HUS 2302 - Basic Counseling Skills

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Credit(s): 3
Contact Hours: 47
Effective Term Fall 2016 (520)

Course Description

This course is an introductory experience in active listening skills. The focus is on viewing and processing of each student's video taped practice counseling sessions with emphasis on basic awareness and communication skills, empathic listening, positive regard for the client, and recognition of interference in the communication process.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

  1. The student will demonstrate an understanding of the basic listening and communication skills as presented in the course, Introduction to Intra and Inter-Personal Processes, or its equivalent by practicing listening and communication skills through use of:
    1. self disclosure
    2. zones of awareness
    3. communication ground rules
    4. responsible confrontation
    5. non-defensive self-exploration
    6. supportive behavior
  2. The student will establish and maintain non-physical contact with the client by practicing the following active listening techniques:
    1. maintaining comfortable eye contact
    2. maintaining attentive, relaxed body posture
    3. reflective statements
    4. clarifying statements
  3. The student will demonstrate accurate, non-judgmental, empathetic listening ability by practicing the following objective feedback techniques:
    1. providing accurate reflective statements for client content and process
    2. avoiding to provide his/her own values and opinions
  4. The student will show positive regard for the client by being sensitive to the intrinsic worth of the (individual) client by demonstrating the following attitudes:
    1. non-judgmental statements
    2. absence of expectations placed upon client
  5. The student will recognize interference in the above processes and will deal with the interference appropriately by being sensitive to either internal or external obstructions to the counseling process and taking appropriate steps to amend the situation through the following techniques:
    1. recognition of zones of awareness
    2. ability to shift zone of awareness
    3. willingness to deal with any interference
    4. criteria performance standard

Criteria Performance Standard

Upon successful completion of the course the student will, with a minimum of 70% accuracy, demonstrate mastery of each of the above stated objectives through classroom measures developed by individual course instructors.

History of Changes

Revised 6/29/83 Revised 8/84 3 YR C&I Review 1992-93 DBT 10/20/93 Effective Session 19932 3 Year Review 9798. # changed by Field Review effective 20041. 3 Year Review 2005 eff20061. Flex access 20082(0405). 3-Year Review 2009—Minor changes—effective 20103(0440). C&I Approval: , BOT Approval: 10/20/1993, Effective Term: Summer 2011 (440).
C&I Approval: 11/20/2015, BOT Approval: 03/15/2016, Effective Term: Fall 2016 (520)

Related Programs

  1. Addiction Studies (ADS-CT) (595) (Active)
  2. Addiction Studies (ADS-CT) (595) (Draft)
  3. Addiction Studies (ADS-CT) (595) (Draft)
  4. Addiction Studies (ADS-CT) (595) (Draft)
  5. Addiction Studies (ADS-CT) (595) (Draft)
  6. Addiction Studies (ADS-CT) (595) (Draft)
  7. Human Services (HUMSVC-BS) (640) (Active)
  8. Human Services (HUMSVC-TR) (670) (Active)
  9. Social and Human Services (HUS-AS) (640) (Active)