Category: Psychology

Write a paper, two to three pages long (double-spaced, 1 margins, 12 pt font), in which

you discuss three different course concepts drawn from the first five chapters of the

textbook (and related lecture notes). For each concept, identify in detail how it was

illustrated in the film, comparing the film version to what we know from group

dynamics research (based on the text and class notes). I recommend breaking up the

paper into sections with headings that identify the concept to be discussed. An alternative

is to discuss elements of the film and discuss whatever concepts apply to that element of

the film, highlighting in bold text the course concepts you are applying. You dont need

an introductory paragraph, and a references section is only needed if you cite studies not

mentioned in class or the textbook, but do identify the studies you are citing. Do NOT

cite the textbook (which is a secondary source) and do not use quotes from the book.

You must, as one of your three concepts, discuss task and social cohesion in this paper.

The other two concepts discussed can be any two from the list below:

Primary vs. secondary/social groups need to belong

functions of groups (BIGSIX) similarity principle

case study method complementarity principle

social comparison social rejection

sociometer theory collectivism vs. individualism

social support collective self-esteem

Social media seems to be all around us. The Internet and social media influence our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in many ways. Technological tools have changed our social world; consider how technology has shaped your interactions with people and influenced your relationships (for better or worse). People feel anonymous on the Internet and they feel protected by hiding behind a screen. While this can help people express their true selves in some aspects, it also frees people of the constraints of social pressures. In some cases, this can lead people to behave in aggressive or cruel ways. In other cases, this can lead people to make new connections and develop deeper relationships. In this assessment, you’ll create a short presentation to explore the psychological effects of the Internet on the way we interact with one another. You will also create a short video to show off what you’ve learned about communicating on social media. Overview For this assessment, you will create a PowerPoint presentation using the Social Media Relationships Template [PPTX] Download Social Media Relationships Template [PPTX]. Your presentation will include an embedded video that explores one aspect of social media relationships. Preparation Topic Selection Choose one of the following topics: Friendship and the Internet. Online dating. Online privacy. Cyberbullying. Aggression and the Internet. In the Capella University Library, find and read one peer-reviewed journal article that relates to your topic. Be sure to use the Discipline-Specific Databases. Video Creation Create a short video (3060 seconds) on your selected topic. This video will be included in your presentation. Provide a brief explanation of your topic. Make a connection between the key psychological concepts in your readings and your selected topic. Be as descriptive as possible. Make it fun and informative. If you are unfamiliar with creating videos, you can use Zoom or Kaltura. See the following Campus resources that will give you instructions for using either tool. Using Kaltura. Using Zoom. Instructions Use the Social Media Relationships Template [PPTX] to create your presentation. Include the following slides: Title. Include your presentation’s title and your name. Embed your video. Relationships and the Internet. Summarize what you’ve learned about your topic. Include at least two psychological concepts from the psychology of social media. Use examples of each concept. Research. Summarize the research article you’ve found. Health. Describe how what you’ve learned can be used to promote a healthy lifestyle. Use examples. Careers. Describe how what you’ve learned can be used in the workplace. Use examples. References. Include references for the sources you’ve cited. Additional Requirements Your assessment should also meet the following requirements: Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message. APA formatting: References and citations should be formatted according to current APA style and formatting. Number of references: Use a minimum of two sources: your textbook and one peer-reviewed journal article. Length: Seven slides (and an embedded 3060 second video). Font and font size: Not smaller than a 12-point font. Competencies Measured By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria: Competency 1: Apply psychological principles to topics in the psychology of social media. Apply psychological principles to topics in the psychology of social media. Competency 2: Describe scholarly research findings in the psychology of social media. Describe scholarly research findings in social media psychology. Competency 3: Describe how psychological factors related to social media can influence a healthy lifestyle. Describe how psychological factors can influence a healthy lifestyle. Competency 4: Apply psychological content and skills to career goals. Apply psychological content and skills to the workplace. Competency 5: Communicate professionally with proper mechanics and effective organization. Describe relationships topic as it relates to key psychological concepts in a video. Cite sources using author and year and provide some reference information required in APA style. Develop text using organization, structure, and transitions that demonstrate understanding of the relationship between the main topic and subtopics.

