PSYCH 100 Introduction to Western Psychology (3)

Prerequisite: None.

This course is a survey of the broad field of Western Psychology. It will take you on a journey of the various concepts utilized to understand individual thought and behavior over the lifespan. Topics include biological, cognitive, social, developmental, and personality influences on behavior. Furthermore, this course will offer a basic introduction to research methodology for the social sciences as well as a basic introduction to abnormal psychology, and the DSM. It also introduces and explores prominent clinical and counseling theories and interventions. The impact of culture and how Eastern thought has influenced Western perspectives is also explored.

PSYCH 210 Eastern and Western Perspectives on Cognitive Psychology (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 100.

This course offers an introduction to both Western cognitive psychology and Buddhist perspectives of thought. Topics include perception, understanding, memory, utilizing imagination, thinking, reasoning, and other mental abilities. Special attention is paid to comparing and contrasting the two systems.

PSYCH 220 Eastern and Western Perspectives of Affective Psychology (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 100.

The ways in which emotions influence motivation, attitudes, personality, and other related psychological aspects are covered in this course. Special attention is paid to comparing and contrasting Eastern and Western views of emotion (i.e. distinct affective preferences).

PSYCH 300 Research Design and Data Analysis in Psychology (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 100.

Psychology is informed by psychological research. This course will introduce the ways in which psychological research questions are determined, reviews quasi-experimental and experimental designs (quantitative and qualitative) commonly utilized to execute a research study, covers various ways in which research data is analyzed, and discusses the implications of data interpretation.

PSYCH 310 Physiological Psychology (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 300.

This course focuses on the biological basis of individual thought and behavior. Brain structure, hormones, biochemical, and genetic factors are explored. Special attention is paid to behavioral health interventions and the mind-body connection.

PSYCH 320 Psychology of Learning (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 300.

This course introduces the ways in which learning affects behavior. Additionally, it covers the history of behaviorism and the principles and applications of behavior modification, including the contributions of Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, and Bandura. Ethical issues and cultural implications are discussed.

PSYCH 330 Developmental Psychology (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 100.

This course provides an examination of human development across the lifespan. Major theories of human development, including those from physical, cognitive, psychological, and social perspectives will be studied and are covered from a multicultural perspective. Special attention is paid to issues related to aging and long-term care.

PSYCH 340 Psychology of Personality (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 300.

Prominent and influential views of personality development are covered in this course. Examples include theories such as Freudian Psychoanalysis, Jungian, Behavioral and Learning perspectives, Biological views, Cognitive theory, Existential perspectives, and Interpersonal theories of personality development. Buddhist, Hindi, and Sufi traditions will also be explored. Lastly, cultural implications, such as cultural sensitivity, application of personality theory to diverse populations, and multicultural and cross-cultural limitations of select theories will be addressed throughout.

PSYCH 350 Social Psychology (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 300

Society is the mirror in which we see ourselves. This course explores society’s impact on individual thoughts, beliefs, values, and behaviors. Historical and influential theories and related research investigations will be introduced and discussed. Furthermore, the influence of culture and current socio-political norms will be investigated.

PSYCH 360 Fieldwork (1-4)

Prerequisite: Approval of advisor/department chair.

This course requires a field placement, and is for students who wish to gain hand on and/or specialized training in mental health service delivery. The student must demonstrate how the placement/project is related to their studies in psychology and their related professional career goals. Special permission from the department chair is required to enroll in this course.

PSYCH 410 Introduction to Western Psychotherapy (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 300.

Various historically influential, popular, and empirically supported approaches to psychotherapy are explored in this course. Benefits and limitations of each are discussed. Cross-cultural implications, including problems with treatment generalizability, as well as problems with care access for select cultural groups are also covered.

PSYCH 415 Psychological Disorders (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 300.

