Counseling Syllabus

HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

COUNSELING SYLLABUS

 

Counselor:

Counseling Center Location:

Phone:

E-Mail:

To schedule an appointment call:

 

Text/Materials: Successful Learning Intervention Planning (SLIP); Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI); various Counseling Manuals (e.g., time management, stress management, self-regulation, anger management, etc.); HCC Catalogue; Student Handbook; Web Resources: Ask HCC, FATV (financial aid), and www.hccs.edu

 

HCC Mission for Counseling

The mission of Counseling at Houston Community College is to promote students’ self-regulation, efficacy, competencies and success by engaging students in a collaborative process of developing a successful learning intervention plan (SLIP) and focused career plan to achieve educational, personal and professional goals, while respecting students’ values and considering diverse interests, skills, and abilities.

 

Counselors are available to meet with students by appointment. However, some concerns may be addressed on a walk-in basis. Counselors are at least master's level professionals who are trained to provide mental health counseling services. Students often seek counseling services for the following reasons:

 

  • Career assessment, planning, and exploration (for all students, especially undecided students)
  • Personal counseling (below are a few examples of issues presented by students):
  • Individuals who have difficulty with self-esteem, communication, or assertive behavior.
  • Students having difficulty juggling school, work, and other responsibilities.
  • Students trying to adjust to their new surroundings.
  • Strategies for managing stress and anxiety (including test anxiety)
  • Crisis intervention
  • ADA Services to include reasonable accommodations
  • Specialized case management for High Risk Students (early alert, 3peaters, behavioral intervention, academic probation/suspension referrals, etc.)
  • Community resource information.

  

Definition and Philosophy

Counseling is an educational, elucidative and collaborative process which utilizes interpersonal, cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, psychodynamic, and affective methods and strategies to achieve mental, emotional, physical, social, moral, educational, career, and spiritual development and adjustment through the life span. Its purpose at Houston Community College is to help students  develop meaningful  choices in their education,  career, work and relationships.

  

Student Learning Outcomes (SLO)

The various strategies and outcomes described in the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) will serve as Counseling’s SLO. The following will serve as SLO:

 

  • Improved in Attitude

The Attitude Scale assesses students' attitudes and interest in college and academic success. It examines how facilitative or debilitative their approach to college and academics is for helping them get their work done and succeeding in college (sample item: I feel confused and undecided as to what my educational goals should be). Students who score low on this scale may not believe college is relevant or important to them and may need to develop a better understanding of how college and their academic performance relates to their future life goals.

  • Improved Motivation (MOT)

The Motivation Scale assesses students' diligence, self-discipline, and willingness to exert the effort necessary to successfully complete academic requirements (sample item: When work is difficult I either give up or study only the easy parts). Students who score low on this scale need to accept more responsibility for their academic outcomes and learn how to set and use goals to help accomplish specific tasks.

  • Improved Time Management (TMT)

The Time Management Scale assesses students' application of time management principles to academic situations (sample item: I only study when there is the pressure of a test). Students who score low on this scale may need to develop effective scheduling and monitoring techniques in order to assure timely completion of academic tasks and to avoid procrastination while realistically including non-academic activities in their schedule.

  • Reduced Anxiety (ANX)

The Anxiety Scale assesses the degree to which students worry about school and their academic performance. Students who score low on this scale are experiencing high levels of anxiety associated with school (note that this scale is reverse scored). High levels of anxiety can help direct attention away from completing academic tasks (sample item: Worrying about doing poorly interferes with my concentration on tests). Students who score low on this scale may need to develop techniques for coping with anxiety and reducing worry so that attention can be focused on the task at hand.

  • Improved Concentration (CON)

The Concentration Scale assesses students' ability to direct and maintain attention on academic tasks (sample item: I find that during lectures I think of other things and don't really listen to what is being said). Low scoring students may need to learn to monitor their level of concentration and develop techniques to redirect attention and eliminate interfering thoughts or feelings so that they can be more effective and efficient learners.

  • Improved Information Processing (INP)

The Information Processing Scale assesses how well students' can use imagery, verbal elaboration, organization strategies, and reasoning skills as learning strategies to help build bridges between what they already know and what they are trying to learn and remember, i.e., knowledge acquisition, retention and future application (sample item: I translate what I am studying into my own words). Students who score low on this scale may have difficulty making information meaningful and storing it in memory in a way that will help them recall it in the future.

  • Improved Attention [Selecting Main Ideas (SMI)]

The Selecting Main Ideas Scale assesses students' skill at identifying important information for further study from among less important information and supporting details (sample item: Often when studying I seem to get lost in details and can't see the forest for the trees). Students who score low on this scale may need to develop their skill at separating out critical information on which to focus their attention. Tasks such as reading a textbook can be overwhelming if students focus on every detail presented.

Demonstrating Your Achievement of Learning and Positive Behavioral Outcomes

  • · In order for you and your counselor to accurately measure and document that you have achieved in the learning and positive behavioral outcomes for counseling, the two of you will develop and review your SLIP and continue a collaborative counseling professional relationship until you reach your goal (e.g., improving your GPA, removal from suspension/probation list, adjustment to college, achieving a focused career path, reducing anxiety, compliance with Behavioral Intervention Threat Assessment [BITAT],  improving self-regulation, etc.).  You may see and speak with your counselor for a maximum of five (5) individual counseling sessions per semester.  Other counseling modalities may be offered to /required for students (e.g.,  process groups, anger management group, and other didactically-oriented groups). Your counselor will maintain your counseling file consisting of a variety of documents including your educational plan, your semester schedules, collaborative work done due to various referrals on campus, and a variety of documents that you and your counselor will develop together to demonstrate your achievement of these outcomes.

 

Counselor Responsibilities – What You Can Expect

  • · Serve as your educational partner and advocate while at HCC in order to adaptively cope with the demands and stressors imposed by college life.
  • · Encourage and guide students to develop realistic academic and career goals.

• Assist students in developing knowledge, skills and attitudes towards personality integration and a healthy lifestyle.

  • · Support students to gain the knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes necessary to develop clear and attainable educational, career and personal goals.
  • · Educate students on strategies for utilizing available resources and services on campus and in the community.
  • · Assist in understanding the benefits of higher education and its impact on lives.
  • · Monitor and accurately document students’ progress toward meeting their goals.
  • · Be accessible during office hours by appointment, telephone or e-mail.
  • · Maintain confidentiality pursuant to FERPA and HIPPA.

 

Students Responsibilities – What You Are Expected To Do

  • · Schedule regular counseling appointments and come prepared to talk about your personal concerns, goals, and questions. Attend all your counseling sessions.

•If you’re going to cancel and appointment, please give a 24-hr notice to the counselor.

  • · Be an active learner and participant in your counseling sessions/experience.
  • · Ask questions if you do not understand an issue or have a specific concern.
  • · Organize official documents and keep a record of your progress.
  • · Follow through on all assignments and referrals.
  • · Clarify personal values and goals.
  • · Become knowledgeable about college programs, policies, procedures, and campus resources.
  • · Accept responsibility for decisions.

 

Calendar of Important Activities

Date Activities

•TBA