FOUNDATIONS OF COMMUNITY COUNSELING (3 Credits) Licensed Professional Counselor Track: MLPC 655 CLASSROOM ONLY COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will survey the scope of community related practice settings, roles and activities of a community counselor. Attention will be paid to community resources, community assessment and possible interventions. Social justice issues related to social problems will be examined along with related topics: social change, advocacy and restorative justice. COURSE OUTCOMES: By the end of this course, the learner will be able to: 1. Identify the basic history and scope of community counseling. 2. Access and use community counseling services in their various contexts and models of service delivery including: agencies and community groups, community mental health centers, preventative education and self-help groups and consultation services. 3. Understand and describe models of community counseling with clients to include: empowerment theory, ecological theory, systems theory, and the strengths perspective and motivational counseling. 4. Recognize and employ relevant ethical and legal considerations related to community mental health. 5. Identify and understand the basic process of a community assessment and intervention. Have a beginning familiarity with program design and evaluation. Be prepared to use a general ASSESSMENT/TREATMENT planning model: Assessment, exploration, goal setting, implementation, evaluation in a system. 6. Recognize social problems in the community and the related social justice issues (equity and discrimination) especially in consideration of the Regis University mission. Be conversant with the basic problems of vulnerable populations (racial, ethnic, cultural heritage, SEC, gender, family structure, age, sexual orientation, physical, and mental status) 7. Enlarge his/her model of community counseling to include social change, advocacy and restorative justice solutions. REQUIRED READING: Lewis, J. A., Lewis, M. D., Daniels, J. A., & D'Andrea, M. J. (2002). Community counseling: Empowerment strategies for a diverse society (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole (Thomson).
ELECTRONIC RESERVES: A wide variety of recommended articles related to Community Counseling can be located on Electronic Reserves that are accessed through the library section of the Regis website, www.regis/edu. Students can obtain the password through the Reference Librarian at Dayton Memorial Library (303-458-4031). RECOMMENDED READING: Barsky, A. (2000). Conflict resolution for helping professions. Brooks/Cole: Scarborough, Ont. Fellin, Phillip. (1995). The Community and the Social Worker. Itasca, Ill.: F. E. Peacock Publishers. Friere, Paulo. (1995). Pedagogy of hope. NY: Continuum Press. Gutierrez, Lorraine, Parsons, Ruth & Cox, Enid. (1998). Empowerment in social work practice. Pacific Grove, Ca.: Brooks/Cole. Hershenson, D., Power, P. & Waldo, M. (1996). Community counseling: Contemporary theory and practice. Boston, Ma.: Allyn & Bacon. Hesselbein, Frances, Goldsmith, M., Beckhard, R. & Schubert, R. (Eds.). (1998). The Community of the Future. NY: Jossey-Bass. Holland, Joe & Henriot, Paul. (1983). Social Analysis. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Press. Holman, Mark. (1999). Promoting Community change: Making it happen in the real world. Pacific Grove, Ca: Brooks/Cole. Lappe, Frances & DuBois, Paul. (1994). The quickening of America: Rebuilding our nation, remaking our lives. NY: Jossey-Bass. Lee, Courtland & Walz, Garry. (1998). Social action. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. Lewis, Judy & Bradley, Lorreta. (Eds.). (2000). Advocacy in counseling. Greensboro, North Carolina: CAPS Publishing. MdWhirter, E. (1995). Counseling for empowerment. Alexandria, Va.: American Counseling Association.
