Fall 2009 Psychology
480
3 credits Dr.
Norcross
Field Experience in Clinical Settings
Catalog Description: (Prerequisites: Psychology major; junior or
senior standing with priority given to seniors; a grade of C or higher in Psyc
225 and Psyc 360; permission of instructor. Prerequisite or co-requisite: Psych
335) This course entails supervised field experience in a mental-health or
social-service facility in the community. Students are required to spend 8
hours a week at their placement and 1.5 hours a week in a seminar throughout
the semester. The professor provides classroom instruction, and the on-site
supervisor provides clinical supervision. Graded Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory.
Faculty Information:
Instructor: John C. Norcross, PhD,
ABPP, Professor of Psychology
Office hours: Mon 8:15 – 10:00, Tue 1:15 –
2:30, and by appointment
Office: 224 Alumni Memorial
Hall
Contact numbers: 941-7638 (office);
norcross@scranton.edu (e-mail); 585-5726 (home)
Web page: http://academic.scranton.edu/faculty/norcross/
Required Texts:
Baird, B. N. (2008). The internship, practicum, and
field placement handbook (5th edition).
Kottler, J. A. (2003). On
being a therapist (3rd edition).
Norcross, J. C. (2009). Field
experience in clinical settings:
Course Goals: The goals of this course are multiple and
occasionally competing. These are: to increase your didactic knowledge of the subject
area; to apply psychological knowledge and methods to the "real
world"; to evaluate your own values and attitudes in a clinical setting;
to provide needed services to the community; to develop your interviewing,
helping, and interpersonal skills; to enhance your critical thinking concerning
clinical phenomena; to foster the ability to learn in a self‑directed
fashion; to acquire a sustaining ethical perspective; to gain an understanding
of the operation of mental health/social service agencies; to acquire an
appreciation of the responsibilities of clinical work; and by extension, to
clarify your own educational and occupational goals.
In many ways, the field
experience constitutes a "capstone" by which you integrate your
learning within psychology and by which you explore your suitability for a
career in a clinical setting.
Course Requirements: The nature of this course necessitates your
responsible involvement in the practicum setting and your active participation
in the weekly seminar. The specific
requirements are enumerated below. Careful reading and adherence to these will
largely determine both the tangible and intangible rewards of this experience.
(1) Attendance at all seminar meetings.
(2) Punctual completion of assigned duties at your
placement. This commitment entails a
minimum of 8 hours a week for at least 13 weeks (100 hours).
(3) Preparation for
seminar meetings, including reading and written assignments prior to class.
(4) Documentation of
your reactions and experiences throughout the semester in a journal. Guidelines for the preparation of the journal
are appended.
(5) Visitation to two
other placements accompanied by the students placed at those settings.
Grades will be
determined on the basis of completion of the aforementioned course requirements
as reflected in your class performance, written assignments, and supervisor's
evaluation. A satisfactory/ unsatisfactory grading system will be employed.
Course Outline and Assignments:
Date Topics Assignments
Aug 24 Introduction and Getting Started Exercise 1
B
Chapter 1
Aug 31 Ethics: Confidentiality B
Chapters 2 and 3
APA
Ethical Principles
Exceptions
to Confidentiality
Exercise
2
Sep 7 Labor Day; no class
Sep 14 Ethics: Relationships and
Limitations B
Chapter 3
Professional
Bill of Rights
Four
Elements of Malpractice
Exercise
3
Review
Journal in class
Sep 21 Supervision; Process Approach B
Chapter 4
Getting
the Most Out
Profiting
from Supervision
How
Therapists’ Therapy
A
Process Approach
Exercise
4
Sep 28 Critical Thinking about Clinical
Phenomena Exercise 5
Oct 5 Problem
Emotions K Chapter 3
Don't Be Fooled by Me
Exercise
6
Journal
due
Oct 12 Fall Break; no class
Oct 19 Dealing with Difficult Clients Personality
Disorders
B Chapter 8
K
Chapter 5
Exercise
7
Mid-Semester Evaluation
Oct 26 Giving and Receiving Criticism K
Chapter 1
How
We Shut People Up
The
Keyboard of Press
Constructive
Criticism
Exercise
8
Nov 2 Satisfactions, Stressors, &
Self-Care K
Chapters 4 & 6
Stressors
& Satisfactions
12
Self-Care Strategies
Exercise
9
Re-review
Critical Thinking
Nov 9 Easter Monday; no class
Nov 16 Responding
Therapeutically to Anger B
Chapter 8
When
Patients Express Anger
Exercise
10
Supervisor
Evaluations
Nov 23 Responding
Therapeutically to Sexual Attraction K
Chapter 9
Concluding
the Practicum
Exercise
11
Nov 30 Working with Diversity B Chapter 5
Exercise
12
Dec 7 Finishing the Practicum K
Chapter 7
B
Chapter 9 & 10
Exercise
13
Finish
Placements
TBA Closure and Evaluation B
Chapter 11
Journal
Due
Self‑Study
Due
Clinical Experience
Dr.