* INDIVIDUAL INTRO REFERENCE REQUIREMENT: The introduction should include at least 5 references (4 of these must be from peer-reviewed journal articles; the remaining citations can also be from a peer-review journal article OR could come from an edited book chapter). * The content and the format of paper should follow APA 7th edition guidelines Review full paper instructions for guidance but not that this is JUST a draft of your INTRODUCTION. 4 of the 5 points from your draft are based on full completion of a draft that attempts all required components. Points will be lost for any missing components or components that dont show full effort (e.g., missing 1 or more sources, having only 1 sentence per source with no elaboration/discussion, barely mentioning novelty of study/why it’s important.). The final point will be based on the overall quality of the work with greater reductions for errors and weaknesses (note that I do take into account this is a draft so your grade for this point doesn’t necessarily equate to the grade you would receive on your final paper if you didn’t incorporate changes). Although I won’t be “grading” the references per se at this point (e.g., not grading them for APA style), PLEASE INCLUDE A COPY OF ALL REFERENCES USED so I can ensure you used appropriate references in your introduction (Failure to do so will also result in point deductions). Study background The goal of this study is to help elaborate on equine therapeutic research, which is a rather obscure and new field of research. While emotional regulation has been touched on, fine motor skill improvement has not really been researched in the field. Understanding this field of research and connecting it to other forms of animal-assisted therapies will allow for the increased usage of such therapy, which will widen the spectrum of interventions. Previous research has shown that equine-assisted therapy methods are helpful for those with certain sensitivities (touch), making it less intrusive than conventional therapy (Johansen, Wang, et.al 2014). Providing individuals with a less intrusive form of therapy will potentially increase the efficacy of animal-assisted therapy methods, meaning that this research can potentially be generalizable to other animals, such as canines. Hypotheses Parents will report greater improvements in emotion regulation and fine motor skills in children who have spent more time in therapy Instructors and volunteers that are more hands on with children in equine-assisted therapy will elicit more improvement responses by parents. Parents who get an approach motivation writing task (as opposed to an avoidance motivation writing task) will report better perceptions towards equine therapy Parents with children who have spent more time in equine assisted therapy will be less impacted by either writing task while parents with children who spend a shorter period of time in equine assisted therapy will be more impacted by either writing task. Study design To see if an approach motivation writing task or an avoidance motivation task will influences parents to report better perceptions towards equine therapy To see if an instructor who are more hands-on influences parents to report more or less improvements in their children. To see if more time the children participate in equine assisted therapy will influences the parents to report more improvements in their children. To see if time spent in therapy will interact with either the approach motivation writing task or avoidance motivation task to influence results. Outcome measures A change, more notably an improvement, in fine motor skills and emotional regulation. This change will be characterized by improved finger and hand movements, such as the ability to use clips or utensils both in and out of the stable. In terms of emotional regulation, improved self-soothing and problem-solving are some examples of improvements. Once parents report on improvements seen in their child, they then would report on their perceptions on equine therapy after completing either writing task. Introduction (7.5) Clarity of introduction of topic/question 1 Appropriate review of theoretical background and previous empirical datanote: you should have at least: indiv: 5 references (4 of which are peer-reviewed); partner: 8 references (7 peer reviewed) to help make a case for current study 3 Clearly link ideas in introduction and transition from one study to next 1 Clear statement of hypotheses (make sure to address AT LEAST 3(indiv) or 4 (partner) focal hypothesesone must involve main effect of manipulated variable and one must include examining potential interaction of person and manipulated variable) 1.5 Clear statement of why present study is important and how it adds to our knowledge 1 Annotated bibliography sources to use in my introduction draft below : 1) Zaker, A., Dudley, L., Slouka, M., & Stallones, L. (2024). Integration of equine assisted services and social-emotional learning: A preliminary evaluation of a life skills training program for at-risk youth. HumanAnimal Interactions, 12(1), 112. This article looks at a program that tries to mix horse activities with social-emotional learning for teens who are considered at risk. The program lasted a few weeks, and the kids spent time doing different things with the horses while also learning about handling emotions, making decisions, and just basic communication skills. The authors compared how the kids were doing before the program and then after it ended. They found that a lot of the kids seemed more aware of their emotions and a little more confident in themselves. The authors think that the horse setting creates a calmer space where kids can practice these kinds of skills in a way that feels more natural. This study helps our project because it shows that being around horses can affect emotional regulation, which is one of the things were measuring. The kids who were more involved with the horses seemed to improve more, which connects directly to our idea about how hands on the volunteer is. The article also mentions that comfort and experience with horses matter, which goes along with our person variable about how long someone has been doing therapeutic riding. It basically supports the idea that equine programs can play a real role in emotional and skill development, so it gives us a real reason to focus on emotional regulation and fine-motor coordination in our own study. 