Course

Counselling Skills Fundamentals

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Psychology
Course code
PSYC 4370
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
16
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This course provides an introduction to counselling interviewing skills. The topics covered include the helping relationship, the helping process and the communication skills required in the therapeutic dialogue. Students are expected to self-disclose and engage in self-exploration, as the bulk of the course will focus on using counseling skills with fellow classmates. This course is recommended for students who are interested in human service professions such as criminal justice, teaching, coaching, nursing, human resources, social work, and counselling/clinical psychology.
Course content

1.The helping relationship

  • The components of an effective helping relationship
  • Values that drive the helping relationship
  • Professional ethics/code of ethics 
  • Diversity as part of client/counsellor interactions

2. The helping process

  • Clarifying the key issues
  • Engaging the other
  • Overcoming reluctance and resistance

3. Communication skills in the therapeutic dialogue

  • Non verbal behaviour 
  • Active listening
  • Empathic listening and responding
  • Basic and advanced empathic listening and responding
  • Probing and summarizing
  • Challenging client assumptions and moving to new perspectives
Learning activities

Lecture and skills demonstration/practice of specific counselling skills will be the primary methods of instruction.

The course may also involve other methods of instructions such as small group activities, group discussion, computer simulations, digital recordings, and guest lectures.

 

Means of assessment

Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. Evaluation will include some of the following:

Exams - 25%

Three video recordings of skill demonstrations and transcripts - 20%, 25%, 25%=70% (No recording should be assigned less than 15% or more than 30%). 

To attain a passing grade in this course, students must demonstrate professional conduct and complete all recording assignments within the semester and as outlined in the course syllabus. To attain a passing grade, students must also demonstrate counselling skills by successfully completing at least 80% of in-class counselling practice sessions.  

Attendance - 5%

Total - 100%

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the successful student should be able to:

  1. Delineate the key elements of successful helping.
  2. Analyze personal values that could impact the helping relationship.
  3. Outline ethical principles that guide helping relationships.
  4. Explain how stereotyping and being judgmental hinders helping.
  5. Demonstrate how to clarify key issues.
  6. Explain how reluctance and resistance operate in helping relationships.
  7. Demonstrate attending skills.
  8. Demonstrate active listening skills.
  9. Demonstrate basic and advanced empathic listening and responding skills.
  10. Demonstrate the skill of probing.
  11. Demonstrate the skill of summarizing.
  12. Demonstrate the skill of challenging client assumptions.
Textbook materials

Textbooks will be updated periodically. A typical example of a text is:

Egan, G. and Reese, R.J. (2019). The skilled helper: A problem-management and opportunity-development approach to helping. (11th ed.) Boston: Cengage.

 

 

Requisites

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for PSYC 4370
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) No credit
Langara College (LANG) LANG PSYC 2XXX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU EDUC 423 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU PSYC 4XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU PSYC 340 (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO PSYO_O 2nd (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV CNPS_V 362 (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC PSYC 4XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV HSER 200 (3) or UFV PSYC 491S (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC ED-D 4XX (1.5)
Vancouver Community College (VCC) VCC PSYC 2XXX (3)
Vancouver Community College (VCC) No credit

Course Offerings

Summer 2025

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
16
Currently enrolled
15
Remaining seats:
1
On waitlist
8
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N3417
Times:
Start Time
8:30
-
End Time
11:20