COURSE DESCRIPTION

A comprehensive study of the major theories of marriage and family counseling. Skill building through media, modeling, and role playing.

COURSE RATIONALE

Students will gain the knowledge and skills needed to begin counseling couples and families. Students will learn various approaches to helping with marriage and family conflicts related to divorce, complex family dynamics, issues surrounding children, and family violence. In addition, students will learn how to navigate the, sometimes difficult, issues of couples in conflict.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK

Rathus, S. A. (2020). HDEV6: human lifespan development. Cengage. 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Knowledge and Skill Learning Outcomes: CACREP Standards

·        Section 2: 3.a. theories of individual and family development across the lifespan

·        Section 2: 3.b. theories of learning

·        Section 2: 3.c. theories of normal and abnormal personality development

·        Section 2: 3.d. theories and etiology of addictions and addictive behaviors

·        Section 2: 3.e. biological, neurological, and physiological factors that affect human development, functioning, and behavior

·        *Section 2: 3.f. systemic and environmental factors that affect human development, functioning, and behavior KPI

·        Section 2: 3.g. effects of crisis, disasters, and trauma on diverse individuals across the lifespan

·        *Section 2: 3.h. a general framework for understanding differing abilities and strategies for differentiated interventions KPI

·        Section 2: 3.i. ethical and culturally relevant strategies for promoting resilience and optimum development and wellness across the lifespan

·        Section 5C: 1.d. neurobiological and medical foundation and etiology of addiction and co-occurring disorders

·        Section 5C: 2.f. impact of crisis and trauma on individuals with mental health diagnoses

·        Section 5C: 2.g. impact of biological and neurological mechanisms on mental health

·        Section 5C: 2.j. cultural factors relevant to clinical mental health counseling

·        Section 5C: 3.b. techniques and interventions for prevention and treatment of a broad range of mental health issues

·        Section 5C: 3.d. strategies for interfacing with integrated behavioral health care professionals

·        Section 5C: 3.e. strategies to advocate for persons with mental health issues

Learning Objectives

1.     Demonstrate an understanding of and be able to compare and contrast theories of various approaches of individual and family development and transitions across the life span.

2.     Demonstrate an understanding of and critique theories of learning and personality development, including current understandings about neurobiological behavior.

3.     Demonstrate an understanding of theories and approaches facilitating optimal development and wellness over the life span.

4.     Recognize the importance of understanding the nature and needs of diverse individuals at all developmental levels in the ethical provision of counseling services.

5.     Perceive multicultural and pluralistic trends of individuals at all developmental levels, including characteristics and concerns between and within diverse groups nationally and internationally. 

Midwestern State University Values:

·        People-Centered – Engage others with respect, empathy, and joy.

·        Community – Cultivate a diverse and inclusive campus environment.

·        Integrity – Always do the right thing.

·        Visionary – Adopt innovative ideas to pioneer new paths.

·        Connections – Value relationships with broader communities. 

COURSE EXPECTATIONS

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, its faculty, and its students adhere to the University Code of Conduct, State of Texas licensure laws and regulations, and the American Counseling Association’s (2014) Code of Ethics. The program has a professional responsibility to ensure that all students display ethical, professional, and personal behaviors that comply with these guidelines. Students are strongly encouraged to review, understand, and consult the American Counseling Association website for details related to these guidelines.

Department of Counseling students are expected to demonstrate appropriate classroom behavior, consistent with their counselor-in-training roles. Counselors-in-training are expected to convey attentiveness and respect in all professional and classroom settings.