2) Mendona, T., Bienboire-Frosini, C., Menuge, F., Leclercq, J., Lafont-Lecuelle, C., Arroub, S., & Pageat, P. (2019). The impact of equine-assisted therapy on equine behavioral and physiological responses. Animals, 9(7), 409. This article is about how the horses react during equine-assisted therapy. Most studies talk about the people, but this one pays attention to the horses. The researchers watched several horses during different therapy sessions and looked for stress signs, changes in behavior, and things like heart rate. They wanted to see if the therapy work was too much for them or if they handled it fine. What they found was that the horses didnt really show major stress. A few even seemed more relaxed once they were used to the routine. So overall, the study says that the therapy didnt negatively affect the horses when things were done properly. Even though this study is about horses, it still connects to what were doing. Our project looks at how hands-on a volunteer is, and this article shows that the horses react differently depending on what kind of interaction theyre getting. If the horses are calm, then the volunteer can focus on the activity, which ties into emotional regulation and fine motor skills. It also relates a little to our person variable because people who have been around horses longer probably interact with them in a smoother way. So, this study helps by showing that the horses behavior can affect the environment the volunteer is in, which matters for our whole setup. 3) Rigby, B. R., Davis, R. W., Bittner, M. D., Harwell, R. W., Leek, E. J., Johnson, G. A., & Nichols, D. L. (2020). Changes in motor skill proficiency after equine-assisted activities and brain-building tasks in youth with neurodevelopmental disorders. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 7, 22. This article looked at a group of kids with neurodevelopmental disorders to see if working with horses would help their motor skills. The kids did basic riding and grooming, and the researchers tested their balance and coordination before and after the program. They compared them to another group doing non-horse activities. The kids who were around the horses showed more improvement. It wasnt dramatic, but it was enough to show the horse’s activities made a difference. This helps our project because were also looking at motor skills and how much hands-on involvement matters. The study shows that the kids who were more active with the horses seemed to get the most out of it. That lines up with our variable about involvement and experience. It also shows that equine programs can improve more than just emotions, which supports why were looking at both emotional regulation and coordination. 4) Perkins, B. L. (2018). A pilot study assessing the effectiveness of equine-assisted learning with adolescents. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 13(3), 298305. This article focuses on a small group of teens who participated in an equine-assisted learning program. During the program, the teens worked with horses through different activities that encouraged communication, problem-solving, and confidence-building. The researcher measured the teens emotional and social skills before and after the sessions. After taking part in the program, many of the teens reported feeling more confident and more in control of their emotions. The study suggests that spending time with horses can support emotional growth in adolescents. This article connects to our project because it shows that equine-assisted programs can help with emotional regulation, which is one of the main things we are measuring. The improvements the teens reported fit with our idea that hands-on involvement with horses can make a difference in emotional outcomes. It also supports our focus on the volunteers level of involvement, since the activities that required more participation seemed to lead to more positive changes. This study gives us support for why examining emotional regulation and participation in equine settings is important. 5)Kendall, E., Maujean, A., Pepping, C. A., Downes, M., Lakhani, A., Byrne, J., & Macfarlane, K. (2015). A systematic review of the efficacy of equine-assisted interventions on psychosocial outcomes. European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, 17(1), 5779. This article looks at different programs where people work with horses and how those programs affect things like emotions and mental well-being. The authors went through a bunch of studies and basically compared what each one found. The programs werent all the same, but a lot of them showed similar results. People often felt calmer, more confident, or more balanced emotionally after spending time with the horses. A few studies mentioned that people also got better at talking with others or connecting socially. The article mainly points out the kinds of changes that tend to show up again and again across these horse-based programs. One thing this article shows is that people tend to get emotional benefits from being around horses, no matter which specific program theyre in. That matters for us because emotional regulation is part of what were measuring, and this review makes it clear that its a common outcome across a lot of equine programs. It also stood out to me that most of the studies involved people actually doing things with the horses, not just watching or being nearby. That connects to our focus on how involved someone is during the session. Seeing that different programs still lead to similar emotional improvements gives us more confidence that our research question is worth exploring. It basically shows that emotional changes are a pattern, not just something that happens in one or two studies.

