Counseling

Student Learning Outcomes

CACREP Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)

KPI’s for the following Concentrations: Clinical Mental Health Concentration, School Counseling concentration with School Counselor License, Couple & Family Counseling/Therapy Concentration

  1. Describe the role and process of the professional counselor advocating on behalf of the profession and advocacy processes needed to address institutional and social barriers that impede access, equity, and success for clients.
  2. Demonstrate understanding of ethical standards of professional counseling organizations and credentialing bodies and applications of ethical and legal considerations in professional counseling.
  3. Demonstrate understanding of theories and models of multicultural counseling, cultural identity development, and social justice and advocacy.
  4. Conceptualize systemic and environmental factors that affect human development, functioning, and behavior and apply theories of individual and family development across the lifespan.
  5. Identify and describe strategies for assessing abilities, interests, values, personality and other factors that contribute to career development and apply methods of identifying and using assessment tools and techniques relevant to career planning and decision-making.
  6. Apply theories and models of counseling.
  7. Demonstrate competence in essential interviewing, counseling, and case conceptualization skills.
  8. Identify and applies ethical and culturally relevant strategies for designing and facilitating groups.
  9. Identify and apply ethical and culturally relevant strategies for selecting, administering, and interpreting assessment and test results.
  10. Articulate the importance of research in advancing the counseling profession, including how to critique research to inform counseling practice.

KPI’s Unique to the Clinical Mental Health Concentration

  1. Articulate roles and settings of clinical mental health counselors and apply principles, models, and documentation formats of biopsychosocial case conceptualization and treatment planning.

KPI’s Unique to the Couple & Family Counseling/Therapy Concentration

  1. Articulate roles and settings of couple and family counselors/therapists and apply principles, models, and documentation formats of biopsychosocial case conceptualization and treatment planning from a systems perspective

KPI’s Unique to the School Counseling concentration with School Counselor License

  1. Articulate roles and settings of school counselors and apply principles and models of school counseling programs and models of P-12 comprehensive career development

Descriptions of Key Assessments of Student Learning for CACREP

COUN 5100 Appraisal of Counseling Skills

Write a paper using the sections and subheadings indicated below. Include sample descriptive detail (examples, quotes, etc.) throughout your paper. Include a transcript depicting when you utilized core counseling skills and how the client responded. (KPI 6, 7)

COUN 5110 Group facilitation and feedback

Each course participant will conduct a 25-minute group exercise facilitation with a 35-minute processing session. The processing will focus on: Observations related to risks taken by group participants, theoretical principles and skills observed, critical incidents, identification on leadership skills exhibited by facilitator and group members. Group observers will consider all the factors listed for processing, and after the group has finished processing, observers will share what they observed. (KPI 8)

COUN 5150 Case Application Paper

This paper will allow you to put into practice the theoretical ideas that you have adopted up to this point in your professional development. You must apply a systems theory/model to the resolution of the presenting issue with a particular client population (e.g. clients dealing with poverty or homelessness, racial and ethnic diversity, age diversity, religious diversity, sexual orientation, etc.). Use a mainstream movie that focuses on family issues & relationships – for suggested titles, speak with the instructor. Your “client” will be the main characters/family members in the movie. Support your points through referenced literature (use at least 4 academic resources in addition to your texts). You are encouraged to examine your role as a therapist in the process of change and investigate the influence of the client’s contextual issues and your contextual issues in the process of therapy. (Couple & Family Counseling/Therapy KPI)

COUN 5330 Group Case Study Activity/Presentation

Students will be divided into groups and each group will be given a case vignette involving one or more ethical/legal issues in counseling. Your group will meet and determine the following: Identify and explain all pertinent legal and ethical issues. Cite relevant ethical codes, Colorado law, and appropriate ethical decision-making models. Identify a course of action that the counselor should take in order to resolve the ethical dilemma. As a group, you will then lead the class through a discussion of your vignette and your findings. (KPI 2)

COUN 5400 Career Construction Interview

The purpose of the Career Construction Interview (CCI) & Paper is to gain experience practicing an in-depth career theory that covers career assessment, intake, and navigating the balance of career development and mental health counseling. The CCI itself will likely take an hour to complete. Students are expected to interview a ‘mock’ client, review the client’s CCI for themes, complete the accompanying CCI worksheet and write a paper. (KPI 5)

COUN 5810 Cultural Interview

Submit a summary paper from the results of an interview with an individual who is from a different culture/race/ethnicity/sexual orientation/socioeconomic status/religion from your own. This will involve at least two to three sessions. Really get to know them and their culture. You could choose one of the groups that you find difficult to work with and explore this area further to enhance your ability to work with a new situation or population. If you choose religious difference it should involve a difference in belief system. (KPI 1)

