COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course explores the central beliefs and ideas behind general systems theory and its foundational role in family therapy. Students will study how theoretical directions within family therapy can be applied in both professional and training environments. The course encourages a shift in perspective from individual to relational thinking, helping students better understand and facilitate relational mediation in couples, families, and organizational systems.
Throughout the course, students will acquire critical skills essential to success in marriage and family counseling, including accurate listening, empathy, and questioning techniques. Additionally, students will explore the ethical considerations and challenges associated with helping individuals in multicultural environments. The course also covers the core models of relational therapy, providing a solid foundation for those interested in family counseling.
Key Topics Covered
- Advance an Opening Knowledge of Family Process, Family Development, and Life Cycle Viewpoints: Gain foundational knowledge of family dynamics, development stages, and life cycle perspectives that strengthen family functioning.
- Boost Recognition of Social Influence on Families: Understand the impact of social contexts on families and individuals and the importance of family systems in making family mediation relevant and effective.
- Expand Beginning-Level Skills in Family Assessment and Interviewing: Develop basic skills in interviewing and assessing families to effectively organize interventions that support family functioning.
- Enunciate an Elementary Awareness of Family Systems Theory: Gain a clear understanding of the core principles of family systems theory and how it applies to family therapy.
- Administer Key Family Therapy Skills in Class and Conversations: Practice essential family therapy techniques during in-class presentations and simulated conversations with families.
- Detail Families as Cultural Systems Within Sociocultural Contexts: Recognize families as distinct cultural systems embedded in and influenced by broader sociocultural environments.
- Promote an Introductory Treatment Procedure: Learn to develop and apply effective treatment processes in addressing family issues.
REFERENCE MATERIALS
for
Full-CLC Students
Based on your HESEAP application, you have been awarded full CLC for this course, classifying it as a test-out course, meaning no traditional instruction will be provided. Your CLC award signifies that you possess knowledge, whether gained through prior education or experience, equivalent to or surpassing what would typically be learned in a traditional college setting. Consequently, classroom attendance is not required; however, you are required to successfully pass a final exam for the course.
USILACS remains committed to fostering your academic success. Should you find a refresher necessary or wish to deepen your understanding of the subject, it is recommended that you explore a variety of free online educational resources on the suggested topics below.
Thousands of FREE Online College Courses:
Search Topics: Publications/Videos/Papers
The majority of the exam questions for this course are based upon information contained in the below search topics.
- (2017) Introduction to Sociology 2e, Open Stax, Rice University https://openstax.org/details/books/introduction-sociology-2e
- Chapter 14, Marriage and Family, Challenges that families face. (pg. 319-321)
- (2019) Child, Family, and Community by Rebecca Laff and Wendy Ruiz; College of the Canyons Open Textbook Library https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/800
Please note that USILACS is not the source of the above links; therefore, we do not have control over their accessibility. Some links may no longer be active, and in such cases, we encourage you to copy and paste the title into Google or YouTube to find an alternative source. Should you encounter an inactive link, feel free to contact our academic team at academics@usilacs.org for assistance or to notify them so the link can be updated.
Occasionally, the links may prompt you to download reference material in PDF format. While we have made every effort to ensure the safety of the sources, we encourage you to take precautions to verify the security of any downloads on your device.
Although comprehensive study materials have been provided, you can search for the topics and titles on Google and YouTube if additional resources are needed.
Tips for Success
Remember that the exams are open-book, meaning you can keep reference materials open in other tabs for easy access during the exam. Some reference materials are extensive, with hundreds of pages. To quickly find answers, follow these steps:
- Choose a keyword or phrase from the exam question.
- Open the reference material.
- Press ‘Ctrl’ + ‘F’ on your keyboard to open a search bar.
- Enter your keyword or phrase and click search. This will display all instances of that word or phrase within the document, allowing for more efficient navigation.