Course examines systems basis of behavior and counseling concepts, research, and evidence-based practices equipping students with the awareness, knowledge, and skills to identify and effect systems change for enhancing mental health across people groups with various backgrounds on individual, institutional, and societal/ cultural levels to support counselors’ roles as advocates.
Athena Title
Systems Bases Beh Couns
Prerequisite
ECHD 7060
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
Students will develop a working understanding of theories, concepts, and research associated with systems and their relevance to behavior, mental health, and systems change.
Students will identify individual, organizational, societal, and systemic factors that influence quality of life and mental health among people groups across a range of backgrounds.
Students will develop identify and generate counseling strategies, informed by theory and research relevant to systems bases of behavior, for enhancing counseling experiences and the overall quality of life of people across varied backgrounds.
Students will explore and examine socially constructed identities, including their own (enhancing self-reflective skills and personal awareness), in the context of counseling practice.
Topical Outline
This course supports core competencies in the Master’s in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council’s (MPCAC) requirements for profession-wide competencies which detail that certain competencies are required for all students who graduate from programs accredited by this entity in counseling and psychology. Programs must provide opportunities for all of their students to achieve and demonstrate each required profession-wide competency. The competencies serve as foundations upon which later competencies are built and demonstrated in through the practice of the profession, each competency is considered critical and necessary for graduates in programs accredited by this entity in counseling and psychology. The specific requirements for each competency are articulated in MPCAC’s Accreditation Manual. Because science is at the core of mental health counseling and psychology, programs must demonstrate that they rely on the current evidence-base and theory when training students in specified competency areas. From MPCAC’s standards, this course provides background for building competencies in MPCAC’s Standard B.2.j., elements (ii.) knowledge of individuals in the context of their environment and how the environment (e.g., geographical, ideological, demographic, familial, institutional) affects functioning, (ii.) understanding of the use of systems changes (whether prevention or intervention) to enhance the functioning of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and/or institutions. Completion of this required course as part of the master’s degree in mental health counseling is a necessary first step for seeking licensure to practice as a counselor.
• Systems Bases of Behavior Foundational Concepts
• Systems Bases of Behavior and Mental Health
• Systems Influences on Mental Health and Quality of Life
• Systems Bases of Behavior and Mental Health Prevention and Intervention
• Systems Bases of Behavior and Counselor’s Role in Systems Change
