Basic Counseling Skills for Higher Education Professionals
- Registration Closed
Dates: March 25, 2024- April 26, 2024
Description
This program will educate faculty and higher education staff who regularly interact with college students. The goal is to raise awareness among higher education professionals regarding the mental health needs of students and increase appropriate and helpful responses. The short course will equip higher educational professionals with knowledge of basic counseling skills needed to intervene at these critical moments and to recognize signs of mental health concerns, trauma, and extreme stress. Early identification can thwart the escalation of difficulties for students. Participants will gain an overview of the commonly experienced mental health issues on campus and how to identify and intervene, including making referrals. Recognizing the diverse student body at colleges and how to provide sensitive, culturally informed interventions will also be discussed. The program will provide hands-on skills for empathic listening and effective referral-making. Through role-play, case studies, and small group exercises, participants will gain comfort and confidence in handling difficult conversations with students. Recognizing the limits of one's role and ways to stay mentally healthy will be reviewed. The program will also focus on self-care and setting appropriate boundaries with students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the knowledge base of some of the major mental health disorders facing college students.
- Increase skills that improve empathy, communication, and listening
- Recognize the warning signs and symptoms of students who might be struggling with a personal issue and be able to differentiate the level of behavioral concern
- Articulate current statistics, campus climate, and trends in the main topical areas and be able to link these to the home campus
- Become aware and define one's emotional triggers to sensitive issues
- Develop the skills and tools needed to respond sensitively to students while actively listening and using empathy
- Build confidence in the ability to intervene and approach students in distress
Live Sessions
The five 60-minute live sessions will be held every Wednesday from 1:00 pm ET. They are scheduled for the following dates:
Week 1: March 27
Week 2: April 3
Week 3: April 10
Week 3: April 17
Week 5: April 24
Course Commitment and Expectations
The course will require 4-7 hours per week, with assignments, engagement, and live sessions. All participants are expected to contribute to discussions and be present during live sessions. The course requires participants to have access to a computer, Wi-Fi, and webcam. All live sessions will be via Zoom, which will provide presentation slides and closed captioning.
Maureen C. Kenny, PhD,
Associate Chair of the Psychology Department
Florida International University
Maureen C. Kenny, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, professor, and associate chair of the psychology department at Florida International University in Miami, Florida. She is a nationally certified counselor and qualified supervisor (Florida). She has over 25 years’ experience in academia, teaching graduate counseling courses with a diverse student body. Dr. Kenny was recently recognized by the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Association with a mentoring award (2021) for her work in mentoring students and junior faculty. Dr. Kenny is the author of over 90 journal articles focusing primarily on child abuse and neglect. Her training includes years of providing direct clinical care to abused children and their families. She has published extensively in the area of child maltreatment, with a specific focus on child sexual abuse, prevention and treatment and diverse populations. Her work also addresses the issue of mandatory child maltreatment among professionals. She is the editor of Sex Education: Attitude of Adolescents, Cultural Differences and Schools' Challenges (Nova Science Publishers, 2015) and co-wrote, The Process of Counseling and Therapy with Jan Moursand (Prentice Hall, 2002).
Rebekah F. Schulze
Clinical Associate Professor of Higher Education
Florida International University
Rebekah F. Schulze, MA, EdD, is a clinical associate professor of higher education at Florida International University (FIU). She has been a member of the faculty since 2015 and has served as the graduate program director as well as an Honors College Fellow.
Dr. Schulze holds an EdD from Boston University in educational leadership and development; an MA in administration, leadership and technology from New York University; and a BA in Spanish and government from Colby College. Her research area is mental health for college students and counseling skills for higher education professionals. She has published articles, presents, and teaches classes in this field.
Prior to joining the faculty at FIU, Dr. Schulze joined the FIU community in 2014 as the founding director of scholar development. She has worked at several institutions in a variety of roles, including associate dean of students, assistant dean for academic support services, director of residence life and judicial affairs, and director of orientation. She worked in the counseling center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute of Technology where she was involved with peer education and suicide prevention efforts.