This course will explore the historical views and current perspectives of abnormal behavior, including categorical versus dimensional perspectives. Major diagnostic categories and criteria, individual and social factors of maladaptive behavior, and types of therapy are reviewed. Additionally, various methods of clinical assessment and research strategies are covered. Special attention is paid to the impact of culture on abnormality.

PSYCH 418 Psychological Tests and Measurements (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 300.

Various psychological assessment procedures will be covered in this course, including structured and unstructured interviews, self report inventories, objective personality tests, ability and preference tests, individual intelligence (IQ) tests, and projective tests. Test administration ethics and the importance of psychometrics, such as validity and reliability, will be covered. Cultural limitations of each will be discussed throughout.

PSYCH 420 Cross-cultural Psychology (3)

In this course the dynamic influence of cultural group identity is explored. Students taking this course will gain an increase in their awareness of their own complex and dynamic cultural identities. Values, beliefs, and differential cultural expectations will be covered. Furthermore, various multicultural and cross-cultural psychological theories and influential research investigations will be discussed.

PSYCH 425 Psychology and Education (3)

Prerequisites: PSYCH 300.

Applications of principles of cognitive development, learning, perception, memory, and language development to educational problems are covered in this course. This includes general instructional issues, gifted and talented children, early childhood education, education of traditionally underrepresented groups and special needs populations.

PSYCH 430 Industrial-Organizational Psychology (3)

Prerequisites: PSYCH 300.

This course offers a study of practices of modern organizational and personnel psychology. Topics include selection, placement, training, motivation, job analysis, evaluation, human factors, counseling in the work-place, and the processes involved in developing and maintaining organizations.

PSYCH 440 Psychology of Religion (3)

Prerequisites: PSYCH 300.

This course explores spiritual and religious experience utilizing psychological methods and theories. It offers a study of the integration of spirituality and psychology as seen in counseling practice. Topics include psychosocial development, death, conversion, mysticism, morality, guilt, mental health, wellness, coping, and counseling strategies.

PSYCH 450 Buddhist Psychology (3)

Prerequisites: PSYCH 300.

This course offers an examination of the Buddhist views of mental functions, motivation, emotion, personality, human development, social ethics and psychotherapy according to Buddhist concepts and beliefs. Moreover, it includes comparison to corresponding and contrasting Western views.

PSYCH 455 Buddhist and Scientific Approaches to Mind (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 300.

This course offers an exploration of Buddhist teachings regarding the mind and their comparisons with neuroscientific findings about the brain.

PSYCH 460 Buddhist Counseling (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 300.

An introduction to Buddhist philosophies and their implications for counseling in helping service and self-development. Various practice methods, such as meditation, chanting, self-reflection, repentance and their applications in school, family, marriage, career, loss, and relationships are explored.

PSYCH 470 Integrative Psychology of Living and Dying (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 300.

An exploration of issues related to psychological and spiritual thoughts of life and death, mechanisms for coping with dying and loss, and cultural differences in encounters with death. These issues are discussed from both Western and Buddhist psychological perspectives. The ultimate goal is for students to improve their quality of life through an understanding of death.

PSYCH 471 Legal and Ethical Issues in Hospice Care and Counseling (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 300.

Legal and ethical issues for both hospices and hospitals required by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations are covered in this course, along with counseling skills specific to hospice/hospital patients and their families.

PSYCH 480 Integrative Psychology of Ethics and Morality (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 300.

An integrative study of ethics and moral reasoning based on the theories and practices of both Buddhist and Western psychology, with an emphasis on the development and formation of concepts of right and wrong, good and bad, and the application of moral principles to daily life.

PSYCH 495 Eastern and Western Perspectives on Contemporary Issues in Psychology and Counseling (3)

Prerequisite: Permission from advisor needed

This course reviews and explores contemporary issues from the perspectives of both Eastern and Western psychological views. Special focus is placed on applications of counseling and psychotherapy techniques promoted by the two traditions.

