Two Year Curriculum

 

 

First Year

Spring	Summer	Fall
Introduction	Psychopath I	Marriage & Family
Human Growth	Techniques	Diagnosis
Theories	Pre-marital	Gerontology
Psychopharm	Adolescent	Crisis Interven.

 

Second Year

Spring	Summer	Fall
Psychopath II	Child	Sexuality
Pastoral Care	Substance Abuse	Parenting
Psych & Theology	Ethics	Ethnicity
PRACTICUM I	PRACTICUM II	PRACTICUM III

 

 

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COUN 1: Introduction
Explores the root and foundations of Christian counseling. Profile of a shepherd-lay counselor: lessons learned from the good shepherd.

1. The root foundation of Christian counseling

2. Theological and Spiritual aspects in the Orthodox teaching

3. Counseling: What and why?

4. Who is qualified to be a lay counselor?

5. The uniqueness of Christian counseling

6. The lay counselors resource: The Bible

7. The lay counselors resource: The Holy Spirit

8. The lay counselors: The Church

9. The lay counselors: Theorists

10. The client: Who he is and how he changes

11. Ethical and legal issues

12. Lay counselor ethics

 

COUN 2: Personality Development/ Human Growth & Development
This course includes a survey of the organic, social, and psychological factors that influence the development of personality. Seeks to understand what makes a person distinctively different along with a critical evaluation of various theories of personality development, particularly as they relate to questions of values and religious commitment.

1. Theories of human development

2. Heredity and Environment

3. Psychosocial stages ( Eriksons theory)

4. Physical, psychological and cognitive development in different stages of development. The first two years of life.

   • Ages two to six

   • Middle childhood

   • Adolescence

   • Early Adulthood

   • Middle Adulthood

   • Later Adulthood

5. Psychosocial development in different stages of development.

   • The first two years of life

   • Ages two to six

   • Middle childhood

   • Adolescence

   • Early Adulthood

   • Middle Adulthood

   • Later Adulthood

6. Aging: Physical and cognitive changes

7. Death and Dying

 

COUN 3: Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy
Provides a Christian view of the persons. An examination of the content, comprehensiveness and validity of several counseling theories (behavioral therapy, rational emotive therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and others that have been developed by prominent Christian counselors.)

1. The integration of Christianity & Psychology

2. Orthodox view of persons

3. The current major psychotherapy theories in the mental health field

4. Psychoanalysis (Drive, Ego)

5. The behavioral psychologies

   1. Behavioral therapy

   2. Cognitive-behavioral therapy

   3. Reality therapy

      1. Family systems therapy

      2. Christian critique to the current theories

      3. Personality development & profile

   4. System Theory

    

COUN 4: Psychopharmacology and Counseling
This course is designed to teach the prospective lay counselor about the history and development of psychopharmacologic agents, the biochemical nature of the central nervous system and its relationship to psychopharmacology. The legitimate use of medications and their importance for treatment are also examined.

COUN 5: Psychopathology and Counseling I
A study of behavioral deviations, determining factors and differential diagnoses of behavior considered deviating from normal patterns. Special attention is given to the DSM. Assessment.

COUN 6: Psychopathology and Counseling II
Anxiety disorder, PTSD, OCD, and the definitions of anxiety Vs normal worry and fear etc. Personality disorders, eating disorders, Childhood disorders including ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders, autistic disorder, self mutilation, school avoidance and separation anxiety.

COUN 7: Counseling Techniques and the Helping Relationship
An intensive counseling experience designed to enhance self-awareness, promote personality exploration, and provide case discussion and analysis. Fundamentals of the therapeutic relationship and essential skills are examined.

1. Healthy relationships

2. The helping relationship

3. The importance of values in helping

4. Basic communication skills

5. Attending, listening and understanding

6. Basic empathy

7. The art of probing and summarizing

8. Helping clients tell their stories

9. Reluctant and resistant clients

10. Helping clients make plans

 

COUN 8: Premarital and Marital Counseling
This course introduces students to a variety of approaches that have been developed for thorough premarital counseling. The course also teaches students a conceptual model for understanding the variety of ways marriages can become dysfunctional, and introduces them to short-term methods that can be used when those kinds of problems develop.

COUN 9: Marriage and Family Counseling
A consideration of the dynamics of marriage and family relationships is given. The emphasis is on understanding the structure and function of marriage, the various aspects of the marital relationship, family systems, and ways the lay counselor may approach marriage and family counseling as a creative, preventative, and healing ministry.

