Courses

COU 500 INTRODUCTION TO THE COUNSELING PROFESSION & INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS   3.0 Credit(s)
This course serves as an orientation to the MA of Clinical Mental Health program; personal growth experiences in the program; the counseling profession; ethical and legal issues, counseling process, skills and theories; professional counselor roles, functions and work settings; and historical foundations of counseling. The course covers history, philosophy, and trends in clinical mental health counseling; roles, responsibilities of counselors; knowledge of clinical mental health settings; legal, ethical issues, policies, laws, and legislation pertinent to counseling. Students will learn basic information about national standards, certification, and licensure requirements.
Offered: Modules Odd Semesters All Years

COU 510 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT   3.0 Credit(s)
This course provides an overview, to clinical mental health counseling students, of the theories, concepts, and research regarding the developmental characteristics of human development. The course will enhance students' understanding of significant developmental changes that occur over the lifespan. Emphasis will be placed on human development throughout the life span, including emotional, physical, cognitive, and social development with an emphasis on the influences of cultural phenomena on behavior. The course will involve critiques of different theories of human development culture, lifespan processes, and the relationships among these. Professional, clinical, legal, and ethical issues will also be addressed.
Offered: Modules Odd Semesters All Years

COU 520 SKILLS IN HELPING RELATIONSHIPS - RESIDENCY I   3.0 Credit(s)
This course facilitates the development of individual counseling skills in clinical mental health counseling students. It serves to introduce students to the basic microskills/helping skills and assist them learn how to utilize and apply these counseling skills. The goal of this course is to present the basic skills and techniques that form the foundation of the counseling process. A focus of the course is the development of counselors that will become effective agents of change through therapeutic relationships. This course facilitates self-development related to one's ability to relate to and connect with others and we will emphasize personal growth and self-care throughout the course. The course will involve live, online skills practice, submission of recorded sessions of skills' practice for peer and instructor feedback, and a 1-week, on-ground live component.
Offered: Fall, Spring & Summer Sems All Years

COU 530 COUNSELING THEORIES   3.0 Credit(s)
This course introduces clinical mental health counseling students to the seminal counseling theories and helping relationships from individual and systemic perspectives. The course incorporates theory, skills, and techniques in the development of a counselor identity, theoretical orientation. The course allows students to explore a variety of established theoretical orientations and examine them for personal congruence and applicability for client populations. The course explores helper and helpee characteristics, sociocultural factors, and legal and ethical considerations.
Offered: All Semesters All Years

COU 540 SOCIAL & CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS   3.0 Credit(s)
This course is designed to promote development of a theoretical and practical framework, in clinical mental health counseling students, for effective delivery of clinical mental health services within the context of diversity and multiculturalism. In addition to exploring the effects cultural diversity has on the helping relationship, this course will examine the relationship that ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, minority status, aging, and disability plays in the delivery of clinical mental health services. Students will identify practice-based strategies that address cultural challenges to service delivery including the impact of individual prejudices and discrimination.
Offered: All Semesters All Years

COU 550 ASSESSMENT & ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES   3.0 Credit(s)
This course is designed as a practical introduction, for clinical mental health counseling students, to testing and assessment as this course covers the basics in assessment. The course explores the theory and techniques of administering, scoring, and interpreting educational and psychological tests and includes test selection, administration, and the dynamics of test interpretation to enable the counselor to synthesize, integrate, and evaluate appraisal data for use in guidance and counseling. Topics include intelligence, achievement, neuropsychological assessment, objective and projective personality testing, and testing of ability, aptitude, and attitudes. The course is designed to enable students to become competent and critical readers of testing data and research, to improve their knowledge of referral options, and to integrate testing data in treatment planning and therapy. Prerequisite: TAKE COU-530
Offered: Modules All Semesters All Years

COU 570 CAREER COUNSELING   3.0 Credit(s)
This course introduces clinical mental health counseling students to the theories and stages of career development will serve as the foundation for an exploration of life planning and career development. Career planning will be considered as a process of continuous self-assessment, careful selection, skill development, goal setting, and decision making. The course will examine career development from the dual perspective of personal development. Prerequisite: Take COU-550
Offered: All Semesters All Years

