Week4

Week 4 Overview

We will be studying “the most significant psychologist of the

twentieth century:” The person-centered therapy of Carl Rogers.

The foundational principles he developed expound on the creation

of a strong healing relationship with a client. These principles

have become germane to most of the therapies we will be

studying. We will explore the primary dynamic aspect of his theory

that explains the nature of this healing relationship.

We will also begin our look at behavioral therapy. Behavioral

therapy is an umbrella term for types of therapy that treat mental

health disorders from a behavioral and cognitive perspective. It’s

based on the idea that all behaviors are learned and that

behaviors can be changed. This form of therapy looks to identify

and help change potentially self-destructive or unhealthy

behaviors.

Week 4 Tasks

● Discussion: The PCT Interaction
● Essay: Behavioral Thoughts
● Essay: Self-Management Program

Week 4 Objectives

After successful completion of this week’s module, the student will

be able to:

● Explain the philosophy and basic assumptions underlying
Person-Centered and Behavioral Therapies.

● Define and describe the key concepts in Person-Centered
and Behavioral Therapies, and how they are incorporated
into the therapeutic process.

● Analyze the strengths and the shortcoming of both
Person-Centered and Behavioral Therapies as applied to
diverse populations.

● Describe and infer contemporary trends in Person-Centered
Therapy.

● Describe and infer contemporary trends in Behavioral
Therapy.

● Compare and contrast the role of the counselor when
utilizing Behavioral and Person-Centered Therapies.

● Develop self-awareness of how theoretical models
correspond with personal values and views on change.

Required Readings & Resources

Corey, G. (2024). Theory and practice of counseling and

psychotherapy (11th ed.).

● Chapter 7: “Person-Centered Therapy”
● Chapter 9: “Behavior Therapy”

Theories of Counseling – Person-Centered Therapy

Theories of Counseling – Behavior Therapy

Gwen Therapy Videos:

● Chapter 7: Person-Centered Therapy
● Chapter 9: Behavior Therapy

Part A – Discussion: The PCT Interaction
Review the Discussion Requirements for this course before
responding to the prompt below.

Watch the following videos and discuss the prompts:

● Theories of Counseling – Person-Centered Therapy
● Links to an external site.
●
● Chapter 7: Person-Centered Therapy
● Links to an external site.
●

Person-centered therapy operates on the humanistic belief that
the client is inherently driven toward and has the capacity for
growth and self-actualization; it relies on this force for therapeutic
change. The role of the counselor is to provide a nonjudgmental
environment conducive to honest self-exploration. Consider the

research that has shown the working alliance between client and
therapist is key to the success of therapy.

Prompts:

● What sorts of person-centered attitudes and methods will
you use as a therapist to help establish that alliance?
How will you use them?

● Explain why it is important to provide a genuine,
nonjudgmental environment conducive to healing for the
client. What does it provide? How does it provide it?

● After watching the video of Gwen, discuss the following:
○ Describe the therapist’s nonverbal language and

how it connects to person-centered therapy.
○ In what ways is the therapist letting the client

guide the therapeutic process?

Provide at least two article resources (other than the videos) to
support your thought process and comments. Citations and the
reflection must be formatted according to the APA guidelines.

Note: This is a post-first discussion; therefore, you will not be
able to view others’ posts until you have first submitted your
initial response.

Your grade will be determined according to the Discussion Rubric
embedded in this discussion assignment.

Initial posts are due by 11:59 PM Central Time on Day 3. All
responses are due by 11:59 PM Central Time on Day 5.

Part B – Behavioral therapy is an umbrella term for types of
therapy that treat mental health disorders from a behavioral and
cognitive perspective. It’s based on the idea that all behaviors
are learned and that behaviors can be changed. This form of
therapy looks to identify and help change potentially
self-destructive or unhealthy behaviors.

Watch the following videos before writing your essay:

● Theories of Counseling – Behavior Therapy
● Chapter 9: Behavior Therapy

Write an essay with a minimum of 600 words. The essay is split

into 2 parts containing a minimum of 300 words per part. Use the

headings below to delineate your writing content.

Part I: Behavioral

Address the following in this section:

● Why is personality a vital component in understanding
behavior?

● How would you explain to someone who does not
understand behavioral therapy what the therapy is and
does?

● In your opinion, what are 3 critical elements of behavior
therapy? Explain your reasoning/thought process?

Part II: Gwen Video

Consider what Gwen reports about feeling judged by her boss

and the stress she experiences as a result. Address the following

in this section:

● How might you introduce the ideas of mindfulness and
acceptance to her, and how would they be applied to
address the issues she raises?

● What do you notice about this therapist’s style?
● How would you define the problem Gwen is describing from

the behavioristic perspective?
● What resources would you use from this theoretical

approach to work best with Gwen’s problem?

Provide at least two article resources (other than the videos) to

support your thought process and comments. Citations and the

reflection must be formatted according to the APA guidelines.

Your grade will be determined according to the Reflection/Essay

Rubric embedded in this assignment.

Consider the benefits of a free Writing Consultation before

submitting the assignment to your instructor. When you are ready

for your instructor to evaluate your work, save your file in its

original format (no PDF without instructor approval) as

COUN5213_YourName_BehavioralEssayto your computer.

Upload and submit the file to this assignment.

This assignment is due by 11:59 PM Central Time on Day 7.

Part C – Self-management strategies include self-monitoring,
self-reward, self-contracting, and stimulus control. Select some
behaviors you might like to change: stopping excessive eating,
drinking, or smoking; teaching yourself relaxation skills in the
face of tense situations you must encounter; developing a regular
program of physical exercising or meditating and so forth. Write
an essay with a minimum of 500 words to show how you would
design, implement, and evaluate your self-change program.
Ideally, you will consider actually trying out such a program for
some behavior changes you want to make in your everyday life.

● What specific behavior or behaviors do you want to
change?

● What specific actions will help you reach this goal?

● What self-monitoring devices can you use to keep a record
of your progress?

● What reinforcements (Self-rewards) can you use as a way of
carrying out your plan?

● How well is your plan for change working? What revisions
are necessary for your plan to work more effectively?

Provide at least two article resources (other than the videos) to

support your thought process and comments. Citations and the

reflection must be formatted according to the APA guidelines.

Your grade will be determined according to the Reflection/Essay

Rubric embedded in this assignment.

Consider the benefits of a free Writing Consultation before

submitting the assignment to your instructor. When you are ready

for your instructor to evaluate your work, save your file in its

original format (no PDF without instructor approval) as

COUN5213_YourName_SelfMgmtEssayto your computer.

Upload and submit the file to this assignment.

This assignment is due by 11:59 PM Central Time on Day 7.