This course is not currently offered, please contact the school or faculty of your program.

Course description

This series of classes provides students with opportunities to develop and extend skills in active listening, assessing and planning individual sessions. Students will take part in role plays, class discussions, will lead the class, and will journal these experiences as part of gaining a range of skills appropriate to therapeutic work with individuals and groups. Class exercises are designed to give students practice experience at relating in a quasi-therapy context. The class exercises are not therapeutic in and of themselves but provide opportunities for students to practice skills and gain confidence and experience in relating therapeutically. The student is asked to identify themselves as therapist rather than "patient" or therapy client; however, an ability to relate to the patient role and to consider the feelings and reactions of patients is valued. This course requires high levels of thinking and integration of materials (experiences and theory) as well as the willingness to participate fully in class exercises. Ideas will be considered critically, with intelligent and informed debate on issues of importance in the process of learning to be a therapist. The literature provides many straightforward explanations of the "how to" of therapy work, and students are expected to be aware of these through their reading and preparation for assignments. The classes are designed to develop this knowledge to practice competence, therefore discussion and class activities are the main means of offering learning experiences