Hypothetico-Deductive reasoning (HDR) Process through which a formal thinker systematically tests possible solutions to a problem and arrives at an answer that can be defended and explained. Enables one to consider the logical implications of a set of premises whether or not one accepts those premises.

HDR is not an innate skill. It must be learned and practiced. It also takes a good amount of awareness and mental effort to engage in it as well. However…

An individual’s ability to engage in this type of thought marks a developmental milestone in the context of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development in which the individual has clearly moved from the preformal childhood stage into the formal operational stage of cognition. The difference in cognitive capability, according to Piaget, is that an individual who is processing the information preformally equates logic with truth because all possibilities are direct extensions of reality. Therefore, there are no possibilities that exist outside of reality. Here the individual who has picked 1 rejects the logical argument because the information is not true. They do not reject it because it is illogical.

On the other hand a formal operational thinker will select 2 as being correct despite the statement containing information that is not true. This occurs because a formal operational thinker actually reverses the relationship between reality and possibilities. In their case reality becomes dependent on possibilities rather than possibilities being dependent on reality. They are, in essence, engaging in hypothetical thought. Free from a state of mind focused on a reality defined by what their experiences tell them can be, and exploring what reality could be.

Read the Week 4 course materials and watch the following link for a better understanding of Piagets theory of cognitive development:

Read Arnett text – Chapter 3- Section 2 (3.2)

After you have reviewed these materials answer the following question:

Why is it so important to be able to distinguish logic from truth as we, as scientists, try to construct a consensus interpretation of reality?

Your Response to the prompt is due Friday 2/20 at 11:59pm

Respond to the threads of at least 2 classmates by Sunday 2/22 by 11:59pm

Assignment Overview

Assignment Submissions

1. A group presentation,
2. A solo paper

Group Presentation Guidelines

1. An ethical dilemma,
2. Decision making models (minimum of 2) selected by the group to be used to resolve the dilemma, and
3. The group process of coming to a resolution or plan of action to resolve the dilemma.

Assignment Instructions

Part 1

Assignment Task:

1. Please sharpen and make clearer the group ethical dilemma paper file attached to this order to meet the projects requirements
2. Please sharpen and make clearer both of the Decision-Making Models papers attached to this order.
3. Also please create a supplemental PowerPoint to support the ethical dilemma and both decisions making models. The PowerPoint part will be for a discussion board, where my group will be expected to facilitate a discussion from that PowerPoint. Also, Provide and post prompting questions (2-4) related to the group presentation to begin the discussion.

After you finish the assignment task, I will then use those findings in a recorded video presentation (30-45 min in length) which will include a review of the dilemma, the ethical decision-making models that were utilized to come to a resolution (2 models), and the proposed resolution to the dilemma. (I will do the video presentation part)

Important information about the group project to help you sharpen the ethical dilemma and the 2 decision making models:

Ethical dilemmas can be related to a specific client population, for example substance use facility or outpatient treatment facility. Two decision making models will be used, with one being the model endorsed by the ACA:

I already attached the Group Ethical Dilemma, and both Decision Making Models from the group project please sharpen it up and make it clearer and sharper to meet the project rubric expectations.

