Child and Adolescent Counseling
Course Description
Summary
This course focuses on counseling children and adolescents, covering developmental considerations, common mental health issues, and therapeutic interventions. Students will learn age-appropriate counseling techniques, including play therapy, expressive arts, and cognitive-behavioral interventions. The course also addresses working with families, schools, and other systems that impact young clients.
*Students in CMHC-EXAT must infuse expressive arts therapies into their coursework. This course may be used to satisfy "Advanced Topics in Expressive Arts Therapy."
*Students in CMHC-NT must infuse narrative therapy into their coursework, This course may be used to satisfy "Advanced Narrative Therapy Techniques" OR "Narrative Therapy Techniques with Specific Populations."
*Students in CMHC-SOGE must infuse their coursework with Sexual Orientation/Gender Expression specific topics into their coursework. This course may be used to satisfy "Advanced LBGTQIA+ Counseling Techniques."
Learning Outcomes
- Assess developmental milestones and mental health issues specific to children and adolescents, using age-appropriate counseling techniques.
- Apply therapeutic interventions such as play therapy, expressive arts, and cognitive-behavioral interventions to support emotional well-being of young clients, collaborating with families, schools, and community systems to create comprehensive treatment plans for children and adolescents.
- Address common mental health issues in youth, such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, and behavioral disorders, through effective counseling strategies, integrating multicultural and developmental considerations when counseling children and adolescents in diverse contexts.
Prerequisites
Enrollment in CMHC graduate program.