PSYCH 499 Practicum Prep (2)

Prerequisite: Graduate status

This course is designed to provide students with the necessary materials, skills and knowledge needed to pursue their first MFT practicum placement. This includes identification of a primary theoretical orientation, mastering case conceptualizations, engaging in mock interviews, identifying potential training sites, as well as addressing legal, ethical, and cultural considerations.

PSYCH 500 Graduate Research and Writing Practicum (3)

Prerequisite: Graduate status or permission of department chair.

This course offers student the opportunity to learn basic writing and research skills required for successful graduate work. This includes APA format style, searching for relevant literature, thesis structure, citation of sources, and use of references.

PSYCH 501 Experimental Design and Statistical Analysis (3)

Prerequisite: Graduate status.

Psychology is informed by psychological research. This course will cover the ways in which sound psychological research questions are determined. It will also review advanced quasi-experimental and experimental design methods (quantitative and qualitative) utilized to execute a research study. It also covers various ways in which research data is analyzed, and discusses the implications of data interpretation.

PSYCH 529 Stress & Stress Management (3)

This course reviews the potential biological, social, and psychological sources of stress. It furthermore offers various stress management and relaxation techniques. Ways in which these techniques are empirically support and utilized in clinical practice is also discussed.

PSYCH 520 Buddhist Psychotherapeutic Approaches (3)

Prerequisite: Graduate status.

This course introduces various Buddhist practices and precepts along with their implication and psychotherapeutic applications. Existing literature on the study of Buddhist practices in mental health and Western psychotherapeutic theories and methods are reviewed, compared and contrasted.

PSYCH 525 Seminar: Buddhism and Cognition (3)

Prerequisite: Graduate status.

Advances in cognitive science have resolved and clarified some of the great questions of Western philosophy: What is the structure of the world and how do we come to know it? Does everyone represent the world the same way? What is the best way for us to act in the world? Specific topics include color, objects, categories, similarity, inductive inference, space, time, causality, reasoning, decision-making, morality and consciousness. Course examines how the insights of Buddhist psychology and meditation practices are making an impact on cognitive science.

PSYCH 530 Psychopathology and Counseling (3)

Prerequisite: Graduate status.

This course reviews the current taxonomy of Western psychopathology including, but not limited to clinical disorders, personality disorders, select medical, and psychosocial & environmental problems. Etiologies, prevalence, symptoms, and treatments are introduced and discussed for each. Sexual identity, sexual dysfunction, and gender identity disorders are given special attention. Human sexual anatomy and response, sex roles, sexual orientation, female and male sexual dysfunction and contemporary clinical treatment methods for sexual problems are studied in this class. Additionally, there is consistent focus on students' own beliefs, attitudes and feelings, and on examination of sexual morals, ethical issues, and sociocultural perspectives. Lastly, this course examines conditions in self and society associated with the use and abuse of addictive substances, particularly alcohol and drugs, and explores a variety of traditional and nontraditional treatment models. Further topics include medical aspects, evaluation, theories of etiology, legal issues, prevention, and follow-up for the abuser and family.

PSYCH 531 Theories and Techniques of Counseling and Psychotherapy (3)

Prerequisite: Graduate status.

This course is designed to provide students with knowledge and experiences in counseling and helping skills with an emphasis on traditional counseling and psychotherapy theory and skills including individual (adult, child, & adolescent) and group process therapy skills. This course presents theoretical and empirically supported approaches to intervention strategies for dealing with psychological, emotional, relationship, and adjustment problems in individuals, couples and groups.

PSYCH 532 Legal & Ethical Issues in Counseling and Psychotherapy (3)

Prerequisite: Graduate status.

This course exposes the student to the relevant ethical codes, practice standards, legal statutes, and expectations of professional conduct. Ethical decision-making skills will be presented along with contemporary ethical issues. Professional and public responsibility and the meaning of the professional counseling relationship will be discussed. Furthermore, this course explores the fundamental tenets of child advocacy and of social policies affecting children. Scholarly studies will be examined on a broad range of societal issues related to the healthy development and education of children in society. Topics may include ethnic violence, drugs, poverty, the juvenile justice system, health and mental health care, and child abuse. Issues related to domestic violence are also a focus of this course, including dynamics of spousal, child and elder abuse, family issues and multigenerational patterns.