DEPARTMENT OF COUNSELING STATEMENT OF EXPECTATIONS

The counselor education program is charged with the dual task of nurturing the development of counselors-in-training and ensuring quality client care. In order to fulfill these dual responsibilities, faculty must evaluate students based on their academic, professional, and personal qualities. A student's progress in the program may be interrupted for failure to comply with academic standards or if a student's interpersonal or emotional status interferes with training-related requirements. For example, in order to ensure proper training and client care, a counselor-in-training must abide by relevant ethical codes and demonstrate professional knowledge, technical and interpersonal skills, professional attitudes, and professional character. These factors are evaluated based on one's academic performance and one's ability to convey warmth, genuineness, respect, and empathy in interactions with clients, classmates, staff, and faculty. Students should demonstrate the ability to accept and integrate feedback, be aware of their impact on others, accept personal responsibility, and be able to express feelings effectively and appropriately. For further clarification on student review and retention please refer to the handbook.

Classroom Behaviors:

Department of Counseling students are expected to demonstrate appropriate classroom behavior, consistent with their counselor-in-training roles. Counselors-in-training are expected to convey attentiveness and respect in all professional and classroom settings. Specifically, these include:

·        Avoiding tardiness and late arrival to class.

·        Being attentive and participative in class and online.

·        Not using cell phones and text messaging during class.

·        Not surfing the web, emailing, tweeting, or using instant messaging (IM) during class.

·        Minimizing eating and disruptive snacking during class.

·        Avoiding personal conversations with students during class, which are disruptive to fellow students and the learning environment.

STUDENT ETHICS AND OTHER POLICY INFORMATION

Ethics:

For further information about Midwestern State University’s policies regarding student ethics and conduct, please contact 940-397-4135 (Student Support Services).

Special Notice:

Students whose names do not appear on the class list will not be permitted to participate (take exams or receive credit) without first showing proof of registration (Schedule of Classes and Statement of Account).

Campus Carry:

Senate Bill 11 passed by the 84th Texas Legislature allows licensed handgun holders to carry concealed handguns on campus, effective August 1, 2016. Areas excluded from concealed carry are appropriately marked, in accordance with state law. For more information regarding campus carry, please refer to the University’s webpage at: Campus Carry. As this is an online class, this policy should not apply, but please familiarize yourself with this and other campus policies. *Please note, open carry of handguns, whether licensed or not, and the carrying of all other firearms, whether open or concealed, are prohibited on campus.

Limited Right to Intellectual Property:

By enrolling in this course, the student expressly grants MSU a “limited right” in all intellectual property created by the student for the purpose of this course. The “limited right” shall include but shall not be limited to the right to reproduce the student’s work product in order to verify originality and authenticity, and for educational purposes.

Midwestern State University Mission Statement:

MSU is a leading public liberal arts university committed to providing students with rigorous undergraduate and graduate education in the liberal arts and the professions. Through an emphasis upon teaching, augmented by the opportunity for students to engage in research and creative activities alongside faculty and to participate in co-curricular and service programs, Midwestern State prepares its graduates to embark upon their careers or pursue advanced study. The university’s undergraduate education is based upon a comprehensive arts and sciences core curriculum. The understanding that students gain of themselves, others, and the social and natural world prepares them to contribute constructively to society through their work and through their private lives.

Online Etiquette:

It is expected that students use formal, professional language when corresponding online. It is expected that you use complete sentences, address one another with respect, follow the American Counseling Association’s (2014) Code of Ethics, and treat all members of the class with respect.

Diversity:

It is my intent to present material and activities that are respectful of diversity. It is also my intent that students from all perspectives and diverse backgrounds be well-served by this course, that students’ learning needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength, and benefit. Your suggestions about how to improve the value of diversity in this course are encouraged and appreciated.

Confidentiality:

Upholding confidentiality is a major responsibility of the student. Anything discussed during supervision, online in this class, or shared by individual students about themselves is considered confidential. Please do not share any information shared to you by other students.

Academic Dishonesty:

Students at Midwestern State University are an essential part of the academic community and enjoy substantial freedom within the framework of the educational objectives of the institution. The freedom necessary for learning in a community so rich in diversity and achieving success toward our educational objectives requires high standards of academic integrity. Academic dishonesty has no place in an institution of advanced learning. It is each student's responsibility to know what constitutes academic dishonesty and to seek clarification directly from the instructor if necessary. Examples of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to:

·        Submission of an assignment as the student's original work that is entirely or partly the work of another person.