COUN 5810 Cultural Identity Exploration

Identify your family origins as far back as you can trace specific ancestors. You may check with relatives, archives, or genealogy web sites. (If nothing is found, speculate about what you believe happened). Describe advantages and disadvantages you and your ancestors may have experienced because of your ethnicity. Discuss the concept of privilege and identify any and all groups that you belong to which have afforded you privilege, or prevented you from privilege in our society. Discuss any known history of disabilities, gender issues, sexual orientation differences, military involvement, or any differences that you may be aware of that have affected you as an individual living in the dominant culture of the United States. Discuss in detail your world view, values, and beliefs, and speculate about how these values might be considered a negative or positive influence when counseling people of different cultural backgrounds. Please take the Implicit Attitude Test. For Skin tone, and gender/career (required), and select a third category that you are uncomfortable with. Describe one or two cultural groups that you would feel least comfortable working with and explain why. Don’t be politically correct; be honest. Speculate as to how you might work with people who are different from yourself. (KPI 3)

COUN 5815 Final Paper

Interview a school counselor. You will contact and set up an interview with a current practicing school counselor, your “site” (the school and the name of the counselor). (School Counseling KPI)

COUN 5820 Case Study/Treatment Plan

Students will complete an Individual Treatment Plan (ITP) for the client presented in the case study. Your treatment plan should be based on your thoughts/recommendations regarding the way treatment should occur from your perspective. Treatment should be based on the case study write-up, discussions between group members, and other readings. You should design and develop the treatment program/plan you deem to be most appropriate for the client. While this treatment plan should be ideal, it should also take into consideration the limitations one may have (e.g., what are other providers potentially doing, would services be duplicated, what are the services that you – as the assigned identity/agency – should and could realistically provide). (Clinical Mental Health KPI)

COUN 5910 Practicum Competencies

Practicum supervisors rate the candidate’s skills/performance level as well as knowledge in the areas of professional responsibilities, clinical skills and responsibilities, counselor identity development, specialized counseling skills, and an overall evaluation. (KPI 1, 3, 7)

COUN 5910 Case Presentation

Formal case presentation should be 35-minute presentation with a 10 minute videotaped section with the following headings addressed. Client demographics, presenting problems, relevant client factors, DSM-V Diagnosis, risk assessment, guiding theories and models of multicultural counseling, cultural identity development, and/or social justice and advocacy that you consider in this case, CCAPS and /or substance use disorder assessment discussion, recent Interventions and Client Responses/ progress to date, collateral resources, person as counselor/therapist Issues, questions for peers. (KPI 3)

COUN 5930 Internship Site Supervisor Evaluation

Internship supervisors indicate the intern's skills/performance level as well as knowledge in the areas of counseling process and skills, track specific counseling/therapy knowledge and skills, personal and professional behavior, interviewing/case management skills, treatment planning, and an overall grade recommendation. (KPI 2, 6, 8, Clinical Mental Health KPI, Couple & Family Counseling/Therapy KPI, School Counseling KPI)

COUN 5930 Case Presentation

The purpose of a formal case presentation is to formulate a comprehensive picture of your client(s), to acquaint peers with your clinical work, and to develop a context for group supervision of your case. (KPI 4, 5, 6)

COUN 5930 Professional Development Plan

Students will develop a Professional Develop Plan that outlines the following areas. Licensure requirements in the state where they are planning to practice. Students will develop a resume. Students will outline an area of treatment specialty that they would like to pursue in order to increase marketability in their postgraduate employment search. Students will develop a plan for including multicultural counseling and advocacy procedures within their work with clients. A self care-plan. (KPI 10)

COUN 6160 Case Presentation

The purpose of a case presentation is to formulate a comprehensive picture of your client(s), to acquaint peers with your clinical work, and to develop a context for group supervision to consider your case. Write a brief handout to share with class members for your case conceptualization presentation. The areas in the case conceptualization form should be discussed, if relevant. Include a genogram with your handout. Give a 20-minute case conceptualization presentation that includes the following components. Summary of presenting problem or situation, the sociopolitical context of the family and its impact on the family, and instruments chosen for your assessments. Highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each part of your assessment. Provide a summary of the family functioning level based on your data and theoretical model of conceptualization. Discuss person of the assessor issues. (Couple & Family Counseling/Therapy KPI)