PSYCH 533 Seminar: Counseling of Multicultural Groups (3)

Prerequisite: Graduate status.

This course focuses on developing an understanding of the human experience through the values and beliefs of various multicultural and cross-cultural identities. It is designed to introduce students to psychological issues concerning human systems, self and group identity, conflict, consciousness, development, gender, cultural values, spirituality, race/ethnicity, individualism-collectivism, evolution and their impact on counseling process and outcome. Lastly, students will gain awareness and understanding of self and others’ cultural perspectives.

PSYCH 536 Marriage/Couples and Family Counseling (3)

Prerequisite: Graduate status.

This course is a survey of contemporary, multicultural, and contextual analyses of the major models of couples and family therapy, the integration of various approaches in relationship therapy, and the process and outcome research that document the state of MFT effectiveness with couples and families.

PSYCH 537 Dream work in Psychotherapy (3)

This course reviews the various ways in which dream content is utilized in psychotherapy assessment and treatment. Psychoanalytic, Jungian, and Existential Gestalt approaches will be covered. Historical and cultural considerations will also be addressed.

PSYCH 538 Psychological Testing (3)

Prerequisite: Graduate status.

This course includes discussion of topics such as clinical interviewing, evidence-based diagnostic assessment, and behavioral assessment. Various psychological assessment procedures will be covered, including structured and unstructured interviews, self report inventories, objective personality tests, ability and preference tests, individual intelligence (IQ) tests, and projective tests. Test administration ethics and the importance of psychometrics, such as validity and reliability, will be covered. Cultural limitations of each will be discussed throughout.

PSYCH 540 Adult Development & Aging (3)

Prerequisite: Graduate status.

This course provides an in-depth exploration of the developmental processes related to aging from a bio-psychosocial perspective. Students will explore age-change theories and human adaptations in terms of mental health, personality stability, sensory aging related to cognitive processes, learning, and social cognition. The course includes discussions of the unique psychological needs of this population including; relationship issues, aging and diversity, death and bereavement, spirituality, occupational patterns, retirement, and leisure. Moreover, it focuses on psychotherapeutic effectiveness of various models with this population.

PSYCH 545 Psychopharmacology (3)

Prerequisite: Graduate status.

This course provides an orientation to understanding current drug therapies for psychological problems. Topics include medications in general use, criteria for referring patients for psychopharmacological evaluation, cultural and interpersonal issues, and how and when medications can contribute to effective treatment. Frequently voiced philosophical, ethical, and legal concerns regarding biological factors and drug treatment are discussed, along with the risks and benefits of drug therapies.

PSYCH 560 Fieldwork (1-4)

Prerequisite: Approval of advisor/department chair.

This course requires hands on experience in a field placement. It is for those students who wish to augment their graduate studies with specialized training and/or experience outside the University in their own field of study. The field experience must have significant bearing on the professional goals of the student and must be in addition to the student’s regular commitment.

PSYCH 600 Advanced Group Process & Skills (3)

Prerequisite: At least 18 units of graduate coursework must be completed

This course focuses on the stages of various process and skills groups. Historical, theoretical, and empirically supported models are reviewed and practiced.

PSYCH 602 Advanced Couples Counseling (3)

Prerequisite: At least 18 units of graduate coursework must be completed

This course offers and in-depth look at the current modalities of couples counseling including process and outcome effectiveness studies, as well as advanced assessment and intervention techniques. Cultural and ethical issues will also be discussed throughout.

PSYCH 604 Child and Adolescent Interventions in Therapy (3)

Prerequisite: Psychology 531

This course offers an in-depth look at the various theories, assessment, and intervention techniques specific to child and adolescent populations, including play therapy. Culture and ethical issues/limitations will also be discussed.