The second decision-making model should be appropriately related to the case study dilemma. For example, if the dilemma involves a counselor and client who are of different ethnic backgrounds a decision-making model rooted in multicultural competence would be appropriate. Students should refer to their text, the ACA website, and peer reviewed journal articles that discuss ethical decision-making models.

The presentation should explain the steps in the decision-making models and how the dilemma was resolved by way of using the steps in the models. Presentation tools can involve role plays, PowerPoints, handouts, etc. to support use of the model and decisions that were made. Relevant specific areas of the code of ethics should be included. For example, if client boundary issues are the focus, the presentation would want to include which sections of the ACA code apply. Students must use the ACA Code of Ethics as the primary code of reference. However, if a second code of ethics would add support for the decision-making process, a second code can be used. For example, if the ethical dilemma involves a group counseling situation, it would be appropriate to also reference the ASGW Guiding Principles for Group Work.

Part 2

Complete A solo paper:

Following the presentation, each group member will submit a 2-page paper summarizing the case study dilemma, decision making models, and resolution or possible resolution.

Your associated paper submission should be 2 pages in length. It should contain proper grammar, be free of spelling errors, and reflect critical thinking.

Helpful Resources:

Course Book: Remley, T. P. & Herlihy, B. (2020). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in counseling (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

The : https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-ethics.pdf?sfvrsn=55ab73d0_1

confidentiality and when to break confidentiality. How to handle a crisis if a patient presents with suicidality/homicidality. I know you mentioned that you had a virtual session so with that in mind, how would you handle these situations if they were virtual vs in-person. It would be good to find a case or research to support your thoughts as it aligns with the ethical acts and regulations of Oklahoma.

Introduction

For this assessment, in 35 pages you will describe your vision for your future consulting practice, defining your specialty or niche area, your target client or clients, and your marketing plan. You will also develop strategies to help keep your energy high and avoid burnout as a consultant.

It is important to research and reflect upon the skills, tools, and plans required for growing and maintaining your consulting business. As Judith Blanton (2012) noted in a Society of Consulting Psychology webinar, you may be a great consultant practitioner, “but if you don’t get the work or manage the client well, you will not succeed in consulting work. All three areas: practice, getting the work, and managing the client well, can make or break a consulting practice.” This assessment focuses on “getting the work.”

How do you thrive as a consultant, contribute to the world, and become the person you want to be? In The Consultant’s Calling: Bringing Who You Are to What You Do (2002), Geoffrey Bellman offers answers to these questions. He provides some great perspectives on life balance, living your values, and earning money while doing the work of consulting. As a master consultant, he explains how easy it is for a consultant to experience work burnout and shares some stories about how he grows his work using his talents in a way that provides life enjoyment and balance.

Consultants must consider how to build their businesses and how to learn from others who can mentor and help them continue to grow and develop. Evaluation is also vital to determine the effectiveness of consultation work and contribute to continuing personal growth and development. It is critical for the consultant to be flexible and knowledgeable enough to adapt to contextual variables.

To succeed as a consultant, you must possess knowledge and a set of skills beyond technical ability. To be successful, you must be rigorous in your ability to analyze the theoretical and empirical foundations of consultation psychology and apply higher-order thinking to assess and diagnose problematic situations (Gray, 2007). In addition, it is essential for a consultant to have an acute awareness of their own values and goals. This is because consultants deal with issues that are enmeshed with values that can often cause conflicts. For example, a consultant may value sharing ideas and opinions in the workplace, but a manager may believe that their ideas are the only ones that should be considered (Weiss, 2003). By recognizing their values, consultants can anticipate potential conflicts and work to avoid them. Consultants must also build trust, stay self-aware, and avoid burnout (Cheung-Judge, 2012). They also should not practice outside of their areas of competence, always use the scientific evidence available to guide their work, and alwaysas in all psychology settingsseek to do no harm.

As you continue to develop your approach to consulting, consider how to integrate and synthesize what you know and what you have learned into a concept and model that has high potential for success and one in which you can feel pride and confidence. Reach high.