COU 560 PSYCHOPATHOLOGY, DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS, & ADVANCED ASSESSMENTS   3.0 Credit(s)
This course is a study of abnormal human behavior and the principles of understanding dysfunction in human behavior or social disorganization. It is based on the DSM 5 and ICD-10 and is designed to provide an in-depth look at the etiology and diagnosis of psychological distress and psychopathology to clinical mental health counseling students. Students will become familiar with cultural diversity factors impacting diagnosis and assessment. Students will gain an understanding of the biological, neurological, psychosocial and physiological factors that affect human functioning, and behavior. The course allows for students to learn about and assess for mental disorders across the lifespan and include the biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors implicated in vulnerability and resilience. A focus is made on the "continuous assessment process" and advancing one's assessment skills. Prerequisite: Take COU-540 and COU-550
Offered: Modules All Semesters All Years

COU 580 RESEARCH METHODS & PROGRAM EVALUATION   3.0 Credit(s)
This course is designed to allow clinical mental health counseling students to explore the methodological foundations of research and program evaluation including issues in general scientific practice; measurement; both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection; research design; relationship among problem, theory, and method; and practical and ethical problems in the conduct of research. The course offers developing the ability to critically analyze research in the area of research and program evaluation and becoming consumers of good research.
Offered: All Semesters All Years

COU 590 SUBSTANCE USE & PROCESS DISORDERS ADDICTIONS   3.0 Credit(s)
This course is designed to provide clinical mental health counseling students with an overview of substances use disorders and process addictions. This course examines the various etiological factors that contribute to substances use disorders and process addictions, including neurobiological, genetic, psychological, socio-cultural, environmental, spiritual, and contextual factors. Emphasis will be placed on a bio-psychosocial model, highlighting the inter-relationship between such factors. Special emphasis will be placed on co-morbid disorders, differential diagnostic issues, and the various methods used to evaluate substance use problems. Barriers to effective treatment will also be discussed. Prerequisite: Take COU-560
Offered: All Semesters All Years

COU 565 COUNSELING THEORIES II:CPLS, FAM, CHILD FAMILIES AND CHILDREN   3.0 Credit(s)
This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to conducting couple and family counseling. The primary objective of the class is to assist counseling students translate theories into action through the use of family systems theories. As such, the course will include processes of couples and family counseling and special aspects of contemporary couples and family counseling. Students explore the interviewing and counseling techniques that are specific to working with couples and families. Structural, communication, analytic, behavioral, and postmodern theories of couples and family counseling will be explores as well as ethics, legal issues, and current research in family systems theories. Prerequisite: Take Cou-530 and COU-590
Offered: All Semesters All Years

COU 575 HUMAN SEXUALITY   3.0 Credit(s)
This course provides foundational understanding of sexuality from multiple perspectives, ranging from the biological through psychological, as well as cultural, medical, ethical and legal issues. The course also serves to explore issues related to counseling matters of sexuality, including the culture of sexuality, stigma, and special topics. Through examination sexuality and issues related to sexuality, students will be better informed to assume a role in helping clients address issues of human sexuality. Prerequisite: Take COU-530 and COU-590
Offered: Modules All Semesters All Years

COU 585 COUNSELING SPECIAL POPS & ADV TECHNIQUE   3.0 Credit(s)
This course allows students to explore working with selected/special populations with which they may come into contact as counselors. The course will include discussion of and research into the role of ethical and culturally competent counseling with special populations in integrative models of care and various counseling settings; while, becoming familiar with advanced techniques, theories, and models of counseling.  The course views special populations through the lens of multiculturalism and diversity. Prerequisite: Take COU-530 and COU-590
Offered: Modules All Semesters All Years

NU 549 FAMILY THEORY IN THE CONTEXT COMMUNITY   3.0 Credit(s)
This course addresses selected family, primary care, and community theories within the context of advanced practice nursing and clinical leadership roles.  Emphasis is placed on family and community assessment strategies, the impact of culture upon the family and community systems, and the impact of various primary care-oriented health problems on family roles and functions.
Offered: Fall Semester All Years

CH 532 ADV.PHYS.CHEM.II:MOLECUL.DYNA   3.0 Credit(s)
Topics in statistical thermodynamics, collision theory, and reaction dynamics and mechanism. Prerequisite: TAKE CH-332
Offered: As Needed Contact Department