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PDR 401 - Family Counseling

Faculty of Education · Guidance and Psychological Counselling · Undergraduate

ECTS: 2 T+P+L: 2+0+0 Compulsory
Coordinator: Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Beyza KIRCA
Instructors: Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Beyza KIRCA

Course Objective

The aim of this course is to introduce students to the theories and practices of family counseling.

Course Content

This course includes topics as following; Introduction to Family Counseling, History of Family Therapy, Psychodynamic Family Therapy, Bowen Family Therapy, Experiential Family Therapy, Behavioral Family Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Family Therapy, Structural Family Therapy, Strategic Family Therapy, Solution-Focused Family Therapy, Narrative Family Therapy, Feminist Family Therapy, Ethical, Legal and Professional Issues in Family Counseling, Ethical, Legal and Professional Issues in Family Counseling and Psychological Counseling.

Course Learning Outcomes

  1. Interprets patterns of family communication and cycles of functional and dysfunctional interactions.
  2. It explains the impact of cultural, gender, socioeconomic, and ethnic factors on couple and family dynamics.
  3. It explains the effects of specific situations—such as divorce, remarriage, loss, trauma, and addiction—on the family system.
  4. Knows the basic therapeutic skills that can be used in a couples or family session.
  5. Analyzes a family system using assessment tools such as genograms and family sculptures.
  6. By selecting the appropriate therapeutic approach based on case examples, the student develops a basic intervention plan.
  7. By recognizing the ethical dilemmas encountered in the process of couples and family therapy (confidentiality, multiple relationships, secrets, boundaries), the therapist applies an appropriate ethical decision-making process.
  8. It analyzes dysfunctional patterns within a family system and the relationship between these patterns and individual symptoms.
  9. It provides a comparative analysis of the conceptualizations of different therapeutic approaches applied to the same case.
  10. It defines the basic concepts, theories, and historical development in the field of couples and family therapy.
  11. It explains family systems concepts such as systemic thinking, cyclicality, boundaries, triangulation, coalitions, and alliances
  12. Understands the basic assumptions of the major approaches to couple and family therapy, such as structural, strategic, Bowenian, cognitive-behavioral, emotion-focused, and solution-focused approaches.
  13. It lists the stages of the family life cycle and the developmental tasks associated with each stage.
  14. By comparing different theories of couples and family therapy, it explains the strengths and limitations of each.

Core Area Distribution

(14) Teacher Training and Education Science%40 (31) Social and Behavioural Science%60

Teaching Methods

ExpressionQuestion-AnswerDiscussionCase Study

Assessment & Evaluation

Testing (Essay / Tests: True-Falls, multiple-choice, short answer, matching)

ECTS / Workload

ActivityQuantityDuration (h)Total Workload
Course Duration (Including Exam Week)16232
Out of Class Study Period16116
Midterm166
Quiz000
Assignment000
Practice000
Final188

Course Schedule

WeekSubjectPreparation
1Orientation
2Introduction to Family Therapy & Basic ConceptsTextbook, Chapter 1
3Basic Techniques in Family TherapyTextbook, Chapter 1, Section 2
4Bowen Family Systems TherapyTextbook, Chapter 2, Section 1
5Strategic Family TherapyTextbook, Chapter 2, Section 2
6Structural Family TherapyTextbook, Chapter 2, Section 3
7Experiential Family Therapy.Textbook, Chapter 2, Section 4
8Midterm-
9Psychoanalytic Family TherapyTextbook, Chapter 2, Section 5
10Cognitive-Behavioral Family TherapyTextbook, Chapter 2, Section 6
11Feminist Family TherapyTextbook, Chapter 2, Section 7
12Solution-Focused Family TherapyTextbook, Chapter 3, Section 1
13Narrative Family TherapyTextbook, Chapter 3, Section 2
14Comparative Analysis and Integrative ModelsTextbook, Chapter 3, Section 4
15Comparative Analysis and Integrative ModelsTextbook, Chapter 3, Section 5
16Final Exam-