Wellness
CounselingCornell

Certificate Program

In this course, you will practice techniques to elicit information from clients, uncover their deeper needs and in turn help them set better goals. You will conduct a session with a colleague, or friend to practice your client-directed counseling skills in a real-life setting, gather feedback from your partner, and then reflect on what you did well and what you would change. You will describe how the use (or lack) of continuing responses in a conversation you've had in the past has affected trust within that conversation, and you will make a plan to better integrate continuing responses into future conversations. You will observe and evaluate another counselor's use of client-centered techniques to elicit information. While identifying and overcoming challenges in implementing client-centered counseling techniques, you will create an action plan to help clients set goals that align with their true needs. At the end of this course, you will be poised to apply new techniques to better identify the client's “need behind the need.”

You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Understanding the Person

In this course, you will use a variety of tools and techniques to help clients set achievable goals and stay motivated. You will identify the top techniques and tips that are specifically applicable to your style of counseling or that can best help you grow as a communicator in your field, and use them to compile a resource for future practice. You will practice applying empathy in order to find out what truly matters to your clients and apply that valuable information to goal setting. You will conduct a motivational interviewing session with a colleague, or friend to practice your skills in a real-life setting, reflect on what you did well and what you would change, and receive helpful feedback from the course facilitator. Finally, you will use five best practices to create your own script for a conversation in which you help a client set a realistic and actionable goal.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Understanding the Person
• Understanding the Deeper Need

Client-directed counseling is effective for one-on-one interactions, working with groups, and working with organizations. This course allows you to further develop your counseling skills, explore wellness for groups and organizations, and solidify a plan for your future. You will create a plan to expand your wellness counseling skills and integrate them with your current area of expertise. You will then expand your counseling skills to support group facilitation. You will practice these skills by engaging with a colleague, or friend outside of the course. Finally, you will create a wellness vision and plan how you will communicate your vision to organizations and employees. By the end of this course, you will be prepared to use your counseling skills to work within organizations focused on improving the health and wellness of their employees.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Understanding the Person
• Understanding the Deeper Need
• Eliciting New Behaviors