PSYCH 605 Advanced Family Therapy (3)

Prerequisite: At least 18 units of graduate coursework must be completed

This course provides students with an advanced look at the history and current status of family therapy including family multi-systemic theory, functional family therapy and additional evidence-based practices. Much attention will be paid to cultural implications and multigenerational family patterns.

PSYCH 607 Advanced Seminar in Culture & Psychotherapy (3)

Prerequisite: At least 18 units of graduate coursework must be completed

This course focuses on expanding students’ understanding of the human experience through a deep awareness of their own and others cultural identities and related values and beliefs and its impact on therapy process and outcome. Coursework is designed to provide an advanced investigation into psychological issues concerning human systems, self and group identity, conflict, consciousness, development, gender, cultural values, spirituality, race/ethnicity, individualism-collectivism, and evolution.

PSYCH 611 The Essential Yalom (3)

Prerequisite: Psychology 531

This course outlines the contributions of renowned psychiatrist, Irvin Yalom. Existential perspectives, and here & now process work make up the bulk of this course’s content. Case studies from various Yalom texts will be reviewed and discussed in detail.

PSYCH 614 Religion & Psychology Seminar (3)

This course is a study of spiritual and religious experience utilizing psychological methods and theories, including a study of the integration of spirituality and psychology as seen in counseling practice. Topics include psychosocial development, death, conversion, mysticism, morality, guilt, mental health, wellness, coping, and counseling strategies.

PSYCH 610B Practicum in Multicultural Counseling Psychology (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 501, 531, 532, and completion of 20 hours of graduate level coursework

The practicum training program provides students hands on clinical experience, with a focus on multicultural psychotherapy theory and related interventions. During the course of the semester, practicum students will be expected to develop their skills on both a personal and professional level through individual supervision, discussing clinical cases and professional issues in the training seminar, and working with clients individually and in groups. Permission is required and arrangements must be made to obtain an approved practicum placement within the community. PSYCH 610 and 615 should be taken consecutive semesters.

PSYCH 615B Advanced Practicum in Multicultural Counseling Psychology (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 501, 531, 532, 610, and must have completed 23 hours of graduate level coursework

The practicum training program provides students hands on clinical experience, with a focus on multicultural psychotherapy theory and related interventions. During the course of the semester, practicum students will be expected to develop their skills on both a personal and professional level through individual supervision, discussing clinical cases and professional issues in the training seminar, and working with clients individually and in groups. Permission is required and arrangements must be made to obtain an approved practicum placement within the community. PSYCH 610 and 615 should be taken consecutive semesters.

PSYCH 617 Application of Mindfulness in Western Therapy (3)

Prerequisite: Graduate status.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the concept of mindfulness and its influence on Western Psychotherapeutic research and practice. It furthermore, reviews the historical and contemporary literature on the efficacy and effectiveness of mindful-based therapeutic approaches on the process and outcome of treatment. Cultural issues and limitations are also discussed.

PSYCH 650 Directed Research (3)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 501 and permission from instructor

This course involves hands on experience with the research process; from investigating research questions, writing literature reviews, designing studies and analyzing results, as well as interpreting results and discussing the related implications.

PSYCH 699b Comprehensive Exam (0)

Prerequisite: Permission of Department Chair and Advisor. Student must be in their final semester.

PSYCH 699a Thesis (1-6)

Prerequisite: PSYCH 501, PSYCH 650 and permission from instructor

This course requires hands on research experience where the student serves as the principle investigator. As principle investigator, the student is responsible for identifying an appropriate research question, drafting the literature review, designing and analyzing results, as well as interpreting results and the related implications.

PSYCH 715 Continuous Enrollment Research (1)

Course required for graduate-level students who no longer need courses, but must remain in continuous enrollment each semester until completion of exam, thesis, etc. Course does not count toward minimum requirements for graduation.