Browse through all   
   MACU programs below:

- Major Requirement Courses -

• COUN 5113 - Psychopathology

  The ability to systematically perform differential diagnosis and establish the larger context for understanding the diagnosis is essential to the professional counselor. Using case studies, students will perform a structured protocol for performing a differential diagnosis with the current DSM disorders. The following primary skills will be developed: Recognizing criteria oof abnormality to increase sensitivity to identifying relevant symptomology, performing the structured steps of a diagnosis, recognizing co-occurring disorders to understand the range of issues needed for treatment planning, performing a differential diagnosis to distinguish the correct diagnosis from similar conditions, identifying the influence of medical conditions on symptomology, predicting the impact of crisis and trauma on symptomology and functioning to further quality treatment planning, and systematically appropriately ruling out malingering, factitious disorder, adjustment disorders, and substance etiology to finalize a correct diagnosis.

• COUN 5123 - Career Counseling and Development

  The cornerstone of career counseling is recognizing that it touches all aspects of human life, for it involves political, economic, educational, philsophical, and social progress and changealong with understanding the whole person as a member of complex social systems. The specialized content of career counseling includes initial career choice, the connection between career and personal problems, adaptations to changes in the workplace, multiple career dilemmas, and maintenance of a balanced lifestyle. The interactions of career, life, and gender roles on marriages, couples, and families will be an important focus of this course. Students will develop a comprehensive approach for skillfully performing career counseling that also incorporates personal concerns by examining and applying career assessment theory, performing major theories of career counseling are examined along with the presentation of major types of resource information, and employing research on trends in the world of work.

• COUN 5213 - Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy

  The foundation of counseling knowledge is the in-depth understanding of established theories counseling. Students will perform a comprehensive study of the prominent theories of counseling and psychotherapy, issues related to their application involving diversity, the roles of spirituality and wellness as it relates to mental health and addiction clients, and how to practically apply the theories based on individual issues and needs. The study of the theories includes personality theories, theories of motivation, theories of change, and ways to analyze case studies to make high quality clinical decisions for treatment. Students will experience a special focus on theoretical reasoning in both explaining the theories and fully elucidating case example in order to develop an integrated foundation upon which the more detailed study of the couseling field will build.

• COUN 5233 - Alcohol and Drug Addiction

  The foundationof the study of addiction counseling requires the understanding o fhuman behavior and how it applies to addiction and elements of substance abuse. This course presents a comprehensive framework of the history and development of addiction. Students will identify factors impacting addiction, including socialization, which increases the likelihood of a person, community , or group to be at risk for or reilient to psychoactive substance use disorder. The evolution of the roles and settings of the addiction counselor, along with the ethical and legal issues involved in addiction and substance counseling, will be considered.

• COUN 5313 - Individual Counseling and Psychotherapy Techniques

  The crucial skills and strategies of counseling and psychotherapy establish a basic structure applicable to many different theories that counselors can employ and integrate into their own natural style of helping. Students will study and apply the multi-culturally sensitive micro-skills approach to provide the critical background for competence in listening, influencing, and structuring an effective counseling session with individuals, families, couples, and marriages.Through practice session, students will master a basic structure for the session applicable to many different theories including developing an emphatic relationship and working alliance with the client; drawing out the client's story with special attention to strengths and resources, setting clear goals with the client, enabling the client to restructure and think differently about concerns, issues, and challenges, and helping the client move to action outside the session. Students will acquire skills for identifying and addressing common issues in working with clients' spiritual/religious issues to promote optimal functioning to increase meaning and purpose in life. Strength and character assessment and feedback will be employed to promote counselor dispositions in performing the counseling process.

• COUN 5333 - Addiction in the Family and Assessment Theory

  Counselors, working with individuals and families involving addiction, require a comprehensive understanding of the theories of addiction, assessment and diagnosis, treatment setting and planning, and the etiological theories of substance abuse. Students will sthudy the major theories and methods currently employed inthe assessment and treatment of substance abuse and addiction. An emphasis is placed on the evaluation of substance abuse patterns and the assessment of various treatment alternatives. The social aspects of familiy risks resiliencies will be extensively studied incorporating racial, ethnic, and cultural issues. Foundations for culturally and developmentally relevant education programs that raise awareness, support addiction and substance abuse prevention, and enhance the recovery process will be developed incorporating gender and sexual orientation differences, mutual-help groups, and public policy. Students will learn to develop treatment plans using the procedures a counselor or progra pactices to identify and evaluate individuals' strengths, weaknesses, problems, spiritual and other biopsychosocial factors and needs.

• COUN 5433 - Addiction in the Family Counseling

  A major focus of this course is for students to learn to skillfully perform addiction and substance abuse counseling including the adaptation of individual, group, marital, and family treatment techniques. An emphasis will be given to the acquisition of competencies for students to apply stregth-based therapeutic strategies and interventions incorporating an understanding of biology and addiction across the life span with the treatment of eating disorders, gambling, shopping, sex, other behavioral addictions, and co-occurring mental disorders or disabilities. Additionally, strategies for prevention, retaining sobriety, and relapse prevention of addiciton and substance abuse will be acquired for working with individuals and families. Students will study processes for addressing the treatment issues and characteristics of diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural populations as well as the social aspects of addiction which includes: Family risks and resiliencies, gender distinctions, and sexual orientation differences.

