The ABCs of Teaching Family Counseling: Putting “Fun” into the Fundamentals of the Profession

Abstract

Becoming a family counselor requires knowledge of the history, theories, techniques, and trends within the profession. These tasks are not easy to accomplish and require a dedication of learning where the field has been as well as where it appears to be going. Multiple-choice tests, essay questions, term papers, case histories, internships, special projects, and class presentations are some of the means used to teach and evaluate student’s mastery of the field. However, another way that is fun and effective is class exercises and games. One such game titled “The ABCs of Family Counseling” is explained here. This article examines the rationale for using this teaching tool and how the pedagogy tied to this exercise can help students become more aware of what they have learned, as well as help students develop a readiness to begin working with couples and families.

The Impact of Bibliotherapy training on SocialEmotional Skills, Reading Interest and Reading Motivation

“…Likewise, in this study, self-exploration, being mutual conversation-based, being lawful, allowing one's self-realization, being useful in client and counselor relations, being useful for asking questions, empathy and confrontation, and being useful for reflecting emotions and contents were mentioned as techniques used in the bibliotherapy process,. Gladding and Gladding (1991), on the other hand, considered bibliotherapy as a convenient method for using different principles and techniques of counseling in the process of counseling.…”

The Pedagogical Potential of Podcasts: Using Digital Audio to Enhance Learning in Marriage and Family Counseling Courses

“…Counselor educators must carefully consider the alignment between course content and learning objectives, the level of student development, the suitability of podcast content, and the appropriateness of instructional approaches (Gladding & Casares, 2022;Bloom, 1956;Brown et al, 2014;CACREP, 2015;Casado-Kehoe et al, 2011;COAMFTE, 2021;MacCluskie, 2012;McAuliffe & Eriksen, 2011;Wagner & Hill, 2015). In light of these considerations, the following requirements, assumptions, and objectives are provided to guide the selection and meaningful integration of podcasts into marriage and family counseling courses.…”

“…Podcasts can also be assigned to practice confronting/challenging clients or delivering counselor-initiated interpretations (Hackney & Cormier, 2016). Consequently, this assignment offers students an on-demand experiential activity, which may also promote other academically and clinically useful skills such as creativity and spontaneity (Gladding & Casares, 2022;Lawrence et al, 2015;McGhee et al, 2019;Tadros, 2020;Wells & Dickens, 2020).…”

“…Since many podcasts offer transcripts of the audio presented, students may also benefit from reviewing these documents for feeling words and then comparing their findings with the list generated from the initial listening exercise. Depending on each student's need or progress toward proficiency, this assignment can be extended, with new words and phrases added to the existing list (Gladding & Casares, 2022) as subsequent podcasts are reviewed. Additional episodes that may be useful for helping students expand their clinical vocabulary include an episode of Invisibilia titled, "What Was Not Said," and the Radiolab episode titled, "Stress.…”

Remembering Sam Gladding

“… Professional orientation, development, and identity History and systems of counseling Ethical and legal issues Social justice issues Religious and spiritual issues Humor in counseling Imagery and metaphors in counseling Wellness Play therapy, poetry therapy, and bibliotherapy Group counseling School counseling Clinical mental health counseling Family counseling Amazon.com: Samuel T. Gladding: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle We were blessed that Sam served as President of the International Association of Marriage and Family Counseling (IAMFC: 2018–2020). One of his recent works was published in The Family Journal (Gladding & Casares, 2021). Gladding (2017), in his life and words defined the field of counseling.…”