1. The importance of premarital counseling in the Coptic Church

2. Biblical foundation for marriage

3. The marriage throughout the family cycle

4. Communication in marriage

5. Domestic violence

6. Conflict resolution in marriage

7. Past hurts and marital satisfaction

8. Dysfunctional families

9. What does the healthy family look like

10. Hurt, blame and sin

11. Marital intimacy

12. Infidelity

13. Forgiveness

14. Church guidelines on engagement, marriage, annulment and divorce

 

COUN 10: Human Sexuality
This course is an analysis of the anatomical, psychological, cultural, and religious aspects of a wide range of topics in the area of human sexuality. Emphasis is on the development of an understanding and appreciation of the role of sexuality throughout the various phases of the life cycle.

COUN 11: Child Counseling
The developmental and psychological needs and problems of children are examined through the analysis of personality types and family structure. Counseling techniques (e.g. play therapy) for children are also examined.

1. Building the child’s self-esteem

2. Anger management in children

3. The strong willed child

4. When does a child need professional counseling

 

COUN 12: Counseling the Adolescent
This course examines the transitions of adolescence emphasizing family, social, spiritual/moral, and physical issues. Counseling theories and practices for working with adolescents are explored. Teens and pornography, Teens and Satanism is addressed.

COUN 13: Gerontology and Counseling
This course acquaints students with the issues and problems unique to the elderly in American society. Topics such as suffering, societal attitude, and family structure are examined.

COUN 14: Addiction, Substance Abuse and Dependence
This course examines the effects of addictions on people, drug use and drug abuse, effects of abuse, adolescent drug use, and sexual addiction. Principles for counseling the addict are explored.

1. What is addiction?

   1. Drug and alcohol:

      1. Drug use and abuse

      2. What lay counselors should know about drugs

      3. Effects of drug abuse

      4. Adolescent drug use

      5. Abuse in special populations (the elderly, & the disabled)

      6. The warning signs and treatment of substance abuse

   2. Food (compulsive overeating, bulimia)

   3. Sex

   4. Work and success

   5. Control

   6. Money (overspending, hoarding, gambling)

   7. Approval (the need to please people)

   8. Rescuing behavior

   9. Dependency on toxic relations

   10. Exercise, diet, and physical conditioning

   11. Perfectionism

   12. Cleanliness and avoidance of contamination

   13. Obsession with being organized and structural

   14. Materialism (obsession with acquiring things)

   15. Preoccupation with entertainment (video, computers, movies, music)

   16. Obsession with physical beauty

   17. Academic pursuits and excessive intellectualizing

2. The addiction cycle

3. Recovery from addiction

4. A spiritual road to recovery

 

COUN 15: Ethnicity, Families and Counseling
This course focuses on the contribution of ethnic background to family makeup and functioning, Multicultural counseling, and adaptation to immigration.

COUN 16: Integration of Psychology and Theology
This course prepares students for lay counseling within our Coptic Orthodox Church. The course provides a systematic overview of Christian doctrines, a discussion of various theological viewpoints regarding those doctrines, and an examination of how psychological and theological concepts relate to each other.

COUN 17: Ethics and Legal Issues: e.g. child abuse, suicide
This course educates what constitutes sound, ethical conduct to do the right thing with good intentions in counseling. It covers the moral principles of the helping lay counselors. It addresses the knowledge of ethical, legal and professional standards. It equips the student with the skills for applying the rules and standards to the questions and dilemmas that would arise in the counseling settings.

COUN 18: Diagnosis & Treatment Plan
This course prepares students for lay counseling within our church. It helps students to increase their ability to take a psychological history, use the DSM-IV-TR to make accurate clinical diagnoses, develop treatment plans that will motivate clients, and that research has shown to be effective strategies for clients identified problem(s).

COUN 19: Pastoral Care

1. Faith and worship, Will of God, Wisdom, Trust and truth

2. Strength resisting evil, Forgiveness, Humility, Repentance

3. Wisdom, swearing temptation, blasphemy, boastfulness, envy, jealousy, hatred

4. Anger and anger management

5. Hopelessness, lying, guilt, gossip, judgmental, Freedom in Christ

COUN: 20: Parenting Skills
This course acquaints students with the issues and problems unique to new generations of parents face with the challenge of helping children grow into responsible adults. Also, students will learn time-tested, biblically based information on everything from discipline, money and sex education to sibling rivalry, self-esteem and making a marriage work.

COUN: 21: Crisis Intervention
Death, Disease, Domestic Violence The Students will explore definitions, theories, and practice of crisis intervention as it is practiced in Church-based systems and networks. Grief, illness, accidents, violent death, and related crises will be examined. Students will look at theological frameworks for doing this kind of ministry, and develop integrative syntheses for themselves. The class will examine the role of culture, race, and ethnicity in crisis intervention. Students, for example, will understand the unique stressors recent immigrants confront. In addition, students will become familiar with the role of culture, ethnicity, and race in issues of depression, schizophrenia, violence, and illness and death and dying.

COUN 22 & 23 & 24: Counseling Practicum
Clinical diagnosis and treatment plans.