• COUN 5513 - Marriage and Family Systems and Treatment

  Family therapy has a revolutionary emphasis on systems thinking and the search for identifiable and recurring family patterns to be explored in this course. Students will examine the history and developmetn of marriage, couple and family counseling including foundational theories and principels of family development, the contemporary family, family subsystems, individual and interpersonal relationships, and grasping the influence of larger systems - race, social class, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation - on the functioning family and its individual members. Students will utilize systematic theories to describe problems and structure solutions by acquiring knowledge of the model of marital and family counseling. Students will examine the fundamentals of the family including adopting a family relationship framework, family development, diverstiy in family functioning, systems theory and systematic thinking, and the development and practice of family therapy. The range of theories examined includes: Psychodynamic models, transgenerational models, experiential models, the structural model, the strategic models, behavioral and cognitive-behavioral models, social construction models, and population-based family treatments.

• COUN 5533 - Pharmacology of Drugs of Abuse

  The counselor who treats addiction and substance requires a strong foundational knowledge of the nature of drugs of abuse and their impact. This course focuses on basic behavioral pharmacology; the behavioral analysis of drug effects; tolerance and conditioning of drug effects; the nervous system and neurological functioning as it relates to psychological disorders, the effects of medications and other substances on hte individual's cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral functioning; and characteristics of dependence and addiction. Students will examine the pharmacokinetics of drug action(s), the side effects of psychoactive and psychotherapeutic drugs, the development of tolerance, the development of dependency and issues regarding withdrawal, and cross addiction(s). Additional study will include: The self-administration of drugs, alcohol and its effects, tranquilizers and sedative hypnotics, inhaled substances, tobacco and nicotine, caffeine and methylxanthines, psychomotor stimulants, the opiates, antipsychotic drugs, antodepressants and mood stabilizers, cannabis, and hallucinogens.

• COUN 5643 - Addiction and Substance Abuse Counseling Theory and Techniques

  The application of theories and techniques of counseling with a special emphasis on models/methods of alcohol and substance abuse/addiction/dependency counseling is important for the addiction and professional counselor. The current treatment research, and application of theoretical models, and the successful methods in the treatment process of addiction and substance abuse will be extensively examined. Understanding the causes, social implications, treatment (including the principles and philosophies of self-help), cultural competency and prevention methods and skills will be extensively studied.

• COUN 5713 - Human Development

  This course explores theoretical and research approaches in the study of the development of human abilities and behavior throughout the lifespan (child, adolescent, and adult). Topics include developmental research methodology, variables influencing development, and basic developmental processes in physical, motor, perceptual, cognitive linguistic, emotional, social, and personality development. Applications of developmental theory to counseling are emphasized.

• COUN 5913 - Research Methods

  A comprehensive course in various research methodologies used in the study of behavior. The course provides tools to analyze research data and draw appropriate conclusions. Both the theory of research and the practical process of performing research will be presented.

• COUN 6133 - Multi-Cultural Treatment Planning for Individuals and Families

  This course is a synthesis of the student’s clinical training. The student will learn to coordinate diagnostic interviewing, psychological assessment techniques and diagnosis to assist in developing appropriate treatment plans for clients. Students will demonstrate appropriate use of the DSM-IV diagnostic skills and illustrate an awareness of the growing body of literature on empirically based treatment planning. Multicultural research based information about various cultures and unique psychological and mental health issues will be investigated.

• COUN 6233 - Ethics and Professional Studies

  This course is a detailed study of legal and ethical codes for professional licensure. Surveying the ethical, legal, and professional issues counselors and other human service professional’s encounter in their practice by the study of case studies and the theoretical and philosophical issues behind the codes. Includes: Professional socialization, role of the professional organization, legal responsibilities and liabilities, independent practice and inter-professional cooperation, ethics and family law.

• COUN 6333 - Advanced Counseling and Psychotherapy Techniques

  This is an in-depth acquisition of primary and advanced counseling and psychotherapy procedures along with detailed processes used in precise treatment planning for a range of topics including DSM-IV diagnoses and common client problem issues. Included will be brief psycho-therapy methods, evidence-based treatments, cognitive-behavioral treatment methods, schema therapy, and quality of life therapy. Prerequisite: COUN 5113, COUN 5213, and COUN 5313

• COUN 6433 - Assessment of Individuals and Families in Counseling

  Students explore the administration and interpretation of various assessment tools. The course includes diagnostic interviewing techniques, report writing, direct observation techniques, self report scaling along with learning testing theory and statistical considerations in the construction of psychological measurements.

• COUN 6533 - Intervention for Individuals and Families in Crisis and Trauma

  Theoretical foundations for understanding theories and research of families in crisis and crisis intervention. Topics include the sociology of the family, families under stress, family in a social context, the cross-cultural family, youth/adult/aging and the family; Divorce; Child custody intervention; Child abuse and neglect; suicidality, homicidality, hospitalizations, and spousal abuse.

• COUN 6833 - Group Dynamics and Counseling

  A study of the theoretical foundations for small-group dynamics and psychotherapeutic applications. Students will participate in an applied lab course in order to participate in group process to acquire skills in group psychotherapy methods and effective facilitation of a psychotherapy group. Included is a review of literature for appropriate referrals to this modality and learning techniques to enhance the efficacy of group therapies in various settings including the Christian community.

• COUN 6946 - Practicum/Internship for Addiction and Substance Abuse Counseling

  Supervised clinical experience and practice in counseling fieldwork in the Clinical Mental Health and Addictions Counseling degree program as approved by the School Chair or Program Director. The Practicum / Internship occurs concurrently with course work and follows guidelines set forth in licensure preparation and CACREP standards. The Practicum / Internship will total a minimum of 700 hours of service: 100 hour for Practicum over a minimum of a 10-week period and a minimum of 600 hours for Internship. Maximum totals can be increased to accommodate various state practicum requirements for online students.