As you learned in Week 1, for the Final Project, you will research one counseling intervention in relation to an identified mental health issue and apply your findings to a case study. This week, there are a number of decisions for you to make to solidify your project. You will complete Part I of the Final Project. The first step is to choose the case study that you plan to utilize in your project. You will notice that some case studies include more than one potential client. For example, in the case of Jim, the 14-year-old adolescent, you may opt to focus on the family or the teen. After you identify the case and choose the client, identify one presenting problem or mental health issue for counseling focus.
Now, put your counselor hat on. You have an identified client and a presenting problem. Where do you go from here? As a counselor, you have an ethical responsibility to provide competent practice. There is an expectation that you will utilize interventions that are supported with empirical research. So, your next step is to identify an intervention that you would like to use with your client. For your project, you will investigate current counseling research related to the intervention in order to make an informed decision about evidence-based practice. To launch your research, you will formulate a research question to guide your investigation.
To Prepare
Review the Final Project Worksheet Part 1 media program found in the Learning Resources for this week
Review the Final Project Case Studies found in the Learning Resources for this week and choose one of the four case studies to use for your Final Project. School counselors should choose Case 1 or 2.
Consider the case study and identify your client and the mental health issue you will focus on
Choose one intervention that you would like to further investigate for possible use with the client
Review the Part 1 Final Project found in the Learning Resources and use this template for this Part 1 Assignment.
A good resource to prepare:
Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2017c). Final project worksheet part 1 [Audio file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 10 minutes.
In this recorded audio, Dr. Laura Haddock describes the portion of the Final Project due this week, with a review of the remaining components and corresponding due dates.
References:
Balkin, R. S., & Kleist, D. M. (2023). Counseling research: A practitioner-scholar approach (2nd). American Counseling Association.
Chapter 1, “The Counselor as a Practitioner-Scholar” (pp. 3-15)
American Psychological Association.Links to an external site. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
Bjørn, P., & Boulus, N. (2011). Dissenting in reflective conversations: Critical components of doing action research.Links to an external site. Action Research, 9, 282-302. doi:10.1177/1476750310396949
Guiffrida, D. A., Douthit, K. Z., Lynch, M. F., & Mackie, K. L. (2011). Publishing action research in counseling journals.Links to an external site. Journal of Counseling & Development, 89, 282–287. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2011.tb00090.x
Saul, W., & Launius, J. C. (2010). Making the case for action research: Control group.Links to an external site. Science Scope, 34(1), 24–29.
Balkin, R. S., & Kleist, D. M. (2023). Counseling research: A practitioner-scholar approach (2nd). American Counseling Association.
Chapter 3, “Ethical and Multicultural Issues in Counseling Research” (pp. 41-63).
American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics. Download 2014 ACA code of ethics.Retrieved from http://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf
American School Counselor Association (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors.Links to an external site. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/Ethical-Legal-Responsibilities/ASCA-Ethical-Standards-for-School-Counselors-(1)
Haas, S. C., & Ray, D. C. (2020). Child-centered play therapy with children affected by adverse childhood experiences: A single-case designLinks to an external site.. International Journal of Play Therapy, 29(4), 223–236.
OASIS. (n.d.). Search by methodology: An interactive guideLinks to an external site.. Walden University. https://academics.waldenu.edu/library/search-by-methodology
Raff, J. (2018, January 3). How to read and understand a scientific articleLinks to an external site. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://violentmetaphors.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/how-to-read-and-understand-a-scientific-article.pdf
(Some of your findings are accepted as long as they are peer-reviewed while utilizing the above references)
The assignment template is attached to the instructions.