John Norcross
JOURNAL GUIDELINES
Obtain a notebook or a
secure computer file/disk to use as your journal. Immediately record your name, telephone
number, and “Confidential” on it. Adhere to the principle of confidentiality in
maintaining your journal. Do not write anything that would identify individual
persons or institutions. This means no last names (use first names, initials or
nicknames) and no agency identifications.
It should be shared only for
purposes of learning and teaching, and then in a professional manner.
A field journal is a
collection of notes on your observations, thoughts, questions and feelings
about your off‑campus learning experience. Like an anthropologist in the field, you will
keep notes on the activities and people around you.
Your journal will serve
three major purposes: (1) as a method of organizing, reporting, and
assimilating your clinical experience; (2) as a means of relating the assigned
readings to your field experience; and (3) as an aid to self-exploration and
self-growth.
At least once a week
make a dated entry about your field work experiences. Record the number of hours you spent at your
placement that day, and maintain a running tally of the total number of hours.
Once a week in your journal relate your clinical
experiences to the assigned readings (as explained in d below).
The types of topics you
can address include:
(a) concrete
details ‑ "what I did today," "what so‑and‑so
did today," "what happened on the ward." Concrete incidents that are revealing,
amusing, disturbing or otherwise of interest.
You might even want to include details that are not so interesting but
represent a change, e.g., new admission, high staff absenteeism, which may be
significant over the long run.
(b) your
personal reactions ‑ "how I feel today," "my opinions
about an incident," "my guesses about what will happen." By recording each day your feelings and
thoughts you will be able to look back at how relationships developed. Retrospectively, it is more difficult to
obtain an accurate and comprehensive picture of early reactions.
(c) analysis
or insights ‑ "how I
conceptualize what happened," "it just occurred to me that,"
"changes occurring here or in me."
Typically, these are based on pertinent information from readings,
class, and your placement. You may have
a question about something you have experienced, or something we discussed in
class happened to you.
(d) relation
to assigned readings - "I just experienced what I read about,"
"Just as Kottler described, "unlike the views expressed by
Baird." These entries can better
integrate your clinical experience and intellectual learning. A minimum
of 13 of these is expected to appear in your journal throughout the
semester; please star or number these in the margins.
One final word: Your
journal, like any sort of writing, can be a useless piece of junk and an
unpleasant chore to produce; or it can be an exciting record of your work and a
dynamic exploration of yourself. The difference rests with your attitude toward
writing it and the commitment you make to share yourself. Only in this way will
it become a useful tool for reflection and conceptualization.
During the last few
weeks of the practicum, I would like you to summarize your experiences at the
placement and in the seminar. This self‑study should include the
following topics, numbered as such in your journal. However, you are by no means limited to
these, and you are encouraged to reflect on the entire experience.
1. Review your fears and prejudices about the
experience before it began. (Refer back to your responses to Exercise 1.) Which of these were borne out? Which were not?
2. Discuss the development of your
interpersonal relationships at the agency with clients, co‑workers, and
supervisors. What did you learn from
these relationships? What do you still
have to learn?
3. How did your field experience relate to and
strengthen your previous course work in psychology, if at all? Please give
specific examples.
4. What have you learned about yourself
personally and professionally from the entire experience?
5. What do you consider your biggest
successes? Your worst frustrations?
6. Fill in the blanks and discuss the
following: (a) "If I were a
therapist..." and (b) "If I were a supervisor..."
7. Look back through your journal and attempt
an overview of the semester. Can you
identify changes in your thinking and feeling over the semester? How do you account for these changes?
8. Where does this field experience leave
you? Lead you? Having evaluated the
experience, what do you want to do next?
Has it altered or reinforced your career choice?
Adapted in part from materials provided by Jim Dalton,