BH 214 Interviewing and Counseling Skills

Lecture Hours: 3
Credits: 3

Introduces intentional interviewing. Focuses on developing advanced skills and strategies with significant opportunity for skill acquisition through practice. Second of a two-course sequence.

Prerequisite: Completion of BH 150 and WR 121Z each a grade of C or better; admitted into Behavioral Health program; or consent of instructor.
Student Learning Outcomes:

Explain the principles of motivational interviewing and their role in effective counseling.
Identify stages-of-change models and related counseling interventions.
Design and conduct counseling sessions for the purpose of motivating client change.
Identify evidence-based best practices in the treatment of substance use disorders.
Discuss ways to view incremental change and the acceptance of relapse as an opportunity for positive growth.
Integrate interviewing/counseling skills with theoretical orientations.

Content Outline

Basic Counseling Skills
- Organizing the interview
- Attending, observational skills, reflective listening and feeling
Motivational Interviewing
- Stages-of-change
- Motivational interviewing skills
- Building motivation for change
- Strengthening commitment to change
- Applying motivational interviewing across the treatment continuum
- Special issues in motivational interviewing
Best Practices
- Substance abuse models
- Multicultural issues and change strategies
- Theory integration