Applied Thesis Course ELECTIVE

ATC-400 Applied Thesis Course

This course in a nutshell:

At the completion of all required courses for the Diploma and Certificate programs, students have the option to incorporate the concepts and skills learned throughout the program into a comprehensive, career-related final project. This written project serves as a measure of the student’s level of competency in the area of clinical interest, and will be evaluated by the instructor for practical relevance and professionalism. Students choose from a list of topics relevant to their career direction.

Course Objective: Applied Skill Development

On-line delivery of the Applied Thesis Course(ATC-400) incorporates the concepts and skills learned throughout the Diploma and Certificate programs into a career-related final project that has practical application in their field of professional interest.

After completing the required core courses for the Diploma or Certificate program, you are prepared to choose an elective such as the Applied Thesis Course which is relevant to your area of professional interest. Students work under the supervision of an instructor who is a specialist in the student’s field of interest.

COURSE CONTENT:

Professional counsellors must maintain a skill level which reflects the changing needs of today’s marketplace. Due to limited resources, community agencies and private contractors are concerned with maximizing fiscal expenditures by hiring counsellors who, in addition to meeting standards of professional competency, also possess specialized skills in networking, fund raising, facilitating group counseling and psycho-educational programs.

Students enrolled in the Applied Thesis course will incorporate the concepts and skills learned throughout the Diploma program into a career-related final project that has practical application in their field of professional interest.

This project serves as a measure of your level of competency, and will be evaluated by the instructor for practical relevance and professionalism.

You may choose from a list of topics relevant to your career direction. A bibliography and text book is assigned according to your area of interest. For example, students seeking employment in a Family Service Center might choose from the following suggestions for thesis topics:

  • develop a parenting workshop for teenage mothers,
  • outline a community outreach program for homeless youth;
  • research grant and funding sources for substance abuse prevention programs.

Topics covered in the Applied Thesis course relate to the specialized area of study selected by the student.

PORTFOLIO OF JOB SKILLS

What you will learn:

In keeping with the Diploma in Applied Psychology objective to prepare entry-level counselors for employment in the dynamic and wide- ranging fields of mental health, the Applied Thesis curriculum stresses application of job related knowledge and skills.

The course will emphasize application of concepts, theories and learned skills. After researching and writing a comprehensive theoretical discussion of the above topics, you will then develop a project which can be implemented in a community agency or private business. Examples of thesis projects might include:

  • Develop an outreach program
  • Write a grant or funding proposal
  • Develop a workshop or training program
  • Develop an outcome survey to measure success of service delivery.

Your Applied Thesis project may have practical relevance for prospective employers and will be a valuable addition to your portfolio of job skills.

Students enrolled in the Applied Thesis course have knowledge and skills in the following topics identified by the Canadian Professional Counsellors Association as being essential to the demonstration of competence in the practice of counselling:

Ability to conduct a standard clinical assessment

  • Communication and conflict resolution skills.
  • Loss and grief counseling skills.
  • Suicide and homicide assessment and prevention strategies.
  • Familiarity with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM IV-TR)
  • Knowledge of ethics and legal liability
  • Commitment by practitioners of continued self-growth and professional development.

The Applied Thesis or Final Course Project will be an important part of the Diploma and Certificate programs which prepare students to demonstrate the types of desired skills and characteristics mental health organizations are looking for in new employees, such as:

  • Sensitivity to multi-cultural diversity.
  • Assessment and referral skills
  • Team building
  • Conflict resolution skills
  • Case management skills.
  • Brief-term counselling and goal setting skills.
  • Ability to establish therapeutic relationship with all types of clients.
  • Knowledge of community-based counselling.
  • Ability to develop outreach programs and network existing services in the community.
  • Skills to identify and meet the needs of the expanding elderly population.
  • Ability to assess and refer clients with dual and triple diagnoses.
  • Ability to develop and implement primary, secondary, tertiary intervention programs for youth at risk; victims of trauma and domestic violence; and the special needs of First Nations and other culturally diverse populations.