Applied Psychology

Curriculum

In total, the program consists of 36 master’s level units, with 12 courses of 3 units each delivered over two years. 

Curriculum 

Semester 1  

1. Integral Knowing and Critical Discourse

This is the foundational course that invites students into exploration and dialogic discourse in the program. It develops a framework for multiple ways of knowing and being and how to be in an East-West dialogue in an inclusive and reflexive manner. This course is designed to help students master key theoretical aspects of integral psychology but also to begin to develop a sense of curiosity about the self, others, groups, and society in a more experiential manner.   

This course is designed to address what it means to know anything at all, what is psychology, what is healing, and all of the philosophical issues associated with our work. It is a place to introduce a whole-person view of psychology that includes body, mind, and spirit. The ultimate goal is to develop a community of learners who can be critically reflexive in their approach to difficult topics and who can identify that there are perspectives and sources of knowing that may differ between people, between cultures, and over time. Another goal is that this course will set the tone for all subsequent coursework, including rigorous theoretical material and personal experiential exercises.    

2. The Self as Inquiry

The self is investigated fully from multiple ways of knowing, beginning with one’s own self. What is the self—artistically, somatically, as separate and innately different from others, as a developing entity, in context, and relationship to others and culture? This course will include information on human development and some of the major theoretical frameworks used for understanding the self in the East and West throughout the life span.    

This course will offer an opportunity to experience various modalities of exploration of the key inquiry questions. This will be the place to consider problems and concerns of the self. Here we will encourage artistic exploration, dream work, spiritual inquiry and ritual, movement, narrative, and inner exploration as a means to engage the inquiry and as applied to theory.  

We will embark on discussions of how others shape the self, empathy, emotional intelligence, intellectual capacities, neurodiversity and other dimensions of difference, ethnic and sexual identity, problems with the self, and health and disease. The central question will be: What is the self, what does the self mean in China now, and how does our understanding of the self have implications for our relationships and for coaching practice? Practical skills for addressing problems with self-development will be honed further in the last semester in the coaching skills series. 

Semester 2  

3. Families as Inquiry

This course includes a focus on key theories of parenting, family dynamics, conflicts, and concerns, as well as intergenerational transmission of values and experiences. Both lecture and experiential activities and reflections will occur. We will develop stories and genograms, consider role-play, and do other activities designed to explore the ways families operate and can develop. Structural interventions and consideration of power and gender dynamics will be addressed. Common parenting dilemmas will be explored. Discussion of co-regulation, positive discipline, nonviolent communication, and other skills will be offered. These will be honed further in the last semester in the coaching skills series. 

4.  Couples as Inquiry 

In this course, marriage, infidelity, dating, and intimacy will be considered through reflection and discussion. The course will utilize attachment literature and theory and activities (e.g., eye-gazing, media depictions) and discussions of the issues associated with bonding, flirting, trust, romance, conflict, power, abuse, vulnerability, gender roles, etc. Same-sex couples, and other structures such as open arrangements and infidelity, will be discussed. Some discussion of emotionally focused therapy principles, the Gottman method, nonviolent communication skills, and cross-cultural frameworks will be addressed. The life cycle of a couple will also be explored. Skills for application will be honed further in the last semester in the coaching skills series.   

Semester 3 

5. Trauma

Trauma-informed perspectives, including theories of intergenerational trauma and how trauma impacts well-being, will be presented. This course is dedicated to considering skills for self-care as a coach and building capacity for big feelings and experiences in working as a coach. This will also help to ground coaches in understanding how trauma may impact their clients and how to navigate these experiences. Practical skills will be offered, including emotion regulation, mindfulness, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. Consideration of referrals for trauma and ethical scope of practice issues will be discussed. 

6. Sexuality

This course will provide a bio-psychosocial perspective on sexuality, including medically accurate and research-based information about sexual behavior, desires, orientations, and practices. This course is helpful to those in particular who will be working with families, couples, and individuals for whom intimacy and sexual issues may be of concern.  

Semester 4 

7. Ethical Practice

In this course, we will consider ethics broadly defined and specifically related to coaching and consulting practices. Particular attention will be paid to the dynamics of the coaching relationship, scope of competence and scope of practice, practical issues associated with beginning and ending a coaching relationship, making referrals, the meaning of money, and consent and other ethical issues. Difficult cases and the ethical issues that arise from them will be discussed as a way to develop an ethical community of thinkers together. 

8. Applied Skills and Coaching 1

This course provides the basic professional skills for coaching and provides an overview of clinical approaches to counseling. Skills such as active listening, reflective listening, supporting clients, motivational interviewing, somatic attunement, goal setting and planning, setting up the coaching relationship, note taking, reflection, awareness and management, and coaching activities for particular issues will be covered and developed through dyad work and demonstration. Finding client strengths and resistances, using intuition, self-management for the coach, and clarifying goals will also be addressed. This course is largely done in an experiential integrative manner. After this course, students will feel that they have some skills for beginning a professional coaching practice. 

Semester 5 

9. Leadership

This course will situate leadership in terms of transformative leadership, beginning with the self, to create change socially through utilizing our curriculum and experience in our Transformative Leadership program. Techniques for grounding leadership dilemmas in larger philosophical issues and meanings are offered, and leadership as developed and supported from the inside out is discussed. This is a reflective course on the leadership level, helping to develop creative depth in leadership and to facilitate capacity for change and vision that can later be delivered through coaching for leader clients.   

10. Applied Skills and Coaching 2

In the second applied skills course, the more difficult and sophisticated coaching skills are honed and more challenging clinical scenarios are considered. This course addresses the need for discernment in making referrals, understanding the scope of coaching practice, and identifying possible concerns of an ethical nature that may arise. Dealing with issues such as client wishes for self-harm, criminal behaviors, and other larger concerns will be addressed. Dual roles and the limits of the coaching role are all explored in this class. This course will also focus on how to approach difficult and resistant clients, confrontation and conflict, repairing after a break in attunement with the client, managing difficult emotions, complex cases, acceptance versus change strategies, and ending coaching relationships. This course deepens and extends the learning from Coaching Skills 1, considering more complex cases and dilemmas. Ethical learning is integrated and applied in this course. 

Semester 6 

11. Group Process and Facilitation

In this course, the focus is on group process and group behaviors. Students will learn about the structure of groups, facilitation processes, and group power dynamics. How to facilitate groups and address process-oriented application of coaching skills will be covered. Cases taken from professional contexts and leadership situations that address various issues such as motivation, fairness, workforce communication, and leadership dilemmas will be addressed. 

12. Capstone Project

Students will integrate their learning and apply it to a coaching case, which they will explore in depth and present to the group for comment. The project will include the use of coaching to address a social issue and will demonstrate integral coaching in service of the case. It must meet the standards of the faculty in order for the student to meet the graduation requirements. The particular rubric for assessment will be developed by the faculty.