·        Failure to appropriately cite references from published or unpublished works or print/non-print materials, including work found on the World Wide Web.

·        Observing or assisting another student's work.

·        Multiple Submission - Submitting a substantial portion or the entire same work (including oral presentations) for credit in different classes without permission or knowledge of the instructor.

Statement of Disability:

Disability Support Services (DSS) provides services to students with disabilities to insure accessibility to university programs. DSS offers information about accommodations and disability, evaluation referral, adaptive technology training and equipment, and interpreter services for academically related purposes. 

If you suspect you have a disability that is impacting your academic performance or have been previously documented as a person with a disability, you will need to apply and provide documentation of that disability to the Disability Support Services. This documentation must be supplied by a qualified professional who is licensed or certified to diagnose the disability in question. 

The Disability Support Services office is located in Room 168 of the Clark Student Center. If you need assistance, you can also contact them at (940) 397-4140.

STUDENT ETHICS AND OTHER POLICY INFORMATION

Ethics:

For further information about Midwestern State University’s policies regarding student ethics and conduct, please contact 940-397-4135 (Student Support Services).

Special Notice:

Students whose names do not appear on the class list will not be permitted to participate (take exams or receive credit) without first showing proof of registration (Schedule of Classes and Statement of Account).

Campus Carry:

Senate Bill 11 passed by the 84th Texas Legislature allows licensed handgun holders to carry concealed handguns on campus, effective August 1, 2016. Areas excluded from concealed carry are appropriately marked, in accordance with state law. For more information regarding campus carry, please refer to the University’s webpage at: Campus Carry. As this is an online class, this policy should not apply, but please familiarize yourself with this and other campus policies. *Please note, open carry of handguns, whether licensed or not, and the carrying of all other firearms, whether open or concealed, are prohibited on campus.

Limited Right to Intellectual Property:

By enrolling in this course, the student expressly grants MSU a “limited right” in all intellectual property created by the student for the purpose of this course. The “limited right” shall include but shall not be limited to the right to reproduce the student’s work product in order to verify originality and authenticity, and for educational purposes.

Midwestern State University Mission Statement:

MSU is a leading public liberal arts university committed to providing students with rigorous undergraduate and graduate education in the liberal arts and the professions. Through an emphasis upon teaching, augmented by the opportunity for students to engage in research and creative activities alongside faculty and to participate in co-curricular and service programs, Midwestern State prepares its graduates to embark upon their careers or pursue advanced study. The university’s undergraduate education is based upon a comprehensive arts and sciences core curriculum. The understanding that students gain of themselves, others, and the social and natural world prepares them to contribute constructively to society through their work and through their private lives.

Attendance:

Class attendance is crucial to successful completion of this course since much of the training cannot be learned in textbooks. Therefore, GRADUATE STUDENTS are expected to be on time and to attend *every session online and all required face to face classes. Tardiness, leaving early, and absences are considered evidence of lack of dependability, and are taken seriously. Since this is an online class and we do not have face-to-face meetings, your discussion board work is evidence of your attendance.

Late Work:

All papers and assignments must be turned in the day they are due. *No exceptions. If you have an emergency, please let me know in advance, and/or email me your assignment the same day it is due.  Your assignment grade will be lowered if it is turned in late.  Late papers can only be turned in before the deadline for the following assignments. Please observe that your assignments are worth a considerable number of points and skipping even one assignment will most likely significantly lower your grade. Please begin planning your semester schedule accordingly.

Online Computer Requirements:

Taking an online class requires you to have access to a computer (with Internet access) to complete and upload your assignments. It is your responsibility to have (or have access to) a working computer in this class. *Assignments and tests are due by the due date, and personal computer technical difficulties will not be considered reason for the instructor to allow students extra time to submit assignments, tests, or discussion postings. Computers are available on campus in various areas of the buildings as well as the Academic Success Center. *Your computer being down is not an excuse for missing a deadline!! There are many places to access your class! Our online classes can be accessed from any computer in the world that is connected to the internet. Contact your instructor immediately upon having computer trouble. If you have technical difficulties in the course, there is also a student helpdesk available to you. The college cannot work directly on student computers due to both liability and resource limitations however they are able to help you get connected to our online services. For help, log into D2L. 