COUN 6230 Final Paper

For this project students will develop an intervention for a school aged population. As part of this project students will identify a community that has a documented need and develop a 5 - 8 week prevention or intervention program. As part of this project students will develop a proposal for their project, present a portion of one of their interventions, and submit their entire program. (KPI 9 for Couple & Family Counseling/Therapy and School Counseling Tracks)

COUN 6250 Case Study Paper

Select a real or fictional person who meets criteria for at least one disorder in the DSM-5 and write a comprehensive case study paper. In the case study, you will be expected to: Describe the person’s background and provide a cultural formulation of your diagnosis and of the client. Review the Cultural Formulation Interview in the DSM-5 text, and Ibrahim’s Cultural Assessment Protocol when formulating your diagnosis. Include a thorough differential diagnosis, justifying the diagnosis you chose and demonstrating how and why you ruled out other diagnoses. Construct a section in your paper that describes treatment recommendations (evidence-based), and justify your recommendations (e.g., explain how and why the treatment would be effective in this case, from a culturally informed perspective perspective). (KPI 9 for Clinical Metal Health Track)

EDHD 6200 Annotated Bibliography

Examine an aspect of human growth and development through the creation of an annotated bibliography. Select a content area of interest and include critiques and perspectives reflected in recent research. The influence of culture and environment on the topic area must also be explored. At least seven recent journal articles should be cited and annotated to demonstrate the thoroughness of your bibliography. (KPI 4)

RSEM 5110 Appraisal instrument review

Identify an existing measure to critique in a paper. You need to be sure to have access to the manual for the measure. Obtain a copy of the measure and supporting materials (e.g., the technical manual). If possible, one or more critical reviews of the measure (e.g., in the Mental Measurements Yearbook). (KPI 9)

RSEM 5120 Research Proposal and Project

The project includes two drafts and a final paper. The first draft introduces the problem and the research idea. The second draft the student writes a research proposal, proposing the design of a study which addresses a research question of interest. Finally, a student carries out proposed research. Students collect, analyze and write up the results from a small amount of data. (KPI 10)

COAMFTE Student Learning Outcomes

Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s) for the Couple & Family Counseling/Therapy Concentration

  1. Students will demonstrate clinical competency in working in diverse settings and with diverse client populations.
  2. Students will successfully pass the multicultural curriculum.
  3. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of a systemic framework in a case application paper.
  4. Students will apply a systemic framework in their clinical practice.
  5. Students will develop a research proposal.
  6. Students will learn to critically analyze common assessments in the field.
  7. Students will show a commitment to professional ethical behavior in their clinical practice.
  8. Students will complete program in a timely manner.
  9. Graduates will be gainfully employed in the field.
  10. Graduates will pass the National Marital and Family Therapy Exam.

Descriptions of Key Assessments of Student Learning for COAMFTE

COUN 5150 Case Application Paper

This paper will allow you to put into practice the theoretical ideas that you have adopted up to this point in your professional development. You must apply a systems theory/model to the resolution of the presenting issue with a particular client population (e.g. clients dealing with poverty or homelessness, racial and ethnic diversity, age diversity, religious diversity, sexual orientation, etc.). Use a mainstream movie that focuses on family issues & relationships – for suggested titles, speak with the instructor. Your “client” will be the main characters/family members in the movie. Support your points through referenced literature (use at least 4 academic resources in addition to your texts). You are encouraged to examine your role as a therapist in the process of change and investigate the influence of the client’s contextual issues and your contextual issues in the process of therapy. (SLO 2)

COUN 5810 Cultural Identity Exploration

Identify your family origins as far back as you can trace specific ancestors. You may check with relatives, archives, or genealogy web sites. (If nothing is found, speculate about what you believe happened). Describe advantages and disadvantages you and your ancestors may have experienced because of your ethnicity. Discuss the concept of privilege and identify any and all groups that you belong to which have afforded you privilege, or prevented you from privilege in our society. Discuss any known history of disabilities, gender issues, sexual orientation differences, military involvement, or any differences that you may be aware of that have affected you as an individual living in the dominant culture of the United States. Discuss in detail your world view, values, and beliefs, and speculate about how these values might be considered a negative or positive influence when counseling people of different cultural backgrounds. Please take the Implicit Attitude Test. For Skin tone, and gender/career (required), and select a third category that you are uncomfortable with. Describe one or two cultural groups that you would feel least comfortable working with and explain why. Don’t be politically correct; be honest. Speculate as to how you might work with people who are different from yourself. (SLO 2)

COUN 5910 Practicum Competencies

Practicum supervisors rate the candidate’s skills/performance level as well as knowledge in the areas of professional responsibilities, clinical skills and responsibilities, counselor identity development, specialized counseling skills, and an overall evaluation. (SLO 1)

