Alliance Bible Seminary

Theories and Methods of Family Therapy I (FT501)

家庭治療理論與實務 I

Fall 2009-2010, 4.5 credits (45 hours)

Instructor:

 Dr. Timothy Kin Che Ngai

PhD, AAMFT Approved Supervisor

SYLLABUS

I.                   Introduction

This course is the first part of a two-parts series on the theories and methods of family therapy.  This will cover the basic concepts in systems theory, the development of family therapy and five major schools in family therapy including Psychoanalytic, Intergenerational, Structural, Strategic, Experiential family therapy. Some of common issues in families including family conflicts, in-laws issues, acting-out children will be introduced and related systemic treatments will be explored. Theological and Biblical integration of the concepts of family therapy will be discussed throughout the lectures. The classes will be conducted in various formats including lectures, discussion, role-plays, video analysis, group presentation, etc.  After the course, students are expected to:

II.                Objectives

1.          Understand the fundamental concepts in system theory, systems, subsystems, family dynamics, family life cycle and the use of genograms.

2.          Understand the five major schools in family therapy and begin to appreciate how to apply the theories into practice.

3.          Explore some of the common problems/issues occur in families and their treatments in the context of family therapy.

4.          Enhance personal awareness and reflections of one’s own family dynamics.

5.          Increase integration of the theories and concepts in family therapy with Christian theological perspective and Biblical teachings.

III.             Required Textbook

Nichols, M.P. & Schwartz, R.C. (2007).  Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods.

8^th ed. New York: Allyn and Bacon.

IV.             Content

V.                Assessment

VI.  Detail course work requirements

1.      Quiz 1 (10%)

Multiple choice and/or short questions covered material presented in class 1-5 and chapters 1, 2, 4-5 of Nichol & Schwartz s’ text.

2.      Quiz 2 (10%)

Multiple choice and/or short questions covered material presented in class 6-10 and chapters 6-9 of Nichol & Schwartz s’ text.

3.      Family of Origin Reflection paper (40%, max. 4000 words)

Students are required to analyze his/her own family using the concepts and models of family therapy that they learned from the course.  The paper should contain at least 1) a genogram of at least three generations; 2) detail analysis of the family of origin, structure and dynamics with personal reflections on how they influences the student’s own development; and 3) directions for further growth as a person and together as a family.

4.      Group Project: Critical Review of Family Therapy Model (Critical review (30%) & Case Demonstration (10%)

All students will be divided into 5-6 groups. Each group of the student will be assigned to a particular family therapy approach.  Each group of students is required to:

1.        Prepare & Present a critical review of the assigned FT model from both a clinical

    and Biblical perspectives (15 min).

2.        Prepare & Present a case study with assigned FT model (10 min).

3.        Write a verbatim of a case using the assigned model.

4.        Demonstrate a 10-minutes therapy clip of the presented case using the assigned

        FT model.

For each group, the flow of the case presentation (40 minutes) is as follows:

1.          Hand in the critical review paper per group (max. 5000 words) to the instructor and deliver a short presentation (15 min).

2.          Hand out one case summary (maximum 2 pages) per student and give a short presentation (10 min) of the case. The summary includes the presenting problem, case conceptualization and the focus of the case demonstration.

3.          Hand in the verbatim and give a 10 min. demonstration session of the presented case. The demonstration should reflect the concepts & techniques of the assigned family therapy model.

Alliance Bible Seminary

FT504 Theories and Methods of Couple Therapy

婚姻治療理論與實務

Autumn, 2009-1010, 4.5 credits

Instructor:

Au Cheung Kong, DMin

SYLLABUS

I. Objectives

At the end of the course, students are expected to have a basic understanding of the following areas:

1. The development of couple therapy.
   

2. Traditional, post-modern and integrative approaches to couple therapy.
   

3. Major skills in various couple therapy.
   

4. Application of couple therapy to special problems/issues and populations.

5. Application of couple therapy in the clinical and pastoral contexts.
   

II. Required Textbooks/Reading

    區祥江著。《實用神學系列 – 夫婦輔導的理論與實務》。香港︰建道基金會有限公司，2009。

III. Reference texts (Available in reserved library)

Alan S. Gurman and Neil S. Jacobson.Clinical Handbook of Couple Therapy, (3^rd ed.) New York: The Guilford Press, 2002.

Everett L. Worthington Jr. Hope-focused Marriage Counseling, Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1999.

