SPEC 10
Counseling Skills Intensive Winter 2019

This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

Are you the person your friends turn to for support? Good listening and communication skills are of benefit to everyone, but particularly for students with support responsibilities and those interested in helping professions. This course will prepare you to be a better listener and more effective, confident communicator. Develop a deeper sense of presence to help others feel more at ease with sharing, facilitate decision-making and problem-solving using validation and active listening skills, and learn effective strategies and boundaries appropriate to more urgent situations. We will practice fundamental counseling skills, learn about factors influencing our own communication styles and the roles we gravitate toward in our relationships with others. You will learn how to communicate about sensitive issues and find your own style in helping roles. Emphasis will be given to understanding one’s limits within a given situation, knowing when to refer to other resources, and what resources are available to students. We will meet twice a week for 3 hour sessions. This is an experiential training augmented by relevant readings, journaling, and out of class exercises designed to deepen your understanding and practice. Adjunct Instructor Bio: Karen Theiling is psychotherapist at Williams College where she has provided counseling to students since 2000. She is a licensed mental health counselor whose particular interests include trauma, gender and sexuality, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and outreach of all kinds. Adjunct Co-Instructor Bio: Laini Sporbert is a Health Educator at Williams College, focusing on substance abuse education and counseling, mental health awareness, sexuality education, and sleep. She has been at the college since 1997, and has been the Peer Health Staff Advisor since 2006. She has an M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology with a specialty in addictions.
The Class: Format: afternoons
Limit: 20
Grading: pass/fail only
Requirements/Evaluation: evaluation is based on participation, attendance, and the 10-page paper
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: reverse seniority on campus
Materials/Lab Fee: none

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