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the following questions and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community.

• What are some of the pros and cons of being an independent consultant? What are the pros and cons of working with an established consulting firm?
• How will you bill for your consulting services?
• What are some marketing methods you think would be effective in helping you build your consulting practice?
• How would you describe your niche client market?
• What does being an internal consultant look like? How would they market services to other internal business partners?

References

Bellman, G. M. (2002). The consultant’s calling: Bringing who you are to what you do. Jossey-Bass.

Blanton, J. (2012). Emerging professionals speaker series [Presentation]. https:// www.anymeeting.com/WebConference-beta/RecordingDefault.aspx?c_psrid=EC52DB86824C

Cheung-Judge, M. (2012). The self as an instrument: A cornerstone for the future of OD. OD Practitioner, 44(2), 4247.

Gray, D. (2007). Facilitating management learning: Developing critical reflection through reflective tools. Management Learning, 38(5), 495517.

Weiss, A. (2003). Great consulting challenges: And how to surmount them. Jossey Bass/Pfeiffer.

Preparation

To prepare for this assessment, spend some time researching the practice specialization or niche of interest to you. Also, consider the various ways that consultants in the field grow and sustain their businesses.

Requirements

Prepare a 35 page paper that meets these requirements:

• Develop your vision for your future consulting business. Your vision should define the following:
• What is your specialty or niche area?
• Who are your target client or clients?
• Identify strategies for your future consulting practice:
• Based on your research about and understanding of your specialization or niche, what are strategies to help you be successful and thrive as a consultant in your chosen area?
• What are your knowledge and skills around these competencies relevant to carrying out effective psychological consultation: legal, ethical, cultural, and professional capabilities (communication, writing, analytical skills, et cetera)?
• Craft an action plan for marketing your future consulting practice. Conduct a self-assessment of your skills and strengths and respond to the following:
• What are your strengths and weaknesses regarding your ability to market yourself and your services?
• Are there areas where additional professional development will be needed?
• What are the costs and feasibility issues in developing your marketing options?
• Develop three strategies to help keep your energy high and avoid consulting burnout.
• What will you need to keep focused, energized, and engaged in your practice? Draw on research in the field as well as your self-knowledge of your work style and motivation.

Be sure to cite references, provide examples, and weave personal experiences and insights into your responses.

Additional Requirements

• Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Your paper should be formatted according to current edition APA style and formatting.
• Length: 35 pages typed, double-spaced pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 3: Analyze the legal, ethical, cultural, and professional competencies necessary for effective psychological consultation.
• Develop a vision that identifies specialty area and target clients of a consulting practice.
• Identify strategies that support the specialization or niche as well as the knowledge and skills relevant to a successful consulting practice.
• Craft a marketing action plan for a consulting practice.
• Develop strategies that ensure personal success as a consultant.
• Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of the psychological professions.
• Use grammar, punctuation, and mechanics expected of graduate-level composition and expression.
• Use current APA format and style.

Introduction

A theoretical foundation informs a consultant’s professional worldview and can significantly influence the practice and choice of techniques.

The forms of service and interactions that have been grouped under the umbrella of “consultation” are many and extremely varied. Professionals have used the term consultation for numerous roles and relationships, frequently blurring the boundaries between consulting and other activities. Often, the difficulty in establishing a common definition is due to the various elements that practitioners and theorists choose to emphasize. In addition, the lack of clarity or consensus regarding the definition is attributable to the specific theoretical model used to define consultation, which can include behavioral, mental health, or organizational development. The term theory may be used imprecisely even in the scholarly literature. Sometimes, it refers to a key or guiding idea; at other times theory replaces the word method. However, as scholar-practitioners in this course, we use the word theory for ideas with a strong grounding in empirical literature.

For our purposes, here are some distinctions among an approach, a method, and a theory:

• An approach is an overall way of addressing something. It represents a broad, overarching way of looking at and addressing a set of circumstances.
• A method is a set of procedures or techniques used for a consultation.
• A theory is an explanation for a phenomenon or process that has been tested by researchers and shown to have some validity. One or more theories may underpin a single approach.