IV. Course schedule

Date                                      Content

3/9                       1                       Introduction to Couple Therapy

10/9                       2                       Understanding the Couple Relationship

17/9                       3                       The Couple Counselling Process & Therapeutic Dynamics

24/9                       4                       Traditional approaches (I): Structural-Strategic Marital Therapy

8/10                       5                       Traditional approaches (II): Cognitive-Behavioral Couple Therapy

15/10                       6                       Post-modern approaches (I): Narrative Couple Therapy

22/10                       7                       Post-modern approaches (II): Solution-focused Couple Therapy

29/10                       8                       Integrative approaches (I): Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy

5/11                       9                       Integrative approaches (II): Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy

12/11                       10                       Common Intervention Techniques in Couple Therapy (1)

19/11                       11                       Common Intervention Techniques in Couple Therapy (2)

26/11                       12                       Conclusion

3/12                       13                       Preparation for group presentation (individual group work)

5/12

Full day                       14                       Group Presentation

V.      Assessment

1.     Book Reviews (30%, 5/12/09)

        Read at least 6 books in the area of marriage enrichment or couple therapy Write three things or insights you learn from each book. Each review should not be more than 500 words. Therefore, each student requires to submit at least 6 book reviews.

2.     Group Presentation (20%, 5/12/09)

        Students will be assigned to small groups. Each group will be provided with a case to conduct a therapy session using a particular therapy model. Each group will be given 15 minutes to do a rehearsed role play of a partial couple therapy session. Marks will be given to according the depth of understanding and the accuracy in the demonstration of an assigned therapy model.

3.     Clinical Paper (50%, 4000 words, 5/12/09)

Write a clinical paper on couple therapy with a real case with special problem/issue or population of the students’ own interest. Students need to make about 2 interview sessions to assess client’s problem, including taking a genogram and relationship history. The assessment should demonstrate student’s grasp of couple’s dynamics and theoretical frames to understand the client’s problems. Clinical intervention plan and treatment strategies should be presented. Students need to demonstrate the theoretical approaches they adopt and rationale behind the intervention.

VI. References

Will be provided in class.

Alliance Bible Seminary

Supervised Clinical Practicum II (FT603)

2009-2010, 3.0 credits

Dr. Timothy Kin Che Ngai

PhD, AAMFT Approved Supervisor

Dr. Phyllis Yan,

PhD, AAMFT Approved Supervisor Candidate

SYLLABUS

I.      Course Objectives:

        The supervised clinical practicum seeks to expose our students to actual clinical setting, equip and train our students to become competent marriage & family therapist under on going clinical supervision, and according to the standards & requirements of the A.A.M.F.T. training requirements. In addition, students in FT602 are also required to spend a whole year to read and understand the theories and practices of the major schools in psychotherapy. Various supervision format will be employed with a coverage of: 1) Admission to treatment; 2) Clinical assessment and diagnosis; 3) Treatment planning and case management; 4) Therapeutic interventions; 5) Legal and ethical issues in practice

II.        Supervision Schedule & Requirements

1)    Group Supervision (13 meetings, a total of at least 26 hours, in groups of maximum 6 students)

Group A: Dr. Ngai - (Mondays, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm)

Group B: Dr. Yan - (Mondays, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm)

Term 1 :  Sept. 14, Oct. 5, Nov.2 & 23 & Dec.14 / 2009.

Term 2:  Jan. 4 & 25, Feb. 22, March 15 / 2010.

Term 3:  April 12, May 3 & 24 & June 14 / 2010.

2)    Attend Personal Therapy (minimium 12 hours of therapy and plus 0.5 hour of individual meeting with the instructor)

        Each therapist is required to engage in a journey of continuous personal growth and development. This part of the supervision involves personal therapeutic experiences of being a client himself/herself as well as obtaining personal growth. Each student needs to find his/her own therapist and engages in therapy (individual, couple or family therapy) for at least 12 hours, with a minimium of 6 sessions and spread out in a minimum of at least 3 months. However, each student is responsible for his/her own counselling fee incur throughout the therapeutic process.

        Each student should submit the name of their proposed therapist and their tentative therapistic goal for the instructor’s approval before the commencement of therapy. The instructor will have one short meeting with each student outside the normal group supervision schedule. The meeting will normally be scheduled after the first therapeutic session.

III.        Textbook:

        Minuchin, S. & Fishman, H. C. (1981). Family Therapy Techniques. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press .

IV.    Course Requirements:

FT603 requires 100 counselling hours, individual & group supervisions, plus the following assignments and assessments:

        * ALL assignments should be written in Chinese.

1. Book Critique (20%; max. 3000 words)

        Students are required to read Minuchin & Fishman’s text on “Family therapy techniques” thoroughly, understands and comments on the use of the proposed techniques in a Chinese culture. Personal and Biblical integration are also required to be included in the book review.