COUN 5930 Internship Site Supervisor Evaluation

Internship supervisors indicate the intern's skills/performance level as well as knowledge in the areas of counseling process and skills, track specific counseling/therapy knowledge and skills, personal and professional behavior, interviewing/case management skills, treatment planning, and an overall grade recommendation. (SLO 4, 7)

COUN 6160 Case Presentation

The purpose of a case presentation is to formulate a comprehensive picture of your client(s), to acquaint peers with your clinical work, and to develop a context for group supervision to consider your case. Write a brief handout to share with class members for your case conceptualization presentation. The areas in the case conceptualization form should be discussed, if relevant. Include a genogram with your handout. Give a 20-minute case conceptualization presentation that includes the following components. Summary of presenting problem or situation, the sociopolitical context of the family and its impact on the family, and instruments chosen for your assessments. Highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each part of your assessment. Provide a summary of the family functioning level based on your data and theoretical model of conceptualization. Discuss person of the assessor issues. (SLO 2)

COUN 6160 Critique Circles

For this assignment you will: Select two measures from each of the following categories: couple, family, and children measures. Prepare a critique of each measure based on information provided in your reading of Chapters 2-5 in your C & F book. Find one article that has used the instruments you selected and report their findings. You will then be placed in a small group where you will discuss: The type of information these instruments provide, the strengths and weaknesses of the instruments based on the information provided in your reading, the type of research the instrument was used for (e.g. a particular population, a particular issue, etc.), your critique of your colleagues’ instruments. Provide commentary or questions regarding the instruments. (SLO 6)

COUN 6170 Case Application Paper

You will be randomly assigned a clinical case study. Address the following questions/tasks. How do you construct the problem presented in this case? What types of questions would you ask the client in order to expand your understanding the client's worldview? How do culture or cultural differences between yourself and the client impact your work with this client? What types of interventions will you plan to use with this client and why? (SLO 3)

RSEM 5120 Research Proposal and Project

The project includes two drafts and a final paper. The first draft introduces the problem and the research idea. The second draft the student writes a research proposal, proposing the design of a study which addresses a research question of interest. Finally, a student carries out proposed research. Students collect, analyze and write up the results from a small amount of data. (SLO 5)

Student Learning Outcomes for the Higher Education Student Affairs Concentration

  1. Understanding of and ability to apply Student Affairs theory.
  2. Ability to apply College Student Development theory.
  3. Understanding of and ability to apply higher education law and professional code of ethics.
  4. Develop and implement culturally responsive services.

Descriptions of Key Assessments of Student Learning

COUN 5050 Critical Issues Paper

Students will, in consultation with the professor, select one course topic that they have a particular interest in researching and critiquing. The intent of this assignment is to synthesize theory and practice so there is tangible evidence of your learning this semester. Students will (a) use academic and trade literature to define and contextualize the topic—consider the historical development of this topic and emerging issues, (b) discuss why this issue or topic is important for higher education and the field of student affairs, (c) compare theory and practice in the profession, be certain to critique disconnects and inconsistencies, (d) be certain to attend to how this topic impacts marginalized college student populations, and (e) discuss how this issue or topic frames preparation for practice in higher education and student affairs. (Outcome 1)

COUN 5130 College Student Development Paper

Carefully consider your personal development during your college years—paying specific attention to transitional moments and how you changed as a result. Address the factors (eg. friends, family, professors, your cultural background) that influenced your development. Use the student development theories discussed throughout the semester to explain your development. You will need to describe each college student development theory and address how it is similar or divergent from your development. Finally, offer recommendations for student affairs educators on how to best promote college students’ development using theory as a guide, given your own learning throughout this assignment. (Outcome 2)

COUN 5070 Law and Ethics in Higher Education and Student Affair

As part of the final exam students will complete a case study related to the practice of student affairs. Students will be provided with a detailed scenario—which will include a legal or ethical dilemma. Students will take the role of the higher education administrator or student affairs practitioner in the role-play and be responsible for resolving any legal or ethical concerns present. (Outcome 3)

COUN 5500 Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice in Higher Education

The responsive practices project is a research project aimed at aiding students in developing a clearer understanding of the educational needs of a marginalized student population. Additionally, this project will aid students in understanding best practices in making college campuses more responsive to the needs of and more inclusive of the perspectives of marginalized students. Each student will be assigned to investigate best practices as related to either (1) outreach and access, (2) campus culture, or (3) retention and graduation for a marginalized student group—students will consult with the professor in order to select the student group on which they will focus. (Outcome 4)