Group, Couple, and Family Psychotherapy -- Psychology 832
Spring 2009
3:00 - 5:50, Mondays at the Clinic

Professor: Jerome L. Short, Ph.D.
Office: David King Hall 2045
Phone: 703 993-1368 (Office)
E-Mail: jshort@gmu.edu
Web: http://mason.gmu.edu/~jshort
Office Hours: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m., Mondays

Welcome! This course will focus on the theory and practice of group, family, and couple psychotherapy. You will have the opportunity to practice these therapy skills with clients. I expect you to attend class regularly and to complete all reading assignments before each class. I will use class time for lectures, discussions, videos, and class demonstrations of psychotherapy techniques.

Requirements: You will choose at least one of the following three requirements.

One exam. You can receive a take-home final exam on Monday, April 27 and it is due back to me on Wednesday, May 6 by 4:30 pm. The exam is worth 100 points.

One Written Project. You can develop a scripted six-session or more group therapy manual for a population that you and the professor agree on. Alternatively, you can write a literature review and/or research proposal focused on some course topic that you and the professor agree on. Research papers are between 10 and 20 pages with 10 to 20 references or more. This project is due on Monday, May 4 and is worth 100 points.

One Clinical Experience. You can participate in at least one clinical experience. This could consist of group, couple, child, or family therapy, or some other experience that you and the professor agree on. When needed, you will have individual and group supervision. This clinical work is worth 100 points.

Grading: I will calculate your final grade on your point total.

A = 93-100% A- = 90-92% B+ = 87-89% B = 80-86% C = 70-79% F = 0-69%

If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 703-993-2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through that office.

Honor Code. The Honor Code of George Mason University deals specifically with cheating and attempted cheating, plagiarism, lying, and stealing. Students should be familiar with the code and connected policies, set out at http://www.gmu.edu/catalog/apolicies This course will be conducted in accordance with those policies.

Class Schedule

1/26 Schemas for Group, Couple, Child, and Family Psychotherapy

2/2 Communication Problems and Overview of Group Therapy

Young, M.E., & Long, L.L. (1998). Counseling and therapy for couples. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Ch. 8. Treating communication problems: Issues and skills (pp. 137-160).

Forsyth, D.R., & Corazzini, J.G. (2000). Groups as change agents. In C.R. Snyder & R.E. Ingram (Eds.), Handbook of psychological change (pp. 309-336.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

2/9 Group Leader Skills and Facilitation

Gladding, S.T. (2003). Group work: A counseling specialty (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Ch. 4: Effective group leadership (pp. 74-107). Ch. 5: Beginning a group (pp. 108-132).

2/16 Member-Level and Group-Level Challenges

Brown, N.W. (2009). Becoming a group leader. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Ch. 13: Challenges, difficulties, and interventions: Member level (pp. 301-321.).
Ch. 14: Group-level challenges and interventions (pp. 322-344).

2/23 Love and Sexual Interactions

Hendrick, S., & Hendrick. C. (2002). Love. In C.R. Snyder & S.J. Lopez (Eds.) Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 472-484). London: Oxford University Press.

Gold, S.R., Letourneau, E.J., & O'Donohue, W. (1995). Sexual interaction skills. In W. O'Donohue & L. Krasner (Eds.) Handbook of psychological skills training: Clinical techniques and applications (pp. 229-246). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

3/2 Overview of Couple Therapy and Gay Relationships

Snyder, D. K., Castellani, A. M., & Whisman, M. A. (2006). Current status and future directions in couple therapy. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 317-344.

Peplau, L.A., & Fingerhut, A.W. (2007). The close relationships of lesbians and gay men. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 405-424.

3/9 *Spring Break* No Class

3/16 Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy

Wheeler, J.G., Christensen, A., & Jacobson, N.S. (2001). Couple distress. In D.H. Barlow (Ed.) Clinical handbook of psychological disorders (pp. 609-630). New York: Guilford.

3/23 Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy

Bradley, B., & Johnson, S.M. (2005). EFT: An integrative contemporary approach. In M. Harway (Ed.) Handbook of couples therapy (pp. 179-193). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

3/30 Psychotherapy with Children

Roberts, M.C., Vernberg, E.M., & Jackson, Y. (2000). Psychotherapy with children and families. In C.R. Snyder & R.E. Ingram (Eds.) Handbook of psychological change (pp. 500-519). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

4/6 Parent-child Interaction Therapy

Brinkmeyer, M.Y., & Eyberg, S.M. (2003). Parent-child interaction therapy for oppositional children. In A.E. Kazdin & J.R. Weisz (Eds.) Evidence-based psychotherapies for children and adolescents (pp. 204-223). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

4/13 Comparison of Family Theories and Therapies

Goldenberg, I., & Goldenberg, H. (2004). Family therapy: An overview. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Ch. 19: Family theories and family therapies: An overview (pp. 449-467).

4/20 Family Therapy Techniques

Family Systems Therapy Video by Kenneth V. Hardy. (1998). Hosts, Jon Carlson and Diane Kjos. Begins with a discussion about the theory and its application, followed by an actual counseling demonstration. Concludes with a group of professionals discussing the demonstration and the theory.

4/27 Ethical considerations in couple and family therapy

Gladding, S.T., Remley, T.P., & Huber, C.H. (2001). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in the practice of marriage and family therapy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Ch. 2: Ethical considerations in the interactional context of marriage and family therapy (pp. 40-62).

*Receive Exam*

5/4 Legal considerations in couple and family therapy

Gladding, S.T., Remley, T.P., & Huber, C.H. (2001). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in the practice of marriage and family therapy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Ch. 7: Legal considerations (pp. 195-227). *Written Project due*

5/6 *Final Exam Due*