduction. Clinical Psychology, 6th Ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Ethics         Corey: Chapter 3         Fisher, M. (1987). Inside Lifespring. The Washington Post, October 2, 1987.
Week 2 9/3, 9/5, 9/7	Research methods         Wierzbicki, M. (1999). Chapter 2: Scientific foundations of clinical psychology. Introduction to Clinical Psychology. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Week 3 9/10, 9/12, 9/14	Introduction to assessment and testing         Sundberg, N.D., Winebarger, A.A., & Taplin, J.R.(1992). Chapter 4: Assessment and testing: Tools for gathering information. Clinical Psychology: Evolving Theory, Practice, and Research. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.         Weber, T., McKeever, J.E., & McDaniel, S.H. (1985). A beginner's guide to the problem-oriented first family interview. Family Process, 24, 357-364. ** Class exercise: construct a valid and reliable test ** ** Class exercise: role-play "1st interview" **
Week 4 9/17, 9/19, 9/21	Intellectual assessment         Kaufman, A.S. (1990). Chapter 1: IQ tests: Their history, use, validity, and intelligent interpretation. Assessing adolescent and adult intelligence. New York: Allyn & Bacon.         Neisser, U. et al. (1996). Intelligence: Knowns and unknowns. American Psychologist, 51, 77-101. ** 1st Writing Assignment due (Monday) ** ** Class exercise: role-play "IQ assessment" **
Week 5 9/24, 9/26, 9/28	Introduction to psychotherapy         Corey: Chapters 1 and 2 ** Readings Quiz #1 (Friday)**
Week 6 10/1, 10/3, 10/5	Psychodynamic Therapy         Corey: Chapter 4 ** Class exercise: "Transference" ** ** Class exercise: "Draw a person" **
Week 7 10/10, 10/12	Person-Centered Therapy         Corey: Chapter 7         Axline: Dibs in Search of Self ** Class film: "Three Approaches to Psychotherapy I-a: Carl Rogers" **
Week 8 10/15, 10/17,10/19	Existential and Gestault Therapies         Corey: Chapters 6 and 8 ** Class film: "Three Approaches to Psychotherapy I-b: Fritz Perls" **
Week 9 10/22, 10/24,10/26	Behavioral Therapy         Corey: Chapter 10 ** Class film: "Wild Child" **
Week 10 10/29, 10/31, 11/2	Cognitive Therapy         Corey: Chapter 11 ** Class film: "Three Approaches to Psychotherapy I-b: Albert Ellis" ** ** Class exercise: "The way I think" ** ** Homework assignment: "Young Schema Questionnaire" ** ** Readings Quiz #2 (Friday) **
Week 11 11/5, 11/7, 11/9	Family Therapy         Corey: Chapter 13         Aponte, H. & Hoffman, L. (1973). The open door: A structural approach to a family with an anorectic child. Family Process, 17, 1-44.         Stevenson, H.C. & Renard, G. (1993). Trusting ole' wise owls: Therapeutic use of cultural strengths in African-American families. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 24, 433-442.
Week 12 11/12, 11/14,11/16	Group Therapy         Yalom, I.D. (1995). Chapter 1: The Therapeutic Factors. The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, 4th ed. New York: Harper Collins (Basic Books).         Yalom, I.D. (1995). Chapter 2: Interpersonal learning. The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, 4th ed. New York: Harper Collins (Basic Books). ** Class film: "Irvin Yalom: Understanding Group Psychotherapy" ** ** 2nd Writing Assignment due (Monday.) **
Week 13	THANKSGIVING VACATION
Week 14 11/26, 11/28,11/30	Multicultural and Feminist Therapy         Corey: Chapter 12         Sue, D.W. & Sue, D. (1981). Sociopolitical considerations of trust and mistrust in multicultural counseling and therapy. Counseling the Culturally Different. New York: Wiley.
Week 15 12/3, 12/5, 12/7	Integrating the Approaches to Therapy         Corey: Chapters 14 and 15 ** Readings Quiz #3 on Friday **
Week 16 12/10 12/17	Final Week Concluding remarks ** Final Examination ** 8:30AM!!!