It is not that there is any one theoretical approach that is right or always better; however, the theoretical foundation that informs a consultant’s professional worldview can greatly influence the practice and techniques employed by a consultant. Consider for a moment a consultant schooled primarily in cognitive-behavioral theoretical approaches and a consultant schooled primarily in positive psychology theoretical approaches. Assume these two consultants were both asked to submit a bid for a prospective consulting client. Presented with the same consulting scenario, these two consultants are likely to suggest very different consulting plans because of their different theoretical orientations.

It is considered a best practice to familiarize oneself with a wide variety of consulting theories, approaches, and methods because this expands your consulting toolbox and allows you to view consulting scenarios from a broader perspective. Another benefit of this expanded toolbox is the flexibility to combine elements of approaches and techniques, tailoring them to a particular client’s needs.

Multiple approaches could work in any consulting situation. You simply must think critically about the pros and cons of each within the context of the consulting scenario at hand. As you explore the basis in evidence for different theories, you may decide to learn more about their associated methods and incorporate them into your own practice. Your ability to determine theoretical underpinnings of the methods you use is important, not only for scholarly writing you might do, but for theory building and future work.

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the following questions and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community.

• What foundational concepts and theories drive good consultation?
• Which theoretical consultation orientations are you most drawn to? Why?
• Why is it important to understand the theoretical foundations of consultation approaches, models, and techniques?
• How might your consulting practice differ depending on your primary theoretical orientation?

Preparation

Use the case study that you developed as the context for this assessment.

Instructions

Prepare a 79 page paper that meets these requirements:

• Include a synopsis of your case study. Even though you included a summary with your previous assessment paper, in an actual project, you should always provide a synopsis of your consulting project with every deliverable received by the client. For the purpose of this assessment and to mimic real-world expectations, include details about the consulting situation, issues you anticipate addressing, key people involved, and the kinds of behaviors involved in the situation. Be sure to identify the key goal of the potential consultation and the challenges to be addressed.
• Evaluate two theories of psychological consultation (from the list provided) that can be used in your case study scenario:
• What does each theory posit? Provide an analysis of each theory by including key points about the theories, the primary theorists, and the strengths and limitationsin the general sense and specifically to your case study.
• How can the theories be used in your consultation setting? Provide evidence via case studies, your own experiences, scholarly literature, and so forth, to support your claim about the theories.
• What are their differences and similarities? How can they complement each other?
• Synthesize the most effective concepts and practices from the two theories into an approach for use in your case-study scenario.
• What are the best aspects of each theory that you will synthesize?
• What evidence did you find to support your synthesis and approach?
• Formulate a set of guidelines that can be used in your case study scenario.
• How will you integrate the theories as a model for your proposed work with the client?

Requirements

Be sure to cite peer-reviewed journal articles in support of your analysis, synthesis, and formulation of the guidelines. Additionally, incorporate your own research of scholarly literature, experiences, and concrete examples to clearly show your understanding of these theories and how they can be used by consultants in a consulting setting.

Use the following subheadings in your paper and format your subheadings in APA style:

• Subheading 1 Case Study.
• Subheading 2 Consulting Theories and Their Basis in Evidence.
• Subheading 3 Synthesis of Consulting Theories.
• Subheading 4 Consulting Guidelines.
• Subheading 5 References.

Additional Requirements

• Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current edition APA style and formatting guidelines.
• References: At least seven scholarly resources, which should be peer-reviewed journal articles or other scholarly articles written within the past five years.
• Length of paper: Approximately 2,000 words or about 79 typed, double-spaced pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 points.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Evaluate the relevance and applicability of current theories of psychological consultation.
• Evaluate two provided theories that can be used in a case study scenario.
• Competency 2: Apply appropriate models and phases of psychological consultation to specific contexts.
• Synthesize the most effective concepts and practices from the two theories into an approach that can be used in a case study scenario.
• Formulate a set of guidelines that can be used in a case study scenario.
• Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of the psychological professions.
• Use grammar, punctuation, and mechanics expected of graduate-level composition and expression.
• Use current APA format and style.