Helping Relationships

Course Description

Fundamental principles of providing a helping relationship through counseling and interviewing are integrated in a conceptual framework for subsequent professional studies in counseling. Personal and professional development through skills training in techniques. Corequisite: CED 653.

Syllabus

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

Objectives for this course, according to the CACREP 2024 Standards, include:

  • ethical and legal issues relevant to establishing and maintaining counseling relationships across service delivery modalities
  • culturally sustaining and responsive strategies for establishing and maintaining counseling relationships across service delivery modalities
  • counselor characteristics, behaviors, and strategies that facilitate effective counseling relationships
  • interviewing, attending, and listening skills in the counseling process
  • counseling strategies and techniques used to facilitate the client change process
  • strategies for adapting and accommodating the counseling process to client culture, context, abilities, and preferences
  • goal consensus and collaborative decision-making in the counseling process

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure Percentage/Points
Attendance & Participation 150 points
Professional Disclosure Statement Skills Tape 100 points
Midterm Exam 100 points
Final Exam 100 points
Counseling Skills Self-Assessment 10 points each/20 points total

The grading scale for this course is as follows:

Grading Scale

Percentage Letter Grade
423 – 470 points (90-100%)A
376 – 422 points (80-89.99%)B
329 – 375 points (70-79.99%)C
< 328 points (Below 70%)F

An overall grade of incomplete will only be pre-arranged if there are extenuating circumstances (e.g., prolonged physical or mental health problems) and up until that point, you have been current with course assignments. Appropriate documentation must be provided by the student to verify such circumstances. Students who receive an incomplete grade (“I”) in either this course or the corequisite practicum course (CED 653Q) will result in an incomplete for both courses.

Attendance/Participation:

Attendance & Participation is included as a graded component worth 150 points.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

Young, M. E. (2025). Learning the art of helping: Building blocks and Techniques (8th ed.) Pearson.

Scholarly Perspectives

This course engages diverse scholarly perspectives to develop critical thinking, analysis, and debate and inclusion of a reading does not imply endorsement.