2. Case Studies & Presentations (20% case study (written in Chinese) + 20% case presentations)

        Each student is required to write (10% each)and present (10% each) twoof their current cases in class. In their writings, students should assume that those case studies are part of a clinical casebook that may be published in the future. Each study is going to introduce the reader with a clinical question/issue using an actual case illustration, sections on discussion and clinical implications will be included, so that the reader may learn something from reading the case presented. However, each student is required to submit two case studies of different nature of discussion.

        Each case study should consist of five parts: 1) Title (concise with no more than 20 words); 2) Discussion Question:ONE concise question or statement which points to the major theme of the case discussion (1-2 sentences only); 3) Case Description & Intervention: A summary of description of the issue by using a real case illustration (max. 800 words, only relevant information is included with an insider/clinical perspective); 4) Discussion: A detail discussion of the proposed discussion question from various points of view e.g. clinical, ethical, practical & theological, etc. Information provided should be with relevant to the proposed discussion question, and the student should tried to answer the question himself/herself in this section (about 1000 words);  5) NewLearning: A short paragraph or statements of any NEW learning obtained from the clinical process, personal reflections and group supervision. This section is generally written after the supervision session provided (about500 words)

3. Case files and recordings (10%, hardcopies only, do not upload to the E-campus)

        All students are required to hand in their case files and recordings for marking purposes. The marking will be evaluated on the tidiness, clarity, clinical relevancy, etc.

4. Personal Therapy Reflections (30%; max. 4000 words)

        The reflection paper assist the student to describe and reflect on the personal experiences, insights and learnings throughout the therapeutic process as required by the course. Each student is to analyse and reflect on the process from both (1) clinical and (2) personal dimensions. This paper serves as aninsider’s perspective and reflection of therapy itself, as well as a summary of personal growth and development.

V.        References

        Provide in class.

Alliance Bible Seminary

Pastoral Counselling Practicum III & IV

教牧輔導實習

2009 - 2010

PT683 - 684

Instructor:  Dr. Timothy Ngai, Ph.D., AAMFT Approved Supervisor

I.      Course Objectives:

The pastoral Counselling Practicum seeks to expose our students to actual clinical setting, equip and train our students to become competent in the following aspects of their clinical practice:

1.      Admission to Treatment.

2.      Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis.

3.      Treatment Planning and Case Management.

4.      Therapeutic Interventions.

5.      Legal Issues, Ethics, and Standards.

II.      Supervision Schedule (11 meetings, Mondays, 7:00 pm -9:45 pm)

Term 1 :  Sept. 28, Oct. 19, Nov. 16, Dec. 7/ 2009.

Term 2: Jan. 18, Feb. 8 & March 8 & 29 / 2010.

Term 3: April 26, May 17* & June 7* / 2010.

* Live counselling assessments

III.     Course Requirements:

Required 120 counselling hours plus course assignments.  Out of the 120 counselling hours, 80 hours should be direct client contact hours and 40 hours can be considered as time used for preparation and report writing.

IV.    Course Assisgnments:

1.      Verbatim with comments (20%; Jan 18, 2010, min. 20 min)

2.      Supervision Reflection Log (30%; June 15, 2010)

3.      Live counselling assessment. (30%: as assigned)

4.      Give two case presentations submitted with two written case studies (20%). Each case study need to be written following a required format (section V). The case study should be email to the instructor and students at least 2 days before the supervision class.  All students are required to read the case study beforehand and bring it to class.

V.    Format of Case Summary

        Each case study should consist of five parts: 1) Title (concise with no more than 20 words); 2) Discussion Question:ONE concise question or statement which points to the major theme of the case discussion (1-2 sentences only); 3) Case Description & Intervention: A summary of description of the issue by using a real case illustration (max. 800 words, only relevant information is included with an insider/clinical perspective); 4) Discussion: A detail discussion of the proposed discussion question from various points of view e.g. clinical, ethical, practical & theological, etc. Information provided should be with relevant to the proposed discussion question, and the student should tried to answer the question himself/herself in this section (about 1000 words);  5) NewLearning: A short paragraph or statements of any NEW learning obtained from the clinical process, personal reflections and group supervision. This section is generally written after the supervision session provided (about500 words)

V.  Marking Standards:

A student will consider pass this course only by fulfilling ALL FOUR following requirements:

1.          Attend all supervision classes.

2.          Complete all required assignments.

3.          Score an average of at least 60% all course assignments.

Througout the live counselling, case presentations and the supervision process, the student should proof himself/herself that he/she is ready and capable of rendering pastoral counselling with reasonable professional with ethical competence by the instructor’s professional judgement.