Note: You may not submit a paper for a grade in this class that already has been (or will be) submitted for a grade in another course, unless you obtain the explicit written permission of me and the other instructor involved in advance.

Plagiarism is the use of someone else's thoughts, words, ideas, or lines of argument in your own work without appropriate documentation (a parenthetical citation at the end and a listing in "Works Cited")-whether you use that material in a quote, paraphrase, or summary. It is a theft of intellectual property and will not be tolerated, whether intentional or not.

Student Honor Creed

As an MSU Student, I pledge not to lie, cheat, steal, or help anyone else do so."

As students at MSU, we recognize that any great society must be composed of empowered, responsible citizens. We also recognize universities play an important role in helping mold these responsible citizens. We believe students themselves play an important part in developing responsible citizenship by maintaining a community where integrity and honorable character are the norm, not the exception.

Thus, We, the Students of Midwestern State University, resolve to uphold the honor of the University by affirming our commitment to complete academic honesty. We resolve not only to be honest but also to hold our peers accountable for complete honesty in all university matters.

We consider it dishonest to ask for, give, or receive help in examinations or quizzes, to use any unauthorized material in examinations, or to present, as one's own, work or ideas which are not entirely one's own. We recognize that any instructor has the right to expect that all student work is honest, original work. We accept and acknowledge that responsibility for lying, cheating, stealing, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty fundamentally rests within each individual student.

We expect of ourselves academic integrity, personal professionalism, and ethical character. We appreciate steps taken by University officials to protect the honor of the University against any who would disgrace the MSU student body by violating the spirit of this creed.

Written and adopted by the 2002-2003 MSU Student Senate.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Disability Support Services in Room 168 of the Clark Student Center, (940) 397-4140.

The professor considers this classroom to be a place where you will be treated with respect as a human being - regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, political beliefs, age, or ability. Additionally, diversity of thought is appreciated and encouraged, provided you can agree to disagree. It is the professor's expectation that ALL students consider the classroom a safe environment.

All instructors in the Department have voicemail in their offices and MSUTexas e-mail addresses. Make sure you add your instructor's phone number and e-mail address to both email and cell phone lists of contacts.

Obligation to Report Sex Discrimination under State and Federal Law

Midwestern State University is committed to providing and strengthening an educational, working, and living environment where students, faculty, staff, and visitors are free from sex discrimination of any kind. State and federal law require University employees to report sex discrimination and sexual misconduct to the University’s Office of Title IX. As a faculty member, I am required to report to the Title IX Coordinator any allegations, personally observed behavior, or other direct or indirect knowledge of conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination or sexual misconduct, which includes sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, or stalking, involving a student or employee. After a report is made, the office of Title IX will reach out to the affected student or employee in an effort to connect such person(s) with resources and options in addressing the allegations made in the report. You are also encouraged to report any incidents to the office of Title IX. You may do so by contacting:

Laura Hetrick

Title IX Coordinator
Sunwatcher Village Clubhouse
940-397-4213

laura.hetrick@msutexas.edu

You may also file an online report 24/7 at Maxient 

Should you wish to visit with someone about your experience in confidence, you may contact the MSU Counseling Center at 940-397-4618. For more information on the University’s policy on Title IX or sexual misconduct, please visit MSU Texas Title IX

Senate Bill 11 passed by the 84th Texas Legislature allows licensed handgun holders to carry concealed handguns on campus, effective August 1, 2016. Areas excluded from concealed carry are appropriately marked, in accordance with state law. For more information regarding campus carry, please refer to the University’s webpage at https://msutexas.edu/campus-carry/rules-policies.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact MSU Chief of Police at police@msutexas.edu.