Mich, Marvin. (2001). Catholic social teaching and movements. Mystic, Ct.: Bayard. Saleebey, Dennis. (1997). The Strengths perspective in social work practice. NY: Longman. Spring, J. (2001). Deculturalization and Struggle for equality: A brief history of the education of dominated cultures in the US (3 rd ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill. Sue, D. W. Et. Al., (1998). Multicultural counseling competencies: Individual and organizational development. Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Sage. Wheatley, Margaret. (2002). Turning to One Another. San Francisco, Ca.: Berrett-Koehler. Worell, J. & Remer, P. (1992). Feminist perspectives in therapy: An empowerment model for women. New York: Chichester. COURSE CALENDAR AND READING ASSIGNMENTS: Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Overview of the course and introduction to Community Counseling What is a community? Class exercise to develop communities for the class. History of Community Counseling: Read Chapter 1: History of Community Counseling from Community and Agency Counseling, Samuel Gladding. Experiential work in class communities. Community Counseling Models: Read Chapter 1 in Lewis. Sense of Community: A Definition and Theory, David McMillan. Experiential Work in Class communities. Empowerment theory. Prevention and Education. Read Chapter 2 in Lewis Work in class communities. Access and use of community services. Outreach to vulnerable populations. Read: Chapter 3 in Lewis. The session will be held in an off-campus Community site: TBA. Experiential work in class communities. Read: Poor women in a bind: Social reproduction with social support, Mimi Abramovitz. Work in class communities. Community Resource List due. Assessment and Treatment Planning. Read Chapter 5 in Lewis. Work in Class communities. Ecological Theory. Read Chapter 4 in Lewis. Work in class communities. Ethical and Legal considerations. Class presentation on Restorative Justice by
guest speaker. Work in class communities. Week 10 Systems theory. Guest speaker on advocacy in community work. Read Chapter 6 in Lewis. Empowerment through family support. Work in class Communities. Week 11: Strengths perspective theory. Read Chapter 7 in Lewis. Work in class communities. Week 12: Cultural awareness in community work. Guest speaker on Latino culture. Class at off campus site TBA. Work in class communities. Week 13: Motivational counseling. Community Organizing or organizing community? Guest speaker on gender and the craft of empowerment. Week 14: Counseling model paper due. Work in class communities. Week 15: Social Analysis due. Presentations by class communities. Week 16: Social Analysis of communities presentations continued. Economic self-sufficiency: It s not just money. LEARNING ACTIVITIES: 1. Do a community resource list. (This activity is to be completed as a group project). Each group will select specific community sectors (e.g., mental health, senior services, refugee services) and develop a referral list. The class will then compile a master list for your use in future counseling practice. This project will be graded pass/fail. This project is due at the end of Week Six (6). 2. Social Analysis in the community: This project includes both research about a specific community (social, cultural, economic and historical parameters), onsite assessment of available resources and community needs through conversations with community leaders/workers and developing a list of suggested goals for the community. Include ideas for various roles utilizing community counselors, e.g., an advocacy project). This is a group project and will be presented to the class. The group members will get one grade with criteria of creativity, comprehensiveness, time management and relevance to the local community. This project is to be presented in class at the conclusion of the semester. (For GIS distance students, a focused service learning project with accompanying rationale, which references the information gathered in a Social Analysis, could substitute.)
3. Identify your model of counseling. Name the contributions to your preferred approach. Include theoretical historical forbearers, service delivery style and contributions your values and beliefs about community counseling have made. This model is to reflect an integration of theory, research and counseling practice. Paper should be 3-4 pages in length and APA style is not necessary. This paper is due Week 14. Five points per day will be taken off for late papers. A paper will not be accepted after it is one week late. 4. Take the COUNSELOR PREPARATION COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (CPCE). This examination will be administered each semester by the Testing Center at Regis University located in the Adult Learning Center, Room 104. The grade is for the information of the Student. See complete information and instructions in the LPC STUDENT MANUAL located on the Regis website. The cost of the examination is $30.00 to be paid at the time the exam is taken. METHOD OF EVALUATION: Community Resource List Social Analysis Counseling Model Paper Attendance Class Participation Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination Pass/Fail If a student fails Activity # 1 (Resource List), one complete letter grade will be deducted from his/her final grade. 50 points (Group project with one grade for the group.) 30 points 10 points (Students coming in late or leaving early by more than 30 minutes will have points taken off their grade.) 10 points Exam must be taken to pass the course. The grade is for the student s information only. 100 points total